At Patchwork, many people feel an ownership of our space. Much of the time, this is something we value and encourage. When someone feels ownership of a place, they care about it on a different level. We see this among our volunteers, or staff, and also our guests. When someone feels that this is their space, they look out for it and for the people they share it with. They take care of it and encourage others to take care of it as well. They respect its sacredness and encourage others to do so as well.
At Patchwork, we see this at the end of the morning as everyone pitches in to wipe down tables and collect empty cups in our main room. We see it as the last person to take a shower requests a broom and dustpan to sweep up bits of soap wrappers and shampoo containers that others have left behind. We see it as one person tells another to stop yelling and go home in order to deescalate a situation.
We also see it in the variety of repurposing that happens as different people see our space through different eyes. For some, our outdoor bread oven has become a kind of a shrine. We often find collections of objects in it. Sometimes these objects are sacred—a note to a loved one, a piece from the nearby mosaic wall, an apple, a container of Narcan—and sometimes they are simply trash—dirty clothes, an empty meal wrapper, burnt plastic. A few weeks ago on a stormy afternoon, it was a written blessing and a bouquet of flowers.
This is a reminder of the power and the risk of handing ownership of this space to everyone who wishes to accept it. The people leaving items in the oven may not know its original purpose and may not care. They don’t know about the summer that John Eads helped kids in the Arts & Smarts Program build it. They don’t know about the multitude of feet that worked straw and clay together to form its walls. They don’t know about the hot, crisp pizzas that have been baked inside.
They’re not interested in these stories because they have created their own stories for this space. They can do this because they are partial owners of it, too. We share this space. On the days when I’m pulling trash out of the bread oven, I wish that others wouldn’t leave things in it. However, even as Patchwork’s Co-Executive Director, I cannot force a single narrative onto this space when it is shared.
Shared ownership is one of the things that makes Patchwork truly Patchwork. I believe it has been part of this organization from its start. It’s definitely not without its problems. It doesn’t always work, and even when it does, it can be messy. But for some, it’s a radical approach.
