WEBVTT - People Know What They Need - Move at the Speed of Trust

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<v Speaker 1>Good Day, April seventeenth, twenty twenty five, And have we

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<v Speaker 1>got a story of citizen ing for you today? Hi,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Baritunde Thurston, host of the how to Citizen podcast

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<v Speaker 1>which feed We are using to add a few stories

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<v Speaker 1>into the mix. In this moment of attacks on democracy

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<v Speaker 1>and undermining selfance, self governance, there is another story. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a story of people practicing power, of committing to the collective,

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<v Speaker 1>of showing up and participating, of investing in relationships. And

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<v Speaker 1>so we are counterprogramming this sense of collapse with short

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<v Speaker 1>but potent stories of people power. And today's story represents

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<v Speaker 1>all that. You know, It's really common to lean into

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<v Speaker 1>a hero story where a savior shows up, a great

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<v Speaker 1>business leader, a great community leader, a great politician, somebody great,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe Alexander or something like that. They show up and

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<v Speaker 1>they got the answers, and they're like, I have come

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<v Speaker 1>to save the people. You little people need saving. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>a savior, so I'm gonna do my thing at you.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's not what this moment needs. This moment does

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<v Speaker 1>not need more centralized authority. It does not need paternalism

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<v Speaker 1>and condescension and well intentioned but ultimately and inherently disrespectful

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<v Speaker 1>way of treating people. And it turns out that the

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<v Speaker 1>people who seem like they need the most, what they

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<v Speaker 1>need the least is somebody telling them what they need.

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<v Speaker 1>And you'll hear that in the setup to this story.

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<v Speaker 1>John Alexander, my colleague in this mission right now, author

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<v Speaker 1>of the book Citizens, is real big on this idea

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<v Speaker 1>that people want to be involved. I sense it myself.

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<v Speaker 1>There is what I call put me in coach energy.

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<v Speaker 1>And John tells the story of QAnon, which essentially comes

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<v Speaker 1>down to that was a recruitment to purpose, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, people who've fallen into that rabbit hole. Part

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<v Speaker 1>of what drew them in was the since that they

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<v Speaker 1>were part of a mission, that they were being asked

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<v Speaker 1>to do something. And again I love doing this collaboration

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<v Speaker 1>with John because he has his version of a story.

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<v Speaker 1>I weave my version of the story. But we're both

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<v Speaker 1>just happening into a story that already exists. We're not authors,

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<v Speaker 1>we're amplifiers and co authors at a minimum, maybe editors,

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<v Speaker 1>you know. But the material, the raw story, the threads

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<v Speaker 1>of the plotlines, that's you. That's out there, it's already

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<v Speaker 1>among the people, and part of what the people need

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<v Speaker 1>is to be needed. That's really what this story is about.

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<v Speaker 1>So enjoy this one. Think about organizations, operations, people you

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<v Speaker 1>know who start with a question rather than a statement,

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<v Speaker 1>who start with listening rather than speaking, uh, speaking of listening.

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<v Speaker 1>Check out stories dot howdocitizen dot com. Fill out our form,

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<v Speaker 1>share with us if you have more of these stories,

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<v Speaker 1>and if you are down to hear more of them. Alright,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Beartunde signing off for the moment roll tape. It's

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<v Speaker 1>it's not a tape and if you wanna see it

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<v Speaker 1>visually check out the show notes on this one, or

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<v Speaker 1>subscribe to the emails stories about howdo citizen dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>We're dropping these every day and hosting them on Instagram,

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<v Speaker 1>LinkedIn substack blue sky and you know your television, I

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<v Speaker 1>have access to it. That's a different episode piece. You

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<v Speaker 1>know what, people in need don't need other people telling

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<v Speaker 1>them what they need. Assume that they can and want

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<v Speaker 1>to contribute, and that the first step is to ask

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<v Speaker 1>and to listen. This is that story.

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<v Speaker 2>They all left with a sense of empowerment. We asked

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<v Speaker 2>for this, it got done. But now we're also walking

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<v Speaker 2>out of here with knowledge. I am the executive director

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<v Speaker 2>of Step by Step, which is a nonprofit working to

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<v Speaker 2>walk alongside young single mothers ages twelve to twenty four

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<v Speaker 2>and their children. These moms are their incredibles. They're looking

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<v Speaker 2>for resources, they're looking for community and connection. When I

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<v Speaker 2>first came in, I knew what they needed. They needed

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<v Speaker 2>to get high self esteem and they needed to rise

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<v Speaker 2>above and work really hard. I started to get to

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<v Speaker 2>know these young women. I realized there's so much more

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<v Speaker 2>that we could do as an organization. We could actually

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<v Speaker 2>have programming that really meets their needs and their desires,

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<v Speaker 2>and we could grow leadership among them. People take their

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<v Speaker 2>agency away from them and we get the opportunity to listen,

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<v Speaker 2>be a listening ear. What does it look like to

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<v Speaker 2>flip it upside down to say to the young women,

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<v Speaker 2>what do you need? I got to just sit down

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<v Speaker 2>with them and say, your voices have never been the focus.

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<v Speaker 2>And it felt like a big collective sigh in the room, like, wait,

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<v Speaker 2>someone's listening to me. Are you sure you really want

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<v Speaker 2>to hear from me? When I say I want this,

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<v Speaker 2>are you going to follow through? And it became this

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<v Speaker 2>thing about trust moving at the speed of trust. It

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<v Speaker 2>is a slow burn and so we have to show

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<v Speaker 2>up consistently every single time in the same way. And

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<v Speaker 2>they said, we need a NARCAN training. We want to

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<v Speaker 2>know how to save lives in our community. We did

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<v Speaker 2>in NARCAN training for our volunteers, so we didn't even

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<v Speaker 2>consider that our moms would want to do that. And

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<v Speaker 2>so our local health department has an incredible NARCAN program

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<v Speaker 2>and the moms are asking questions, raising their hands saying

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<v Speaker 2>can you tell me more about this? They're leading it right,

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<v Speaker 2>how does this work for us? And what do we

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<v Speaker 2>need to get out of this session? They're just going

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<v Speaker 2>to ask and it was really empowering for my team

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<v Speaker 2>to say, look, this is an example. If we listen

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<v Speaker 2>and respond with what it is that they need, they

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<v Speaker 2>can take the lead. And they all left with a

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<v Speaker 2>sense of empowerment. We asked for this, it got done.

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<v Speaker 2>But now we're also walking out of here with knowledge

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<v Speaker 2>and an action plan. We can take action ourselves, and

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<v Speaker 2>so that also builds more community and it builds more

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<v Speaker 2>agency in themselves and each other. People know what they need,

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<v Speaker 2>they know what they want, They need to be in

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<v Speaker 2>a space where they have opportunity and support to do that.