Community as Shelter

By Thomas Norman
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

Community as ...

Shelter. When I think of community it provides me with an image of shelter. A safe haven for those who dwell within the community and call it home. We are all familiar with the definition of home and most can relate to the reality of owning a home or have lived within one. However, there is a greater home that exist outside the comforts of our living rooms and bedrooms. We all dwell in some sort of community. Rather rural, suburban, or urban, or it can be a collection of individuals who share a common interest or some sort of goal. No matter the definition, one can relate a community to a having a family. Typically with family there is level of trust and commitment to the development and nurturing of the family. This concept also exist within the constructs of a community.

A community should embody the same concepts as family based on the premise that a community is a gathering of those who share a common lifestyle. When I think of the ideal community I envision a strong and solid structure capable of protecting its citizens, especially in those times of hardships. Shelter is something we all need to protect us from the natural elements of life. Rather from the rain or the coldness of winter, shelter is a necessity to ensure the safety of the occupants. Within communities there are occupants who are less fortunate than others and those who face difficult life situations. It is during these times that one should be able to lean on the pillars of the shelter that is the community. A community should embody the concept of shared sacrifice and shared responsibility. If one is without, the community should step in to ensure its occupant is provided with what he/she needs. This is what sustains a community and keeps a community viable and strong.  A community must provide a trusting shelter to those who live within it. If one cannot depend on its shelter, he or she will find another and abandon the weakened shelter that was unfit to provide a safe dwelling.

There are many weak communities within our society. We have communities that are falling apart due to the lack of trust in that community. If someone does not believe in the community that they live in, why expect them to stay? If someone is living in a home in which they cannot trust the integrity of the roofing, then why would they stay to witness the roof collapse upon them? The same concept is relatable to communities. If one does not believe in the integrity of their community and does not trust the inhabits, then why should they continue to live and support the community in which they have no trust? Should they wait until the roof collapses on them as well? Should someone dwell within an area that they feel is unsafe and unfit for their children to be raised in? The community must be a shelter. Strong in structure and trusting in integrity. With a trusting shelter, a community can thrive and be a safe and lasting home for generations. I see a community as a roof and the residents as the families that dwell beneath it.

A community can provide many forms of support as long as the residents within the community embody the concept of shared responsibility. Each member of a community must contribute to the durability and strengthening of the community. If someone within the community becomes a weak link in the chain, the very next link must strengthen its hold so the links that follow will not lose integrity. There is strength in numbers and the more families we have dedicated to a community the better chance a community has at sustaining its relevance. Each member of a community must contribute to the strengthening of the shelter. Rather its brick by brick, meaning each member must take the time to develop relationships within the community, that way a genuine trust is develop.

With this trust development comes love. Love for one another is the shelter’s insurance policy. When and if the shelter begins to lose integrity, there will be something tangible that exist to keep the shelter together in the midst of the most troubling of times.  Love is what keeps communities thriving for years and years. Once love is removed, the shelter is no longer insured to its inhabitants. Hatred and negativity will engulf the community and cause those who live within it to leave and seek new shelter within different communities. This is a theme all too familiar with many communities throughout our society. We have to rediscover a love for one another which will translate into our communities, and all those who have lost faith in our communities to return and invest in them.