On November 30, 2022, Pathways to Resilience hosted a Learning Network session highlighting the importance of involving people with lived experience in the design and implementation of policies and programs that impact them. The session featured Cherene Caracao, founder and CEO of Promise Resource Network and Pathways to Resilience Expert Advisory Committee member, and William Kellibrew, international advocate for survivors of trauma. The discussion considered barriers to engaging people with lived experience, highlighted successful policymaking born from the efforts of survivors, and offered strategies for uplifting the voice and choice of people with lived experience. Speakers offered strategic guidance for meaningful engagement of people with lived experience:
- Acknowledge their expertise
- Involve them early, often, and at all levels of design
- Honor and demonstrate their value with appropriate compensation
- Make participation accessible by meeting people where they are
- Become trauma-informed and avoid re-traumatization by asking people to “tell their stories”
To learn more about these strategies, please see the Tip Sheet, “Nothing About Us Without Us” Tips for Involving People with Lived Experience in Policymaking and Program Design, and watch the recording of this Learning Network session below.