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Hello Friend,
Resigned despair seems to be the theme as of late and it’s been rough on the community. I’m going to share my tried and true secret on how to thrive when it feels like every little thing hangs in the balance.
Have you noticed that we have a true income-based affordable housing community IN OLD TOWN on Remington Street just 2 blocks from Cohere? I’ll never forget an early meeting about that project where a developer *said out loud,* “those kind of people don’t deserve to live in Old Town.” If ever I could look back on my life and and feel a visceral change in who I was about to become, it’s that moment.
I was in that meeting because I was on the board of the Downtown Development Authority. That fucking developer saying that out loud unlocked a kind of vigor and perseverance in me I hadn’t quite experienced before. And also, I never would have had the change if I hadn’t been volunteering 4 hours/month to the board.
The feeling of finally having a “North Star” life purpose moment is a high everyone can chase. I remember looking at my fellow board members and saying, “we can do hard things. We might be the only organization who can pull this off.” And we sure did.
Of course there were dozens of other people and organizations and SO MUCH TIME involved in all of this. Federal affordable housing tax stuff is almost unknowable. The DDA staff should be winning prizes every 30 seconds for their visionary leadership and execution in making downtown one of the most desirable places to go in the United States.
It is so easy to rage online or spiral into a dark place when you concentrate on huge country-wide problems. Why not exert your energy on a local problem where you can see the fruits of your labors?
My vast Rolodex is ready and I’m completely willing to meet up with you and discuss how you might find your North Star and devote yourself to Fort Collins. Because you might just create a real solution that you can walk by every day. And that’s the opposite of despair.
Here are a couple places to turn to if you want to make meaningful change where you are.
Vindeket Foods (food instability)
Colorado Health Network (addiction, healthcare and mental health)
Neighbor to Neighbor (affordable housing)
Boards and Commissions (local policy) <— this is the most underrated way to influence local government by gaining legitimate power at the city
Outreach Fort Collins (street outreach to the unhoused)
Unitarian Church (social justice w/ a spiritual bend)
Explore Cohere with a tour and see if our community is a place you want to be.