September 2024

September has been a huge month for me. Since you’re reading this on the Stories Change Power website, you might assume I’m referring to the launch of our fall 2024 Learning Community. Each and every person involved is inspiring and I look forward to sharing more in an upcoming newsletter. 

Today I’m sharing something more personal: two weeks ago, I ended more than three years of digital nomadism and began to put down roots again. I’m letting go of new places for a while and saying hello to new neighbors, swapping time in the car for more time in community, and if all goes well I’ll shift the balance between adventure and stability back toward the latter.

But there’s one thing I plan to hold close and never let go: TRUST.

You see, I spent those three years living in other people’s homes and caring for other people’s pets. A friend had referred me to a platform aptly named TrustedHousesitters, and initially I was stunned by the level of trust involved.

I showed up at the door of my first housesit with a backpack slung over my shoulder and rolling a small suitcase. After the homeowners, their 160-pound dog, and a 140-pound puppy greeted me, the five of us went on a walk and the three humans shared pizza. That night I slept in their guest room. Ten hours after I arrived, they left me with nearly all their worldly goods and something even more precious: their pets.

In the years that followed looking after those Great Danes, I cared for many good dogs and several sweet cats. Housesitting gave me the opportunity to live in California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington State, and Washington, D.C., and, for something diferente, Spain.

I stayed in big cities and tiny towns, some known locally as villages. I saw sunsets in majestic mountains, biked across plains (both enameled and fruited), and enjoyed life along the shining seas on both sides of our country. Most profoundly in all that unfolded from 2021 through 2024, I lived in places that were deep Red and bright Blue.

In ALL of those places, I experienced trust – both in trusting and in being trusted.

When families left me with their homes and pets, it was a clear demonstration of faith in another person; they trusted I would be responsible and care for their property. The fact we’d never met, save for a phone or Zoom call, seemed wild at first. After all, they were relying on my self-description and reviews written by other strangers. With each housesit, dropping into someone else’s life – and their trusting me to do so – began to feel completely normal.

Along the way, I realized I’d always assumed that trust required firsthand experience. I thought that the more important the situation, the better you should know someone. Now I see that trust isn’t about knowing someone well; it’s about believing in each other’s ability to do the right thing.

Unfortunately, trust seems to be in short supply right now.

In the United States, trust in institutions and between individuals has declined, reflecting broader societal challenges. In April 2024, the Pew Research Center found public trust in the federal government had “increased modestly since 2023” to 22% - but that’s a major decline from the “moving averages” that reached as high as 77% in the 1960s. Trust in the media, businesses, and even fellow citizens has diminished, too. It’s worth spending time with the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer to understand what they call a “new paradox at the heart of society:” while “[r]apid innovation offers the promise of a new era of prosperity,” the risks are instead “exacerbating trust issues, leading to further societal instability and political polarization.”

This decline in trust has profound implications: anything that fuels polarization and undermines social cohesion makes it harder to effectively address our collective challenges.

Put another way: TRUST IS VITAL TO OUR SHARED FUTURE.

Trust is an invisible thread that connects us—friends, family, and even strangers. Trust opens us to new connections, collaboration, and supporting each other, especially in tough times. That support can transform our communities; as strangers become allies who work together, our shared future becomes more promising.

In a world where division may seem more common than connection, choosing to trust is a radical act. At Stories Change Power, we know the real definition of radical and we know the role of trust in building bridges across differences and finding fair solutions to really complicated problems.

In our democratic republic, trust is more than a personal value; it's essential for the health of our society.

That’s why our programs at Stories Change Power foster trust. In our curriculum and within the community learning it, we encourage people to step outside their comfort zones, engage with others, and be part of transforming fear into understanding.

Trust in entire communities and institutions is more complicated than leaving a stranger to care for what’s most precious to you. But trust can begin at home – including in your home. Whether you’re in a city or town, coastal or in the plains, Red or Blue or neither, we all can do our part to foster more trust. Each time we choose to listen, to validate someone else's experience, or to extend a hand to those who need our help, we are doing our part to nurture trust, strengthen community, and create a more just and peaceful world.

- Piper Hendricks, Founder & CEO

What do you think about the role of trust in our lives, including in advocacy? We'd welcome hearing from you. Use the connect form below and we'll be in touch soon.

(Photo of two cuties from a housesit earlier this year taken by author.)