Uniting Nationally to Solve our Problems Locally
Juan Reid
TightShift Laboring Cooperative
“After prison, creating work for myself was my only option… but even though we had the effort and ideas, we lacked the resources.”
Since I returned home from prison, finding work has been hell. Creating work for myself has been my only option. Through connections at One DC, I learned about the cooperative model, and I decided to make my business a cooperative so I could create opportunities for others stuck on the outside like I was. But even though we had the effort and the ideas, we didn’t have the resources. Joining the national peer network has given us access to capital and training that was impossible before.
“As part of the peer network, all of that can change. We now have the training and investment of a national organization that we can use to solve our problems locally”
“In Richmond California, Urban Tilth has been organizing against our food desert for over ten years. But we’ve realized it’s not just about lack of access to sustainable food: our food insecurity stems from lack of access to sustainable livelihoods. Our strategy now is to build community businesses that can create long-term wealth, the kind that can overcome food deserts for the long haul. But alone, our community doesn’t have the resources to build community businesses. As part of the peer network, all of that can change. We now have the training and investment of a national organization that we can use to solve our problems locally.”
Doria Robinson
Urban Tilth