What Becomes Possible Over Time: How Connective Infrastructure Supports Communities in Times of Disruption
What Becomes Possible Over Time: How Connective Infrastructure Supports Communities in Times of Disruption
Admin • Dec 10, 2025
Two years ago, we released Stories of Change to show what can happen when communities look at persistent challenges through a systems lens. Since then, we have stayed in close relationship with each of the initiatives we featured, continuing to listen, learn, and support their work as it has unfolded.
This year, storyteller Jessica Conrad revisited two of the efforts featured in the original publication. At a time when many systems are strained and change is rapid, it is clear that the connective infrastructure that has been built over time is allowing these systems to respond with steadiness, adapt to new pressures, and take coordinated action in moments that could otherwise pull them apart.
Homelessness Response: From Functional Zero to New Complexity
In 2023, the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness reached an important milestone. They achieved “functional zero” youth homelessness across five counties. More young people were moving out of homelessness than entering it. This result was possible because partners spent years building trust, elevating youth voice, and reshaping the system around dignity and responsiveness.
Rather than pause after that success, the Coalition asked how their learning could inform the next challenge. Their focus shifted toward chronic homelessness. This work involves individuals who face long-term housing instability and health-related barriers, which creates a more complex landscape.
As the effort grew, so did the table. Leaders from city and county governments, philanthropy, law enforcement, service providers, and community groups stepped in. Public concern about a central encampment accelerated conversations about year-round shelter and additional supportive housing. Within a year, significant new investments were committed and a collaborative response is taking shape.
This chapter showed how essential connective infrastructure is during periods of disruption. Shared purpose, strong coordination, and trusted relationships created enough stability for the network to adapt to changing needs.
Food Access: A Network Strengthened by Trust
A similar expansion took place in the region’s food access work.
The Northwest Food Coalition, Goodwill’s Food Rescue program, Groundwork Center, and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians had already increased access to fresh, local food across more than 70 pantries and meal sites. In 2022, the USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance program opened a new door.
In a historic decision, tribal leaders chose to apply for the funding not only to support their own community, but also to benefit the broader regional network. This decision reflected long-held values related to food sovereignty and collective responsibility.
Their application brought nearly $800,000 into the region. The impact was significant. Pantries were able to offer foods that were fresher and culturally important. Purchases from local and tribally owned farms increased, which supported growers and created stronger economic connections. People visiting pantries gained more choice and dignity.
This progress was possible because the network had spent years building trust, listening, and establishing decision-making structures grounded in representation and equity.
What These Stories Reveal
A few insights rise to the surface when looking across both efforts:
- Change deepens as relationships strengthen over time. Early work often begins with coordination and experimentation. Over time, these practices create a stable foundation for larger shifts.
- Trust holds the work together. It grows as people experience reliable partners and shared progress. It is both a starting condition and a result.
- Lived experience creates wiser systems. When people most affected by the issue help guide priorities, solutions become more realistic and more humane.
- Investment matters most when the groundwork is in place. External funding can accelerate progress, but only when a region has already built alignment and readiness.
Looking Ahead: Staying Connected in Changing Conditions
Neither of these stories is finished. Systems change rarely follows a straight path or produces quick answers. It is shaped by people who stay in conversation, who make room for a range of experiences and keep asking what the moment requires.
That question is especially important now. Both networks are facing uncertainty as federal funding shifts and essential resources become less stable. Even so, they continue to invite new voices, pay attention to emerging conditions, and focus on the well-being of the community.
At times like this, the value of connective infrastructure becomes clear. It helps communities respond with steadiness during disruption. It supports shared learning and coordinated action. And it keeps open the possibility that meaningful change can continue to grow, even when the environment around us is unsettled.