This is a toolkit for public health folks to engage in budget advocacy — at the local, state/territorial, and national levels.
In light of the ongoing uprisings against anti-Black racism and other forms of institutionalized violence, this toolkit aims to equip public health folks with concrete tools to advocate for divesting in harmful systems including policing and imprisonment, and investing in health.
Budget and tax policies do not operate in neutral ways, and without intervention only perpetuate an inequitable distribution of resources and power caused by white supremacy, colonialism, classism, and the resulting state-sponsored violence we see harming Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. Public health workers can address unhealthy systems by critically examining unhealthy budgets. We know communities are healthier when people have their basic needs met — affordable housing, jobs with dignity, safe working conditions, living wages, quality schools, access to food and health care, and more.