Investing in Great Futures: L.A. REPAIR Fuels Our Communities

On June 22^nd, Councilmember Tim McOsker and the LA Civil Rights Department joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor at our Harbor City Clubhouse to mark a milestone in the city of L.A.

Through the City’s first participatory budgeting process, titled L.A. REPAIR, residents of Harbor Gateway, Wilmington, and Harbor City had the opportunity to vote on how to invest city dollars in their own neighborhoods, including a proposed $500,000 for BGCLAH's College Bound and Career Bound programs. The gathering recognized both the residents who voted and the start of the funded work.

What is L.A. REPAIR?

L.A. REPAIR (Los Angeles Reforms for Equity and Public Acknowledgment of Institutional Racism) is the City's equity-focused innovation fund and its first participatory budgeting pilot. It gave nine historically underserved communities, called REPAIR Zones, the power to allocate roughly $8.5 million in city funding, with an emphasis on community-designed programming.

Participatory budgeting placed the funding decision directly in residents' hands and the outcome reflects priorities that neighbors identified for themselves.

Why this matters for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor and our Community.

The money provided by L.A. REPAIR is more than just a grant.

BGCLAH's programs were placed on the ballot and selected through a public vote, which makes the funding a direct expression of our community’s needs and their trust in our organization to deliver these services.

We want to thank Councilmember Tim McOsker and the Los Angeles Civil Rights Department for their continued partnership in helping to bring this investment to the Harbor. We are grateful to our Harbor City Clubhouse for hosting the recognition and for its ongoing service to the community. Above all, we want to thank you to the residents whose votes made this possible.