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Foundation launches 5-year strategic plan for Marion County

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A local organization is laying out its plan to dismantle systemic racism in Indianapolis.

The Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) announced the five-year plan Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The plan is called Inclusive City.

The goal is to empower people and change systems the foundation says unfairly hold people back. The plan focuses on areas such as affordable family housing, investing in neighborhood culture and criminal justice reform.

Neighborhood ambassadors say it’s time for things to change in Indianapolis.

Beatrice Beverly, a Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood ambassador, said, “We’ve often heard the word ‘underserved.’ We haven’t been underserved. It’s not about something we haven’t been given. It’s been a lack of respect and recognition for who we are. ‘Unappreciated’ is the right word.”

CICF is also creating a council of 20 community members to serve as accountability partners.