In 1995, with the support of our partner, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, The Harwood Institute began to work in Flint, Michigan, to spark the formation of new civic-minded structures, relationships, leaders, and norms in the community. At the time, the city was mired in deep economic and social turmoil, and there existed an ingrained narrative within the community that change was not possible. Now, after nearly a decade of hard work, a new narrative is emerging, one rooted in a sense of possibility and hope.

One of the first steps was for The Harwood Institute to create The Place for Public Ideas, a leadership school where scores of leaders from throughout Flint came to reexamine their relationship to their community and to each other. Their work has helped lead to a three-fold increase in the number of identifiable authentic leaders in Flint, the establishment of over three dozen new networks of collaborations among organizations, and a collection of organizations that enjoy more trust in the community. After training a local faculty corps, the Place for Public Ideas lives on as the Harwood Public Leadership School, now housed in the local United Way. We also cultivated eight ìHomes for Civic Engagementî within existing organizations, such as a housing group, a church, the cultural center, and a business association, that now serve as advocates and resources for spreading new engagement norms and practices within the community. And we began ìWhatís Your Story?î an effort to discover stories of progress (and struggle) within the community to combat the prevailing ingrained narrative of negativity and despair.

In a recent celebration of the Flint work, local residents said that perhaps the most transforming change in them and others they know has been to see the power of creating pockets of progress throughout the community and telling new stories about themselves and their beloved town. Hope is alive.

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