Small business development workshops for aspiring entrepreneurs. Nature classes in the park for youth and families. Free mental health services for recent immigrants. These are just some of the things that Haitian immigrants brainstormed during idea generation workshops in Canarsie, Brooklyn, last fall.
Idea generation workshops are a key part of The People’s Money (TPM), a participatory budgeting process run by the city where everyday New Yorkers, regardless of immigration or incarceration status, decide how a portion of the city budget is spent to support their communities.
The initiative, run by the NYC Civic Engagement Commission (CEC), holds idea generation workshops each year where residents of each borough can propose ideas that address local needs…