Background from Washington Main Street on the Pilot Program:
For nearly 50 years, the Main Street movement has measured its impact in terms of historic buildings saved, small businesses opened, and monetary investment. These measures are extremely meaningful to local communities, but they don’t tell the full story.
For the last several years, sparked in part by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s declaration of the epidemic of loneliness and subsequent Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community, we have been asking ourselves questions like, “(How) is Main Street already creating positive social impact, in addition to well-documented economic impact?” and “How can we more intentionally and actively move the needle on increasing social connection in our communities?”
READ THE FULL REPORT FROM THE PILOT PROGRAM
These questions come from a deep belief in the power of the grassroots nature of the Main Street Approach, which is designed to engage a broad swath of community members and provide a framework for pulling in the same direction to achieve local goals. We had seen the Approach help to steady communities through multiple economic crises; didn’t it also have the potential to play a positive role in our current social crisis of loneliness?
Utilizing the American Immigration Council’s Belonging Barometer, we embarked on a year-long journey to pilot the survey tool and conduct additional research related to belonging and representation in four Main Street Communities. We found that two things are simultaneously true: Main Streets are already contributing to positive social impact and there is much more that must be done to more equitably support belonging through our work.
Join in the conversation at the Connectivity Summit as Port Townsend Main Street looks to engage our community in this important conversation.