A Thriving Community Defined

Ask ten people what a thriving community looks like to them and you will likely get ten different answers. But usually at the top of the list is access to affordable housing and healthcare. With 2025 approaching, Brick by Brick went searching for answers, talking to adults and teens. Interact for Health reports on roadblocks and successes for Southwest Ohio. In Dayton plans are underway for a wellbeing index, and a Middletown neighborhood is already seeing improvements after the installation of a community garden.

Interview guests:
Interact for Health Vice President Ashlee Young, Founder of Dayton’s Collaboratory Peter Benkendorf and Middletown Connect Program Manager DeAnna Shores.

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Transcript

Ann Thompson:

Creating a thriving community is more than making sure people have a place to live.

Ashlee Young:

It's a place where everyone feels included and has access to essential resources and opportunities.

Ann Thompson:

Thriving is defined as growing vigorously flourishing, getting there takes buy-in from residents.

Danielle Woodward:

Just the smallest thing that you can do for your community is going to make the largest impact. 

Ann Thompson:

For teens, it's as simple as…

Dionte Wagner:

I just want a cleaner or a better environment.

Ann Thompson:

For months. Brick by Brick has been asking people what a thriving community looks like to them.

Alice Wood:

A thriving community, oh my gosh, wow. It takes good people. It takes a plan, it takes resources.

Ann Thompson:

On this episode, we look to the new year on what it will take to get there, plus the challenges and the progress some have already made. So let's get into it. This is Brick by Brick: Solutions for a thriving community.

Ame Clase:

Brick by Brick is made possible thanks to leading support from Debra and Robert Chavez, Greater Cincinnati Foundation and the George and Margaret McLane Foundation, with additional major support from The AES Ohio Foundation, Laurie Johnston and the Seasongood Good Government Foundation, Diane and Dave Moccia, The Robert and Jean Penny Endowment Fund of The Dayton Foundation, P&G, the Robert & Adelle Schiff Family Foundation, and more. Thank you.

Ann Thompson:

Hello, and welcome to Brick by Brick, where we're highlighting solutions for a thriving community in southwest Ohio. I'm your host, Ann Thompson. We say it all the time, thriving community. It's in our series subtitle, but what does a thriving community look like and how do we get there? One community gave us a blueprint and we have a variety of other ideas from Cincinnati and Dayton, adults and teens, you'll hear those later in the pod, but first possible roadblocks to getting there and evidence of success from Interact for Health, a nonprofit organization based in Cincinnati, but charged with ensuring people in a 20 county Tri-State region have a just opportunity to live their healthiest lives regardless of who they are or where they live. Ashlee Young, Interact for Health's Vice President of Policy and Engagement joins us in the studio. Welcome to Brick By Brick.

Ashlee Young:

Thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited to be here today.

Ann Thompson:

Your latest report, which came out in the fall, Our Health, Our Opportunity identified four major obstacles to a thriving community, including the lack of a healthy environment. And I'm wondering what does that look like and how does this affect somebody's ability to live their best life?

Ashlee Young:

Yes, that's an excellent question. So when I think a lot of times when we think about a healthy environment or people being healthy, we often think about hospitals. So when I go out and talk to people, I'm like, what do you need to be healthy? People say access to hospitals. They think about absence of disease and things like that, and all of those things play a part, but our health is way more than healthcare, and so really with this report is just really shedding a light on health is about place and the environment and the context in which people live.

Ann Thompson:

Yeah, thanks for explaining that. And so briefly, because your report covers a lot, what are the other major obstacles in Interact for Health's report?

Ashlee Young:

Yes, so really what we look at in this report are really kind of four areas. One, just focusing in on the vital conditions of health. And so some folks might refer to those as the social drivers, but everything outside of health, so housing, education, economics, environment, all of those factors play a role into someone being healthy. The other area that we look at too is really systemic racism and discrimination. Until we are really addressing some of those root causes, people are not going to be able to live a healthy, thriving life. The other area that we take a look at is really social isolation and loneliness.

Ann Thompson:

The Gallup Wellbeing Index pointed that out.

