I am a big-city activist living in the most rural county in Massachusetts. While a grant writer for local antipoverty programs, I learned that rural grants are scarce. “Statewide” foundations concentrated resources in metro areas, save for a token rural grant or two. The few national funders of rural causes ignored Massachusetts, which is perceived as well-resourced and thriving.
Not quite so in my county, which grapples with both systemic and individual racism, including in police–citizen relations. The community is responding to a growing opioid addiction crisis as creatively as it can but needs resources to prevent more deaths.
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