Last week, we had our sixth Council Meeting and if you’re not yet familiar with these, we are currently meeting once a week as everyone is getting to know one another. CoCare has yet to confer official membership on any attendee, but we're still in the process of seeing and acknowledging one another across a virtual table.

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As the team met last week, everyone was sharing their thoughts on the shared struggle between agencies when it comes to disaster preparedness for clients and evacuations. The struggle is very real for many organizations.

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Watching the meeting carry on, I had a moment where I took a step back to look at these faces on the call. Every person attending these Council Meetings represents families and individuals who are facing some of the hardest days of their lives. They are supporters and advocates, sometimes matter-of-fact counselors, occasionally defenders, too. Maybe the most accurate word to describe each person would be "hero". Not the kind wearing a cape or hitting the front page of a newspaper, but the kind that shows up everyday and gets to work on the behalf of someone else.

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I felt honored to be part of that space and really makes it the best part of what I get to do.

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We took a screenshot that day of the meeting and I keep it on my desktop always so I can see the people in my community who continue to show up and act on behalf of those in need. Our everyday heroes.

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-Chad Smith

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