Longmont Journey: Service and compassion from Chicago to the council chambers

From her childhood in Chicago to the city council chambers of Longmont, Shiquita Yarbrough’s journey is one of service and compassion.

“We all live in this world and it's important to take care of one another when we see disparities,” Yarbrough said. “I believe when you (help) you do sacrifice some things in your own life, but it gets replenished.”

When Yarbrough was a teenager, she offered to take care of the crying babies during church services, which quickly expanded to voluntary babysitting between services. It was a simple thing, she said, but she enjoyed making people’s lives better. While in college, Yarbrough said her mother would send her money with a note encouraging her to spend it on herself instead of others, though Yarbrough said she often found herself spending it on others anyway.

Most recently, Yarbrough has worked as the director of community engagement and equity for the YWCA of Boulder County. Her work involves planning and coordinating community events, training and forums for education surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion. Yarbrough is also a co-founder of Families of Color Colorado, an organization that provides opportunities to build community, share struggles and cultural values and promote equity along the Front Range.

Yarbrough laid the path for her life early on, she said, working at a group care home shortly after graduating from college. As a certified nursing assistant, Yarbrough worked with a variety of clients who had disabilities and unique needs. One aspect she found value in was building personal relationships with residents who struggled to communicate with other nurses. Even on her days off, other nurses would seek her help meeting the client's needs, Yarbrough said. The experience fostered an already strong awareness and attention for those in need.

After Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, Yarbrough found herself working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the housing authority in Austin, Texas. Distributing vouchers and providing case management for FEMA later led Yarbrough to a property management position. Managing four properties, Yarbrough said she loved building that community and listening to the elders, single parents and everything in between. 

The experience served to highlight some of the struggles faced by people trying to make ends meet or serve their community and help mediate tenants, Yarbrough said. Managing government housing helped her see the need to help people transition through difficult periods, she added.

Yarbrough made her way to Colorado to share her love for skiing and snowboarding with her kids. Looking for the least expensive places for lessons, Yarbrough found Eldora Mountain Ski Resort.

“I wanted to break that stereotype that Black people don’t ski or snowboard,” Yarbrough said. “Of course we were the only Black people up there. It wasn’t weird for me because it was expected.”

After moving around several temporary administrative positions for a few years, Yarbrough took a full time position with the Colorado DMV issuing titles. During that time she worked with Boulder County’s Circles program as an ally to help underserved families make the climb out of poverty. That volunteer work would eventually lead to work with the Boulder County Farmers Market and later office manager for the Community Foundation Boulder County.

In that time, Yarbrough founded Families of Color Colorado, as well as joined the board of directors for Boulder County’s League of Women Voters, KGNU Community Radio and Longmont’s Housing and Human Service Advisory Board. Yarbrough also hosted a radio show on KGNU focused on life as a single parent and said serving on the board for the radio station made her feel like she was giving back to them for hosting her radio show.

Yarbrough campaigned for Longmont City Council at-large in the recent election, winning one of two open seats with an estimated 23.16% of the vote. Surprised and grateful for the public trust, Yarbrough knows her work is just beginning and she said there’s still a lot to learn. 

The decision to run was spurred by Yarbrough’s experiences sitting on various boards and volunteering for nonprofits where her voice wasn’t being heard. If her voice wasn’t being heard while in a position to make decisions for these organizations, she said, the underserved communities those organizations served were definitely not being served. That feeling gave her the impetus to launch her campaign and broaden the platform to give voice to the voiceless.

One of the things she came to realize during her campaign was how intimidating it could be to learn  how city council meetings function. To address that, Yarbrough hopes to collaborate with Longmont Public Media to produce a series of videos about how Longmont’s government operates, the importance of voting and other issues of civic engagement.

Yarbrough, who is a renter, also hopes to work with city staff and her fellow council members to develop better transitional programs for renters looking to build equity and save up for their own home. Yarbrough also hopes to find better transportation solutions that promote accessibility and increase opportunity for families and youth.

The campaign for city council was tough but worth it, Yarbrough said. Yarbrough hopes she and her colleagues can find a way to make running for a city council seat more equitable, to draw in a younger and more diverse group of leaders. The time requirements and obligations during the campaign were substantial, Yarbrough said, which could make civic engagement on that level difficult for someone working or with small children. Emphasizing the need for the community to hold the city government accountable, Yarbrough said “you can complain, but you need to show up.”

“I believe that this is the time for me to be here, to pave the way for the next single parent, person of color,” Yarbrough said. “I’m truly grateful for the opportunity and that people chose me.”

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