My journey into racial justice work

How taking a huge leap and has changed the trajectory of my life

By Becky Cain

Community Manager, Commonplace

When Lucy Waechter Webb became a member at Commonplace, I was a bit giddy and “fan girlish.” I knew of her social justice work throughout the area through SALT and had heard her speak (preach) a time or two.

Lucy’s voice; calm, direct, honest and strong, resonated in a way that invites me to hear what she’s said as profound truth. Simply put, I was (am) a fan and found myself excited to get to know her. We found opportunities for conversation from time to time, usually in the kitchen.

During one such conversation, Lucy mentioned the Understanding Racial Justice Program through Title Track. I imagine that my eyes grew big and wide as I considered the possibility. Two similar opportunities in the past five years had not come to fruition. The pieces that made this one possible were my willingness to commit to the work and the fact that Commonplace was willing to invest in ensuring the work gets done and shared with our greater community. 

Seeking opportunities to serve 

My foray into racial justice work has been synchronistic at best; haphazard, frightening and intimidating on the reverse. The bottom line for me has been a sense of personal responsibility for being the best human possible. Taking a deep look at the systems that have formed me has been invaluable. Sometimes that means reading, learning, practicing on my own and sometimes within a group. Practices that are active and passive make the work sustainable.

The first big jump into the work of racial justice came when I heard a call to “serve” as I recovered from surgery. While “the call” may have been the pain meds or, as Bill Murray put it, “A message from God”, more likely it was the conscious arrival of an intuitive sense that there was more meaningful work for me to do. This is not uncommon for folks as they reach middle age; the fact that a direct message arrived to me while recovering from hip replacement surgery seems apt. I felt a need, a desire, a drive to be of service. This drive was the push I needed into a unique way of life. 

The bottom line for me has been a sense of personal responsibility for being the best human possible. Taking a deep look at the systems that have formed me has been invaluable. Sometimes that means reading, learning, practicing on my own and sometimes within a group. Practices that are active and passive make the work sustainable.

In doing research and having conversations with friends and family members about various service programs, my daughter mentioned the AmeriCorps VISTA program; she’s an alum. Turns out that I was a good candidate for the program. Started by the Johnson administration in the 60’s, the role of an AmeriCorps VISTA is to add capacity to a non-profit organization that is helping to fight the war on poverty. I applied for a position in rural North Carolina at Peacehaven Community Farm. 

As I drove onto the Peacehaven farm property, what I saw did not fit my image of poverty. Lush, well maintained green lawns; a large, sturdy white barn, a beautiful brick home with wrap around porch and a trailer that served as staff office space. It was an illuminating reminder that not everything looks like you expect it to. 

Life at Peacehaven

The mission of Peacehaven Community Farm is to connect folks with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to the larger community through shared living and the work of a sustainable farm. By and large the biggest surprise to me, upon landing in the rural south from Michigan, was the lack of folks of color. I had naively thought that since I was in the south, there would be more visibility of BIPOC folks. Instead, I found that what is true in the north is profoundly emphasized in the south - without intention to do otherwise, middle to upper class white folks simply gather those like themselves together. 

My role on the property was as the volunteer manager; diversification became my goal. And that meant outreach in ways that were very uncomfortable for me as someone hailing from Traverse City, a place without a lot of cultural diversity. Though I longed to be a part of a more racially diverse environment, trying to create it was kind of scary. That fear came from a deep place; as a white woman, I had not spent much time being in the minority. Seeking out volunteers of color meant meeting with church and public groups where I was, at times, the only white person in attendance. Established relationships with local colleges and churches, along with experience, made some of that outreach a bit more comfortable.

As the weeks went by, I began to notice a tension amongst the employees at Peacehaven. My hope in going to the farm was to create relationships and build community with all, regardless of status within our professional or extended community. But the staff weren’t all on the same page in terms of “community” so I began to ask questions, specifically: What does “community” mean at Peacehaven? It’s our middle name but we don't seem to agree on the meaning of the word, nor whether or not it’s important. 

There were folks that drove in from Greensboro daily to manage the farm, the daily operations, communications and development. I was one of three VISTAs who worked amongst these professionals. And then there were other AmeriCorps members who staffed the house; four younger people, fresh college graduates who lived with the core members (folks with I/DD) on site. 

Acknowledging Multiple Systems of power and privilege at Work

As I reflect on these dynamics now, it’s clear that the strained relationships were, in part, due to the power structure; this is similar to the tension within race relations. The leadership staff who drove out to the farm from their homes in the city had the greatest power - being able to come and go as they pleased. These folks also had offices away from the core members; they were not immersed in the direct service work. 

The AmeriCorps members who lived with the core members were, in turn, lower on the organizational hierarchy and felt little control over their environment or how they perceived the core members to be slighted by lack of relationships with the entire staff. As months went on, this tenacious group became empowered and began to speak out on behalf of their housemates and themselves. 

The AmeriCorps VISTAs were in the middle of this messiness. We found ourselves much more comfortable hanging out in the house with the younger folks and the core members. There was joy and laughter in the everyday parts of life, as well as tears and frustration. I was drawn to the authenticity and acceptance and unconditional love that I found there. 

By contrast, those in leadership positions who were closer to my age, all had families and lives outside of the farm; Peacehaven was where they came to work. While occasional lunches or coffee dates with these professionals helped us slowly reveal ourselves to one another, these experiences felt a bit contrived and more focused on a time frame- “gotta get back to work!” was more important than being present with one another. 

Herein was one of my greatest lessons: building relationships and community take time; these are not efficient pursuits. And the building is messy as we come together in different ways from different places with different desired outcomes. Accepting this lack of efficiency was a huge shift for me as my professional life prior to VISTA service had been as an office manager- efficiency and time management had been my modus operandi. 

Building relationships and community take time; these are not efficient pursuits. And the building is messy as we come together in different ways from different places with different desired outcomes.

Self Identity

Within my first year at Peacehaven, a plethora of incredible lessons about myself were uncovered. As one who survived childhood sexual abuse, was a recovering addict, and a single mom who had raised four in poverty, I resonated strongly with the core members in feeling marginalized. However, there was (is) power in the color of my skin, the way I was raised and my educational status. 
Moreover, I had to admit that part of my rationale for becoming a VISTA was to be a “good person” and help others. The more I told my stories and shared experience with the younger folks around me, the more they questioned me and helped expose my bias.

For example, by simply using the phrase “help others,” my ego and sense of power over those around me was exposed. Because the younger folks around me were well attuned to social justice movements and I was open to learning, my education was broad: movies and books were recommended and I dove in. 

Early on, I remember reading something like the paraphrased: “Being racist is similar to pregnancy in that you either are, or you’re not. There’s no in between.” The phrase hit me pretty hard and I whispered to myself “Am I racist?” This is certainly not a term that I wanted to accept - not as a “good, liberal Christian.” But, given my bias and using this rationale, I had to admit that I was and am. Admitting that there’s a problem is the first of the twelve steps that have guided the second half of my life and continue to reach further to alleviate the norms that I’ve embodied.  

