By Maite Iturri — The Sonoma Valley community is resilient, compassionate, and generous. When challenges present themselves so do opportunities. The recent events in our community and county highlighted the fragile circumstances so many in our community face daily. Power outages, lost wages, and school closures have profound effects on many of our families. This week I was witness to countless individuals and organizations that gave to our families with extraordinary generosity.
Many who had suffered their own losses found a way to give. People want and need to have a sense of purpose, be a part of the greater good. Feeding people is a very tangible and visible way of showing you care.
Families who live from day to day, while resilient in their attitude and ability to survive these situations, pay a higher price. Why should families have to be so resilient? Can’t basic needs be met, so parents and caregivers can focus on raising their families? The reality of limited food, scarce housing, low wages, and limited resources in our Valley is a struggle many experience every day. Referring to psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Jeff Duncan Andrade asks, “Why is it that we have to write down that we should clothe, feed, and house our children? Shouldn’t that be a given?”
The Kincade Fire and the Public Safety Power Shutdowns presented the Valley again with complex challenges. Although we were not in immediate danger from the northern fires, our families faced, as in 2017, the challenges of lost wages, food loss, and limited access to resources. These will set families back in ways that many cannot imagine. For our vulnerable families, purchasing a generator or leaving town until the situation improves is not an option. Depending on services that may or may not be available leaves many with uncertainty and worry. For example, schools feed many students up to ten meals a week, with breakfast and lunch. This is an important service. Without power, schools cannot operate, so our students are not only missing educational time, but may be going hungry as well.
Families sent me pictures of their empty refrigerators and the piles of food they had to throw away as a result of power loss. Hundreds of dollars of food ruined and no money to replace it. No school meals, home food loss, and limited or no wages equal disastrous results for so many. One parent told me that it took her months to recover from the 2017 fires. How does a community respond when so many are working so hard to provide for their families?
This week we saw the rise of leaders in Sonoma Valley, creating conditions for those with means to support those in need. Community allies, nonprofit partners, parents, elders, students, and individuals from all over the community came together to give. It takes leadership and at times sheer tenacity to bring people together to focus on an effort. The Food Pantries at El Verano and Flowery Schools brought strangers together for the greater good. Creating the space for people to be leaders and schools to come together to help each other brought smiles to the faces of many in our community. The feeling of support was pervasive, much like 2017. Why does it take a crisis to bring us together?
It is clear to me – and to anyone observing this week – that we truly care for one another. The people who walked through our doors brought arms full of groceries and love in their hearts. Many returned multiple times, bringing along friends. How can we continue the momentum of this environment of compassion and support?
This is a conversation we must not be afraid to have together. We have continued to operate in the same systems that brought the same results for so many of our most vulnerable. What would it take to bring everyone into the room and to hear the unheard voices?
We have the capacity to have this conversation. I have seen it in the hearts and actions of this community. We want to be better and we want Sonoma Valley to be a thriving place for all. We have to put our fears aside and step into the conversation to build a better future starting now. Our work is not simply the conversation; it is a conversation leading to actions that are inclusive, that bring change for our families, and draw all of us into the greater good. Wouldn’t it be great if we could say we have achieved the bottom step in Maslow’s Hierarchy – to clothe, feed, and house our children?
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