ISSUE BASED WORKING GROUPS
Education Working Group
The Education Working Group is made up of individuals who are concerned with issues regarding public education in New Hampshire, particularly from the K-12 level. Members come from a variety of backgrounds. Some, but not all have professional experience in education, but all share a commitment to a strong public education system. We discuss ongoing topics that affect students, parents, teachers, and school administrators - as well as the taxpayers of New Hampshire. Much of the focus is on the legislative process and how that affects education in general. We strategize actions we can take, such as writing letters to the editor, contacting our legislators, or testifying at legislative hearings.
The Education Working Group meets on Zoom twice a month, typically the first and third Monday of the month at 5:00 PM. Any individual is welcome to submit a topic or topics for the group. We welcome anyone who shares our concerns with public education and would like to contribute to our discussions.
Voting Rights Working Group
The Voting Rights Working Group works in coalition with other organizations across NH to defend and protect the most foundational right of our democracy: the right to have our voices be counted at the ballot box. We advocate for safe, fair and accessible elections and fight against efforts to restrict ot suppress the vote. We work against gerrymandering and for fair maps. We seek to dismantle the corrosive impact of Citizens United and big money in politics.
The Voting Rights Working Group provides a grassroots presence at the State House by signing in on legislation, holding visibilities, contacting lawmakers and testifying on important bills. We strive to keep the broader public informed about voting rights through action alerts, letters to the editor and educational events.
We welcome anyone and everyone in the fight to defend our democracy! The Voting Rights Working Group meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month from 5:30 to 6:30.
Human Rights Working Group
The Human Rights Working Group is committed to supporting and defending human rights. We speak out against all forms of oppression and discrimination including racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and other forms of bigotry. We advocate for the civil rights of those who are marginalized/minoritized due to their gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, mental illness, physical illness, and/or citizenship status.The Human Rights Working Group helps to inform and alert KSC members of opportunities for advocacy, allyship, and action. We continue to work alongside our coalition partners and allies to help build a stronger advocacy network and a louder voice as we strive for social justice in all these areas.
The Human Rights Working Group does not presently have regularly scheduled meetings. We communicate by email and welcome any new members interested in joining us.
Environment, Energy and Climate Working Group
Our mission is to promote and protect the health and sustainability of our environment. The Kent Street Environment Working Group merged with like-minded NH groups that share our goal of sustainability to form the NH Network- Environment, Energy, and Climate in order to amplify our efforts working on common issues. There are separate working sub-groups for Climate, Environment, Legislation, and Plastics. Members keep updated on issues including legislation that will have an effect on our environment and promote actions necessary to protect our environment.
The EEC WG does not have regularly scheduled meetings, but all are welcome to join the NH Network meetings for Climate, Legislation and Plastics. We communicate by email and Basecamp, and welcome any new members interested in joining us. The website is newhampshirenetwork.org
Health Care & Reproductive Rights Working Group
Kent Street’s Healthcare Working Group was formed in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Our mission is to advocate for improvements in the health and healthcare of all Granite Staters. Our strategy is to work in conjunction with other local health advocacy groups such as Planned Parenthood, the New Hampshire Public Health Association, New Futures, Granite State Progress, the State Medical Society, the NH branch of the National Alliance for Mental Illness and many other organizations. We seek to improve access to care, lower out of pocket health expenses, incentivize more person-focused, higher quality of health care and lessen health outcome-disparities by improving equity at all levels of the healthcare system. Our advocacy methods include writing letters to local news outlets, sending emails to and speaking with our legislators about proposed bills to improve the health and care of our community and submitting testimony concerning bills before the State Legislature.
The Health Care & Reproductive Rights Working Group has regularly scheduled meetings – in person, zoom or hybrid – from 6:00 – 7:00 on the third Monday of each month. Members are on the Kent Street Coalition Basecamp HQ for general notifications and communicate with each other by email. Our Working Group welcomes new members, especially those with specific concerns or difficult experiences with our healthcare system.
