Building shared power along Richmond Highway

 

COMMUN1TY+ is a community-rooted initiative led by LAZERA Ministries that brings residents, grassroots leaders, nonprofit partners, and public systems together to create healthier, more connected, and more equitable communities along the Route 1 corridor.

​

At its core, COMMUN1TY+ is about two things: collective impact and community voice. We believe lasting change happens when community members are not just consulted, but trusted as leaders, decision-makers, and co-creators of solutions. That means centering lived experience, strengthening relationships, and building the kind of shared spaces where healing, strategy, and action can happen together.

​

Since 2020, COMMUN1TY+ has helped cultivate connections between residents, county agencies, and community-based organizations. Today, the work continues to evolve into a stronger, more human-centered model rooted in trust, leadership development, and collective action.

​

Why COMMUN1TY+ matters

​

Communities along Richmond Highway hold deep wisdom, resilience, and vision. Yet too often, the people closest to the challenges have the least power in shaping the response.

​

COMMUN1TY+ exists to help change that.

​

We create space for residents and partners to:

• build trust across sectors and lived experience

• identify shared priorities grounded in real community conditions

• strengthen leadership among adults and youth

• move from conversation to coordinated action

• cultivate belonging, healing, and long-term community capacity

 

Our work is grounded in the belief that stronger communities are built when people have both voice and power.

​

How We Work

​

COMMUN1TY+ is growing beyond a traditional program model into a community container for relationship-building, leadership, and systems change. LAZERA Ministries serves as the backbone, helping to convene partners, support resident leadership, and hold the infrastructure needed for collaboration and follow-through.

 

Our approach includes:

​

Community leadership development

Through the COMMUN1TY+ Leadership Academy, residents and emerging grassroots leaders build practical skills in advocacy, facilitation, active listening, and purpose-driven leadership. Recent academy sessions have focused on personal leadership, meeting participation, asset-based community development, and learning directly from community ambassadors.

​

Youth voice and intergenerational leadership

We believe young people are essential to shaping the future of Route 1. Through partnership with 1 Brotherhood Empowered, COMMUN1TY+ intentionally creates pathways for youth leadership, civic engagement, and intergenerational learning.

​

Convening and network weaving

COMMUN1TY+ brings together residents, nonprofits, and public partners to pause, reflect, realign, and act. At the November 2025 retreat, participants revisited priorities and named key themes that continue to guide the work: leadership ownership, belonging and connection, neighborhood care, and economic mobility.

​

Healing-centered collaboration

We understand that community transformation requires more than meetings and plans. It also requires spaces where people feel seen, safe, and connected. That is why COMMUN1TY+ emphasizes humanity, peer learning, trust-building, and the conditions needed for collective leadership to grow.

​

What we are building together

​

COMMUN1TY+ is helping build a future where:

• residents have real ownership in shaping community priorities

• lived experience is recognized as expertise

• youth and adults lead side by side

• organizations and systems work with community, not around it

• collective spaces support both healing and action

• Route 1 communities have the relationships, leadership, and infrastructure needed to thrive

​

The 4 Ps Framework: A lens for community transformation

​

COMMUN1TY+ is guided by the 4 Ps Framework — Power, Privilege, Proximity, and Purpose — a leadership lens developed through Yolonda Earl-Thompson’s community work across the Route 1 corridor. The framework helps individuals, organizations, and systems reflect on how change actually happens in communities and how leadership can shift toward greater equity, trust, and impact.

Rather than focusing only on programs or services, the 4 Ps invite us to examine the relationships and dynamics that shape decision-making, resource allocation, and community voice.

​

Power

Who holds power, and how is it used?

COMMUN1TY+ works to expand power beyond traditional institutions by supporting resident leadership, youth voice, and shared decision-making. We believe community members should not only be participants in initiatives — they should be co-designers and leaders of the solutions that affect their lives.

​

Privilege

What advantages shape access, influence, and opportunity?

Recognizing privilege helps partners understand how systems operate and why some voices are heard more easily than others. COMMUN1TY+ encourages organizations and leaders to use their access, resources, and influence to open doors for community leadership and equity.

​

Proximity

How close are we to the lived experiences of the people most impacted?

Real community insight comes from proximity. COMMUN1TY+ prioritizes the wisdom of residents, youth, and grassroots leaders who live, work, and raise families in the community. Their lived experience is not just valuable — it is essential to shaping meaningful solutions.

​

Purpose

What is the deeper reason we are doing this work?

Purpose keeps collaboration grounded in shared values and long-term vision. COMMUN1TY+ invites partners to move beyond short-term initiatives and toward sustained community wellbeing, collective leadership, and generational impact.

​

Through the 4 Ps, COMMUN1TY+ helps partners move from conversation to transformation, creating the conditions for communities to lead their own change.

​

Our values

COMMUN1TY+ is shaped by values that reflect LAZERA’s broader commitment to equity, dignity, and transformation:​

• Lived experience as leadership

• The people most impacted by community conditions must be central to community solutions.

• Real collaboration requires shifting who gets heard, trusted, and resourced.

• Leadership is strongest when it is rooted in relationship, accountability, and care for the community.

• Healing and belonging

• Sustainable change grows where people can connect, recover, and imagine together.

​

Join the work

COMMUN1TY+ is not built for the community. It is built with the community.

​

Whether you are a resident, grassroots leader, nonprofit, public partner, or supporter, there is a place for you in this work.

​

You can join us by:

• Join our HCAT (Healthy Communities Action Team) to address childhood obesity

• Participating in a community convening

• Participating in leadership development opportunities

• Partnering with us to support resident-led change

• Investing in the long-term capacity of Route 1 communities

​

Together, we are building healthier, wealthier, and more connected communities.

 

Want to get involved?

Connect with LAZERA Ministries to learn more about upcoming COMMUN1TY+ gatherings, leadership opportunities, and partnership pathways.

​

Upcoming Quarterly convening:

• June 13, 2026

• September 12, 2026

​

2026 Community Leadership Academy 

• August 15-29 2026