Ashlee Young:

Yes, exactly. And then the other area is really looking at how engaged are people in their society, and so really people understanding that you have the power to affect change in your community. So the report takes a look at that, and it also really focuses in on a lot of times when we think about these issues in health, we're thinking about it from the individual perspective and really how do we think about it from a collective community perspective?

Ann Thompson:

Yeah, that's important. Well, our community is working to solve these issues and let's talk about some stories of progress. You list quite a few in your report.

Ashlee Young:

It really takes a collection and all of us to really do this work. So I think about Cradle Cincinnati and their Mama Certified program, and so that is initiatives where they're working with moms to identify what is the best birthing place for you. And they started and they asked them what it looked like, and then they developed a program working with local hospitals to really come up with these metrics. And so when I think about the nice marrying of community leading and deciding and thinking about policy and systems change, I think about that work and what that leads to is better maternal outcomes for women and also looking to address infant mortality as well as well. And so that is initiative that I think about of folks really trying to work together and look at some of those issues. I think the YWCA is doing amazing work and really trying to look at racism and discrimination with their initiatives and working with nonprofits and the trainings and things like that that they do. And so I think that those are a few that really kind of stand out for me. I explained to you what a healthy community means to me, and there's a variety of different perspectives that community members have, and so it's really important to really have those perspectives as well

Ann Thompson:

And to hear from everyone.

Ashlee Young:

Sure. Yes.

Ann Thompson:

So your team, speaking of that, is out in the community asking residents what their hopes and dreams are for a thriving community.

Ashlee Young:

Yes.

Ann Thompson:

What are they telling you and are any of the responses related to housing?

Ashlee Young:

Yes, and so I will say that housing definitely was a resounding issue that we heard a lot, especially within our rural communities as well. Some other things that we heard, I actually have a couple quotes from folks. So one person shared a thriving community in my opinion is one where there is a sense of unity, support and equity among community members. It's a place where everyone feels included and has access to essential resources and opportunities. To me, a thriving community looks like a place where there is equal access to resources for all people, abundant green spaces that are accessible to everyone, affordable healthcare, excellent education, affordable housing,

Ann Thompson:

And there's some optimism there. And I'm wondering if you had to pick one of the obstacles that you cite in the report, which one are we closest to removing, do you think?

Ashlee Young:

Oh my gosh. Oh my God, which one are we closest to removing? I will say that I think that there is a lot of energy within our community around housing, and so we're not there yet and trying to address it, but I think there are the right people around the table and a diverse group of stakeholders. I think mental health and wellbeing too, it's a huge area of opportunity and there's a lot of energy within our community of really, especially around our young folks, of really how do we make sure that they feel safe and they feel like they belong and connected for folks.

Ann Thompson:

Well, thank you, Ashlee. We look forward to following the progress Interact for Health is making. 

Ashlee Young:

Yes, thank you so much. 

Ann Thompson:

You can find a link to the report@ctconnect.org and think tv.org. One of the other programs interact points to is Middletown Connect and Brick by Brick got a firsthand look at the positive change happening where Maylinda Stidham and Otis Trammell are doers and the kind of couple many communities would love to have.

Maylinda Stidham:

When you sit there and have dreams and see that you have a chance to do something and be part of something great and be the change the city needs, you can't do that sitting on your couch.

Otis Trammell:

If you do nothing, nothing will happen.

Ann Thompson:

The Middletown residents moved into the Sherman neighborhood two years ago and quickly realized they wanted to make it safer, greener and healthier. They started a neighborhood watch and then a community garden in what was an overgrown vacant lot next to their house. This is important because they live in a food desert.

Maylinda Stidham:

We're very big on solving problems. We're not wanting to put a Band-Aid on a hiccup because we don't get done that way and our city's not getting better that way either. We need more people to jump in like We're tired of this. Let's go in here, let's change it in what we’re doing.

Ann Thompson:

Stidham and Trammell are ambassadors for the privately funded organization. Middletown Connect. Deanna Shores is the program manager. She's also known as the Connector.

DeAnna Shores:

The innovation is crazy, and what we're really trying to do is kind of connect the folks with some resources to make those things kind of, it's more than Dreams come true. It's actually some really practical ways that we can make a phenomenal difference in our community.

