Are You Ready to Step Up?
This past week on behalf of the Riverton Peace Mission (RPM), Leslie Spoonhunter and I volunteered at Riverton’s National Night Out at the Fremont County Fairgrounds, a community event organized by the Riverton Chief of Police Eric Hurtado. Fun games, prizes, exhibits, hot dogs, popcorn, and slushies drew diverse families together including grandparents and toddlers plus even a few well-behaved dogs on leashes. Events like this bring people together who are otherwise divided politically. There is one common denominator: Everyone wants community safety for themselves and their families. Community safety is reflected in RPM’s mission to address bordertown violence that encompasses goals relating to policing policies, needs of the unhoused, treating public intoxication as a health issue and increasing community engagement. A story by Wyoming Public Media portrays a portion of Riverton’s recent history of community discontent and division. RPM seeks to steer the community towards a better future. RPM wants to transform fear into hope and hatred into understanding and compassion. We love our community and share a common pride in our land with freedom for all to participate. RPM is becoming ready for the hard work, but this will require all hands on deck! Are you ready to step up to help? The Unhoused Task Force that came out of the Summit for Our Unhoused Neighbors held last March will be meeting next on Wednesday, August 16, 4 pm at the Riverton Public Library. Housing, policing, community safety and intoxication issues necessarily intersect. By our honestly working hard together, we can have a community where all of us have freedom to live in safety. The resources can be found. We just need the will to make it happen.
Fear not. Be humble. Have faith. Be bold. Build relationships. Do justice. Chesie Lee