We Are Chaffee’s Future Belonging Project

Chaffee County Public Health’s storytelling initiative, We Are Chaffee (WAC), is honored to have received funding for a 2-year project from Belonging Colorado through The Denver Foundation. 

 

Belonging is a feeling that one truly belongs. It is associated with strong social connections, psychological safety, and feeling that you have a voice. Having a sense of belonging helps manage stress and other behavioral issues. When we feel we have support and are not alone, we are more resilient, often coping more effectively with difficult times in our lives.

 

One way to move toward a culture of belonging is to help people from different political or cultural states to bridge the differences between them. We Are Chaffee’s Future (WACF) Belonging Project’s focus  is on bridging divides within a group of intergenerational participants through the fostering of constructive dialogue and exposure to active engagement opportunities to create trust and understanding across group lines. The work will culminate in the creation of public art and shared stories throughout the county that represent the participant’s personal experiences and reflect the group’s shared sense of community belonging. In addition, through the exposure to the participant's public art and a public education outreach effort, the ideas of belonging will resonate with community members and visitors.

 

WACF has engaged 13 participants ages 15 to 79 for this project. These community-minded people represent the diversity of the county and have been working  together across generations to create a deeper understanding of each other's perspectives and build connections. The bridge building workshops are fun, full of activites, and intensive; facilitators are utilizing the UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center’s Bridging Difference Program skills to provide guidance.

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We Are Chaffee hired two local artists, to assist with this project: Brynn Ronning Sandoval from Buena Vista, and Wendy Mitchell from Salida. The bridging differences work with the participants is complete and the art/mural development process began in early 2026. Our first art piece will be shared at the March 16th BV Library Grand Opening from 3:30 - 5:30pm. Please join us!

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We hope to have the other designs ready for Board/Council reviews at the beginning of March with installation occuring in May. 

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Please mark your clendars for our June 10th celebration. More to come soon!

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Project Timeline:

April - June 2025: Participant & Artist Recruitment - Complete

Late Summer 2025: Orientations for Participants - Complete

Fall 2025: Intergenerational Bridging Sessions - Complete

Early 2026: Work with Artists to Develop Belonging Murals

March 16th: BV Library Grand Opening sharing our first art piece! We will be at the Opening from 3:30-5:30 in the Community Room.

April - May 2026: Mural Creation and Installation 

June 10th: Community Celebration(s) 

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The WACF Team has Secured the Following Locations for placing Belonging Art:

• Salida Boat Dock Bathroom 

• Salida Hylton Lumber East Wall 

• Jane’s Place, Brew & Bloom Coffee Shop Interior Wall 

• Buena Vista Library Community Room

• Buena Vista Splash Park Bathroom (Optimist Park)

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Do you have questions? 

Do you or your organization want to support these efforts?

We would love to hear from you!

Contact: Lisa Martin LMartin@chaffeecounty.org

Chaffee County Public Health Community Advocacy Coordinator

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Read more about the project funders here:

 

About The Denver Foundation
For 100 years, The Denver Foundation has been building a stronger, thriving Metro
Denver, Colorado, and beyond. We’ve received $2.1 billion from generous
donors and given $1.6 billion in grants to support community initiatives. We’re the
foundation of Denver, connecting and collaborating to address the current and
future challenges of our community. To learn more about The Denver Foundation, visit
www.denverofundation.org

About Belonging Colorado 
Belonging Colorado is a bold, new effort to bring people together in new ways, grow
resilience in our state, and expand Coloradans’ sense of who belongs. We seek to
invest in good ideas for building connections across lines of difference—racial, ethnic,
socioeconomic, political affiliation, age, and more. Our state is not immune to the trends
of social division and disconnection affecting our nation. It is more essential than ever
that Coloradans work effectively across differences to bridge divides and support our
state's long-term health, resilience, and well-being. 

About the Greater Good Science Center
Based at UC Berkeley, the Greater Good Science Center provides a bridge between the
research community and the general public.
Find out more: https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/who_we_are