HORT Program
HORT 1.0 Evaluation Concluded: In October the evaluation process on our six HORT 1.0 Participants concluded. We want to thank everyone that assisted in the evaluation process and the HORT participants for their commitment to the process. At our Virtual House Meeting in October, we shared our learnings publicly for the first time and we look forward to publishing more details in the coming months.
HORT 2.0 Update: Hort 2.0 is now concluded with 5 of 8 participants receiving reparative transfers and two receiving approval for a “pause” to resume in spring of 2025. As a Board we are going through a strategic plan refresh to determine our direction over the next two years.
Looking Ahead: In 2025, we are exploring the idea of expanding our HORT program outside of Detroit for the first time. While we continue to evaluate this idea, when we enter a new city our desire is to do so with a partner who knows the landscape of the area. This fits with RepGen’s collaborative spirit and commitment to not prescribe solutions to communities but to find solutions in partnership. One key consideration is the reality that housing costs vary greatly across different areas and we are exploring increasing the reparative transfer amount to sustain the same impact we’ve had in Detroit.
Community Engagement & Activation Program
We continue to engage our community and the broader reparations community through in person and virtual house meetings, speaking at events and seminars and attending community events. In November, we hosted our first house meeting in Charlotte, NC. The event generated a lot of excitement about our program.
Looking ahead: We are seeking to bolster our in person house meeting program in 2025. If you are interested in hosting a house meeting or know anyone who would be interested, please reach out to [email protected].
Restorative Genealogy
One key change between HORT 1.0 and HORT 2.0 was a new requirement that every participant meet with a Restorative Genealogist to confirm they descend from an enslaved person in the United States. Consistent with RepGen’s approach of continuous learning, we have learned from many of our HORT participants that connecting with their unknown family history has been a reparative piece of our HORT program. This has led us to explore how we impact more people through our Restorative Genealogy program in 2025.
Evaluation
Thank you to the Reparations Finance Lab (RFL) who are now part of our evaluation and thought partner family. RFL’s contributions to the HORT 1.0 Evaluation Summary & Recommendations Report was invaluable. Also, look out for our impact report to be published in the first quarter of 2025.