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Dear Community, Since the beginning of 2022, the South Bend Financial Empowerment Team worked to develop the City’s first Financial Empowerment Blueprint. As a team, we worked to analyze the historical trends of wealth extraction and the challenges of wealth accumulation for the Black community, understand the impacts of structural racism on wealth building, and facilitate conversations across the community to understand how to address these ingrained and generational issues. To that end, we acknowledge the past efforts, ongoing wisdom, and kindness extended by City residents, and especially by the elders of our community as we ask, yet again, “what is the problem?”. Our team has been deliberate about every activity of this process being a part of a solution. We affirm the truths shared by the community regarding income levels, access to financing, and home values in the neighborhoods we studied. The work ahead is focused on wealth building, but also assisting residents in raising their incomes and connection to financial professionals to assist in navigating these generational challenges. This work arose out of not only research, but many personal conversations and stories, a strong Racial Wealth Data Panel discussion at the Century Center, a Boosts and Blocks visual display at the Civil Rights Heritage Center, Roundtable conversations with community leaders and experts, and the collaborative design and conversation around the Undesign the Redline exhibit at the downtown library. Without your participation in the process, we would not have been able to develop our community’s Blueprint. We are already in action around Blueprint initiatives. Our Pathway program administration is growing the number of employers participating in the program so “the last hired, first fired” narrative spoken of by Dr. King of Black America is less of the story in South Bend. We are collaborating with our Venues, Parks, and Art Summer Youth program to join us in alleviating the financial strain young teens often experience. We know these supports are but a continuation and we genuinely appreciate the community in allowing us to be part of an equitable future in South Bend. We will continue our hard work together to make South Bend a community where all residents are valued, have increased access to resources, and build wealth for themselves and their families. In Gratitude, The City of South Bend Financial Empowerment Team