Staying Rooted When It’s Hard�Sustaining Hope and Energy in Community Work�Kayla M. Sweet, MA, SHRM-CP

Before we talk about what’s hard, let’s remember why it matters.

What made you care enough to get

involved in community work?

What brought you here?

TELL SOMEONE THE STORY UNDERNEATH YOUR INVOLVEMENT. WHAT MADE YOU CARE? WHAT DO YOU HOPE IS POSSIBLE?

Your Care Is Not The Problem

Sometimes, caring becomes carrying…

• More responsibility
• More emotional weight
• More people depending on us
• More things we feel like we can’t set down or step away from
• More time spent away from home
• More internal pressure

The Weight Was Never

Meant To Be Carried Alone.

What Surrounds Us Shapes What We Can Sustain

Leiter & Maslach’s Six Areas of Worklife demonstrate this:

• Workload: Is the volume sustainable?
• Control: Do I have meaningful influence over how the work happens?
• Reward: Do my efforts and contributions feel noticed, appreciated, and meaningful?
• Community: Is there trust, support, and connection available to me?
• Fairness: Does the larger environment I’m operating within feel equitable and reasonable?
• Values: Does how we are operating align with what matters most?

���What feels heavy right now?

When the weight has nowhere else to go, it begins to show up in us…��In how we feel, in how we think, and in how we show up

Don’t Ignore The Warning Signs

Pay attention when you start sounding unlike yourself.

• “I have nothing left.”
• “I just don’t care anymore.”
• “Nothing I do makes a difference anyways.”
• “There’s too much to be done, why even try?”

You may also notice:

• Resentment
• Isolation
• Irritability
• Hopelessness
• Going through the motions
• Losing joy
• Becoming disconnected from why you began this work.

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Resilience Requires Resources

Knowing Someone Will Show Up Changes What Feels Possible

SHARED GOALS → EXPECTED SUPPORT → COLLECTIVE EFFICACY

Let’s Connect

For the next few minutes, you will share with one another. Here are some guidelines:

• It’s an invitation, not a requirement – share only what feels comfortable
• Share what feels true
• Listen without trying to solve
• Honor each others unique lived experiences

Speak What’s Hard. Name What You Need.

What did you notice?

What Still Gives You Life?

Staying Rooted Requires an Ecosystem

• What are you rooted in?
• Purpose, values, identity, hope
• What nourishes you?
• Rest, joy, meaning, renewal
• What surrounds you?
• People, resources, belonging, shared responsibility

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When it starts to feel unsustainable…

What Would Sustainable Look Like Here?

“Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.”��— bell hooks

Thank you

Kayla M. Sweet, MA, SHRM-CP