When Brenda Gail Hudson’s father died in her arms at 15, her family unraveled. Her mother and older siblings scattered. She dropped out of school, ended up living on the streets, and became addicted to meth and alcohol. “Homelessness creeps up on you,” she reflects today.
Now 55 years old and 12 years clean, Hudson never imagined she’d one day be contributing to policy ideas to combat youth homelessness. But that chance came as part of a citizens’ assembly in Bend, Oregon, where she worked alongside two dozen other Deschutes County residents.
“I’m not educated,” said Hudson, who runs her own housekeeping business. “But people are listening to me. It’s the first time in my life that I ever felt my voice mattered.”
Brenda Gail Hudson, who lived on the streets herself as a teenager, was among the Citizens’ Assembly participants. (Photo Credit Masha Hamilton)
The Central Oregon Civic Action Project organized the citizen’s assembly in partnership with DemocracyNext, launched in Paris in 2022, Healthy Democracy, based in Portland, Oregon, and the Laboratory for the American Conversation at Oregon State University-Cascades. The Rockefeller Foundation supported the gathering as part of its work to foster democratic innovations to bridge differences and unlock consensus.
“Democracy is about solving our common problems together in a way that everyone can trust. Citizens’ assemblies show that the toolbox for doing this isn’t limited to elections, political parties, and elected representatives,” said Kevin O’Neil, Managing Director, Innovation, The Rockefeller Foundation. “When you set up regular people with the right support and ask them to deliberate among themselves about a problem they care about, they’ll find a way forward.”
Assembly delegates were chosen through a public lottery, balanced along demographic lines and party affiliation to reflect the makeup of their county. They met for five days over two weekends at Oregon State University-Cascades, earning $15 per hour. Initial outreach included 12,500 households and 250 hand-delivered invitations to homeless citizens.
Deschutes County, with about 200,000 residents, is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans with a majority of non-affiliated and independent registered voters.
Gathering Diverse Voices
Max Chang, the youngest assembly member, marked his 17th birthday on the final day of this democratic exercise.
“I’ve heard a whole bunch of perspectives I would never have come in contact with otherwise,” Chang said.
“I can see how people came to their points of view now that I’m in a room with them and we can talk. Maybe if we can accomplish this as a community, we can do it as a country.”
Max Chang spends his 17th birthday as a participant in the Citizens’ Assembly. (Photo Credit Masha Hamilton)
Scott, a semi-retired 65-year-old traffic engineer who wanted to be identified only by his first name, said he would have liked to have spent the weekend building raised beds for his raspberries, but was glad he’d attended. “It has given me more faith in democracy,” he said. “I like that the demographics were statistically selected so you don’t have one dominant viewpoint.”
To learn about youth homelessness, the assembly heard from 17 expert presenters, including several they specifically requested. To nurture dialogue, organizers used breakout groups, rotated seating, and prompted daily conversations.
“The process was designed to elicit an empathy that is natural to us as humans, but that we often lose in virtual interactions,” said Josh Burgess, DemocracyNext’s Oregon program lead and co-founder of the Central Oregon Civic Action Project. “People are sharing very personal things during this assembly, and staying after the day ends to chat. All this increases the chances of successful collaboration.”
Democracy’s Impacts
- Democratization increases GDP per capita by 20-25 percent over time, studies show.
- Democracies often have stronger trade and economic interdependence, which can discourage conflict, and systems in place that make it harder for leaders to unilaterally declare war.
- Democracies are more active in international climate change cooperation negotiations, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
- And as democratic societies allow for public participation, free flow of information, and civil society engagement, this can create pressure for stronger climate policies. “Public engagement is a critical component in building a collective public mandate for climate policy,” notes the Centre for Public Impact.
- But global freedom has declined for the 18th consecutive year in 2023, according to Freedom House, a nonprofit funded primarily by the U.S. government which has published reports on the annual state of global democracy since 1973. Forty-two countries became more autocratic in 2023, and political rights and civil liberties diminished in 52 countries in 2023.
Hoping For More
A one-off assembly is not what anyone wants. Participants, organizers, and observers alike expressed a strong desire for two outcomes: action on their recommendations, and more assemblies, both in Oregon and globally.
To address the first concern, Burgess engaged city and county officials early, securing written commitments to consider all recommendations and report back on actions taken. Public deliberations will occur in November, with a vote in December. Assembly delegates are forming a volunteer committee to attend these sessions.
“Without action resulting from this, it is a lot of sound and fury that ultimately signifies nothing,” said delegate Benjamin Loukoumidis, 34, a systems administrator for a local finance company.
A Citizens’ Assembly participant takes notes during a session. (Photo Credit Masha Hamilton)
As for the second concern, more citizens’ assemblies are already in the planning stages. DemocracyNext is collaborating with officials to hold three next year in Vilnius, Lithuania, Esh-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, and Kerewan, The Gambia. In the U.S., a small but growing number of localities are preparing for assemblies on issues like county charter reform and urban planning.
In Central Oregon, Burgess anticipates one or two assemblies in 2025, though details are still taking shape. “We are very deliberately building a model that can be replicated, as well as a strategic plan with the local Council of Governments and Oregon State University-Cascades to establish a permanent civic engagement hub for the region,” he said.
Before delegates filed out at the end of Day Five, many expressed satisfaction with the experience.
“I came to this process as a skeptic. Thanks for giving me hope,” said one woman, tears catching in her voice.
“I was scared that I would be walking into a room of people diametrically opposed to what I believe in. But the cordiality and respect was inspiring,” added a man.
“It’s been really emotional for me, hearing what homeless youth go through,” said delegate Quinn Oliver, 27. “But I am glad I got to use my voice to benefit my community. And it gives me hope that people came from all walks of life to figure this out together.”
For Hudson, the delegate who once lived on the streets herself, the citizens’ assembly clarified her next move: she’s determined to work directly with homeless youth. “Then, 40 years later,” she said, “I can finally say my dad didn’t die in vain.”
