Hi There!
Welcome to the @Home in Adams County blog! Via this blog, we hope to give you access to our monthly Gettysburg Times articles if you don’t have a subscription to the paper, as well as some insight on resources in Adams County for affordable housing options, access to transportation, and economic development. We will keep you up to date on current projects in process and feature our partners who are working so hard to support folks in our community.
Most importantly, we hope that through this platform our mission and message will be clear. We care about the residents in Adams County and we believe that there is strength in working together. Together, we can find solutions for folks to be able to live and work in Adams County.
Last month, we published the first article of our monthly series in the Gettysburg Times written by Robin Fitzpatrick, our partner at Adams Economic Alliance. The Gettysburg Times will publish our articles every fourth Tuesday of each month.
A special thank you to the Gettysburg Times for helping to raise awareness about @Home in Adams County and important issues in our community. To subscribe or contribute to the Gettysburg Times click this link!
See our article below:
“How Are You Coping @Home in Adams County?
I recently saw a t-shirt with this message: “I’m fine. I’m fine. No really, everything is fine.”
It got me thinking. “Fine” is a reply that I use most often when I’m actually not fine, specifically when I don’t want to talk about it.
During this pandemic, I’ve started asking, “How are you coping?” as a means to engage others on a more personal level. Do you know how your family, friends and neighbors are coping?
“Sonder” is the realization that everybody around you, even strangers, are living a life just as complex as yours. Sometimes our hurts are so deep or complex that we feel we’re the only one going through it. But with conversation, we often realize our hardships have similarities to others’ within our community, or we gain a greater appreciation or understanding for community members’ unique situations.
The @Home in Adams County Initiative began as a result of a community-wide study wherein very specific needs, previously unnoticed, were identified. Unnoticed because this is part of the population who, from the outside, looks as though they are doing just fine. These are folks who don’t regularly rely upon community social services. They have jobs. They may or may not own vehicles. They are surviving. In part, this initiative is about bringing to light the experience of those who are doing…just fine.
Perhaps there is a way to move from survive to thrive. Isn’t that what we want most for our own close circle of people? We pride ourselves on having a good “quality of life” in Adams County. We use the term to attract new visitors, residents and businesses. We use it when we preserve and conserve: Just look at the beauty of our rural landscape—what a great quality of life. @Home in Adams County is the initiative that is striving for this quality of life, for everyone.
Growing up, I knew that being an adult meant: 1) I had to get a job, 2) find a place to live and, 3) get myself to and fro. And then my parents would deem me a success! How disappointing it was to learn that being an adult required so much more, but I digress. These are the basics. We can all agree that if this was a three legged stool, these are the big three upon which everything else rests.
So stay with me: If we apply this idea to the @Home in Adams County Initiative, the three legs include affordable workforce housing, a living wage, and transportation. Those are the key three factors that determine our quality of life. So let’s dive a little deeper.
The median price of a home in Adams County is reported by Zillow to be about $216,000. Realtor.com reports that it’s closer to $242,000. If one follows the standard of not spending more than 30% of their total earnings on their home, they must have a wage of $68,000 annually or $33/hr. Clearly there are people who can afford this price tag, as the Real Estate Association of York and Adams County have told us that houses for sale do not linger long. I was shocked to learn that homes are selling as fast as four days or “as long as” one month’s time. One agent with whom I spoke said that folks are contacting people even before their home is listed for sale!
In every economy, there are wages based upon skill, education, and availability of employees. Although our industries have diversity, we don’t have enough employment opportunities for everyone to live and work locally. To be clear, “worksheds,” as they are sometimes called, are regional. There is no expectation that everyone will live and work within the same community. However, we do need to have more opportunities within Adams County. Almost 65% of the workforce is employed outside of the county. Why is that? How do we define “a living wage” in Adams County? What a timely topic, as many businesses are currently reevaluating their workforces. We need to think strategically about what our vision for the future of Adams County will be, in an effort to serve everyone via living wages.
I think it’s a common belief that everyone in Adams County has a car. It certainly feels like that sometimes. But the truth is that many do not have reliable transportation on a daily basis. I cannot provide data as an example because many residents have more than one vehicle per family while others have none. Rich Farr, Executive Director of Rabbittransit shares with us the need for public transportation. Research concluded that there exists a need for a bus line that will connect commerce, residents, employees and education between Hanover and Gettysburg. Some of Adams and York Counties’ largest employers are located between the two towns and agree.
There is much to be accomplished and we’re hoping that you will become part of the solutions. There will be many solutions. We are hoping you will find something that piques your interest and will reach out to become part of this Coalition. Community input and collaboration is essential!
“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”
But wait, how can we collaborate amid COVID-19? Not only is collaboration a challenging concept right now, but all issues are vying for attention among so many other vital issues. Many of us are working and living somewhat in isolation. Safety and health are major concerns. Our social climate is changing amid the Black Lives Matter Movement.
@Home in Adams County respects and promotes the value in diverse experiences, which is imperative for meaningful discussion and change. Remember that part about quality of life for all? Consider this—here is the crux of the entire article: If the collective perspective can shift to focus on systemic recovery and amendment, the most impactful change can be established. On the flip side, if a community focuses on subjective perspective and opinion, then division and vilification results. Now more than ever, unity is paramount.
Common ground and unity is an important point. I want to acknowledge that, to some capacity, we, as a community are all sharing a sense of loss during this time. Our “loss” could be sudden unemployment, financial insecurity, homelessness and displacement, food insecurity, isolation, travel ban, ailing health and/or death. Going a step further, as a community, we are all craving resolution and change too!
@Home in Adams County aims to achieve change by finding solutions and bringing resources to the community that will increase equal opportunity to access safe, affordable housing options, livable wage via various employment options, and access to reliable transportation to live with ease and realistic sustainability. All three elements work synchronously together. We continue, now more than ever, to drive toward finding solutions so that our Adams County community’s future is promising—with solutions, tools, and resources, for our recovery and beyond.
@Home in Adams County invites community and collaboration! Here’s how to take the next step: Check our website homeinadamscounty.org for more info—including how to sign up for our newsletter and how to shoot us an email, and follow us on social media (Facebook and Twitter). We look forward to your feedback, whether it’s a simple “Yes, I’d like to be involved in future conversations” or questions. And as a starting point, we want to know, really—“How are you coping?” “