News

Voting Is Now Open in Pawtucket and Central Falls

6.01.2023 — LISC StoriesHealth

The Pawtucket Central Falls Health Equity Zone has announced the final ballot and voting sites for the Together We Can: Participatory Budgeting project. All residents from both cities age 14 and older can vote on how to spend $385,000 to improve health in their communities. Residents do not need to be a registered voter to have a voice in this process.

Residents can vote for their desired programs online at DecideRI.org or at the Vote Party on Saturday, June 10th at Tides Family Service, 242 Dexter Street in Pawtucket from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Vote Party is a family-friendly event with food and music. Ballots will be available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Additional “pop-up” locations will be located at various locations at various times including at the Central Falls City Hall Tuesday, June 6 to Thursday, June 8th from 3-6 p.m.; Fogarty Manor, Gallego Court, Progreso Latino Food Pantry, the YMCA and more. Residents can access a current list of voting options through DecideRI.org.

“As a resident of Central Falls, a parent, and community advocate, The Together We Can Participatory Budgeting (PB) process has allowed us to elevate the voices of the average resident in Central Falls and Pawtucket,” said Carlene Fonesca, Central Falls resident and a Participatory Budgeting facilitator. “PB is giving our residents the opportunity to be active in their community and to have agency in the decision-making process when it comes to spending real money.”

The concept of Participatory Budgeting originated in Brazil in 1989 and has been successfully implemented in U.S. cities, including New York, Boston, and Chicago. Central Falls was the first city in Rhode Island to launch Participatory Budgeting in 2019.  There are now more than 10,000 participatory budgeting processes around the world, in cities, housing authorities, schools and other public agencies. 

This Participatory Budgeting process started last fall when the RI Department of Health, in partnership with EOHHS, allocated federal funding to two Health Equity Zones to conduct a pilot program to improve health outcomes by engaging residents to identify issues, develop programs and vote on the programs to be funded.  Last fall, Pawtucket and Central Falls residents submitted more than 600 ideas through community meetings, drop boxes, and on-line through DecideRI.org.  From January to May, more than 30 residents took those ideas and worked together on committees to develop the 11 projects for the ballot. 

“We have 11 amazing projects that came from community members, and now residents will decide which projects they want to see come to life to make our cities healthier,” said Fonseca. The projects that win the most votes, up to $385,000, will be funded.

“These are the kinds of actions that will help ensure that every person has a chance to live their highest potential—regardless of race, class, sex, gender, disability status, or ZIP code,” said Assistant Secretary Ana Novais, Executive Office of Health and Human Services. “Bottom line: the HEZ initiative is not just a program. It is infrastructure, and it is a movement that challenges people to prioritize equity, sit together, and change public health for the better.”

The Central Providence Health Equity Zone also is engaged in a Participatory Budgeting program and residents there will vote on proposals until June 20th.   For more information, visit Rhode Island’s Participatory Budgeting platform which includes voting options and project descriptions, at DecideRI.org.

PROJECTS ON THE BALLOT: