The Generational Gap? (Or Are They Just Not Listening To Me?)

Throughout my AmeriCorps VISTA year I have written about the struggles I have had related to the "generational gap" of my work.

To preface:

I work in the city of Vancouver, Washington. It lies directly north of Portland, Oregon on the border, and is a community which grew up on and around the Columbia River. Its identity is formed from the contrast of itself to the "other" (in this case, the city of Portland). The two cities have differing politics, different attitudes, and different reputations. 

Portland is the progressive liberal eco-concious golden child of urban planning, while Vancouver is the forgotten dirty conservative addition to the Portland Metro area nobody pays attention to.

Vancouver is the conservative family values bastion which provides the relief, income-taxless freedom of cars and bootstrap success, while Portland charges a tax on everything for useless projects to help a population which isn't going anywhere.

See what I mean? It can be spun both ways.

Maybe this is what attracts older folks to this area? A retirement home cheaper than Portland, but with access to the city and the job base of the urban area?

The region I work in spans five regions. Our office is in Vancouver, but I work across Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat Counties. The average percentage of folks over 65 across this region is 18.56%. The area is aging rapidly, and this is an issue the region is only beginning to plan for and around. So maybe this is where my problems occur?

To the present:

Recently I participated in a meeting and received a message after that meeting which distressed me more than anything has in a while.

During the meeting I was providing updates about my project (which I have been working on over the past ten months) and explaining surveys, new directions and options, and how I would proceed with the project.

Over the past five to seven months I have been soliciting feedback from any and all partners I could contact. I have been pouring my efforts into learning all I can about the area, the systems, the people, the towns, and how I could begin to think about how I could help with transportation and mobility needs.

During the meeting, I proposed beginning to talk about potential solutions, one of which could be an integrated volunteer driver network for the two counties (and others beyond), to help expand what volunteer driver services exist. As soon as I proposed this, two members of the group began aggressively telling me about their volunteer driver programs (which I knew existed and worked really well). I tried to explain that I thought the new VISTA positions would be a good opportunity to try to expand the transportation services, coordination, and volunteer driver programs across the two counties. I believe that these new VISTA positions may hold a great opportunity for expanded services for the region!

Today I got a voice mail from one of the people at the meeting, and it said that before I go ahead with any press releases for my surveys I need to meet and talk with the services to learn what they do in and around the county. I was appalled.

Once again, they just assumed that I had learned nothing over the past ten months, and that I have just been ignorant to the wonderful service they offer within their counties.

What really gets me ticking on this issue is the fact that I actually prefer the communities out in the Gorge and in the rural counties. They remind me so much of home.

I am attached to Stevenson because it reminds me of Baltimore. The mountains surrounding White Salmon remind me of the mountain tucked Swannanoa. Goldendale reminds me of Lancaster; a community in shambles, but refinding itself in the new millenium.



I also don't understand why these folks are always so surprised when I tell them I have made a decision to do something and act upon something. I have included them in all of my correspondence via email, meetings, and phone calls. I have invited their input on all of my materials, and I have tried my hardest to cover all of my bases with all of our partners across the region.

So are they not listening to me? I even distributed everything through my supervisors, and what responses and suggestions I got back I incorporated into my work. I don't understand why people are all of a sudden responding to things I decide I want to do, saying that I should step back and seek input, when I have already solicited it from them.

So are they just not listening to me?

I really am tired of folks not being able to be mature and act like adults. We are not playing a game of "This is mine and I won't let you have any of it!", we are playing a game of "Let's get as many people mobile as possible so they can have a good life."