Image borrowed from our friends at the Northern Express.

Continuing to do the work with Title Track and Beyond

The process of educating myself has been enlightening and tough; BECAUSE we live in a society whose systems were created by powerful white men, ongoing work is necessary. 

[Just a note about the word “privilege”; it comes with an emotional kick often placing others on the defensive. And honestly, is it a privilege to oppress others? A more accurate word is “power” or “advantage”. The takeaway is knowing that based on a variety of social identities such as race, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, ability status, sexuality, age, education and more, specific groups of people have unearned access or advantage because of their social group.

It is with this knowledge that I gratefully gravitated toward the Understanding Racial Justice program through Title Track in January. Involvement with this cohort has been the first time that I’ve studied and learned alongside other white folks creating a sense of shared knowledge and accountability. Coming to understand that race based oppression has happened in the US for over 600 years and the great advantage that some citizens have over others is strikingly difficult yet important work. 

One of the URJ themes that continues to resonate profoundly for me is that of cultural healing. During one week of the cohort, we explored the characteristics of white supremacy culture. On this list are: perfectionism, sense of urgency, defensiveness, quantity over quality, individualism and fear of open conflict, just to name a few. As one that identifies as “conflict averse” I was struck to read that:  “people in power try to ignore or run from conflict, and that there’s an emphasis on being polite so raising difficult issues is being impolite, rude or out-of-line.” Yup. sounds all too familiar. Thankfully antidotes were also presented. One of the antidotes to fear of open conflict is to role-play ways to handle conflict before it happens, to distinguish between politeness and raising hard issues; once a conflict is resolved, reflect on how it was resolved and/or might have been handled differently. 

Recognizing that most of the characteristics mentioned literally “hit” me in the gut, I’ve also become very appreciative of the somatic practices that were taught during the course. These physical responses are what is meant by “embodied”; they take a tremendous amount of effort to hold. Learning appropriate release techniques has proven quite valuable to the discomfort that shows up as tension in my stomach, shoulders and neck. 

As with most issues both personal and societal, we must first understand what the problem is in order to [co-]create a solution. Through URJ, I’ve come to realize that the solution begins within each of us; and it is ongoing as we each become a ripple in the pond that extends out to touch and influence others. I encourage all to consider enrolling in Understanding Racial Justice. We’ve got so much to teach and share with one another in our efforts to influence radical thought and behavioral change. 

Honoring and Managing Transitions at Commonplace

By Megan Motil, Founder & Principal of Parallel Solutions and Commonplace Board President

You may have noticed Commonplace has been transforming. Our coworking roots were in the Loft, our very first coworking space on Lake Street in Traverse City. Within a short time frame, we grew and expanded to The Box building located at the intersection of Boardman Avenue and Eighth Street.

Then, we left the Loft, which, incidentally, is the current office of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. After initially thinking we would be running two coworking spaces on Eighth Street within waving distance, we decided to consolidate our coworking space in the newly constructed Commongrounds Building at 414 East Eighth Street. 

Some of these changes, like our early-on expansion, were prompted by opportunity and demand. Other changes, like those introduced by COVID, were in response to an external threat. Like many organizations, our nonprofit has faced challenges over the last few years that caused us to reassess our operating model and our revenue expectations.

And while we’re relatively unique among nonprofits—about 60% our operating revenue comes from earned income through the lease of office and coworking spaces—there are sometimes tough choices to be made when the realistic resources don’t match up with the vision. 

Through all these physical space changes, our guiding principles and the “why” behind our our work has not changed. As we’ve moved, we’ve carried our sense of community and home with us. So what has changed and transformed? Our governance and management model, our board and staff composition, and even our “what” and our approach to services have all shifted a bit. Here’s how we have and continue to navigate all this change.

Why Thoughtful Succession Processes Matter

No matter what, organizational and leadership change comes to people and places. Whether by choice or circumstance, strategies will evolve, operating models and processes will need to shift, staff leaders will transition, and board members will come and go. These changes may often trigger anxiety or excitement.

For example, in the case of Commonplace, what happens when…

• Customer preferences shift and folks need or want to work from home?

• The brilliant and beloved founder wants to shift gears with their focus and their career? 

• The trusted space and experience manager decides to leave for a different position? 

• A founder steps away from their leadership role, or steps into a new type of role within an organization? 

We are no different than any other organization or business facing these types of circumstances. And as we’ve faced them, we’ve tried to do it in a healthy way. 

Generally, healthy and successful leadership transitions include the following elements:

• Shared values and culture.

• A shared sense of the organization’s purpose and strategic direction.

• An understanding of the core competencies, skills, and resources the organization has and will need, including related to the skills and strengths and experience of staff leadership.

• Clarity about roles related to governance and management, and a flexible mindset and curiosity about how governance models and roles might need to change as the organization evolves.

• A commitment to good communication, and a shared understanding of what good communication processes and behaviors look and feel like.

As an organization that embraces innovation and change, members of our board and staff accept the discomfort of a creative process that can feel messy and uncomfortable in moments of creation and transition. It’s okay to have tension and friction. That discomfort happens where there’s change and growth happening.

Organizational Transformation in Practice & Principle

We’re learning a lot as we operate our new space. It was not a surprise to us, but there’s a big difference between having a vision for our coworking space in the dynamic Commongrounds building and being in and operating in a new building space! We’re experiencing a lot of things for the first time, and even the best plans don’t always pan out. But, like Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” We’re committed to the process of planning, even when it means we must adjust our sails and tack our craft to reach the destination on shore we’re aiming for. 

Many folks are familiar with the often-used quote attributed to management consultant Peter Drucker, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” As we cocreate and experience this new space together, we’re listening to our coworking members and Commonplace space tenants and inviting them to define how they want to be in community together, and what it looks like when we’re acting in alignment with our values. 

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.”

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

At Commonplace, as in all our coworking spaces, our culture and values have rooted in the concept of the “adjacent possible,” a biological and evolutionary theory coined by scientist Stuart Kauffman, rooted in the concept that all systems evolve over time and that in any given moment, there are finite sets of ways it can be changed and also a larger collection of ways it can’t be changed. The ways it can be changed at a particular moment he coined the “adjacent possible.” Creating intentional human connections in an open, welcoming, caring, and collaborative community is one way to foster adjacent possibilities. Commonplace was envisioned and founded by Kate Redman, with support, wisdom, insight, and labor shared and offered by a strong team of people and organizations who believed in its purpose and were seeking and seeing similar adjacent possibilities. 

