At our core, Springboard is an organization helping families in affordable housing reach their goals in school, work, and life. But we’ve known since the beginning that it takes more than individual programs and services to lift families out of poverty. It requires real and significant policy change.
While policy and advocacy have always been a part of Springboard’s model, in the last few years, we have doubled down on our commitment to advocate for better systems where all our residents are able to thrive. Today, we are excited to launch our own policy platform. Designed in partnership with our families, we have identified core values, principles, and priority areas that center dignity, equity, and trust within our systems and create a better world for all people.
Like all of Springboard To Opportunities’ work, our policy work is grounded in our radically resident-driven mission. We believe that policies work best when they are informed by the voices and wisdom of families who are most affected by the policies. No one knows what is needed to help families move out of poverty better than families experiencing poverty themselves. We continue to elevate the stories of our families and the way our current policies and systems have prevented them from being able to reach their goals or achieve economic mobility. Unless we have more inclusive, people-centered approaches to policymaking, our systems will continue to fail families.
We believe that poverty is a policy choice, rather than an individual failing. Our community programming, from housing stability initiatives to The Magnolia Mother’s Trust, is always meant to model what could be possible if our social safety net and support programs were actually designed and implemented with community input and recognizing families as the experts on their own lives. And we have shown again and again that when we center the voices of families and ground programs in trust and dignity, everyone is better for it.
Highlights from our policy platform overview are below and you can view the full document plus more detailed documents on each priority area on our website. We hope you’ll take some time to explore them more today and join us in advocating for more people-centered policies that can move us toward more equitable systems for all people.