You talked. I listened (and so did others).

Last night, I had a chance to facilitate a table at our second Community Listening Session. These sessions (more are being planned) will help inform United Way of King County’s overall plan to address the rising needs of food, housing, and other basic essentials in this economic downturn. My co-facilitator, Tracy, and I asked a series of questions to a table of representatives from area service providers. And then we shut up and listened. Notes are being compiled as I write this, but these are the highlights of what I heard:

We are all surrounded by messages of despair in the media, in our neighborhoods, on the faces of our clients and co-workers…and that makes it very difficult to wake up each morning and come in to try to do the right thing, when we know the right thing isn’t going to be enough for some people.

Volunteerism is way up, which is great! But it’s mostly up perhaps because so many people have been laid off, which is not so great. And it’s hard to manage this influx of help when co-workers that use to handle that are themselves being laid off.

Things will get better, and the economy will improve. We know that. But in the meantime, United Way should invest (and partner with others to do so) in getting people housed and keeping them housed, and providing food. Keep people from losing their basic needs, and then we [the other providers] can be more successful in helping them with other challenges and opportunities.

I am grateful to everyone who was in that room last night. Once the official write-up is completed, I will post it here for all to read and reflect on.

Patrick