Recently, Commonplace members gathered to explore and affirm their values and explore what they meant in practice including our organizational systems and processes and individual and interpersonal behaviors. The resulting Community Agreement (currently still in its draft form) will help to guide the manifestation of our culture within the Commonplace space, within the building, and related to the way Commonplace as an entity engages with the broader community.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

- Peter Drucker

Commonplace is also exploring the idea of developing Agreements with other nonprofit tenants and partners in Commongrounds building for spaces like the Esperance Teaching Kitchen which is jointly governed by Commonplace and Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, and The Alluvion performance space, which is interdependently governed by Commongrounds Cooperative, Jeff Haas, and Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology.

As Commonplace leaders, we see ourselves as stewards of our organization’s growth and transformation. We know that strategy and leadership transitions are a process and not an event. We know our past and current organization is not our future organization. The skills, competencies and experiences and networks that led to the Commonplace of today will be different than the ones who will take lead and carry the organization into the future. Our strategy needs to align with competencies on board and staff and resources for us to deliver and achieve our goals. Working together means continual dialogue, and an openness to change, including changing ourselves. 

"The ‘adjacent possible’ is theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman’s wonderful term for all the myriad paths unlocked by every novel discovery, the multitude of universes hidden inside something as simple as an idea.

— Peter H. Diamandis

As a complex system of people, we will always be evolving. How we do that matters just as much as what we do. By listening and gathering data and feedback, we can assess and ask ourselves what we want to keep, stop, and start doing, so that we create mission-focused impacts. When we get inspired, we may ask ourselves, “How could we do that? And what would need to be true for it to happen?” Our growth and change processes at Commonplace will be grounded in our values, and in communication and recognition of resource flows and capabilities and needs and connections – much like the mycelium-inspired art gracing the walls of our current home at Commongrounds. As an organization, our goal is to keep learning, and keep moving. 

We will be talking about some of these issues and needs at our strategy sessions in the coming months.

Transparency in Transitional TEams & Leadership

Our next three guest blogs will pull back the curtain and reveal in a deeper way some of the people and processes who have been part of Commonplace’s past, and who is leading and part of the Commonplace community now. 

My next post will share some of the mindsets, approaches and resources that impacted our leadership transitions and will explore questions like: When did we know Kate Redman was going to cycle out of a staff leadership role? How did the transition feel to Kate? How did it feel to the board? What tools and approaches did we use to assess options and move forward? What plans were put in place? What happened during and after the staff transition? What felt successful and why? What mistakes did we make and what did we learn? 

The third post will explore leadership transformations and transitions from the board lens, including roles and expectations, past and current leadership, and the motivations and hopes of those who are responsible for the governance and oversight of the nonprofit. That blog will address some questions like: What was the board’s original role and how has it changed? What motivated board members to serve? What are the benefits and potential pitfalls of having a founder and former staff leader “change hats” and now serve on the board? What is it like when friends serve together on a board, and what’s the dynamic like when board members are also close friends with the staff?

The fourth blog will share our strategic direction, including what excites and motivates us, and why.

We’re grateful for the Commonplace coworking community of drop-in guests, coworking members, dedicated desk and office tenants, partners, investors, philanthropists, contractors, volunteers, staff, board members, and allies who make this nonprofit work.

Creating meaning and value for our community members and supporting what they create and do in the world is our focus. We will keep turning to them, and you, to guide us.

---

There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about.
Ask “What’s possible?” not “What’s wrong?” Keep asking.

Notice what you care about.
Assume that many others share your dreams.

Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.
Talk to people you know.
Talk to people you don’t know.
Talk to people you never talk to.

Be intrigued by the differences you hear.
Expect to be surprised.
Treasure curiosity more than certainty.

Invite in everybody who cares to work on what’s possible.
Acknowledge that everyone is an expert about something.
Know that creative solutions come from new connections.

Remember, you don’t fear people whose story you know.
Real listening always brings people closer together.

Trust that meaningful conversations can change your world.

Rely on human goodness. Stay together.

—Margaret Wheatley, “Turning to One Another,” 2002

Creating A Commonplace Community Agreement

By Nick Beadleston Executive Director @ Commonplace

"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."

- Edward Everett Hale

"For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.”

― Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Communities are built on culture. Culture is built on agreements. These agreements can be implicit, taking the form of norms, customs, and behaviors. Or a grand marketeer Seth Godin puts it, “People like us do things like this.” Other times these agreements are explicit, like written laws, codes, and contracts. Regardless of the shape they take, resilient, unifying agreements include and afford for a multiplicity of voices at their inception. They are agreements of, for, and by the community.

As you read this, we are working to create a Commonplace Community Agreement. We view this forthcoming document not just as some stale conduct policy stapled to the last page of our leases. No, this agreement will make the implicit culture of Commonplace explicit. It will empower our members, our Commonplacers, to better building the kind of culture in the kind of space we all wish to inhabit. Because of course ultimate adjacency and authority for creating culture rests with an organization’s members, not the organization itself. (A fact many tend—for convenience or expediency's sake—to forget.)

But, to be done right, these things take time. In our case, this document has been months in the making. And that’s perfectly fine. Important work must be allowed to unfold at whatever pace it requires. Here is a quick rundown of what’s been done so far, where we’re at now, and where we see this all-important work going.

The Work So Far

In December 2022, we held our first Commonplacer Breakfast. (You can read about it in our previous blog On the Importance of Waffles.) Commonplace Board President, Principle at ​Parallel Solutions, and seasoned facilitator Megan Motil led the room though a series of contemplative exercises around the values they expect to see in our space. Meanwhile Commonplace staff cooked waffles and kept the coffee coming. (Important, introspective work demands tasty carbs and strong caffeine.)

As the conversations unfolded, most Commonplacers appeared aligned on a few core concepts. These included a desire for:

• Cooperative decision-making about space, uses, and design rather than topdown or directive decision-making about space, uses, and design.

• Openness and tolerance for change rather than rigidity or intolerance to change.

• Inclusive membership rather than selective membership, with a desired shared for mission-alignment to be considered.

• Feeling of connection rather than separateness.

• Welcoming rather than exclusive.

• Community or systems-focused mission rather than an inwardly, organizationally, or building/space-focused mission.

While all salient, this last point was made emphatically and has become a frequent refrain by Commonplace staff and board. (It’s also easier said than done, as we’re continually learning.)

During the breakfast session, Commonplacers also wrestled with seemingly opposing values. Among them were the need for:

• Informal management system with flexible/fluid roles and responsibilities and an organized management system with defined roles and responsibilities. A desire for a defined decision-making process with clear roles was shared.

• Collaborative work and solitary work.

• Design that nurtures individual focus and productivity and informal actions and flexibility.

• Affordable and upscale member amenities, with a recognition that this is interconnected with a desire for community inclusivity.

The passion, wisdom, and honesty of our members really shone through during that first session. And those important conversations helped set the table for our second Commonplacer Breakfast in during which things really began to take shape.

