Building a New Perspective on Community Development

Today was centered around building. We helped to build a new house, but we also built new perspectives around our fears, opinions, and overall definition of what community development is. Helping Habitat for Humanity today was an opportunity to see direct service and put our hands to work on a house that will potentially be apart of a family for years and generations. However, the impact of community did not just stop with the nails we left in the home we helped to build for Habitat. In fact, the impact went even further with conversations we had during reflection when we discussed the different intersections of community development and how they are not just centered around infrastructure and housing but transcend into areas of diversity and inclusion among the people within communities. Talking about community development and giving people from different backgrounds a safe place to begin strengthening community development is essential to the progress and momentum of community development. Plenty nails were used today, several sidewalks cleared, but overall a lot learned about the different intersections that make up community development and how it will take us all to make the changes we want to see.

-Josh