Ann Thompson:

One of those ways is with the Blueprint Community Garden at the corner of Cleveland Street and Grand Avenue, the one Stidham and Trammell started. On the day Brick by Brick, stopped by, Middletown Connect, invited people to cut back dead crops and plant fall produce.

Otis Trammell:

You want to do garlic in the five in front and grains in the back?

Maylinda Stidham:

Yes.

Ann Thompson:

It wasn't long before Middletown resident and new Planning commission member AJ Mantel showed up.

AJ Mentel:

This is literally my first time ever being here and meeting these guys, but I already really appreciate what they're doing. 

Ann Thompson:

Maylinda walks over and picks a salad tomato for Manel. 

Maylinda Stidham:

Try that. You might want to wipe it off. 

AJ Mantel:

Which variety is this? 

Maylinda Stidham:

You're not going to find something like that at Meijer or Walmart. I mean, even if you don't eat it and you just squish it between your hands, all the juices and everything comes out.

Ann Thompson:

There's even a medicinal garden in the back. Mantel stayed to talk to the couple who had their kids out working in the garden. They decided to organize a community think tank and are thinking through how a self-sustaining restaurant might work. Middletown Connects motto is restoring the pride where we reside. The organization morphed into its current state with the support of the health commissioner, city manager, chief of Police mental health professionals, and Mayor Elizabeth Slamka who came to the garden.

Elizabeth Slamka:

These are things that actually make a difference for people right now to improve their health, to keep communities strong and vital, keep us connected, which we know is so important for our health, physical, mental, emotional, all of it. So I'm just thrilled. I couldn't be more proud. I couldn't be prouder of Middletown Connect.

Ann Thompson:

Middletown Connect has a grant from Ohio to score communities based on transportation, education, housing, poverty, and access to fresh food. Nine of the 16 census tracks of Middletown consider people vulnerable. Middletown Connect is focused on three of those neighborhoods where people are living 12 and a half years less than people in neighboring communities. Here's Deanna Shores again.

DeAnna Shores:

These are real things. So about equality's, about equity. What do I need to feel healthy to get healthy, to be healthy? What does health look like in Southwestern Ohio?

Ann Thompson:

For two years now, Middletown Connect has been carving out its identity, asking neighbors what is plaguing them and looking at strategies to help.

DeAnna Shores:

It's been slow and steady, but we had to stop and remove some assumptions that we were all making and in order to kind of build these pathways to power and really empower people on this level, on the neighborhood level to say, Hey, I want to be involved in this decision making process and I want to be a part of the solution that's going to work best for me and my family.

Ann Thompson:

Elk's Lodge members reached out and said they'd like to help. They've started a community resource hub. Here's an example,

DeAnna Shores:

Once a month, the first Saturday of every month from 10 to 12, we do an expungement hub because one of the things we talked about was when people have records, they have barriers to housing, they have barriers to better jobs.

Ann Thompson:

Back in the Sherman neighborhood, just down the street from where Melinda and Otis live, the City of Middletown was dedicating new playground equipment at Sherman Park on a Saturday in November. (Ann) Are you guys having fun? The new Merry-Go-round and Jungle Gym were a hit with the kids playing on it. Park board president Steve Lewis urged them to take care of it and had this advice for adults.

Steve Lewis:

You're waiting for things to get done in town, that's great, but the town has a lot to get done. How we get some other things done around some of that is through volunteers.

Ann Thompson:

Lewis pointed to Danielle Woodward, who lives across the street in the same house she grew up in and is now a member of the park board. She urges others to get involved in their community,

Danielle Woodward:

Going around cleaning up trash or anything like that. Just the smallest thing can really help out your community, and once people see you doing something, they always follow.

Ann Thompson:

What's interesting is Middletown Connect started as an organization focused on teens and preventing drug use and along the way discovered many of them felt a lack of connection to the community. Brick by Bricks, Emiko Moore heard similar concerns in talking to Dayton teens and has this report.

Emiko Moore:

Children are 20% of our population, but 100% of our future says Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims, what do they experience and want for their neighborhoods? 16-year-old Rick Kuhbander is from Southeast Dayton and wants better parks and cleaner areas.

Rick Kuhbander:

Everybody working together to clean up the community, to clean up the alleys, to fund fun parks, and to make other curricular activities for kids to stay out the streets.