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Where We’re At Today

We recently got the band back together for another round of waffles and culture-building during our 2023 Q1 Commonplacer Breakfast. Megan was good enough to facilitate once more. She again took the group through a series of important exercises which sparked even deeper conversation. The result was our first draft of a Commonplace Community Agreement. While admittedly verbose in its current form, the document does it’s best to capture what was said and what was heard in the moment. It lays out the following expectation and commitments for both those inhabiting the space and those working in the service of it.

[DRAFT] Commonplace Community Agreement [DRAFT]

We agree/commit to:

- Making the implicit explicit, including having signs to share expectations related to which spaces and zones are intended to foster boisterous and loud conversational uses or quiet uses. This includes creating and explicitly stating “norms” for shared space, including the kitchen, the Grand Staircase, co-working and “hot desk” open space, phone booths, conference rooms, etc.

- Creating and using passive ways to gather and share feedback with and from each other regarding the space (uses, preferences, needs), such as notes on whiteboards.

- Creating and expecting warm and welcoming interactions with each other, while also acknowledging that warm can be a simple glance and smile and does not need to be a conversation.

- Assuming everyone in the space has good intentions.

- Asking for what we need and sharing our ideas and listening and seeking to understanding when others are sharing their needs and ideas, so that people feel trusted and safe with each other and in the Commonplace space.

- Respecting each other’s needs and boundaries. Using signs on dedicated desks to indicate our openness and availability for spontaneous interaction, or our need for focused, uninterrupted working.

- Cultivating a shared sense if “inclusive exclusivity” by taking responsibility and holding a sense of obligation for the space and each other, as members.

- Having and using guest passes to create a more inclusive space.

- Welcoming guests while maintaining and encouraging our other Community Agreement norms.

- Participating in group events that are fun and where we are coming to teach and learn.

- Participating in group activities (e.g., kitchen white board, typewriter), and consistently attending breakfast and happy hour gatherings planned by staff; these are the places and spaces where we connect and socialize.

As of this blog’s publishing, our draft community agreement is posted in our physical space and has been shared digitally. Commonplacers are taking time to read and digest the document and to propose edits, additions, and alterations. Already, what’s emerging is a cleaner, clearer agreement which gets at the heart of what’s needed. It’s still a work in progress—as all good work is—but what’s starting to take shape is truly exciting!

Where We See This Work Going

Our draft community agreement is currently being circulated among our members. They are, with a critical eye, helping shape it into a guiding document.

We’re also looking at other similar documents which can help inform this work. These include agreements from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, McGill University, University of Toronto, Alternate Roots, and our own local Northwest Food Coalition.

We’re particularly inspired by concise agreements which appear simple on the surface but still contain deep wisdom. Take the Zingerman's Training Compact. This 31-word, well-tested document has become a corners stones of their multi-million dollar training business that serves students from around the world.

Their simple compact states:

Trainees agree to:

- Take responsibility for the effectiveness of their own training.

Trainers agree to:

- Document clear performance expectations.

- Provide the training resources.

- Recognize performance.

- Reward performance.

So okay, we may not boil down our own Commonplace Community Agreement down that far. But ultimately, we expect we’ll end up with a similarly concise document; something which sums up the essential commitments of members, staff, board, and supporters. Something which identifies and empowers our members as the real drivers of culture within our space. (As opposed to our staff or our board, who’s real role is to support member-created and led culture, not to design and disseminate it.)

We’re incredibly excited to see and to share the final(ish) agreement draft in the coming weeks. And we say “ish” because a true agreement is not a static thing. Ours will change and grow overtime because our members will change and grow. But regardless of the shape it takes, we know our Commonplace Community Agreement will be a living tool which will help us confidently say “Commonpalcers like us do things like this!”

ChatGPT On Coworking

By Open AI

So, we did a clickbate-y thing and asked ChatGPT to write a blog on coworking. Here's what it came up with:

Coworking: A Comprehensive Guide

Coworking is a relatively new concept that has been gaining popularity in recent years. Coworking spaces offer a unique and innovative solution to the traditional office environment, providing freelancers, entrepreneurs, and remote workers with a comfortable, community-oriented workspace that promotes productivity, collaboration, and creativity. In this guide, we'll explore what coworking is, why it's become so popular, and the benefits of working in a coworking space.

What is Coworking?

Coworking is a shared workspace that allows individuals to work together in a collaborative environment. Coworking spaces are designed to cater to the needs of freelancers, remote workers, and entrepreneurs who may not have access to traditional office spaces. These spaces can range from small, intimate environments to large, open-concept spaces with hundreds of members. They offer a range of amenities such as high-speed internet, private meeting rooms, phone booths, and communal areas for socializing and networking.

Why has Coworking become so Popular?

Coworking has become increasingly popular due to several factors, including the rise of the gig economy, remote work, and a desire for more flexible work arrangements. Many people today are looking for alternative workspaces that provide them with the flexibility they need to work on their own terms. Coworking spaces offer this flexibility while also providing a sense of community that traditional office environments lack.

Benefits of Coworking

There are several benefits to working in a coworking space, including:

1. Collaboration Opportunities

One of the biggest benefits of coworking is the opportunity for collaboration. Coworking spaces bring together people from diverse backgrounds and industries, creating a fertile ground for collaboration, brainstorming, and networking. This collaboration can lead to innovative ideas, partnerships, and new business opportunities.

1. Productivity

Coworking spaces are designed to be conducive to productivity. They provide a comfortable and professional workspace that is free from distractions, allowing you to focus on your work. Additionally, coworking spaces often offer various amenities such as high-speed internet, printing and scanning services, and conference rooms, making it easier to get work done efficiently.

1. Flexibility

Coworking spaces provide flexible work arrangements that cater to the needs of freelancers, remote workers, and entrepreneurs. Members have the freedom to work at their own pace, on their own schedule, and in an environment that suits their needs. This flexibility can help reduce stress and increase job satisfaction.

1. Networking Opportunities

Coworking spaces provide ample opportunities for networking, which can be essential for freelancers, remote workers, and entrepreneurs looking to grow their business. Members of coworking spaces have access to a community of like-minded individuals who can offer advice, support, and connections.

1. Cost-Effective

Coworking spaces offer an affordable alternative to traditional office spaces, which can be prohibitively expensive for freelancers and small businesses. Coworking spaces provide all the necessary amenities and services at a fraction of the cost of a traditional office space.

Conclusion

Coworking is a game-changer for modern work culture. It offers flexibility, collaboration, productivity, and networking opportunities that traditional office spaces cannot match. With the rise of remote work and the gig economy, coworking spaces provide a viable solution for people looking for an alternative workspace that meets their needs. If you're a freelancer, remote worker, or entrepreneur looking for a comfortable, community-oriented workspace that promotes productivity and creativity, consider joining a coworking space.

Bidding Adieu to The Box

By Nick Beadleston Executive Director @ Commonplace

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.”

- Closing Time, Semisonic  1998 (and also, yuh know, Senica, 63AD)

For a handful of hopeful years, Commonplace was proud to call The Box home. Now the time has come for us to say goodbye to this historic building.

