As the officially designated anti-poverty agency for the County of Marin, Community Action Marin held a public hearing on May 9, 2023, to provide an opportunity for local residents to provide input to our Community Action Plan which addresses community needs alongside agency services, including emergency assistance, housing, childcare, food justice, and economic opportunity—the pressing issues of our time.
As a Community Action Agency, we are required to conduct Community Action Planning every two years. With the planning process, we conducted a county-wide community Needs Assessment using surveys and focus groups in English and Spanish that engaged over 600 residents across Marin County. This Needs Assessment process provided critical input to draft our agency’s Community Action Plan. The public hearing process is another vital step in soliciting community input and feedback to our vision and recommendations.
The Community Action Plan is a roadmap built on surveys and data, and it is stronger with direct community feedback, dialogue, and deep listening. We welcomed over 40 local residents who participated in the public hearing both in-person and through video conference.
“At Community Action Marin, community voices lead our work as we seek together to advance racial and economic justice in Marin,” said Chandra Alexandre, CEO, as she welcomed participants at the public hearing. “This Community Action Plan is what will guide us for the next two years in creating better outcomes for individuals and families across Marin County and create a roadmap to make our community stronger. Community members asked important questions about the data we presented and reflected some of our shared concerns; for example, about the challenge of improving access to services and getting help to people who may not have transportation or who lack literacy. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this event possible!”
Our discussion in the public hearing included a review of our findings, strategies, and planned programming covering agency offerings such as emergency assistance, childcare, economic mobility services, housing, and food justice.
The Community Action Plan and supplemental materials may be downloaded from our website.
We will have the updated Community Action Plan with comments taken from the public hearing ready in June for board review and approval. The final plan incorporating comments will be posted after this time, once finalized.