Blog

If you've ever heard someone say, "Everyone should be treated the same," you've heard an argument for equality. At first, it sounds fair. If everyone receives the same opportunities, resources, or treatment, then everyone has an equal chance to succeed, right? Not necessarily. One of the biggest misconceptions in public policy is that equality and equity mean the same thing. They don't. Understanding the difference is essential because it shapes everything from education and

For a long time, I believed that because I had experienced homelessness, addiction, poverty, and countless barriers, my voice didn't belong in the rooms where decisions were being made. I assumed policy was something created by lawyers, politicians, researchers, and people with degrees hanging on their walls. I thought I had nothing to contribute. I couldn't have been more wrong. What I've learned over the past few years is that there are organizations across the country act

Yesterday I attended a webinar featuring Regina Cannon, and one quote has stayed with me ever since: "Equity is best defined as just and fair inclusion into a society in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential." That definition challenged me to think differently about policy. Too often we think of policy as a document too complicated to understand, written in government buildings by people we'll never meet. In reality, policy touches every part of o