After lengthy conversations with the current owners of The Box, we have jointly agreed that February will be our last month managing the 2nd floor office space. The offices will stay but Commonplace and our coworking and community meeting rooms will be moving fully across the street to our newest location in the Commongrounds building.

We are excited to hand over management of the 2nd floor of The Box to Doug Petersen who has many years of intimate involvement with the building. (He’s literally put blood, sweat, and tears into the place.)

Before we talk about the future of The Box, let’s take a minute to uncover it’s past.

A Concise(ish) History of The Box

1920 was an auspicious time to build a new building in Traverse City. Though the Great Depression was still several years off for the rest of the nation, the abrupt exodus of the timber industry hit Northern Michigan hard. A few years later, the Oval Dish Company moved out of the area, taking with it even more local jobs.

At that point, all we had left were the smokes. Bales and bales of Canadian tobacco, likely from Leamington, Ontario, had been coming into the area since the early 1900s for processing by the area’s dozen or so cigar manufactures. The US population, and with it cigar consumption, was soaring and savvy entrepreneurs were cashing in.

Okay so this is a photos of a cigar factory in Bay City . In 1914. And it shows tobacco not cigar boxes. But other than that, it’s the perfect picture…

It was during this cigar boom that Edward Kluzak and Charles Vader stood up the Traverse City Cigar Box Company. They constructed The Box in 1920 to expand their operations and to meet the increasing demand. Along with other similar ventures, they provided steady employment for under-skilled laborers from around the area.

Potentially a photo of Kluzak and Vader. But who the hell knows, those guys almost never posted to social…

Many women from the Boardman neighborhood experienced their first work outside of the home at the Traverse City Cigar Box Company. This may have contributed as much to the rising tide of gender equality as the recently ratified 19th Amendment.

“Woman is learning for herself that not self-sacrifice, but self-development, is her first duty in life; and this, not primarily for the sake of others but that she may become fully herself.”

- Matilda Joslyn Gage, 1893

(Though lest we put too rosy a spin on it, female workers were paid significantly and unjustly less than their male counterparts. Thanks to Ross Boissoneau for a great piece on this.)

But the writing was already on the wall for the Traverse City Cigar Box Company. Following the First World War, consumer preferences began shifting; returning GI’s had acquired a taste for cigarettes and the cigar industry began declining. Shortly before the Second World War, the Traverse City Cigar Box Company closed it’s door for good.

The next several decades of The Box’s history were less exciting. It past from various owners and was often used, very inauspiciously, for storage. In one of its sexiest incarnations it was even a power company service building. During the 1950s and 60s, The Box was rented by Wilsons Furniture Co. According to public records, they eventually purchased the building in 1974 for a whooping $25,000.

Was there ever a color that screamed “Welcome to the 1950s!!” louder than this?

Protection efforts, led by Sara Hardy, kept the building from being demolished more than once. In the early 1980s, she wrote a letter to the Michigan State Historical Preservation Office to have the building listed on the official registry, but was shot down.

The second floor of The Box eventually became the home of a very progressive physical therapy studio lead by (later Commonplacer) Jeff Haas and others. In addition to seniors and folks recovering from surgery, The Fitness Center helped train local residents with physical and mental developmental challenges.

Buy him a beer and Jeff will tell you heartwarming stories of taking these aspiring and inspiring athletes around the state to compete in places they hadn’t previously been welcome. (Editors note: Jeff also claims to have old TV ads for the space on VHS, but we can’t get him to hand em over…)

It was during this era of the building when Doug Petersen first walked through it’s doors as a trainer. But more on Doug in a bit.

Burgundy is a much more appealing color, don’t you think?

During the 2000s, Matt and Victoria Sutherland, recognizing the potential in the old building, purchased it and spent considerable time and money restoring it to it’s former luster. (They also added a lot of weirdly incongruous art around the place, but hey, your property, your decor choices.) The first floor became a short-term rental while the top floor served as the head quarters for their indie book magazine Forward Reviews. The Sutherlands put The Box back on the map as an architectural find and focal point of an otherwise bleak Eight Street.

Kate Redman expanded Commonplace from our original Lake Street location to part of the second floor of The Box in late 2017. During the next year, we grew to encompass the whole floor, with Forward moving to an adjacent property.

It was also during this time that Doug Petersen opened up his new physical therapy studio in the basement, welcoming in a whole new set of energetic and active folks to the building. Doug also helped build some of the cubicles in Commonplace and was always quick to keep the sidewalk shoveled and the entry way clean. The perfect building-mate.

The time-honored Northern Michigan Cubicle Raising inspired by the Amish.

Over the next several years, we were privileged to provide office, coworking and meeting space to so many great organizations, entrepreneurs and changemakers around our region. It was also around this time that we first began to look across the street and wonder what a brand new community building could look like there.

(Thanks to the Northern Express for originally digging up some of the info in this section.)

The Present and Future of The Box

From 2020 until…well really the end of 2022 were some rough times for Commonplace. But we don’t need to get into that here. (For more, please read Our Decade of Joyful Debt.) What matters is that we made our rent payments, if only just barely, and The Box survived to fight another day.

In 2022, the building sold to Jason and Julie Mattison. They were quick to reach out and communicate with their top-floor folks. Almost immediately, they also began investing in changes and improvements, beginning on the ground floor. A short note from Jason and Julie in one of our weekly members newsletters last year sums up the change.

”We are very happy to share our excitement as the proud new owners of The Box! Although we reside in Northville, MI, we have always felt Traverse City to be a second home to us. We have loved bringing our daughters up to Traverse for many years - and still feel as though we've only scratched the surface of all that TC has to offer.  

We currently self-manage and own about 20 residential rental units--mostly in South-Eastern Michigan--through our LLC, RJLJ Properties. We're very excited to add the Box to our portfolio and start our expansion into the commercial/office space market.

We look forward to carrying on the Great legacy of the Box!”

Jason and Julie Mattison of RJLJ Properties

Around this time, Commonplace transitioned from renting the second floor to managing the space on behalf of Jason and Julie’s property holding company, RJLJ. Initially the arrangement worked out well: we were able to continue bring new mission-aligned organizations into the space and the Mattisons collected the revenue they sought as a return on their investment.

However, recently RJLJ and Commonplace has reevaluated our collaborative efforts and have reached the consensus that having one team managing the full building may provide a better overall experience for those who stay and work here.

Though we initially envisioned having two spaces on Eighth Street, we are grateful for the opportunity to focus even more energy and resources on making the experience at our Commongrounds location the best it can be.

Doug Petersen will do a fine job managing The Box’s offices. He has strong roots in the community and to the building itself. He’s spent years managing gyms and collaborating with other physical trainers. And, after all, how different is a shared office space than a shared gym, really. (Besides the sweat and everything.)

Boy we sure threw some good parties!