Emiko Moore:

High school sophomore, Goddess Jackson wants to see more entertainment and less violence near her home in West Dayton,

Goddess Jackson:

I live in DeSota Bass and it's like, it's just very, you see drugs, drug addicts, kids my age, 16, they can range from 13 too. They selling weed and stuff like that, and of course that's going to lead up to something so drive-by's. Like just yesterday someone got shot. It was like 10 cops down there, but it's just like a normal thing from where I'm from, they normalize it.

Emiko Moore:

Chaz Amos understands the impact. The 22-year-old security resource officer with Dayton Public Schools started the nonprofit I love West Dayton.

Chaz Amos:

Yeah, I think a lot of that, it can actually become a form of trauma when you're growing up in a impoverished area where there's trash everywhere, which inevitably is connected to increased violence, lack of morale and pride. It does something to your mindset. It's a common thing because when you live around it so long, it is normal. So when you see trash lined, lined up along the fence line of your park in a certain area, you don't think anything of it. You actually add to it depending on what your mindset is, you're like, okay, well, it doesn't matter anyway,

Emiko Moore:

But it does matter. Jessica Salem, executive director of the Center for Health Equity at Dayton Children's Hospital says A child's health has a lot to do with everything beyond the walls of the hospital.

Jessica Salem:

So we think about 80% of a child's health has to do with things like their housing, their neighborhoods, their homes, so do they have access to walking? Do they have access to a food option? Do they have a safe place to play? If you're walking through a neighborhood and this is your home and it's not what you desire and really seeing, I have busted out windows. I see garbage on the street, what does that say about me? And I think that can be, kids are so interested in what people's perception of them are. That is part of growing up, but also what does this say about me as far as where I live and how I'm valued?

Emiko Moore:

A spark was ignited when Chaz Amos met President Obama at a West Coast teen conference soon after Amos started a community effort of over 200 volunteers to pick up trash in Dayton neighborhoods.

Chaz Amos:

So the primary target areas were parks, street waves, alleyways. That was the main focus, especially our parks where kids play. We've had people who have removed needles, different paraphernalia items and all kinds of different things from the park where our kids play at.

Emiko Moore:

The Department of Public Works joined in with 12 dump trucks to help Amos and his volunteers get rid of over 238,000 pounds of bulk and garbage in five neighborhoods.

Chaz Amos:

It made me feel good for sure. It made me feel like I was getting the message out, especially once I would see more and more residents out with litter pickers cleaning their, and I don't take credit for that at all. It's just something that I've noticed folks have decided to go out on their own.

Emiko Moore:

Salem says teens want social connections and naturally want to give back to the community when given the opportunity,

Jessica Salem:

They can get a bad rap, but they genuinely want to impact their community. And I think you see this generation of people that want to make change and they see, Hey, we want to do something about that. And you have to harness that.

Emiko Moore:

Amos encourages teens to take steps to make things happen.

Chaz Amos:

I would say take initiative. You can do your own community cleanup around your house or in your alleyway. There's so many different things that you can do that are very small.

Emiko Moore:

That message is not lost on Rick and Goddess who their peers just want better neighborhoods

Rick Kuhbander:

Like either outside of school programs that keep kids from fighting or a better park, so better basketball court instead of grass growing on the basketball court.

Goddess Jackson:

So I just feel like we should just help each other. That's really what it, a good community just help each other. I feel like community, a community is a whole, it's just not one person thing.

Ann Thompson:

Thanks, Emiko. I really liked how many of them had goals and they were pretty realistic goals.

Emiko Moore:

Yes, I was really surprised to hear how many of the teens mentioned wanting cleaner neighborhoods. Some also wanted to feel safer, especially after it gets dark and something as simple as better lighting in the streets and parks can make a difference in activity level. I mean, other teens wanted community centers where they could learn life skills like cooking or car repairs, and some wanted to connect more with seniors and hear their stories and experiences. Thanks Emiko, we'll talk to you later in the takeaways. Thank you.

Ann Thompson:

Coming up on Brick By Brick, a Dayton organization looks at wellbeing and starts with one idea it hopes will make a big impact.

