On our day of action June 14th, whether you are planning on speaking at the meeting, or calling in, here are some talking points to help you craft your message.

Talking Points: Use Sacramento County ARPA Funding for Racial Equity and our Unhoused Neighbors

How to Use This Document:

Sacramento County has received a LOT of money from the federal government to help our communities recover from the impacts of the COVID pandemic. As advocates for health and racial equity, we are not impressed with how they have used it. Many decisions by the Board of Supervisors make it obvious that racial equity is not guiding decision making. Right now, our county leaders are deciding how to spend the rest of their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. We are asking for the Board of Supervisors to make racial equity and housing solutions their top two priorities when allocating ARPA funds.

The following talking points are meant to be used when speaking with the Board of Supervisors, whether in person or by phone. While you can read one, two, or several of these talking points verbatim, your comments are most powerful in your authentic, unique voice. Sharing personal experiences that inform or inspire your advocacy for racial equity and unhoused people will make your comments even more memorable and impactful.

For UUSS folks: We are more powerful if we act together!  When you speak in person or call in, please:

• In addition to stating your County district if you live in Sacramento County, also identify yourself as part of Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento,
•  Instructions with be provided soon for June 14 carpooling, parking, and coordinating our action at the meeting for those attending in person,
• For those calling in, you will be dialing 916-875-2500. We expect we will be selecting agenda item #1 and calling in the morning because this will be an off agenda item. We will provide the agenda item and time to call in when this is known closer to the June 14.

Choose from any of the following talking points:

1. Your mishandling of the CARES Act funding in 2020 prompted a grand jury investigation which concluded that Sacramento County made questionable budgeting maneuvers and showed little regard for the needs of your citizens. Can you promise us that the needs of citizens, especially the most vulnerable citizens, will come first when you are spending our ARPA dollars?
2. You have promised to use $59 million of the first round of ARPA funding to address housing and homelessness. To meet the urgent needs of unhoused people in Sacramento County, this funding should be given to community-based organizations that provide supportive services for the unhoused and prevention services that keep people off of the streets. We don’t need new investments in law enforcement, and we don’t need homelessness responses carried out by law enforcement.
3. It is important to me that you fund CBOs that are serving unhoused people in Sacramento County because (in my experience…)
4. Dedicate a large chunk of the ARPA funds to community-based organizations led by and serving Black, Indigenous and People of Color. They helped communities get through the pandemic by serving them in culturally appropriate ways. Our local CBOs are effective and trusted, and they know how to spend this money on projects that lift up and transform communities. But our CBOs need more funding to build capacity and expand services.