What This Means for You

At the end of February, all drop-in coworking and non-member meeting room rentals at The Box will cease. However, these services will continue across the street at Commonplace’s new space in the Commongorunds building.

As all current renters at The Box already know, all leases will remain in effect after we leave. And of course current (and past) renters at The Box are always be welcome to join our community-building events at our new location, like happy hours, quarterly breakfasts, and peer-learning opportunities.

The office space at The Box will likely become quieter, more conventional, and increasingly focused on professional service providers and remote workers. (Although there’s at least one exciting local artist moving in in April!)

So if this work environment appeals to you, please consider renting there. Currently, there are several vacant offices. If interested, please give us a shout and we can connect you with Doug. Or you can reach out to him directly: msudoug.petersen@gmail.com

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We are very grateful for our time at such an amazing building with a rich local history.

We are also so incredibly grateful to those of you who helped weather a pandemic with us. And to those who chose to support community coworking at a time of great uncertainty. First and always Commonpalce is a community coworking space, and we wouldn’t still be here today without an amazing community of support.

See you across the street soon!

Commonplace & Commongrounds, Connected But Different!

Commonplace Board President Megan Motil reading poetry at the first (unofficial) event in The Alluvion at Commongrounds.

Okay, let’s talk about the naming thing. Commonplace, Commongrounds. It’s confusing. We get it. Hell, we even screw it up sometimes.

(And having our friends and co-conspirators Groundwork and Higher Grounds in the building don’t make it any easier…Plus, now we have Common Good Bakery further down on Eighth St.)

But despite the similar names, Commonplace and Commongrounds are two different organizations. We are legally, operationally, and functionally distinct entities with our own separate staff, boards, budgets, and work. However, we also have some critical connective tissue which helps both of our organizations better serve our community. Commonplace is one of several tenant-owner organizations in the Commongrounds building.

We also created the handy table below to help highlight some of the ways in which we’re we’re aligned but different:

Mission/ What We Do: Commonplace is a community coworking and innovation hub which holds space for people who enliven healthy, collaborative, and creative organizations and communities to work, learn, and connect.

Structure: 501c3 Nonprofit

Role In 414 E. 8TH Street Building: Commonplace is one of several "Tenant-Owners" in the Commongrounds building. Commonplace manages a 3,000 sqr/ft coworking, private office, meeting, & community collaboration space on the 2nd floor of the new 8th St Building.

Mission/ What We Do: Commongrounds develops real estate designed to meet community needs and improve quality of life for all people in our region Our pilot project is 414 E. Eighth Street, a 4-story mixed-use building  opening Fall 2022.

Structure: Real Estate Nonprofit Cooperative

Role In 414 E. 8TH Street Building: Commongrounds is landlord and owner of the building as a whole.  They manage the design, development, primary construction, funding, tenant-relations, and cooperative governance for the entire four-story 8th St building.

Connective Tissue

What’s more important than our differences is what connects Commonplace and Commongrounds. Here are a few points which bring us together.

1. Commonplace’s monthly payments to Commongrounds help keep the lights on. Literally.

One of Commongrounds’ most critical revenue sources is the monthly payments from tenant owners for their space. Commonplace for example pays about $60,000 a year to Commongrounds toward our 30-year mortgage for our space.

We also pay cost of area maintenance (or CAM) for the spaces our members enjoy, but are outside of our coworking space proper. Keeping the hallways, bathrooms, stairs, elevator, and exterior spaces well lit, clean, and warm costs money, and we’re always happy to pay toward that.

We also help pay for the teaching kitchen which functions as our break room and for the internet infrastructure in the building. It’s all part of being a good tenant in a shared building!

2. Our executive director serves on the Commongrounds Cooperative board.

As a cooperative, Commongrounds is overseen by a board of directors. In addition to “community-owner representatives elected by the general members of the cooperative, there are also two “tenant owner representatives on the board.

Commonplace’s executive director—along with a rep from Groundworks—was elected by the other building tenant-owners to represent them at the board. During his three year term, its his job to hold space in board discussions for the needs and perspectives of all tenant-owners. It’s a job he takes seriously, even if his board picture suggests otherwise.

3. The Commongrounds project director serves on our board.

If you’re reading this, you probably know the marvelous human being, Kate Redman. Kate, along with other community members, founded Commonplace in 2016. She led our organization for several years before shifting her primary focus to helping birth Commongrounds as their project director. However, Kate still continues to serves as a critical advisor and guiding voice on the Commonplace board.

Wait, So Am I Automatically Part of Both?

Being a part of Commonplace one doesn’t automatically make you a part of Commongrounds, and vice versa. Just like being a member of a local grocery cooperative like Oryana doesn’t entitle you to go in and start eating produce off the shelf for free. You still have to actually pay for the food. (Trust us, we’ve tried…) Similarly, making a purchase at Oryana, doesn’t automatically mean you’re a member of the cooperative. For that you have to pay a membership fee.

The same is true with Commonplace and Commongrounds. To become a part of Commongrounds, you have to at least pay a one-time $50 fee. To use the drop-in coworking tables, meeting rooms, and other amenities at Commonplace, you need to be a paying member. (That’s how we pay our bills.)

But the good news is you can be a part of both of our great organizations!

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Both Commonplace and Commongrounds share a strong commitment to creating a more interconnected, accessible and prosperous region. We share a similar network of like-minded changemakers and community leaders. And we both can’t wait for you to come check out the new building!

3 Big Takeaways from Let My People Go Surfing

In September of 2022, the Chouinard family—lead by Yvon, the patron saint of ethical business—made headlines last year when they donated their $3 billion family-owned business.

In a letter to customers, Yvon explained “100% of the company’s voting stock transfers to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, created to protect the company’s values; and 100% of the nonvoting stock had been given to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis and defending nature.”

Despite the myriad media coverage of this unprecedented move, it really shouldn’t come as a shock. Patagonia has long-led the socially-conscious business movement. However, they haven’t always been the perfect paradigm of the triple-bottom line. And it’s helpful for other aspiring socially and environmentally-conscious businesses to understand and honor the long and non-linear path Patagonia has taken to become what it is today.

That story, of success and failure is summed up in Yvon’s Let My People Go Surfing.

The Patagonia founder chose to subtitle this book—”The Education of a Reluctant Businessman.” Sometimes surly, sometimes self-deprecatingly humorous, but always spirited, transparent and inspirational, this book is worth as many rereads as it has pages. Every line is built on decades of lessons learned and wisdom collected. Even the carefully chosen photos convey a wealth of visual knowledge.

Here are a few big takeaways from this great read and from the history of the company which inspired it.

1. Patagonia didn't start off as an environmental angel.

Contrary to current popular belief, Patagonia isn't some triple bottom line Athena. It didn't spring fully clad and ready to fight out of the environmental movement of the 70s. Their origins are actually much sketchier and their journey has been anything but a unbroken line of upward environmental and social progress.