Peter Benkendorf:

How do we start to look at using wellbeing as a mechanism for changing the system without necessarily flipping the table and just blowing the system up

Ann Thompson:

And newsmakers from other Brick by brick episodes, weigh in on what a thriving community looks like to them. That's ahead on Brick by Brick.

Ame Clase:

Brick by Brick is made possible thanks to the generous support of so many, including Rosmary & Mark Schlachter, The Camden Foundation, Patti & Fred Heldman, DeeDee & Gary West, The Stephen H. Wilder Foundation, Judith & Thomas Thompson, a donation in memory of Frank and Margaret Linhardt, and more. Thank you. We couldn't do this work without you.

Mark Lammers:

When we talk about thriving in our neighborhoods, I tend to think about sustainability because any improvements we make, we want them to endure. Right? Hi, my name's Mark Lammers and I'm the executive producer for Brick By Brick. And while our team stays focused on exploring and uncovering the next viable solution to what ails us, we're looking to you to help hold us accountable and keep this thing sustainable. And while a donation does go a long way at CET and ThinkTV, in this case, we're just asking for a little time and feedback right now. There's a big green button on our website and a link in the podcast show notes to our audience feedback form. We'd be so grateful if you’d share your thoughts about the work we're doing so we can keep improving and connecting solution minded neighbors like yourself with the social responses that will move our cities in the right direction. Your feedback also helps us seek funding to keep this effort going. We appreciate your time and can't wait to hear from someone in every neighborhood. Thank you.

Ann Thompson:

Welcome back to Brick By Brick. How we measure success in our community matters. Many of the metrics that cities and towns look at are economic, like GDP, employment rates, population size, and average incomes, and those are worthwhile indicators, but perhaps there's room for additional measures. Cities typically will do surveys on, right track, wrong track for the city as a whole. People like or dislike the direction or leadership or have some other concerns. So beyond these, what other measures could be taken? It turns out there's a strong correlation between the wellbeing of community members and the success of that community. It seems like common sense, right? But studying individual wellbeing is not standard at all. That's why a Dayton group has been working toward establishing a wellbeing index to serve the community in a number of ways. The Community Wellbeing Initiative first intends to utilize a standardized survey on wellbeing that was established by the international polling and analytics company, Gallup over decades of testing. Peter Benkendorf and his team at the Dayton Collaboratory say the index focuses on the five essential elements of wellbeing, career, social, financial, physical, and community.

Peter Benkendorf:

It really allows us to begin to change the narrative and to look at how those that have been left behind are doing. It addresses policy advocacy. It addresses resource allocation because we have data now that shows as wellbeing goes up, we're going to get better community outcomes. And I think the premise of this conversation is what defines a thriving community. And I think we go for the ultimate in our language. Our community will be its most thriving by definition when every single person here is realizing their potential. And I think that's really what excites us. It's why the Collaboratory exists. Our tagline is Unleashing Dayton's potential, but you can't realize your potential unless you're experiencing wellbeing.

Ann Thompson:

Organizers like Benkendorf have been working on this project for five years and see the community-wide baseline research as the first key part of this effort. They're working to raise the funds for this phase two part. Another innovative component of the initiative is something called the Richter Scale. No, not the Earthquake Intensity Measurement System, but a different Richter Scale developed in the nineties in the UK it was originally used to help young criminal offenders and their families overcome personal obstacles, but it's now being adapted and applied to make it useful to businesses, organizations, and communities. Its website says the scale revolves around measuring self-reported personal achievements, and then helps provide guidance and connections to individuals to assist them in their journey. As the team continues to build momentum around its Wellbeing Index and the Richter Scale model in the near term, they're stepping up to impact their neighbors by erasing medical debt. The Community of Wellbeing Initiative will help more than 11,000 people in seven counties pay off $18 million in medical debt to be exact. The idea is, without these payments, residents can better spend their money to help themselves and their community. With ideas like this and others…

Peter Benkendorf:

We become a living laboratory for what a lot of other cities can be doing. I think that would be a hopeful outcome

Ann Thompson:

