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getting unstuck

5/30/2014

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I used to describe myself as an extreme humanitarian. My passion for advocating for the poorest of Seattle’s citizens took many forms: organizer, writer, poet, teacher, lobbyist, friend, but mostly as an outraged and outspoken rabble rouser.

In 1999 I was helping homeless men and women become writers through the StreetWrites program, which I founded through my work at Real Change, a homeless empowerment organization that advocates for homeless issues and publishes one of the most successful homeless newspapers in the country.

During this time I was invited to participate in the Confluence on ending poverty at the Center for Ethical Leadership. I liked that the Confluence was for something positive, rather than against something negative. I figured, goody! Other people can help find the roots of poverty and get this mess straightened out.

I was surprised to find myself at a table with a man from the city’s human services department, someone I had locked horns with many times before. But this time was different. Rather than arguing from our same positions, Allan and I made a human connection that lasted far beyond the three-day event. Gracious Space helped me get to a point where I could separate the person from the position, and even though we still may disagree, I could relate to him as a human.

I realized that polarization is what makes us stuck. It makes us focus on how different we are, who is beating up on whom and we all lose track of what we’re really trying to do. Gracious Space helped us bridge the anger and form real connections so we could find creative solutions.
Now I describe myself as a pacifist who doesn’t beat my opponents over the head with my peace sign. I walk the talk of Gracious Space and dialogue and put it toward love. Today we are talking not just about helping the homeless, but imagining and creating a world where homelessness no longer exists. Gracious Space helps us move toward this vision, one heart at a time.
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    Author

    Anitra Freeman

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