Fresno is an amazing collection of people who ended up here for a thousand different reasons. Many can trace their families to the late 1800’s, some have been here for less than a year. Regardless of your time here, Fresno called you for some reason, and this is where you call home.
So what does “a Fresno that works for everyone” mean? For me, it means that everyone who lives here can have many opportunities for success and health throughout their journey as a Fresnan. It can start with a birth, meaning a pregnant mom, no matter what part of town she lives in can have a healthy baby. It can mean all families have ample access to early learning programs and childcare, once again, no matter where they live in town. It means all K-12 schools, be they public or private, are great schools for our kids to thrive in and are safe. For me, it means that all students who graduate from high school have multiple options upon graduation, and all options lead to success in their professional dreams. It also means all work environments are vibrant, safe, engaging places of employment that pay well and offer upward advancement. It also means every neighborhood in Fresno has access to parks, trails, services, and supports of all sorts, as well as civic engagement opportunities that spark involvement for both youth and adults. It means that the high volume of civic participation sparks shifts in systems and services that better support the felt needs of our community. That local elected officials work closely with their constituents throughout the year, and voter registration and turnout are elevated so that the masses are speaking into who represents them at the various levels of community leadership. It's all this and so much more.
To do all these things, we need to build some foundational support systems, which we are doing now. But there’s more to do, and that’s why I shared in my January letter that we’ll need all of you to play your role.
How does a community come together when there are so many different issues to address? Well, you don’t tackle them all at once. Every person needs to find their “sweet spot” issue(s) and invest in them with others. We need many perspectives. Each of you are experts in your own lived experience, and you all bring a lot to the table. I firmly believe that you activate the assets in the community to address the things that don’t work well for the community. Start small and build from there.
That’s DRIVE’s vision. Thankfully, we aren’t at ground zero; a lot has been happening in our city, and we want to build upon that. We’d love to have you on our DRIVE team. In the months ahead, you’ll hear about ways to engage with us and participate in the change we all want to see in Fresno.
Thankful for you and another year to serve our community.