Many of us work in fragile neighborhoods, places with broken homes, weak associations, loneliness, and drug overdoses. Instead of viewing these places as empty vessels to be rescued by outside service providers, we should look for local leaders, activists, and innovative social entrepreneurs to make things better. But not just any help will do. Instead, the pathway to revitalization is to work horizontally across the landscape to strengthen the interconnected web of institutions and relations in each place. Resources can help, but without social cohesion, they are insufficient. Rather than replace these leaders with fancy new policy interventions, we should help communities build on what’s working.

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