YOUTUBE gMcBdi3Ch6k Project 2026 Official Kick-off
**Intro** 6 Mins -there may not be graphics and beats - [Jerry Norris](https://jerry.collective.thefledge.com) - 3 mins - Tanya - 3 mins
**What is this podcast?** 5 mins - Weekly 30 to 45 minutes - Vision for the future - Where community members needs are met by the community - Local needs gaps - Underlying causes of poverty - Gives people a call to action **What is Project 2026?** --Jerry ask Tanya - what was your reaction based on - 5 mins - how to fight fascism - not project 2025 --Tanya ask Jerry - what was the inspiration for that - 5 mins - The work is first rooted in sovereignty, if we fix it but do not own it, we might end up in the same spot as we are now - Imagine a community where we all have our basic needs met - I have a vision where the fledge, the houses, the farm are all cooperatively owned and governed - Where all or most of our micro-enterprises convert to a cooperative model and some focused on the basic needs and supporting infrastructure, slowly starving the broken systems **Why do we need this?** - what is ALICE? - Jerry - Poverty Statistics - 20 to 23% of Lansing History of Poverty in Lansing - ALICE Overview - Lansing - 50% of Lansing, 67% Mother run housholds ALICE Threshold
**Potential Solutions and Call to Actions** - 5 Mins - Cooperative Ownership Cooperative Principles - Worker Owned Co-ops - What else can you think of? Call to actions we can start tomorrow: - Identify Co-ops in that area that we can support - Brainstorm some other solutions - Important Meetings for the next week Show Up Calendar - Contact information for speaking up Speak-Up Contacts - where do you live and what are your unique problems? **Come Back** Posts on Fridays - like and subscribe References [History of Poverty in Lansing](https://collective.thefledge.com/view/welcome-visitors/view/project-2026/view/history-of-poverty-in-lansing) [ALICE Threshold](https://collective.thefledge.com/view/welcome-visitors/view/project-2026/view/alice-threshold)
**Underlying Causes** - "Poverty is a policy choice" - Lost control and ownership - sovereignty - Causal loop diagrams for everything