We have a long way to go, so we will go together.

We are grateful for all those who have come before us to pave the way for survivor-led initiatives in every community. We understand that to get the farthest and make the most lasting impact we must collaborate with other survivors, and with agencies in our communities. One of our guiding principles comes from the following African Proverb, which was shared with Carissa during her first visit to San Diego’s Market Creek Plaza in 2008. She was looking for a road map for her own community based development project, and a board member of the Jacobs Family Foundation explained that there are no detailed road maps when you get started. She shared that in order to “get there” you need to have some guiding principles. The first principle for the board member was summed up with this quote:

“If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together.”

-African Proverb

We have a long journey ahead and we will make it because we have found ways to join together.

For those who want to learn more about getting there together, here are some of Jacobs Center’s most current learning tools, which includes a report on Resident Compensation.

Compensation for Survivors

Compensating survivors has proven to be a controversy and a challenge. It often leads to an increase in the number of survivor participants (due to added support). At RG trainings we have seen challenges due to budget constraints, and some survivors that would like to participate are not able to. We believe that compensation is necessary because the work of survivors is long-term and therefore must be sustainable. We do not ask survivors to attend our trainings unless we are able to offer a stipend or compensation.

The Jacob’s Center report on Resident Compensation is a summary of the lessons learned from over 20 years of experience compensating a group of residents for specific projects.

What we have learned about compensation. There are challenges to compensation when survivors are doing good work for their community. We have witnessed survivors give back until there is nothing left, and we encourage those of us who do too much to pull back and find a more balanced approach. 

*For more information about the Jacobs Center, please review their complete learning series and tools.