South Dade’s Civic Life Still Happens, Even Without City Hall

I came to Miami earlier this year carrying the stories, sights, and sounds of every other land I’ve touched. At first, they become my reference, my way of making sense of this new place. Maybe you can relate.

Over time, Miami has shifted my references: everything from what "rush hour" really means (is it all day?!) to our relaxed sense of timing.

Learning habits and norms helps me get my bearings. But I only start to feel at home when I find my place in a community, when I understand what it needs and how it cares for itself. Throughout my life and career, I’ve seen that communities hold the best knowledge of how to solve their own problems. Strong communities are ones where neighbors meet and act together, share reliable information, and trust one another. Researchers call this "civic health." The rest of us call it "community."

I’m struck by the fact that many South Dade neighborhoods, including Goulds, Leisure City Naranja, Princeton, Richmond Heights, and West Perrine are unincorporated. There is no city hall, no mayor, and no weekly council meeting where residents can line up at the microphone. For those communities, local government is the County Commission, which serves all of Miami-Dade.

As you read that, what does it make you think about civic health in South Dade? Where are neighbors connecting, and where are they finding a sense of well-being?

My sense is that in South Dade, civic life happens everywhere else. It’s at the food pantry, where volunteers notice which families have stopped coming. Civic life is at the heart of the places of worship where the faithful gather, which can host a job fair one day, a voter information session the next, and become a hurricane supply hub when we need. It’s seen in your child’s coach, who knows each kid by name. And it’s the neighbor who quietly runs a community group and goes to County meetings to speak up for everyone who has no city hall.

We call this community, being a good neighbor, our real life. We can also call it civic infrastructure, and across South Dade it matters even more to find each other, name and fix problems, show our care. So much of this work is powered by nonprofit organizations and the staff and volunteers who lift us up.

In last month’s issue, my colleague Julissa Rivera shared findings from The Miami Foundation’s South Dade Community Needs and Nonprofit Funding Landscape report, including that only 4% of the funding reaching South Dade nonprofits was flexible. That leaves local leaders very little room to decide where their dollars go. Organizations doing civic work need money they can use to respond to what’s in front of them, because our community’s needs are changing as quickly as the world around us.

So here is my invitation: Given what civic life in South Dade looks like, your role here may matter more than almost anywhere else in the County. Give Miami Day is The Miami Foundation’s contribution to supporting a more thriving Miami – a day when all of us can give back to the nonprofits that take care of us. Every gift is unrestricted, so our community leaders decide how to use it.

You can give early starting on November 14, and you can give on Give Miami Day itself, November 19. Check out some of South Dade’s 300+ nonprofits (you can filter by area) and remember that $25 is all it takes to get started. If you are ready to drive a little north, come celebrate Give Miami Day’s quinceañera at our 5K + Festival on November 15, with music, fun, and your neighbors. Your 5K registration supports the nonprofits or causes of your choice (if you need a little insight, that report shares more about South Dade’s priorities), or you can join the Festival later for free.

Our time and attention is another way to care, and giving back to the community is good for us. Research shows that volunteerism can improve our physical health and well-being. Consider browsing some local volunteer opportunities to get involved.

I would never claim to know South Dade the way the people who’ve built their lives here do. In fact, I’m still deepening how I show up in Miami. But I do know what it looks like when a community holds itself together, and I’ve already felt the embrace of this community’s organizations and leaders as I find my way. This Give Miami Day, I’ll be giving back to show my gratitude, and I will be celebrating on November 15. Won’t you join me?