Patagonia began in the late 1950s as a climbing gear company, Chouinard Equipment. The entire goal of this make-shift enterprise was to earn just enough money to afford its semi-nomadic, self-styled "dirt bag" founders another season of mountain climbing. The roots of Patagonia were naive and destructive. Their primary products were steel pitons--spikes which are hammered into rock faces to secure climbing ropes. After several seasons, however these popular Chouinard pitons began to litter many iconic, and previously unmolested, mountain faces.

"After an assent of the Nose route of El Cap, which had been pristine a few summers earlier, I cam home disgusted with the degradation I had seen...Pitons were the mainstay of our business, but we were destroying the very rocks we loved."

- Pg 26 , History

This degradation of the wild places these pre-Patagonia pioneers held sacrosanct was the first in a half century of ah-ha moments. Seeing the damage their prize product was creating, the fledgling outfit switched to producing and popularizing clean climbing chocks, which could be removed after a climb.

Over time they branched out to other equipment and apparel, eventually spinning off into the Patagonia collection of companies we recognize today. Each of which has been infused with the ethos of conservation and quality. Now, Patagonia would never consider making any piece of gear or equipment without endeavoring to fully understand and mitigate the negative impacts it might create. (Though by their own admission, they are still far from perfect.)

The important takeaway is that even a myopic little shack-based climbing company can, with intentionality and perseverance, become heralded as the gold standard in ethical corporate behavior. Patagonia wasn't exactly green, or just, or visionary from the the get go--though its founders did hold some of these values. They became that way though more than 50 years of striving to be better. And if they can not only learn to adapt but to thrive in the process, no one else really has an excuse.

"When we act positively on solving problems instead of ignoring them or trying to find a way around them, we are further along the path toward sustainability. Every time we've elected to do the right thins, it's turned out to be more profitable."

- Pg 194, Environmental Philosophy

2. Patagonia has f*cked up a lot more than they've succeeded.  

As a company, Patagonia has often been on the vanguard of the social and environmental business movements. And while today, their brand in inextricably tied with these ideas, it's taken a lot of trial and error to get there. And like most great scientists, many more of their experiments ended in failure that success. But these failures led to a deeper understanding of fundamental principles, which in tern led to greater triumph.

Patagonia's forays into onsite child care really highlight this. As part of a much needed building expansion in the mid-80s, the growing company embraced open floor plans, cafeteria dining, flexible hours. They also opened the Great Pacific Child Development Center, Inc. (clearly they've always been drawn to grandiose names...).  

Malinda Chouinard was one of the primary driving forces behind what was at the time a very novel concept. Providing onsite child care, along with maternity and paternity leave--really including an overall focus employee's families--led to much trial and error. The learning process was "one fraught with laws and hysterical parents," according to Malinda. 

However, the team persevered, brought outside knowledgeable voices into the conversation, calmly navigated more than one "open rebellion,"  and eventually succeeded in creating a truly-family oriented work place which met the needs of their people. A work place which today continually appears toward the top of many "best places to work" lists. In a 2016 Fast Company piece, Patagonia’s CEO explained how the company recoups around 91% of these costs annually, while experiencing a 25% higher employee retention rate than the rest of their industry.

"As the years role by, some of our original day care kids have become parents and employees and our policies have become federal law."

- Pg. 52, Malinda's View of Child Care

Though the still privately-owned Patagonia has often been profitable, theirs also hasn't been a pretty graph of rising profits.  In the early 90s, the company was struggling under the weight of its own once meteoric growth rate. A series of challenges eventually led Patagonia--a company which had never before laid off a single employee--to let go 20 percent of their staff go in a single, dark day.

This led to some deep soul searching about the nature of growth, the direction of the outdoor apparel industry, and the purpose of Patagonia itself.  It also led to a pivot in the vision of the company, one which transformed them from a clothing manufacture with above average quality and ethical standards to something more. (See takeaway three below.)

Over the years, Patagonia tried, failed, and tried again on issues from employee benefits to sourcing to growth to new business models. But the through line is that they always kept trying. Let My People Go Surfing is really a story of proud failures. Proud not because of the failures themselves, but because of the company's ability to stay the course and eventually create transformative solutions.

The take-way here is obvious: screw up as many times as you need to as long as you keep showing back up. To paraphrase Simon Sinek, the only way to "loose" this game is to choose to give up and leave it. Keep playing long enough and eventually any obstacle can be overcome, especially if your mission is just.

3.  Patagonia's beloved clothes and gear are just a byproduct. 

Maybe Patagonia’s most groundbreaking advertisement.

The biggest misconception about Patagonia is that their primary product is clothing or gear. These are important, but ultimately ancillary, to what they actually produce.

The immediate result of Patagonia's growth crisis of the 90s was a lot of tough conversations. From these eventually emerged an internalized commitment to intentionally using their business as a proving grounds and model for others.

"Our mission statement reflects this evolution by saying we will  'cause no unnecessary harm,' and ends with our resolution to 'use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.'''

- Pg. 187, Environmental Philosophy

The company was no longer interested in the allurer of unchecked expansion and growth for growth's sake. They were also no longer content to support conservation efforts via philanthropy and to make positive changes in their business when time and circumstances allowed. They decided to deeply examine their own harmful practices and policies, and to slowly transition them to regenerative ones. 

Initially these were painful threads to tug at and their jackets soon unraveled into quagmires of confusing supply chains and damned if you do damned if you don't choices. But their dedicated employees realized that they weren't solving these problems to enrich a single product, company, or single supply chain. They were working to solve social and environmental problems for their entire industry. And for other industries which were watching. They were solving sticky problems for their allies, their competitors, their producer and suppliers, and for an untold legion of new businesses which didn't even exist yet.

It's a journey they are still--and will always be--on.

84-years-young and still learning.

The takeaway, while certainty not a new one, is a powerful one: purpose matters. Anybody can produce board shorts. Sure Patagonia's are often of superior quality, but they're not always the best. Others can and do compete with them along these lines all the time. (And frankly, top-notch topstitching isn't all that exciting--at least for this humble clothes wearer).

But the fact that a major clothing company is ready and willing to incur huge cost and risk to help produce less water-intensive organic cotton or to engineer hats out of discarded fishing nets is huge. And the fact that they are excited to turn over this knowledge and instruct others in these hard learned tradecrafts, is revolutionary.

"It really is the small private business we hope to influence. It is the tens of thousands of young people who dream of owning their own farm some day. All of us working together can create the change we need."

- Pg 222. Environmental Philosophy

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For many, Let My People Go Surfing  falls into the category of obligatory mission-driven business reads. However, it also sits collecting dust on many book shelves. Many folks flipped through it  a decade ago in order to say they've read it. Admittedly, we only purchased my copy a few years ago. It was at their Chicago location during their ground breaking Black Friday feat of giving away all profits from that behemoth shopping day.

