Yvette Walker
With 91.9 KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker. This is IE Latino Voices where we invite representatives from Latino led and Latino serving organizations to share their stories and their impact in our region. Today we've invited Miriam Nieto, Co-Director of Just San Bernardino, also known as Just SB. Thank you for being with us here today Miriam.
Miriam Nieto
Hi Yvette and thank you for having us today.
Yvette
Miram, please tell us about how Just SB was established.
Miriam
Just San Bernardino was established in 2019. So Just San Bernardino is a collaborative of eight nonprofit organizations that came together to work on an inclusive economy in San Bernardino. And these eight organizations came together in 2019, during COVID time, right? And they went out into the community and asked, you know, what are some of the issues that are most affecting you in the community? Out of these issues, some recommendations were made. Those recommendations were published in The People's Plan for Economic Inclusion. It was published late April, 2022. So I guess you can say there was a research phase, and we are currently in the implementation phase of those recommendations in what we found in The People's Plan for Economic Inclusion.
Yvette
Please talk about the creation of job and entrepreneurship opportunities in the region through Just San Bernardino.
Miriam
Just San Bernardino has come up with three different priorities that we are focusing on: Land Acquisition, Community Benefits Agreement, and the Educational Pathways, which we are calling The Purposeful Pathways. We are identifying them as the way and as the vehicle to move forward in our community for an inclusive economy.
Yvette
Beautiful. Please talk about what you're most excited about for the future of Just San Bernardino and the communities it serves.
Miriam
I am excited for the work that is to come. I think again, right, so we have a two year research phase, we have the implementation phase, where we have identified our three top priorities. And now is time to work, right? It's time to work and try to see how we can include not just our community, but also different sectors in our community that can support in lifting these top priorities right? Currently, right now, for example, for a Community Benefits Agreement, we're looking specifically in the downtown area at the Carousel Mall. And then we are also looking at the San Bernardino Airport communities, Right? So the Gateway Specific Plan in San Bernardino, we are looking at how can we have policies that can really develop better developments in our community, right? So for example, the development of the Carousel Mall… How do we make sure that in that process, policies that are going to support an inclusive economy in our community are going to be established there, as well as the Gateway Specific Plan, right? So how can we make sure that community is always in the forefront of that development? And I think that is the key, right, making sure that as we are talking about an inclusive economy, it's not just institutions or governmental sectors that are part of that conversation. But authentic community as well - the people that live here in our community, the people that are affected by some of these issues, and by some of these policies, right, that are established from, I guess you can say, top down? How can we make sure that the community is part of that conversation?
Yvette
So, you mentioned that you were established in 2019. I imagine there are so many ways to support and assist and be a part of supporting Just SB. Please talk about volunteer opportunities or events that are coming up that (people) can help and support your efforts.
Miriam
Yeah, so please get connected to the work that is happening. Go to our website, justsb.org. Also go to our Instagram, we have our LinkedIn. But also go to the organizations that have created Just San Bernardino, right? So Warehouse Workers Resource Center, Inland Empire Labor Council, Arts Connection, COPE: Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement, Time for Change Foundation, Blu Educational Foundation, Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC), and The People's Collective for Environmental Justice. These are the eight organizations that have created Just San Bernardino you know, and if any of this work resonates with you, these are the organizations that you should be looking to get connected with. They need the support, they will receive all the support and all the love that you have for them.
Yvette
I love it. So Miriam, please share how the community can support and connect with you and Just SB.
Miriam
Go to our website, get to see what we are currently working on and how our priorities are expanding and how they are developing. Reach out to us and we will go ahead and get in contact with you.
Yvette
Thank you so much for joining us today, Miriam, and sharing the story for Just San Bernardino.
Miriam Nieto
Thank you for having us. And thank you for giving us some space to talk about The People's Plan for Economic Inclusion. Thank you.
Yvette Walker
Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at kvcrnews.org/ielatinovoices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media and is funded by generous support from the CIELO Fund at IECF, uplifting and investing in the IE’s Latino community. For KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker.
