The New Narrative
A about the work Naomi Levy did last summer in collaboration with Oakland's Department of Violence Prevention has been released by the Possibility Lab. This work is part of Levy's research initiative, the Firsthand Framework for Policy Innovation. She began in spring 2022 by partnering with six community based organizations and talking to hundreds of residents in the City of Oakland. Together, they asked the question: How do YOU know if your community is safe or unsafe? The answers provide “firsthand indicators” of safety that reflect the expertise of residents who have historically been both overpoliced and underserved. Last summer, Levy teamed up with the city’s Department of Violence Prevention to create and implement solutions based on the Firsthand Framework. Working with eight of their former life coaching clients, who named themselves The New Narrative, they used the Firsthand Framework to illustrate how communities and government can work in meaningful and sustained partnership, to co-create real and lasting change.