When it comes to paying off medical debt. It's good to note that Cincinnati is also doing something similar for giving 134 million through a city funded partnership. We'll be continuing to follow the efforts of the Dayton Collaboratory, including the Wellbeing Index, and bring you the latest information right here on Brick by Brick. The core of our shows seeks to find solutions many times through partnerships that lead to thriving communities. Brick by Brick, multimedia journalist, Hernz Laguerre Jr. has been rigorous in asking and reminding the rest of the team to ask our guests what a thriving community means to them. Take a listen.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Throughout our coverage of the first season on Brick by Brick, we've been asking our guests their opinions on what makes a thriving community. And although our first season revolves around housing, our guest showed us that a thriving community is deeper than that day in resident Alice Wood from our episode five Right to Council podcast explains,

Alice Wood:

It starts with affordable housing, quality, affordable housing. Because with that, people can remain, remain housed. It causes so many problems from just issues with health-wise to maybe your employment status, children's education, and I mean it is a necessity.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Incorporated or ABLE for short just launched their access to council pilot program this fall to help decrease the over 3000 evictions in Dayton and help keep more people housed. Another Dayton resident, Kaneika Lovett from our episode 13 Choice Voucher podcast sat down with our multimedia journalist Emiko Moore, and imagined her ideal community.

Kaneika Lovett:

A thriving community is life. You got to have life in your neighborhoods. I want to see the kids outside playing. Again. Parks, recreation, grass helps people. You need grass. Grass is life. Get out there and get in the grass.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

People want to enjoy their neighborhoods and do their everyday activities with as much ease as possible. Maurie Hornsby from our episode seven A DU podcast talks about an important component to make doing everyday activities easier.

Maurie Hornsby:

Even walkability, walkability and being able to get around is huge. You can head on down to a local park, you can head down to restaurants, you can head to a store. To be in a thriving community is to have everything that you and your family need to function within a reasonable distance.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Marianne Taylor from our second Adaptive Reuse podcast in episode 15, shared with our host Ann Thompson, what fun activity she likes to do.

Marianne Taylor:

Another trend that I personally am passionate about is the bike trails that have been established throughout Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and the ultimate goal is for the Crown Bike Trail to connect all across the state of Ohio. So we've really seen from a development standpoint, more businesses and multifamily developments really pop up along those bike trails because we've found that people want to live by those.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

According to the organization, Tri-State Trails, there has been more people like Marianne using Greater Cincinnati's bicycle and pedestrian trails in the last few years. And with the Connected communities policy reforms in Cincinnati, increasing walkability in the city is top priority. Geoff Milz from episode 14, large scale apartments, points out that families from different backgrounds have similar priorities.

Geoff Milz:

Regardless of your background, there is opportunity for you. A thriving community is one in which there's an active street life and a healthy culture. There's acceptance. There's the ability to live the American dream, right? I talk about this with my son frequently. What is the American dream? It's that each generation, we have opportunities to get closer to what it is that we want.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Late this fall, there was a housing strategy briefing and discussion in Northern Kentucky to foster ideas and solutions to create more opportunities for people to find their American dream in the region. Brent Cooper, president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, spoke at the event in the episode we haven't released yet. He shared the things that build a quality life,

Brent Cooper:

Your community health, your ability to have a place to live, and your ability to grow a family, to have amenities within your community that make your quality of life high. I often say we want a place that's a great place to live, work, play, learn, and give back. We feel like we have that in Northern Kentucky, but we're missing components. Housing is one of those big components,

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

And it's not just in Northern Kentucky. All over the country, leaders in government, nonprofits, private businesses, and everyday people like you, our listeners, are all working to add these missing components and fill the gap between where we are and that thriving community we're working towards. And in all these different communities in America, housing is the one component that could help fill that gap in a mighty way.

Ann Thompson:

Thanks, Hernz. I really loved hearing the different responses to the same question. Any common themes from our guests?

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

A hundred percent. There are many. I'll include some of the major ones online, but both Kaneika Lovett and Alice Wood, in response to their question, asked me a rhetorical question of what happened to the block party? They both described how these block parties or public gatherings in the neighborhood gave neighbors an opportunity to build together and network. And I love the thought of that because it builds upon the idea that we need each other to build and grow and thrive.

Ann Thompson:

Good thoughts. Well, we'll talk to you in the takeaways momentarily Hernz.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Yes, ma'am.