Our copy now sits dog eared, heavily annotated, and flush with post-it notes back on our bookshelf, but never out of reach.

So if you have a copy, please pick it back up and give it a reread. If you don't have a copy, you can come borrow ours. (Our only ask, as is the case with all our books, is that you write in it; add a little more to the book than when you found it.) Enjoy its stories. Scrutinize its lessons. Mark it up, beat it up, eat it up.

We get the feeling that would make a certain "dirtbag" reluctant businessman proud.

Said “dirt bag.”

Commonplacer Profile: Ryan, Hannon, Goodwill Street Outreach

George G. and Ryan H. Two fantastic local community advocates for our homeless neighbors.

If you stand at the door to Ryan Hannon's office around 7:30am, you can see the guests of Safe Harbor beginning to disembark for the day. They're wrapped tightly in a collection of cast off clothes; incongruent ensembles of third-hand high-end apparel and Walmart bargain-bin finds. Most carry all their worldly possessions in worn backpacks or faded shopping bags held together with ducktape. Some walk together. Others venture out alone. All are moving from the certainty of a warm bed and a prepared meal into the cold unknown of Northern Michigan.

Some see them as bums, as vagrants, as objects of pity or sources of frustration. Unfortunate souls who, through some failing of their own, have fallen through the cracks. Derelicts who, for love of vice or lack of will, choose to stay homeless. Some identify them as a problem; a threat to a tourist town with a Pure image, a local blight to be assuaged with quick fixes or to be hustled off to some other town. Let those suckers down the road deal with em.

But Ryan see these overlooked humans for who they really are: men, women, young adults, individuals, members of our community who are fighting--sometimes minute by minute--for a better life. They are proud Northern Michiganders who embody our spirit of resiliency, of defiance, of hope. And Ryan knows each of them by their name.

Meeting our homelessness neighbors where they are.

Ryan Hannon is Goodwill Northern Michigan's Community Engagement Officer and an integral part of the Street Outreach program. You may find him at a local encampment. Maybe he’s with a support team providing medical treatment. Maybe he’s just sitting and talking with folks, listening to their stories and sharing in their lives.

Sometimes, on cold nights, you'll see him walking the streets and trails of Traverse City, looking for friends who haven't popped up lately in any of their usual places.

But you'll also catch Ryan coming out of city and county meetings advocating for housing and other support programs. Or meeting with law enforcement and social service groups to help guide their collaborative efforts.

Right now, Ryan smells like cigarette smoke. He's been sitting for the last two hours in a garage meeting at Dan's House, listening to residents and staff as they work through their shared challenges.

Ryan talks softly, yet passionately. He has a smile which is impossible not to catch and to carry with you through out the day.

"I sum it up by saying Street Outreach brings resources to help people in their homelessness right where they are," says Ryan. "Under a bridge, in the woods, an abandoned building, wherever it is, we bring resources to help end homelessness. And that can mean a number of different things depending on the person. We build relationships with that person."

"I sum it up by saying Street Outreach brings resources to help people in their homelessness right where they are."

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done and outreach before a person can even qualify to get actual help," he continues. "So we kinda do a lot of stuff that that doesn't get really noticed or thought about."

"We have housing programs, we have HUD money for helping people, but if you don't have outreach to go and get people to those resources... you know, the money's gonna get spent somewhere, but the people that really need it the most aren't going to get it. So there's a lot of work on that."

And with a very limited number of supportive housing options in our region, making sure our most vulnerable neighbors have the access they need is critical.

Ryan, and the Street Outreach program are an important part of the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness. This coalition works collaboratively to end homelessness by making homelessness rare, brief, and one-time. They address housing issues through a community-based process that develops a comprehensive, coordinated continuum of care to individuals and families who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless in our communities.

The end goal for Ryan, and the coalition, is to help get anyone experiencing homelessness to into supportive housing. Then, with this very base need is addressed, folks can begin to focus on building health and stability in other areas of their life.

"We have housing programs and HUD money for helping people, but if you don't have outreach to go and get people...”

The coalition's effort to end homelessness are rooted values of collaboration, accountability and data-driven decision making. The latter value involves making system-wide decisions based on actual data rather than intuition or observations alone. It means using qualitative data gathered from persons with lived experience of homelessness.

But even within well established methods of helping people get into supportive housing, Ryan and others still understand the importance of individual agency and freedom.

"We try to promote choice as much as possible, because we've found, and evidence, shows people need to 'see' themselves living where they're going to live, or it doesn't work out," says Ryan. "So sometimes I gotta kinda try and advocate or help fight for choice for folks. But also at the same time there may not be very many choices that they have."

“People need to 'see' themselves living where they're going to live, or it doesn't work out.”

Despite increased community awareness around issues of homelessness, Ryan often hears similar concerns from people he talks to about his work.

"The biggest misconception I hear usually is people want to be homeless," says Ryan. "Or that people come to Traverse City to be homeless." he continues, referring to the belief that people travel to our area just to take advantage of local programs and support options. "But that's a myth in every single town in America."

"The biggest misconception I hear usually is people want to be homeless. Or that people come to Traverse City to be homeless."

"Another thing people think is that outreach is just going out and giving blankets to people. We very rarely do that, although we will if we need to."

To help meet basic and urgent needs--like appropriate winter clothing--Ryan works with other groups like Father Fred, Jubilee House, Central United Methodist Church, Salvation Army, St. Vincent dePaul, Safe Harbor, Addiction Treatment Services and others.

"Street Outreach is not trying to get all that stuff to give to people. That’s very time consuming and it's very hard work," says Ryan. "And it prevents [Street Outreach] from helping people get out of homelessness."

Increasingly, Ryan's time is spent on addressing the systemic causes of homelessness. He has parlayed his community recognition--earned through years of showing up and speaking up--into a valuable asset for advocacy.

"The reason I'm here in this [Commongrounds] building is to be down closer to the NOBO neighborhood. I'm working with the city police and their new police social worker Jen Campbell and the community police officer Justin Nowland to try to be part of an advisory [team] and to be able to come help intervene and be in this space to help."

Even as Ryan is spends more and more time working “upstream” of the immediate needs of our homeless neighbors, he knows that it’ll takes an entire community to create real change.

"We're just one pieces of the big puzzle of ending homelessness," says Ryan

Actions you can take to support Ryan, the coalition, and our homeless neighbors:

1. Sign up to volunteer at Safe Harbor or at Dan's House.

2. Help put together a "Welcome Home" basket full of essential goods for those moving from homelessness into supportive housing.

3. Learn more about the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness's work. (Also, here's a short video on what they do.)

4. Keep up to date on the coalition's work by joining their emailing list. (You can also read their past newsletters here.)

5. Reach out to Ryan!
   

Hear more from Ryan and learn more about the coalition's work at the upcoming Rotary Charities event Stories of Change: How a Systems Change Approach is Transforming a Region, happening Thursday, January 26 at the City Opera House.