The Direct Action & Research Training (DART) Center

In addition to their fight to stop gun violence, RISC (DART's affiliate in Richmond) has secured major victories to ensure everyone in Richmond has a safe, affordable place to call home. Below, check out the commitments RISC won for a mobile home repair and replacement program:

Last year, Topeka JUMP secured a major win for access to mental health crisis services. As JUMP leader Anton Ahrens explains, "we'll be one of the first counties in Kansas to have these critical mental health beds for people in crisis...we need them. Everyone in Topeka sees the results of people who have really severe mental health needs that aren't being met." Read more in the article below.

There is a lot to be angry about in our communities. Our neighbors have to make it through the winter without housing, the quality of our kids’ education is determined by their zip code, our criminal justice system is locking people up because they can’t pay their traffic tickets. Many people think that the anger these issues provoke is a bad thing. Is that true? In the DART network, we don’t think so. Rather, we believe that anger is a very important tool in organizing. Just as hunger alerts us that it is time to eat, our anger arises when we witness injustice against ourselves or others. Getting in touch with our anger about serious community problems is what motivates and sustains us towards taking real action on these issues. Anger doesn’t have to mean acting explosively or wrathfully. Our organizers work to help everyday people recognize their anger and channel it into strategic action. We use anger to build the kind of power necessary to win millions of dollars for affordable housing, or to secure policies that disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Want to be a part of transforming anger into people power? Check out our open positions at thedartcenter.org. #communityorganizing #peoplepower #localpolitics #justice

Justice in Action launched in 2022, but they're already building some serious people power in Lincoln, Nebraska. Check out coverage from Justice in Action's most recent Nehemiah Action to learn about how they're fighting to improve access to mental health, address the crisis of affordable housing, and more.

Columbus, Ohio is the fastest growing heat island in the country, has the 3rd highest rate of asthma-related hospitalizations, and is experiencing a dramatic increase in flooding. All of these issues can be mitigated by trees. Yet, Columbus lacks any protections for trees on private property, and the city’s tree canopy is considerably behind other cities. BREAD, DART’s affiliate in Columbus, refuses to accept this status quo. Through research, they identified that there were no protections in place for large trees on private land, despite the fact that these trees can reduce temperatures by 10-45 degrees, remove up to 60% of street level air pollution, and absorb thousands of gallons of stormwater. BREAD fought for years to push the city to act. This spring, they won a public tree protection ordinance, and are now building power to push for a private tree protection ordinance that will further protect Columbus’s most vulnerable residents from the issues caused by climate change. Inspired by BREAD’s fight for environmental justice? They’re hiring! Learn how you can become a professional organizer with BREAD at thedartcenter.org/careers. #environmentaljustice #communityorganizing #localpolitics #peoplepower

The fight for justice isn’t easy. Elected officials have many powerful, well-financed interests pulling at them, and pushing officials to serve the needs of their constituents often means running up against excuse after excuse. Yet, our affiliates stay strong in their resolve that the problems our communities face are solvable - and that the forces causing these problems are far from a mystery. As Reverend Wells, a leader with BRIGHT in Brevard County, reflects, “the system is not omnipotent with motives that are incomprehensible… it can be deciphered, dissolved, and eventually dismantled when confronted by organized people.” More often than not, we know what’s behind the injustices plaguing our communities. Whether it’s the companies making money off a jail expansion or the developers who don’t find affordable housing profitable enough, the root of these issues is rarely unknown. But, as Reverend Wells remarks, “the system will not change the rules… we are going to have to change the system.” When our affiliates bring together thousands of organized people, we have the power to push our elected officials towards making the changes that our communities need. Want to read about some of the victories that our affiliates have won? Take a look at www.thedartcenter.org. #justice #communityorganizing #localpolitics #peoplepower

Meet Megan Sease, associate organizer with PEACE in Palm Beach County, FL! After working directly with populations in need, Megan was drawn to get to the root of the issues plaguing her community. She joined the PEACE team in August 2023, bringing her passion for mental health advocacy and equity. For Megan, relationships drive her organizing work - “my favorite part of organizing is the relationships I have built with our leaders. I have formed connections with people who have made it easy to call Palm Beach home. These relationships are why I organize because I want to make the place we call home a better place for all.” Passionate, dedicated organizers like Megan are winning policy changes that truly transform our communities. Want to join Megan in this fight? PEACE is hiring a second associate organizer! Find all the details at thedartcenter.org/careers. #justice #communityorganizing #localpolitics #nonprofitjobs

As Rabbi Hillel would say, “if I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I?” Instead of trying to convince people to do something purely for someone else, organizers in the DART network train grassroots leaders to do what Rabbi Hillel alludes to: how to be both for themselves and for others. Organizers do this through building deep relationships with people to help them see how standing up for their own interest is interwoven with standing up for the interest of their community as a whole. By guiding individuals through discovering what it is that calls them to fight for justice, organizers help people articulate what they value or need – and how that relates to the needs of the community. Through doing so, they invite people to be in solidarity towards creating the kind of community that we all want: to be both for themselves and for others in the pursuit of justice. Sound like something you’d find meaning in? Check out our open positions at thedartcenter.org. #communityorganizing #justice #localpolitics #solidarity

HOPE fought for 6 years to win an affordable housing fund that has created over 1,200 truly affordable homes in Hillsborough County. But now, the county is threatening to strip away what remains of this desperately needed resource. In the 2024 budget, Hillsborough County raided the HOPE affordable housing fund, cutting it by $8 million. Yet, over 97,000 residents of the county are cost burdened by their rent, and affordable housing is in increasingly short supply. Members of HOPE are firm in their resolve that the County Commission needs to serve the community, not slash one of the few resources available to create more affordable housing for working families. In the face of resistance, HOPE continues to fight for the housing that they and their neighbors urgently need. Above, watch HOPE co-president Dr. Sheila Simmons Tribble summarize what HOPE has won so far and what’s up next in their fight for housing. #HOPE #justice #peoplepower #localpolitics #affordablehousing #communityorganizing

Last week, we shared about the power of stories to agitate our communities towards action. As the fall begins, we’re approaching the time of year where many of these stories are surfaced: the listening process. Every year, grassroots leaders meet with others from their congregation to hold “house meetings” and share the issues in their community that keep them up at night. This sharing of stories is not only how our affiliates discern which issues to work on in the coming year, but also how we strengthen our relationships with one another, give folks the opportunity to share what is important to them, and be in solidarity with others who may be extremely different from ourselves but suffer from the same community problems. Many of us may not see ourselves as ‘justice people,’ or connect our personal struggles to the broader injustices that cause this pain. But at house meetings, we are reminded that we are not alone in the problems we face - and that we are not alone in the fight for change, either. #justice #communityorganizing #localpolitics #peoplepower #relationships #solidarity