Ann Thompson:

We want to hear from you as Brick By Brick develops more episodes. Go to our website, cetconnect.org and thinktv.org where you'll find a big green button to give feedback. That's where you'll also see related articles, a link to the podcast and Hearns and Emiko’s video stories as well as online extras. We'd love to hear from you. It is time for takeaways, and we welcome to the microphone, Emiko Moore. 

Emiko Moore:

Hello, Anne 

Ann Thompson:

And Hernz Laguerre Jr.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Hey, everyone.

Ann Thompson:

I know this was kind of a different format where we each went out in the community and tried to find what makes a thriving community. Emiko, what are your thoughts? Why don't you start?

Emiko Moore:

Sure. My takeaway is that a thriving community is one where people get to know one another and help one another. That's really, it sounds really basic, but it's as basic as it gets. For Chaz Amos, it was very empowering. He galvanized a community of over 200 volunteers to pick up trash in so many neighborhoods, and sometimes it just takes one person to get the ball rolling and then others join in and help. He's now connected with many people that he got to know through this effort. And so this kind of give and take is mutually beneficial and it helps communities thrive.

Ann Thompson:

And you can start small. So in terms of Middletown Connect, there were two people who saw this vacant lot right next to their house, and it was really bringing down their neighborhood, and they realized we could start a community garden, an urban garden where we plant fruits and vegetables, they even have a medicinal garden. They got some sponsors that helped with some of the costs. The community gave them permission to do it. And because of this one small garden on a corner, lot people who live around there have started fixing up their houses. They've started painting their fences. So it is making a difference.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

And I like that story, Ann, because I think it just shows how people from the neighborhood can work together to make something happen. And in this podcast, we've had the pleasure of having a diverse group of people on our show. People from different neighborhoods, different economic backgrounds, different cultures, et cetera. But we've all asked them the same question. As you guys know, what makes a thriving community? And I like to believe it's because as a show, we want to highlight that despite all of our differences, we all live in the same community. And for as far ranging as the responses were, there were just as many similarities at the bare minimum. Every single person wanted better for themselves and their neighborhoods, places with resources, opportunities to better their lives and sustain that. The similarity that came up most often centered around creating affordable and available housing, as we've discovered in our podcast, and even as we go on to discuss different topics in the future seasons, housing will be a reoccurring component to creating that thriving community.

Ann Thompson:

And we're going to continue to ask the question, what makes a thriving community. And we want to hear from you, the listener. You can weigh in at cetconnect.org or thinkttv.org. Thanks guys.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

No problem.

Emiko Moore:

Thank you.

Ann Thompson:

Brick by Brick is taking some time off. During the holidays. Coming up January 8th, communities faced with rising housing costs are creating and expanding villages guaranteed to remain affordable. They're called Community Land Trusts. Here's where the idea came from. According to the Grounded Solutions Network:

Tony Pickett:

A group of folks, including two cousins of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ended up going to Israel and studying their communal farm operations in Israel. They came back and created what we use today as the Community Land Trust model.

Ann Thompson:

How they work, and who they benefit. That's next time on Brick by Brick. That's our show. If you like what you hear, please rate and review our podcast. It makes it easier to find. We hope you learned something, and if you did, please tell your friends and family about it. For Emiko Moore and Hernz Laguerre Jr., I'm Ann Thompson. We'll be back soon with more solutions. Take care and have a fantastic holiday. 

Our show is produced, hosted an edited by me, Ann Thompson with reporting and story editing from Hernz Laguerre Jr. and Emiko Moore. Our Executive producer of Mark Lammers. Our show consultant is Gloria Skurski. Gabe Wimberly is our audio engineer and mixer. Zach Kramer runs the lights and cameras. Derrick Smith is our production specialist and Jason Garrison is our production manager. Kellie May heads up our marketing and promotions, along with Mike Shea and Bridgett Dillenburger. Elyssa Stefenson handles the website and Steve Wright is our designer. Bill Dean and Andres Kruza are the engineers for the show and our Chief Content Officer is Colin Scianamblo. Our music is from Universal Production Music. Brick by Brick: Solutions for a Thriving Community is a production of CET and ThinkTV, Southwest Ohio PBS member stations.