I just returned from a focus group on housing concerns for Summit County’s workforce and seniors. We don’t have what it takes to provide for either end of the spectrum. We have zero services for seniors with the exception of Timberline Adult Day Program. Some charitable organizations have provided safe parking lots for workforce workers and a hot shower before they begin their work day.

Our seniors (3,500) strong are doing their best to stay in Summit County, but many have been forced to move due to increasing health issues and lack of access to medical and community support. Many of our workforce have had to move out of the county to find affordable housing.

I am a third generation Asian. My culture worked for so many years. We raised our children, and then the children took care of us —a large extended network. In the U.S., we treasure individually, nuclear families, the pioneer “Go West” and leave the past to take its course. We conquered, and we destroyed (another story). We were left with trying to find our own family and community — our tribe. Some of our children have moved back with us — not by choice but because the economy does not allow them to spread their wings.

So what can we do. Can we use some of our National Forest Land to carve out a mixed-use extended family living situation where our workforce and our seniors can thrive — where we can create a community that is safe and caring for all?