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When searching for the answers
The solutions
The wisdom
For how we heal what ails us
For how we make well where we are ill
For how we find the cure to what has harmed us
For how we find the medicine that will make us feel
Better
Make us see
Each Other
Make us Care
For Our neighbors
Make us alter
The systems and behaviors
That have left some behind
That have left many without
That have found those living in pockets of poverty, within rural landscapes, remote cities and
boroughs, and small mountain towns
On the edge of opportunity
Seeking hope and help for the future of their home
For the well-being of their community
When we are seeking the ideas and sparks of ingenuity
The answer will definitely come back to what it always has been and what it always will be
The power is with the people
The every day boots on the ground neighbors and workers who exist, live off of, feed off of the
land
And
The environment around them
And
The people who surround them
Who stand up and stand in for them
Day to day
The next door neighbors
Plant and factory laborers
That one doctor in town
The community organizers
The small town mayors
The grocery store workers
Teachers and bus drivers
The waitress working the double shift
The up before the sun 9-5ers
Living in the community
Working, doing the best they can to build their home
These are the people with the remedy, who hold the answers and the cures
These are the folks that our systems and solutions should depend on
For inspiration
For education
For planning
And understanding
Exactly
What the people need
Exactly how to design for a sustainable and equitable future
The people who live in these spaces
Are at the center of the playbook
For the people closet to the problems are the people who hold on to the solutions
That is what local control really means
It’s when all forces align
And prioritize community engagement
It’s when resources are shared
It is found within meaningful collaboration
It’s working side by side
It is when the organizations
And the people are at the table
That is where we find sustainable and equitable solutions
Like
humane housing, lifelong learning, and reliable transportation
And all of the things that we need to ensure that we are well
That our families and our neighbors are taken care of
Local control is fostering an environment
Where the people are empowered to craft their spaces with love
To decide what the future of their home looks and feels like
Local control is structuring and restructuring
From the inside
It is building by the people
It is healing from within
It is at the center of how we have always cared for each other
It is where the process should begin and end
In centering the peoples voice
That is how we foster healthy communities
That is how we remind our neighbors that they have a choice
Of what happens in their home
Of which programs and processes should be in place
Of which places and spaces belong
This is where we find the future of how we heal together
This is how we continue to build healthy places
And Communities of Care
With creative collaboration
Inspired and inclusive activation
And the people who occupy these spaces
The people who have always been there.
– Hannah Hasan
