In neighborhoods they trust

As leaders of non-profit organizations devoted to empowering people in matters of equality, Natalie Bonner and Andre Pearson see the barriers of denial and deprivation at work in the lives of their constituents every day. 

To be deprived of something has a wide range of meanings. But mostly, it means that access to some basic need is being refused. In other words, deprivation is denial, and that is always a barrier to progress. To address these concerns, they are involved at many levels of social assistance, from reaching out to the homeless to bringing education into the lives of those eager to improve. These efforts reach deep into the community. Yet that’s not where they necessarily begin the process of helping out. 

Meeting people

On a warm September afternoon, one finds them perched in front of a local church grilling tasty hamburgers and hot dogs. Their crew revels in meeting people who stop to partake of the food and share a few smiles. 

“It’s all about neighborhoods,” says Pearson. “In some places, it’s The Hood. But in reality, our mission is about putting the neighbor back into neighborhood. All neighborhoods.” 

“One of the things we’re seeing in our communities is a divide, or a gap, between city and social services and the neighborhoods,” Pearson continues. “The only way to really reach people is to be there in person. Meet face-to-face. That’s true with city officials and police too. People want connection.” 

A social connector

Natalie Bonner embraces that role as a connector. Her non-profit Talented Tenth Social Services focuses on bringing resources together for people in need. The philosophy behind the organization is "You Can't Be Powerful Until You Have Hope."?

Her organization provides support across a spectrum of needs, including the homeless, veterans, disabled, and citizens seeking to avoid recidivism. As these needs are met, she brings education and inspiration to the forefront. In line with these objectives, she is also the author of a series of empowerment-focused children’s books. 

Open Table and outreach

As evidenced by the open table she and Andre created as an outreach tool, their focus is to reach people where they are, then open dialogue about what they need. This non-judgmental approach includes a compassionate sensitivity to the fact that many people come to difficulties through the path of damaged relationships. That brand of personal history is not confined to any race, religion or political affiliation. So they don’t conduct their respective missions through those portals by definition. Hence the philosophy statement of Andre’s non-profit in the making: "Putting the meaning of neighbor back into neighborhood."

Andre has a particular interest in helping people move from a place of emotional challenges to a life of healing. His affiliation with Natalie is somewhat based on his journey from a past history of incarceration to restoring his family relationships and seeking to make good on his role as a father. 

Building connections

Watching these two people engage with people in a neighborhood setting is to witness the type of connection America seems to be missing right now. Behind the scenes, they are busy building (Andre is a carpenter by trade) free food distribution pantries known as ‘Neighbor Boxes in collaboration with an interfaith food pantry. That is just one of the many projects these connectors create for their native city of Aurora and beyond. 

Their work demonstrates how far off the mark America has gotten from its highest principles as a nation that achieved social progress in spite of some of its originalist prejudices and a long list of deprivations subsequently corrected through the Bill of Rights, constitutional amendments, and civil rights legislation. Yet there were also wars, protests, and riots that provided the impetus for these changes. All these took hard work to bring equal rights to reality. 

That job is clearly not finished. Nor will it ever be. 

Doing more with life

Perhaps it takes a person that has lost his freedom to recognize its true value. During a period of his life when circumstance and confusion led to a conviction that placed him in prison for years, Andre Pearson emerged wanting to do more with his life. Sitting on the grass in the sun one day considering what to do, he asked these questions of himself, and received what he felt was an answer. “Just ask for something.” 

That ask turned into the period of healing he is now going through. He wants to share that process with others and invite them to figure out ways to heal damaged relationships in their lives. “That’s what’s causing all this social unrest,” he maintains. “It is people trying to cope with damaged relationships of all kinds.” 

Healing forces

He is in the right orbit at this time. His compatriot Natalie Bronner credits her own nurturing instincts to her experience as a mother. “I’m a good mother,” she states unequivocally. “Raising my children is what’s tested me out. I’ve learned to pay attention to people.”

That’s much of what their mutual mission to help heal the world comes requires paying attention to the needs of others, and asking what they need. They truly believe that if that were the priority of more people in this world, the divisions now wracking the country would dissolve and people would feel part of a neighborhood, rather than a clan, a clique, or a political party. 

It is upon simple foundations such as these that all progress in America and the world have taken place. But it takes compassion as well as education, commitment to creating communities rather than clinging to selfish beliefs, and belief in neighborhoods as the building blocks for a civil and just society.