Education Working Group
The Education Working Group is made up of individuals who are concerned with issues regarding public education in New Hampshire, particularly from the K-12 level. Members come from a variety of backgrounds. Some, but not all have professional experience in education, but all share a commitment to a strong public education system. We discuss ongoing topics that affect students, parents, teachers, and school administrators — as well as the taxpayers of New Hampshire. Much of the focus is on the legislative process and how that affects education in general. We strategize actions we can take, such as writing letters to the editor, contacting our legislators, or testifying at legislative hearings.
The Education Working Group meets on Zoom twice a month, typically the first and third Monday of the month at 5:00pm. Any individual is welcome to submit a topic or topics for the group. We welcome anyone who shares our concerns with public education and would like to contribute to our discussions.
Voting Rights Working Group
The Voting Rights Working Group works in coalition with other organizations across NH to defend and protect the most foundational right of our democracy: the right to have our voices be counted at the ballot box. We advocate for safe, fair and accessible elections and fight against efforts to restrict ot suppress the vote. We work against gerrymandering and for fair maps. We seek to dismantle the corrosive impact of Citizens United and big money in politics.
The Voting Rights Working Group provides a grassroots presence at the State House by signing in on legislation, holding visibilities, contacting lawmakers and testifying on important bills. We strive to keep the broader public informed about voting rights through action alerts, letters to the editor and educational events.
We welcome anyone and everyone in the fight to defend our democracy! The Voting Rights Working Group meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month from 5:30 to 6:30pm.
Human Rights Working Group
The Human Rights Working Group is committed to supporting and defending human rights. We speak out against all forms of oppression and discrimination including racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and other forms of bigotry. We advocate for the civil rights of those who are marginalized/minoritized due to their gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, mental illness, physical illness, and/or citizenship status.The Human Rights Working Group helps to inform and alert KSC members of opportunities for advocacy, allyship, and action. We continue to work alongside our coalition partners and allies to help build a stronger advocacy network and a louder voice as we strive for social justice in all these areas.
The Human Rights Working Group does not presently have regularly scheduled meetings. We communicate by email and welcome any new members interested in joining us.
Environment, Energy, & Climate Working Group
Our mission is to promote and protect the health and sustainability of our environment. The Kent Street Environment Working Group merged with like-minded NH groups that share our goal of sustainability to form the NH Network- Environment, Energy, and Climate in order to amplify our efforts working on common issues. There are separate working sub-groups for Climate, Environment, Legislation, and Plastics. Members keep updated on issues including legislation that will have an effect on our environment and promote actions necessary to protect our environment.
The EEC WG does not have regularly scheduled meetings, but all are welcome to join the NH Network meetings for Climate, Legislation and Plastics. We communicate by email and Basecamp, and welcome any new members interested in joining us. The website is newhampshirenetwork.org.
Health Care & Reproductive Rights Working Group
Kent Street’s Healthcare Working Group was formed in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Our mission is to advocate for improvements in the health and healthcare of all Granite Staters. Our strategy is to work in conjunction with other local health advocacy groups such as Planned Parenthood, the New Hampshire Public Health Association, New Futures, Granite State Progress, the State Medical Society, the NH branch of the National Alliance for Mental Illness and many other organizations. We seek to improve access to care, lower out of pocket health expenses, incentivize more person-focused, higher quality of health care and lessen health outcome-disparities by improving equity at all levels of the healthcare system. Our advocacy methods include writing letters to local news outlets, sending emails to and speaking with our legislators about proposed bills to improve the health and care of our community and submitting testimony concerning bills before the State Legislature.
The Health Care & Reproductive Rights Working Group has regularly scheduled meetings — in person, zoom or hybrid — from 6:00 – 7:00pm on the third Monday of each month. Members are on the Kent Street Coalition Basecamp HQ for general notifications and communicate with each other by email. Our Working Group welcomes new members, especially those with specific concerns or difficult experiences with our healthcare system.
