Kalamazoo County, Michigan, is a place of abundance: it’s home to stunning natural landscapes, beautiful architecture, thriving industries, and growing small businesses. And the region is growing more diverse, mirroring national trends. But new data underscores the challenging truth that not everyone who lives in Kalamazoo can access all that the county has to offer. The first-of-its-kind equity profile — developed by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation in collaboration with local community leaders and the National Equity Atlas (a partnership between PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute) — illustrates how a long history of racial discrimination and disinvestment in local communities of color has created entrenched and persistent racial inequities in employment, income, wealth, education, health, justice, housing, and transportation. These growing gaps are costing the county an estimated $1 billion in potential economic growth each year. The success and prosperity of Kalamazoo County will rely on dismantling these unjust barriers and ensuring that everyone can participate in and enjoy the benefits of a thriving economy. Explore the profile for additional data insights — and delve into the accompanying summary for solutions to create a more equitable and inclusive county

This toolkit provides a how to guide to engaging and educating elected officials on environmental justice and water policy. Interacting with your elected officials is a great way to build relationships and learn where a member stands on a specific policy issue. Think of engaging with your Members of Congress as an opportunity to tell your story and showcase the work that you are doing – describe your work as an advocate or local leader, the community you work in, and share what your organization’s policy priorities mean to your community.

Fact sheet for federal legislators on the importance of water assistance, needed improvements to the temporary Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), principles for establishing a permanent program, and the need to shift toward long-term water affordability.

Water is a human right and the foundation of good health and thriving communities. For the 30th annual observance of World Water Day, we developed this message guidance through conversations during the Caucus's February 2023 national call and the Climate Justice Working Group. Please use this messaging to uplift WECR perspectives and a shared voice for the human right to water.

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as we fast daily from food and water from dawn till sunset, let us honor and celebrate the central role of water in our lives, both physically and spiritually, writes Huda Alkaff, executive director of Wisconsin Green Muslims.

Building on PolicyLink’s Housing Justice on the Ballot webinar series, this guide is for tenant organizers, housing advocates, legal advocates, and anyone interested in bringing housing justice to life by advancing renter protections on the ballot. Whether groups are in the beginning stages of exploring a ballot initiative campaign for their jurisdiction and want to prepare themselves for the journey, or they are inviting partner organizations to join an existing campaign and want them to know what to expect for the path ahead — this guide is meant to support campaigns from policy idea to implementation. Most importantly, this guide is filled with advice and tips from campaign leaders across the country who have successfully led ballot initiative campaigns for housing justice or are currently running one. Their stories are captured in case studies spread throughout the guide, and their wisdom — the foundation on which this guide is based — is an invaluable resource for housing justice campaigns to come.