Community wellness advocacy
The best community wellness program is the one already built into a neighborhood. Connection For Better Living advocates at the county and municipal level for the small public infrastructure that makes healthy daily routines possible for everyone.
Our advocacy focus
Small, unglamorous, and durable — the kind of civic work that rarely makes headlines but changes how a neighborhood feels over years. Our positions and priorities:
Walkable public routes
Sidewalk maintenance, benches at reasonable intervals, safe crossings, and adequate lighting on residential and mixed-use streets. Walking is the most accessible daily ritual there is; missing sidewalks and unsafe crossings quietly disqualify entire neighborhoods from it.
Public library programming and hours
Extended evening and weekend hours at community library branches; quiet study rooms; free community meeting spaces; consistent newsletter distribution partnerships. A well-run library is the single most efficient piece of community wellness infrastructure in a small city.
Community centers and neighborhood spaces
Reliable funding for community centers and neighborhood associations; adequate custodial and coordinator staffing; free-of-charge meeting-room access for small groups. The room is the whole point.
Quiet public rooms in public buildings
We advocate for at least one designated quiet room in every municipal building, courthouse, healthcare waiting area, and transit hub. Not a chapel and not a lactation room — a plain quiet room, open to anyone, no purpose stipulated.
Where we work
Our current advocacy is concentrated in the City of Erie, Erie County, and the surrounding communities of Millcreek Township, Fairview, North East, and Corry. We correspond with neighborhood associations, participate in public comment at municipal meetings when relevant, and maintain informal relationships with local library, community center, and recreation department staff.
How we work
We are a small volunteer organization. We do not employ lobbyists. We do not endorse candidates. Our advocacy method is straightforward: written correspondence, public-meeting attendance, and cooperative work with existing community organizations. We accept no funding from any political party or elected official.
If you would like to work with us
If you serve on a municipal board or community organization in Erie County and would like to correspond with us about wellness-related infrastructure or programming, please write to info@ritualsforbetterliving.org. Our advocacy work is entirely responsive and collaborative — we rarely initiate positions independent of a local partner.