Together We Can

By Sandi Gerdes, Executive Director

“Our joint conviction is that much, much more is possible than people ordinarily think.” — Rosamund Stone Zander, The Art of Possibility

It’s so easy to constrict ourselves. It’s easy to believe that what the world tells us is possible, is indeed what is possible. When I get stuck in this mindset I lose hope, and I lose energy. I can’t function. Instead, I need to find a place where problems and constraints are puzzles to be solved. Solutions exist, if only we allow ourselves to break outside the boundaries the world has created, or that we’ve created for ourselves.

In the past few years, I’ve shared that hope has been hard to come by, that problems seem knottier and solutions less evident. I’ve also shared that community is what consistently brings me out of the darkness and into a more hopeful space.

A friend of mine recently shared this perspective on why our work is so challenging: “The system is not broken, it is operating as designed, and it’s a disastrous design that assumed:

  1. A cheap and plentiful labor market (working poor and immigrants).
  2. That community living would be cheaper than congregate living.
  3. Government oversight, regulations and licensing (without additional funding) is going to make people safe and create quality support.
  4. Less than 15% overhead, and an expectation that organizations use that to invest in their leaders, are innovative and have capacity for growth.”

When I first took this position, I adopted the slogan, “Together we can.” I told staff at the time that I could only be successful — the organization could only be successful — if we were all working together. I continue to use those words, particularly in tough times. Every person is an important piece of the puzzle and brings something to our collective work. Right now, I am particularly grateful for the following people:

  • The staff members who continue to step up to take on additional responsibility as we fill staffing vacancies, especially: our night staff, staff at Wright Cottage, Caitlyn Lehmann, Tammy Winch, Amber Rasmussen, Nicole Laudont, Darcy Uecker, JR Larson and Andrei Sivanich.
  • Our federal legislators who advocated for us to receive a $500,000 grant to develop Behavioral Support Services. The appropriation was approved, and the grant was awarded last week. We are grateful to Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Tina Smith, Representative Angie Craig and all of their staff members.
  • Carleton College’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE), and our summer public policy intern, Clara Devey, who is approaching public policy from a whole different perspective, giving us the opportunity to learn and grow in new ways in this arena.
  • Rice County HRA and Commissioners, who came through with a bridge loan so we could weather the summer cash needs storm.
  • A legacy gift of over $250,000 that we didn’t know about, from a former client’s family.
  • Two unexpected donations, equaling $150,000.

I don’t believe in planning or budgeting on hopes and prayers. However, in recent years, I have seen that possibility thinking helps in creating solutions that make it possible to get through to the next opportunities and challenges. Over and over again, I have seen that solutions are possible, and that they come through people we may least expect to have a part.

“There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work toward the same goals.” — Idowu Koyenikan

Together we can create solutions, solve intractable problems and bring hope to situations that seem bleak. Thank you all for YOUR part in creating solutions.