Rich Harwood Brings Healing and Hope to Alamance County
How can we help our communities move past trauma and despair toward healing and hope? Get vulnerable, restore trust, and begin building together. To kick off a three-year initiative toward community-led transformation in Alamance County, NC, Rich Harwood met with a cross-section of residents and leaders and delivered an inspiring keynote address as part of his Healing & Hope Speaking Tour. In the words of Teresa Wiley, Director of Community Engagement Development at Community Care of North Carolina, “Rich reignited hope in me . . . I encourage others to take a moment and let their guard down.”
We’re Not In This Alone
As he stood before an impassioned crowd at Ebenezer United Church of Christ, Rich’s message resonated with community members in different ways. Alamance residents asked tough questions and shared their stories, bringing their different lived experiences into focus. Some told stories of pride in their community, some told stories of pain, but that afternoon, they were able to see and hear each other fully. United by shared hope and deep love for their community, no one in the room walked away alone.
This event was much more than a speech. It was an authentic conversation. As Impact Alamance President Tracey Grayzer said while introducing Rich, “There are great things about Alamance County. We love living here. We’re raising our families here. And we think we can do more together. We can do more to be a more connected, more caring community where everyone truly has the chance to thrive.” That sentiment fueled the energy in the room and created a safe space to risk vulnerability and put faith in trusting others. Learn more about The Harwood Institute’s partnership with Impact Alamance here.
Rich shared personal stories and insights from working with communities across our nation for more than 30 years and discussed how to move forward amid the many challenges we face as a society. Alamance community members stepped forward to reflect on their experiences and, importantly, talk about their aspirations for their families and community
Talk Is Important, But It’s Not Enough
While community dialogue is central to the initial stages of this work, Rich emphasized that, “We can’t talk our way out of the challenges we are in. We keep trying, we keep holding forums and town halls. They are kind of endless. And I know people in Alamance County are fatigued by them. We need to spend as much time thinking about how we build together . . . how we partner together and create things together.”
Following the community-wide event, Rich and the Impact Alamance team hosted roundtable discussions with over 100 Alamance County community members—law enforcement, nonprofit leaders, faith leaders, elected officials, education leaders, nonprofit leaders, political and civic groups, and more. Along with the research the Harwood team has already begun, these conversations are critical to ensuring that the voices of the entire community are heard.
When the action phase of the initiative begins a few months from now, residents and leaders will lead the way, enlist allies for action, and catalyze a chain reaction of actions to ultimately realize the community’s shared aspirations. The Harwood approach to community-led transformation changes how people work together, enabling them to move forward and build together despite deep divisions and opposing forces.
Healing & Hope Across the Nation
Rich Harwood with community leaders and residents in Jackson, MS.
From Ripon, WI, to Stamford, CT, Rich Harwood is sharing the Healing & Hope message across the nation to bring people together, rebuild trust, and make hope real. Mark G. Contreras, President and CEO of Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc., said Rich’s talk was “one of the most hopeful, inspirational, and forward-looking talks I’ve heard in at least a decade.”
Rich also hosted a Healing & Hope conversation in Jackson, MS, sparking new partnerships and re-energizing action in a community where the Harwood team has been working since 2021. The ripple effects from Rich’s visits vary from community to community, but each is a driving force for change.
Communities Can and Are Moving Forward
This initiative in Alamance is part of the Institute’s intentional strategy to go deep in a collection of communities to show that Americans have the public will and ability to address major fault lines in society and strengthen our civic culture. Alamance County, Jackson MS, Lexington, KY, Clarksville, TN, and Reading, PA, are each quite different in terms of history, demographics, and the unique challenges they face. But they are all moving forward at a time when public discourse signals nothing but division. They are using the Harwood approach to create better lives for their families and neighbors and a more equitable, fair, just, inclusive, and hopeful path forward for us all.