The Perpetual Value of Participation: Building Community Resilience
The perpetual value of participation.
Part of what made Rē's recent ability to participate in a powerful way in the Hurricane Helene response arose from Rē's on-the-ground networked community.
We could partake because we are part of something.
People such as Dr Amanda Kemp kindly shared the donation page out to their own list serve, which also helped to increase the circles of awareness and participation.
We are not separate from the problem. Or rather, we are part of the wider web, and that means we can participate in responses and solutions.
When Rē & Growing Roots partnered team went from one part of Tennessee to another part of Tennessee, they were neighbors helping neighbors. Volunteers reached out from a spirit of mutual support, believing deeply in the necessity of community action. This was not professional aid organizations coming in from outside, though we were glad to be able to work alongside them.
The core, for us, is the understanding that our actions arise from our participation in our web of relationships. Right here, at home.
On the ground this past weekend, part of what the team needed to do in order to work together well was the work of getting to know one another - many people did not know each other. They were all part of the larger community network of teachers, community coordinators, former AmeriCorps and Peace Corps service members, first responders, and locally connected folks. All brought with them patience, flexibility, and willingness to show up and do what is needed. That's the kind of ethos that is one of the bases of a regenerative society - one that can survive even the most difficult and unexpected of circumstances.
Getting to know each other was essential to enable these individuals to work as a team, to understand what was happening, to comprehend the impact, and to figure out what it meant to offer practical support. So too was following local leadership.
Below, Ashlei shares a further reflection on her experience in this process.
But first, I want to bring your attention to the sheer value of participation, which is one of Rē's core dynamic values.
It informs what and how we respond, and our (relatively rare) leadership style of regularly trying to work with, not for, the people and places we are here to support.
Because we are part of this wider whole, of which you are an essential component, we know that we ourselves will be influenced by our participation.
Participating in a disaster relief situation like this is one expression of the value of participation.
Offering the upcoming Participatory Action Research Workshop is another expression. PAR is a way of bringing the values of participation into the process of generating research - which is another way of saying, of generating knowledge.
PAR seeks to create knowledge that is useful for the whole community, especially those people who are most impacted by the topic or outcomes of the research process.
This is why PAR is so helpful as a tool for community responses to collective issues, such as health and climate change.
So if you've been thinking about joining us for the upcoming workshop at the end of October, know that we would love to have your participation.... and this is a GREAT TIME to register!
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After the first long day, we all were a bit sore but ready to engage - this little group of humans was so ready to support and uplift and align each other’s skills and gifts to get them into action here. Most of us did not know each other - it seems that getting to know one was is another layer that is so important.
We needed that collective energy, including getting to know each other, on day two even more so. Day one we had a straightforward project, all together, where one could easily see and comprehend the impact. Day two we were split up and sent out to a few different sights to join efforts that were already ongoing. Folks (national and statewide volunteers and local community folks were tired and overwhelmed with many moving parts and jobs. We knew we were witnessing a community still figuring out the next steps. We saw the different layers folks go through when being offered help - these are people who are not used to needing help from anyone else. In these moments as safety was more secure we were witnessing folks slowly accepting how many of their belongings were gone - however precious, practical, and necessary.
We saw and experienced different layers of connection with the community, family, state, local national aid - government, religious, nongovernmental. One house needed to be gutted. The homeowner for their own respected reasons would not move out; another was adding to the massive piles of natural and manmade debris lining the sides of the roads; one was down a road with mud that was rutted out 3ft deep. There was some dissonance between the different groups. At one point on Saturday, we came upon some, Earthworks truckers (the construction vehicles the size of a house). They seemed very uncomfortable collaborating with National Guard volunteers and even the Red Cross that was being sent to try and access this road in a high-stress environment - understandable there was a lot of risk involved.
We also may have been witnessing entering the phase where the adrenalin is starting to wear off. This is the moment when community care is going to be more and more and more important…… the moment the long road starts settling, the moment when the stress and exhaustion start catching up to folks, the moment temperatures start dropping and seasonal change brings colds, and the moment our healing arts and mental health and community care practitioners will hopefully find their place and be uplifted and supported. We know that we are moving into a time when folks will need to breathe, have permission to take it day by day, to focus on basic needs, rest, and repair.
Later, we regrouped and asked for new assignments from the National Guard. That brought us to a home where we knew little about what we were going to find except that we would be working on fencing. We arrived and found a residential home with a HUGE FENCE down. Repairing was similar to a barn raising! Wow - and the couple had just found out their flood insurance dosnt’t cover any of the costs of repair. So it was important that we were there. Returning the giant fence from their neighbor’s yard, and re-installing it was a major collective task. The residents were in over their heads. We put the fence back up! as they attended to other pressing matters.
Your donation dollars allowed us to self-organize and team up with the homeowners to use their trailer and truck to pick up 15 bags of cement and some stabilizing two by-fours and some screws. Now, their dogs and chickens can be safely outside and the bears and wild boar can be safely outside on the other side of the fence as well!
One of our group members we quoted saying: “Everything is perfectly normal until it’s not! And then in the disaster zone, it’s really not normal. For sure: these people need ongoing help.”
Big thanks to these families for accepting a working group alongside them for the day.
We have already sent a refresh of PPE supplies to one family and will continue to stay in touch with them in kinship and camaraderie going forward. We brought extra hands, biceps, problem-solving skills, and resourcefulness along with a bunch of kind hearts who were looking to lift hammers and morals - thanks for supporting us to do so- we might organize to come back and would encourage more folks to do so as well!
Whatever items we are left with have been connected with two volunteer drop locations: one in Grundy County and the other is going to Milton in Florida.
Nothing is being wasted.
As we left, we received an open invitation from both households to come back and enjoy their river, their chicken eggs, their porch, trout fishing, and chainsawing lessons - there are so many ways people can and do extend their sense of appreciation and community.
Participatory Action Research for Epistemic Rebels Introductory Workshop
Sponsored by the Regenerative School, in partnership with the Highlander Research and Education Center, this 4-day workshop will provide an intensive grounding in the theory and practice of participatory action research.
October 30th to November 3rd, 2024
The Inclusive Walking Tour
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 2024
TIME: 1:00 - 4:00 pm
LOCATION: Mechanics Park, Biddeford
Community Change, Inc. and Biddeford-Saco Area SURJ will host the Inclusive Walking Tour, an intergenerational gathering that invites participants to slow down and be present with gratitude and care to the river that flows through the area, the land they are on, and the stories of the people who have developed a relationship with this place.