longer.blue

Good evening, my name is Poa Mutino. I am the director of the Rainbow Bridge Community Center on North Main Street and also a social worker and therapist who works with youth in our community. To begin, I acknowledge that we are on the land of N’Dakinna and the continent of Turtle Island. I extend my gratitude to the indigenous people who live in Vermont and hope for a future of right relationships among all people and mother earth. Grief is here in Currier Park, it is in our marrow, it is in our lungs, it is in the tears many of us have shed over the past few months. Welcome grief, welcome kids, welcome play, (welcome boredom!) welcome banner makers, welcome racing hearts, welcome to the outsiders in the crowd, welcome to the freaks, the nerds, dorks and welcome to those who feel alone, lonely and on the margins. Welcome to all of you however, you are showing up, whatever you are holding in your body and in your head. We all need a community to belong to. As is all too clear tonight, the risk of not belonging is life threatening. Bullies destroy belonging in their targets. For example, LGBTQ+ youth are FIVE TIMES more likely to be bullied and THREE TIMES more likely to take their own life or harm their bodies than their straight peers. Belonging is our birthright, and that means everyone, without exception. Allow yourself to place your attention inward, if you wish. Place one hand on your heart and breathe in, pause. Breathe out. We lost at least three children to suicide locally in the past six months. Their names were Finn, Rylee and Gage. Your grief is welcome here. Grief is stored in the body. Return your hand to your heart. When we are most present to our nervous systems, we are less likely to injure another’s. The stronger we are at mental health care, the stronger our community. The less stigma and bigotry we create, the easier it is to ask for help in a time of desperation. One community connected to another, we will lift each other up from despair, from poverty of mind, and poverty in the literal sense and we will be the rising tide that transforms trauma into wellbeing. Self hate into a life that contains real joy. These rainbows are a message. You matter. You are loved. You are not alone. Maybe you are gay, maybe you are straight. As I witnessed the queer youth shout at the statehouse a few years ago “We are here, we are queer, we are FABULOUS” I hold hope for when hatred is no longer a part of the vocabulary of this continent. Our green mountain state, New England, America, Turtle Island…Imagine a world of people who feel safe and who have the resources they need to thrive. Can you imagine a world where kids do not have to wonder if they will ever be healthy adults? Imagine you are the example for youth today. How are you treating others? What example do your speech and actions create? We are interdependent, our lives are inextricably bound to one another’s, truly connected. Our lives are finite. Wes Jackson, a grass farmer says, “If your life’s work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you’re not thinking big enough.” In closing, take a look around. Scan the park, see the faces of your community. You are not alone. Let’s make a bonfire of hope, let’s create a Barre where all thrive. On this beautiful evening surrounded by community, I see the future of Barre in the faces in this park. In this grief and this hope, we are not alone.