Romero Institute facts for kids
| Mission | The Institute uses a combination of public education, community organizing, and legal action to bring about structural change to address the issues that threaten our human family. |
|---|---|
| President | Daniel Sheehan |
| Head | Sara Nelson |
| Location |
Santa Cruz, California
|
| Website | RomeroInstitute.org |
The Romero Institute is a group in Santa Cruz, California, that helps people through law and public policy. It is a non-profit organization, meaning it doesn't aim to make money. The group was started by people who used to work at the Christic Institute. It is named after a famous leader from El Salvador, Óscar Arnulfo Romero.
The Romero Institute works on three main projects:
- The Lakota People's Law Project, which helps people in the Dakotas.
- The New Paradigm Institute, which is based in California.
- Greenpower, also based in California.
Contents
How it All Started: The Christic Institute
The Christic Institute was a legal group that helped people. It was founded in 1980 by Daniel Sheehan, his wife Sara Nelson, and a priest named William J. Davis. They had won an important case called Silkwood. After that, they wanted to keep helping people through the law.
The Christic Institute helped people affected by the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. In 1985, they took legal action to get money for people harmed by groups who had hurt civil rights marchers in 1979. The Institute also helped Catholic workers who were giving safety to refugees from El Salvador. This was part of the American Sanctuary Movement.
The Christic Institute was based in Washington, D.C. It also had offices in other big U.S. cities. The group received money from many small donations across the country. They also got support from organizations like the New World Foundation.
In 1988, the Christic Institute faced a big challenge. A court ordered them to pay a large amount of money. This was because a lawsuit they filed was seen as not having enough legal basis. The court's decision was upheld by higher courts. The Institute also lost its special non-profit status.
After this, Daniel Sheehan and Sara Nelson decided to start fresh. In 1992, they became the leaders of the Romero Institute. This new group continued their work of helping people.
Other Important Projects
New Paradigm Institute (NPI)
The New Paradigm Institute (NPI) was started in 2023. It was founded by Daniel Sheehan and Sara Nelson. NPI is part of the Romero Institute. Jim Garrison joined later that year to lead the Washington, D.C. office.
NPI was created to follow the progress of a new law about UFOs. This law is called the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA). The main goal of NPI is to tell the public the truth about UFOs and possible non-human visitors. They also want to encourage people to ask the government for full information about these topics.
Lakota People's Law Project (LPLP)
The Lakota People's Law Project (LPLP) began in 2004. It started with a group of Lakota grandmothers. They were working on issues related to the Indian Child Welfare Act. This law helps keep Native American children connected to their families and tribes.
The "Lakota Child Rescue Project" was created to help Lakota children return to their families. It also worked to create a special foster care program for tribes. This program received money directly from the federal government.
In 2016, LPLP started working on land and water issues. This happened during the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. These protests took place on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe land in North Dakota. LPLP helped defend people who were protesting. They argued that these people had to resist the pipeline to protect their families and drinking water. Later, the serious charges against one of the protesters were dropped.
Greenpower
Greenpower was founded in early 2016. It is a group that helps communities move away from fossil fuels. Their goal is to use more local renewable energy, like solar or wind power.
One of their successes was helping to create Monterey Bay Community Power. This program allows communities to choose their energy source. It serves San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties. Greenpower is now working to help other parts of California get similar community energy programs.
