What does it take to truly change our communities?
What kind of community would you love to live in?
In October 2019, Antioch made headlines as it was ranked the worst city in the Bay Area to live in. Discontent doesn’t exist in Antioch alone, nearly half of Bay Area residents are considering moving away from the Bay Area altogether.
While there are a variety of reasons why Antioch was ranked most miserable, and why many people want to high tail it out the Bay Area, these statistics all exist to diagnose and label what’s going on in our communities. Statistical tools are helpful, but many people took the label as a death sentence. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “Antioch has just gotten so bad” from people not only outside the community, but from within it as well.
I’m not going to deny that problems exist, but why does it seem that our only solution to solving the problems facing our communities, seems to be- Get out! In other words, the problem is never ours to solve. It always, somehow exists outside of us.
I’ve watched as people moved up and moved on from my city, some young, and some older, claiming how “bad” things have gotten. However, I see very few people take a stand for their communities and refuse to let them fall to the wayside. It’s easy to move away from a problem, but it’s a lot harder to roll up our sleeves and fix what’s right in front of us.
Cities are made up of people. That means our city is made up of people like me, and people like you. If this is our city, or our county, then that means we’re going to have to take ownership of it. A city is simply a reflection of the choices of the people who live there. If we choose not to care, then we’ll find ourselves in a city that seems careless.
Luckily, this also works in reverse. If we choose to care for our city, and love it, and contribute to the welfare of others, we’ll find that we live in a much better community.
It might sound cheesy, or simplistic, but it’s also true and powerful when we take it to heart-
Our communities need us.
SHARE Community exists to do just that, to share-
Sharing
Hope
Abundance
Resources and
Encouragement
Because these are the things our community is most in need of.
We exist not just to do the work, or care for the community “for” other people, but to inspire other people- YOU READING THIS- to also care for your community. We want to provide opportunities for others to step in, step up, and contribute in whatever way they can to build a better community for all those involved. We can create positive change, but it starts with us.
Explore our website to find more ways to get involved!