It’s at the welfare office we learn our voice doesn’t count.”
– Angie, Concord, New Hampshire
“The difference is that the women who have [learned the Right Question Strategy] is that they have a different level of expectation, they expect that the policies will be followed through. And if they don’t get what they think they should get that there’s a feeling of accountability, these people are working for me.”
– Adult educator, Nashua, New Hampshire
Our work at the Right Question Institute is to turn people’s everyday encounters with public institutions and services — court systems, housing authorities, welfare offices, public schools — from places where people often feel disrespected and discounted, to places where people can participate in decisions that affect their lives and hold those with power accountable.
We call this vision “Microdemocracy.”
We recently talked about Microdemocracy in an interview with the Wellbeing Blueprint, from the Full Frame Initiative. The Blueprint provides guidelines for how to create equitable access to wellbeing.
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Each year, people in low-income communities have more than 100 million encounters with public and publicly funded institutions and services. Currently, these are the endpoints of most people’s engagement with the public sector. By focusing our attention on these interactions, Microdemocracy presents a vision for how to build an individual’s democratic capacity. Participating in decisions at this micro level can become a starting point for people to participate in democracy on all levels. We have seen how many frontline workers, including service providers, legal aid lawyers, social workers and others can become “democracy builders” by teaching skills that foster people’s ability to ask questions, advocate for themselves, and participate in decisions. We are eager to partner with you to help strengthen democracy. You can join us for a training webinar, find resources on our website, or reach out to us for training opportunities for your organization. We look forward to hearing from you. Warmly, RQI’s Legal Empowerment Team PS: We invite you to join us this August and September for theWellbeing Blueprint Design Challenge. It’s a way to design projects, initiatives, and policy recommendations that create equitable access to wellbeing and help spark systems change. |
Project Place
We did a training for clients of Project Place, a social service agency in Boston focused on jobs and housing. Click on the video above to hear Joshua Lemerise talk about the experience.
What your gifts mean
When you make a gift to the Right Question Institute, you help bring free resources to legal professionals who work primarily with low-income clients and communities. Your support helps equip people with skills and strategies for solving problems, participating in decisions, and making their voices heard — in the legal system and beyond. Your gifts help contribute to a more inclusive legal system, society, and democracy. Thank you for your support.