We are excited to be working on a Social Listening and Public Storytelling project this year.
In this moment when policy & society must grapple with the inadequate provision of housing (& wages to support those housing costs), the narratives of people for whom the system has not worked must be acknowledged and understood. While each individual circumstance may be different, as a society being familiar with the myriad ways a person can be denied housing would inform how better to provision resources at the state & local level to address that problem.
Systemically we know that when people are unable to identify with or relate to the life struggles of a marginalized group, policy & social attitudes towards that group tend to be counterproductive, ineffective or even harmful. Building a cohesive community that includes unhoused people and works to repair the systems which have excluded them from housing and other assistance begins with someone taking time to listen. We as staff and volunteers will be having conversations with unhoused individuals (and compensating them) and presenting the findings in the upcoming months.
Peace and Ceasefire in Gaza
We hold a weekly vigil on Wednesdays in Bangor, for peace and ceasefire from 12-12:30pm in front of the city hall.
We also coordinate with likeminded individuals and organizations who are demonstrating peacefully for an end to conflict.