In March, I had the honor of traveling to Capitol Hill alongside Purpose Built Communities and our fellow Purpose Built Communities network members. During the day, we met with seven Georgia and Alabama senators and house representatives to share the impactful work we are doing alongside neighbors, and to advocate for partnership and significant funding from the federal level.
It was both invigorating and exhausting. After racing from office to office all day, I checked my pedometer. I had taken 19,895 steps!
Of course, the intensity of the day came as no surprise – me and fellow network member leaders were expecting to be running at full speed to connect and spread our message.
What did surprise me was how well known our work already was, and how genuinely receptive most officials were to the place-based approach. With one exception, everyone we spoke to was genuinely ready to engage in hard questions and search for solutions. I felt supported to know that the challenges and circumstances we are grappling with at the neighborhood level are not only important to us, but important to our leaders at the federal level, too. Despite the dominant narrative that our country is rife with division, I encountered a lot of unity about the many challenges neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment are facing. It was encouraging to see that alignment and the number of leaders who are really trying, regardless of their political affiliation.
In a couple of meetings, the familiarity with FCS in particular caught me off guard and filled me with hope. I had forgotten that Senator Ossoff had been to Community Grounds. Senator Warnock knew about Carver Market. Other officials were familiar with Purpose Built Communities and its network members. This long, hyper-geographically focused work has not gone unnoticed.
Seeing that awareness was energizing! As a leader that’s focused on a specific region of Atlanta, I’m not always aware of the impact that’s rippling from 47 years of work as an organization. Feeling known and seen was a revelation and a deep encouragement.
I left Capitol Hill with greater hope and determination than I had brought with me. We’re not unseen. Our work in Atlanta is making a broader impact. We are not alone in wanting to see neighborhoods become places of opportunity, access, and belonging.
Thank you for being a part of that.
– Jim Wehner
