by Jazmine White & Ricka Davis-Sheard
The other day, as our team closed out of Adopt-A-Block, we started to discuss the all too familiar pressures and frustrations with trying to help people when the needs are greater than our capacity to meet them.
While our team isn’t equipped to solve system-wide failures with the resources we currently have, we did refocus our attention on what we can do in the meantime, while we work toward bigger solutions.
We cannot always solve large scale problems but we can show up… in the meantime.
We cannot house the unhoused but we can give them a shower, haircut, a meal, and access to mental health services… in the meantime.
In fact, we provided 74 showers in February last year, but we did 163 showers in February of this year… in the meantime.
We’re supplying people and showing our love through action… in the meantime.
We can’t solve the problem of crime and drug sales in Antioch, but we can pick up trash and have conversations with the community… in the meantime.
Because if you want to connect with the community, you have to show up, talk to people and build relationships… in the meantime.
This is why we’re having conversations with people where they share their heart and their struggles… in the meantime.
The problems weren’t made in three and a half years and they won’t be solved in three and a half years.
Don’t refuse to show up because the problem won’t be solved overnight.
We can’t solve every problem but they call us… in the meantime.
That's the power of showing up… in the meantime.
So while you might not know what to do in every given moment, but don’t forget to show up… in the meantime.
It’s often those places that make an impact we can’t measure or scale.
