When the Work Works
This past week, we handed A Place to Call Home its very first strategic plan—a final deliverable of a nearly three-year partnership. To the average reader, that sentence probably doesn’t sound like much. But while this last transaction was a key moment, it was only a small part of a transformative effort.
When this work began, homelessness in Spartanburg was being addressed by well-intentioned organizations working hard—but often in parallel. There were seven leadership organizations at the table. There were 14 different plans circulating. There were more than 70 recommendations about what should happen next. What was missing wasn’t commitment or care—it was alignment.
Our work with A Place to Call Home started with a simple but difficult question: What would it take for this community to move from plans and programs to a coordinated, shared approach to preventing and ending homelessness?
Over time, the work shifted, priorities sharpened, and trust grew. What started as a collaborative initiative slowly took shape as something more defined and community-owned. To learn more, click here.
For us at 1000 Feathers, the work became personal. We didn’t think of ourselves as outside consultants coming in to a community to “fix” something. We came in as partners in the work dedicated to getting it right. We spent countless hours listening, learning, convening, challenging assumptions, building trust, and slowly transforming the way the community addressed homelessness.
What emerged was A Place to Call Home—an initiative that is moving this work forward with a clear community vision, a mission that speaks to its critical role in the community, and a strategic direction to guide the way. And, of utmost importance, it has hired the right executive director in Hannah Jarrett—a leader with both the credibility and the steadiness this work requires.
Hannah, her team, the leadership organizations, and the community are ready to lead, which is the greatest success we could ever have at 1000 Feathers.
Yet, I’ll admit. It makes me a little sad.
When you spend years walking alongside people, wrestling with tough decisions, and investing your heart into a place and a cause, it becomes part of you. Spartanburg County, SC has become part of us at 1000 Feathers. The people, the conversations, the shared desire to ensure everyone has a place to call home—it all leaves a mark.
I will miss being a part of the conversations.
I will miss our go-to lunch spot, Limeleaf (IYKYK).
I will miss the people and the community and the work.
But this is exactly where A Place to Call Home needs to be.
They’ve built a movement. They’re working the plan. They don’t need us in the same way anymore—and that’s ok. It’s the clearest sign that the work worked.
Our role was never to stay forever. It was to help create clarity, build structure, and support a community as it stepped into its own leadership. And here we are.
We’ll always care about what happens next. But today, we have a great deal of gratitude and a little bit of sadness—knowing this is how it’s supposed to be.
