Ripples

I attended the ROC NH leadership graduation last night. ROC stands for Resident-Owned Community and it is a program of the NH Community Loan Fund. The purpose of the leadership program is to help people who live in manufactured housing cooperatives develop the skills needed to lead a multi-million dollar corporation.

While the demographics of the residents of cooperatives can be diverse, the threads woven through the communities tend to be older, less formally educated and mostly blue-collar families. These are not pejorative terms - simply my personal observations after 5 years of attending these and other Loan Fund events. Also adding that the residents and graduates I've met during the events are nothing short of strong, smart, caring and hard-working.

That's what makes this program so important. Residents with little or no prior experience in running a business are suddenly thrust into the management of a multi-million dollar co-op. Without adequate education and guidance there is no way the residents can be successful. Heck, even with the best of training it's a formidable task.

The program participants learn about running meetings and creative problem solving. They learn how to depend on each other and to build trust when perhaps none exists. By the time they graduate from the six-month long program, they have a solid foundation for conflict resolution, public speaking and creating and reading financial statements. And remember, some of these people have never balanced a checkbook. It's amazing.

Last night I sat with one of the graduates during the program. He shared with me that finding his voice was the single-best result of the experience for him. He said he always felt like he had something to say and never knew how to contribute - the training and experience of the leadership program gave him a confidence to participate that now shows up in every part of his life. He has received a promotion at work and his wife (who was there) was raving about how their communication has improved. Ripples.

There are more than 7,000 families who benefit from ROCs in NH. Each year, ROC NH puts 20 of our neighbors and fellow citizens through an educational program (worth 4 college credits!) that teaches these life-affirming and productive skills. They transform lives and send ripples throughout our state. These graduates become leaders within their communities and help self-govern the co-op, non-profit corporations that provide safe and affordable housing to their neighbors and friends.

I am in a happy state of awe at what the NH Community Loan Fund is able to accomplish through their ROC NH program.