In September of 2018, the Uncompahgre Valley Alliance membership approved a plan to systematically work through the organizing cycle in order to identify an actionable issue with enough energy behind it to follow it through to a victory. There were some doubts: Don’t we need an issue first in order to attract and pull people together?

The UVA leadership began a relational meeting campaign. Over a year’s time, over 100 of these meetings took place. These one-on-one conversations focused more on listening than talking, wanting to understand what is important to the other person and why. What are the stories that shaped their interest?

The spring of 2019 was spent rewriting bylaws and identifying officers, both of which were ratified by the UVA membership in May.

In September, UVA launched an issue identification conversation campaign, the next phase of the organizing cycle. Ten people were trained to lead these conversations specifically and intentionally crafted to listen to the experiences of Montrose residents in order to understand their concerns and also, whether they were willing to become a part of a team to work on those concerns. Between September and November, over 100 Montrose residents were engaged in these conversations.

The challenge faced by young families in accessing affordable childcare was a theme heard over and over. Equally important, there were ten people who wanted to get together and go to work.

In January 2020, the Childcare Caucus was formed and held seven research actions, the third phase of the organizing cycle. Research actions are strategic meetings with agency leaders, city/county staff, someone with a specific area of expertise in order to learn about an issue. Through these meetings, the Childcare Caucus learned of the challenges faced by home childcare providers as they run a small business; about the Colorado Child Care

Assistance Program, and how another county had used an economic impact study to inform the changes in their community that could support families, providers and their local economy.

These research actions clarified an actionable issue. Partnering with Bright Futures for Early Childhood and Families, UVA developed a plan to approach Montrose County and the city of Montrose to fund a childcare needs assessment to understand more concretely about parent’s and provider’s preferences and challenges as well as the impact of the childcare industry is having on the local economy.

Sadly, because of the pandemic, the fourth phase, the assembly was short-changed. UVA had to rely on email.

In November 2020, the Childcare Caucus entered into public action. Bright Futures was holding $5,000 for such an assessment. The Caucus met with Montrose County Commissioner Sue Hansen and then presented their proposal at a county work session. Montrose County committed $15,000 toward the childcare needs assessment. The Childcare Caucus met with Montrose Mayor Barbara Bynum and presented their proposal at a city work session. On February 2, the Montrose City Council voted unanimously to invest $18,950 in the childcare needs assessment, completing the necessary funds to contract the study.

On February 2, UVA celebrated its WIN! The slow, respectful work of the organizing cycle has paid off for UVA and for all of Montrose.

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Carol Keeney

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