ACTION TEAMS
Visibility Action Team
The goal of the KSC Visibility Team is to SHOW UP on behalf of the issues we care about, in support of our legislative champions, and as a means of holding elected officials accountable. We do this in different ways and at different times, but almost always holding signs - though sometimes we use costumes, art installations, and street theater as a way of getting our message across. We are the boots on the ground for progressive legislative advocacy.
During the legislative session, we are at the State House two to three days a week in support of – or in opposition to – various bills. We have learned over time that often our most important role is to stand with Democratic legislators, giving them support and encouragement as they return to Concord time and again to fight the good fight. Year round, we stand on a busy corner every Friday in Concord, holding signs on priority issues, encouraging members of the broader community to pay attention and take action.
And always, we stand ready to show up — often at a moment’s notice, as events unfold. Whether it is publicly as the Kent Street or behind the scenes supporting our allies and friends, we believe in the power of presence and witness. We welcome new members who have specific or general interest — especially those who might be interested in forming local Visibility teams in their towns / regions. There is no requirement for continuous participation — showing up once-in-a-while is most welcome.
Postcard Action Team
The goal of the Postcard Action Team is to promote advocacy and progressive legislative issues by educating constituents and/or legislators via handwritten items such as postcards and index cards. Our primary focus is both to highlight topics of interest to our working groups and to support the Kent Street Coalition’s goals and values as expressed in our Mission Statement. Postcards may be written by Kent Street volunteers and affiliated groups. Postcards will be sent to legislators or constituents as deemed appropriate by Kent Street Coalition and the postcard sponsor. The Postcard Action Team does not have regularly scheduled meetings. We communicate by email and welcome any new members interested in joining us.
The LTE Project Action Team
The LTE Project is a statewide Letters to the Editor (LTE) campaign designed to:
- Inform New Hampshire voters of the radical-right legislation being proposed and enacted by the state Legislature and often signed by Chris Sununu.
- Reinforce the New Hampshire values average citizens cherish and explain how these values are under constant attack
- Identify specific policies advocated by the Governor and individual legislators that are far beyond those acceptable to the vast majority of New Hampshire voters
- Flood our local NH newspapers with as many progressive messages as possible and amplify these messages on social media
LTE Project members wrote and submitted, and NH papers published hundreds of LTEs during the last election cycle. The Project offers a lively, private project management tool called Basecamp designed to communicate, review and edit each other’s proposed LTEs, offer advice, provide resources, chat, and more. There is no requirement for writing a specific number of LTEs — members move in and out of daily/weekly/monthly activity depending on their evolving interests and the flow of current events.
We always welcome new members to the LTE Project.
Canvassing Action Team
Historically the Kent Street Coalition has mounted significant canvassing activity in the Concord region in the final months of each election cycle. This year, we will join a new statewide effort called Conversation Canvassing NH (CC NH). This is a version of Deep Canvassing that was adopted by the Grafton County Democrats for the 2022 election. They call it “Conversation Canvasing” and conducted 10 Training Workshops on the technique with 75 volunteers in 6 counties (including CC4D and Loudon Dems & Independents). CC NH has been established to continue this effort into the 2024 cycle.
CC NH’s guiding principles are to: (1) engage volunteers at the grassroots level in listening conversations; and (2) develop statewide, sustainable, year-round canvassing teams dedicated to progressive values. CC NH will identify, train and motivate up to 50 geographic groups throughout NH. Training Workshops will begin in the early spring of 2023 and continue based on need from late spring 2023 through election day 2024. Door-to-door canvassing will begin in late spring 2023. Initial canvassing will be issue-based. This will transition into candidate support in the summer of 2024.
CC NH welcomes any and all volunteers interested in becoming involved in what has been proven to be the most effective way to increase progressive turnout.
Kent Street Coalition Book Club
The Kent Street Coalition Book Club began meeting spring of 2020 when COVID prevented us from having in-person meetings and seeing each other at the State House. The club was created to continue the community that Kent Street Coalition provides to members. We meet at 7pm on the 4th Thursday of the month on Zoom. Everyone is welcome at any time. We read a wide variety of books — both fiction and non-fiction.
Please contact membership@kentstreetcoalition.org for information about how to join a working group.