Stephanie Ritchey — empathy stories

Kids that have the opportunity to be with their family, their friends, or in social events, who also know they can go home and be by themselves come in to school much fresher, more open, and cooperative. They know that feeling crowded is not lasting. I can handle this for an hour, because I know I get to go home to my space to be, to cry in the privacy of my own room where no one's going to know about it and I'll feel better. I can be myself. It all goes back to space. We need a chance to hang out by ourselves, to reflect, to pause. Ideally that space should be at home, tying the space issue to socioeconomics. A lot of our kids and adults don’t have space.

We are also social creatures. Those people that have their individual space and are able to regenerate themselves bring their spirit to shared space. They are glad to be together. As far as community goes, communities don’t realize how much more they could do and accomplish if they had common areas. You've got numerous clubs and organizations in Greensboro that need a space to come together. We haven't had the blending of the school groups, the church groups, the community groups, and the civic groups. We are not sharing because there’s no place to share. There's no place to gather. If we had a community space, we'd have the opportunity to bring cultural and social functions. It would be wonderful for Hale County.

I hope that a community space will be located downtown. It has tremendous potential. You’ve got more commonality on Main Street than anywhere else. Everybody feels like they have ownership there. I think there would be a vested interest on everybody's part. It’s going to take a mix of ideas to make things work. It’s going to take a blend of older and younger generations to bring some things to Greensboro that people can come together with and enjoy.

The idea of space... it’s not something you reflect on often. It’s just something you take for granted.

Stephanie Ritchey

Principal, Greensboro West Elementary. Greensboro, Alabama

Outsidein. A Community Space for Hale County.