05/13/2025
Well said my friend...
https://www.facebook.com/share/1C7RPX22Ae/
The recent news article targeting an individual who is unhoused has been shared time and time again with me, and I think I’m ready to say something.
A lot of times when horrible things happen in our community, myself and a few others get tagged with the request “Mel can you help?” It’s life giving and tiring all at once. There are so many of us day in and day out whose goal is to better our community. There is so much pain here in Chautauqua County. The last few times I have visited our pantry, and it’s the emptiest I have ever seen. My heart hurts because I know what that means. I learned pretty early on the hard way that as a Social Worker, I cannot save the world alone, and what was even harder to learn is I can’t save everyone. Not everyone wants to be saved. Also, a lot of people say they want to help, but don’t. The most important thing I learned however, is that for as much pain as there is, there are SO MANY GOOD PEOPLE here.
I have been fortunate to build a network of good, and as I get stressed looking at this article, I have to remind myself we have done a lot of good work over the years.
I started Partners in Kind with a few different visions in mind. Two of them stand out as I read the article:
We must remember that almost ALL OF US are ONE BAD DAY away from complete financial ruin. A diagnosis, a pink slip, a house fire, etc. etc. You really just never know.
We are more alike, than we are different. Even the people we fight on the internet with. 🙂
The last few years have divided us, and it was nice to see people from different backgrounds agree on the topic, that humans deserve to be treated like they are human.
But here’s another question:
How did we get here?
How did we get so far away from one another?
See the whole “well it’s not me so I don’t care” thing, that’s got to stop, because guess what, it could be you, quicker than you think. I have held the hands of mothers going through the unthinkable. Bagged up hygiene supplies for teens couch surfing. Listened to a once successful business owner cry at the thought of leaving his family for drug rehab after a life changing back injury. The stories I’ve held for folks over the years, some of them still keep me up at night.
Want to defeat the homeless crisis?
It’s not impossible, but it is multi-faceted. It is WAY more than “build a shelter”, as treating the unhoused population is a complex systemic issue. The easiest way? Rebuild the community, thought by thought. What I mean by that is this. When you are about to say or do something, think to yourself-does this benefit the greater good or just me? Before you toss a coffee cup out your car window, think about the person who will eventually pick it up. If what you are about to do hurts the collective, then don’t freaking do it. If we all just spent 20% of our day giving a crap about others, we would see a change.
This is how you can start:
You can start by coaching a little league team.
You can start by donating books to schools.
You can start by taking your buy one get one free items, and setting them in a local pantry.
You can start by mowing your neighbor’s grass because they work two jobs.
You can start by shopping locally.
You can start by voting for people who have demonstrated that they care about their constituents. All of them.
You can start by fostering, esp. TEENS.
You can start by donating your money to organizations who are doing the work.
You can start by teaching a trade or a skill.
You can start by teaching your children to be kind, and include one another.
You can start by volunteering at a soup kitchen, or with a nonprofit organization.
You can start by donating feminine hygiene products.
You can start by thinking about how the systems we rely on are broken, and work to change them.
You can start by running for office.
You can start by teaching your children how to stand up for kids being picked on.
You can start by looking at someone different from you and instead of leaning into your disgust, you lean in with empathy and curiosity instead.
You can start by remembering that we truly do belong to each other.
The best way to start making a change in your community is to simply start.
I have always told my volunteers, “there is no wrong way to help people”, and I mean that.
We NEVER have any idea what someone else is going through, ever.
Just show up. Do the work.
There are PLENTY of organizations doing the work in Chautauqua County, trust me.
Help them, as we cannot shoulder this all alone for much longer.
If you remember anything about this post, remember this.
We look to people in “suits” in big cities for the answers and expect them to fix our area. It’s not ever going to be them, it will *always* be us.
There will come a time that someone you love more than anything in this world will need a village. When that time comes will you be able to look in the mirror proudly knowing that you helped make this community better? If that answer is no, then let’s work together to change that.
Be well, stay kind.
Keep love local.
✌️💙
Mel
