Joseph Zanovitch, HOPE for Longmont’s executive director, on Thursday will connect online to share updates about the nonprofit organization’s achievements and future plans.
From noon to 1 p.m., members of the community are invited to join him for a casual talk via Zoom to go over last year’s accomplishments and what this year looks like for the organization, Zanovitch said.
“It will also be a time for questions,” he said. “I’ll be happy to answer anything from the general state of homelssness to how we interact with the Boulder County system and what we are trying to do as far as getting people housed.”
The talk, Conversations of Hope, is part of a larger effort on behalf of HOPE, which stands for Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement, to engage in conversations with the community and other nonprofits working on related issues, he said.
“Homelessness always brings up a lot of questions and emotions,” he said. “The point of this is community, that is the biggest piece of this. We want to have these dialogues, when people see or hear about it, or if this is something they are going through, whatever it may be, we want to have the dialogue and conversation, and have a dialogue with other organizations along with them.”
Last year, HOPE launched the Summer Sundown Music series, an every-other-week event that ran from July to early September highlighting a variety of musical genres and conversations on a number of community issues. In December, the organization also hosted a panel discussion on housing issues.
The events are part of the same effort to spark discussions and engage in collaborative conversations with others in the field, Zanovitch said.
“This is what we are really trying to (push) for a community mindset,” he said. “A lot of times nonprofit organizations feel isolated doing this kind of work. These conversations are a chance for not just the community but other organizations to feel part of the larger conversation.”
The event on Thursday will be the first of more talks on a variety of topics for the year, Zanovitch said, adding this more casual conversation seems like a good way to set the stage and “kick things off.”
“We will be inviting other organizations that do this kind of work … the point is not to be the expert on something but to have other organizations that are experts in other fields, too,” he said. The next talk in February will be centered around the systemic challenges of drug reform.
To register for Thursday’s talk with Zanovitch, click here or join the talk via Zoom by using meeting ID No. 897 5499 7527.
