Building an Ecosystem

I have lost track of the number of times I’m asked: 

“What is going to happen with Washington’s waiver?” 
“Will there still be funding for Medicaid programs?” 
“Do we have to change our program, our goals, etc. because of shifts at the federal level?” 

The short answer is usually some human version of the shrug emoji. It is hard to minimize the impact when people in our communities are being detained – without warning, without reasons, and without any understanding of the process that will follow their detainment. Families are being disrupted; jobs and incomes lost. 

Can I imagine myself in that scenario – an unmarked vehicle, armed individuals without identification, unwilling to answer questions, being handcuffed and taken away from my job, my family, at a store, a community center, my home?

If we cannot imagine that for ourselves, a family member, a neighbor, a friend – terror, trauma, agony – then we cannot be the strongest advocates, bearing witness to what is happening in our neighborhoods. 

So, let’s go a bit wonky for a few moments: the complexity for North Sound ACH is that our organization is strong, and hopefully can withstand the policy changes that may come our way. But North Sound ACH is also part of a network that currently has more than 230 organizations across the region. 

If the network has tendrils connecting us, then what happens with any group of partners should be of concern to us all. We are either building a connected ecosystem, or we are simply aware of each other. I’d like to think that we are building deeper ties to each other and therefore we care as much about what is happening to others as we do about ourselves. 

One of my mentors, Michael J. Garland, D. Sc. Rel., introduced me to Elinor Ostrom’s work around the Commons, which has in turn influenced the ACH strategies. The sustainability of North Sound ACH is built upon how well we connect and build relationships with one another. That connection makes us stronger; especially at a time when forces try to separate us, and have us mistrust others around us. 

The stressors coming to communities from federal, state, and local decision makers may tempt us to build fences and defend our precious spaces. But in the long run, we have to be together, and find ways to work together. It is only in those connections that we will all get to thrive.