The initial summer after Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement sent one of their organizers from Des Moines to live and work in Dubuque was one of many firsts, not only for me but for many other community members here. The two of us had spent the past winter months holding small neighborhood meetings and knocking doors throughout the city – deep canvassing. We wanted to know what Dubuquers cared most about. In what ways could our community be improved?

Overwhelmingly, we heard concern about Dubuque’s housing crisis. From complaints about slumlords and unaffordable rent to concerns about homelessness, my co-organizer and I knew that we had identified our issue. We began by creating a renters’ rights hotline, and of course, we continued knocking on people’s doors.

One summer afternoon, we were canvassing at a local mobile home park. Residents of this park had been fighting an uphill battle for years against the out-of-state corporation that had purchased the community of roughly 460 units. The story we’re all familiar with – they hike up the rent and allow everything to fall apart. Residents are told by elected officials that there is nothing to be done; the Governor is blamed.

We had hit the community organizing jackpot. Almost every person who opened their door had a story to tell, a grievance to air. These folks were ready and raring. Our past organizing experiences and trainings with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement provided my co-organizer and me with the foundation necessary to channel this collective rage into collective action. We meet people where they’re at. We believe that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution – we are the experts of our own lives. We know that we cannot simply do for others what they are capable of doing themselves – but first we have to make sure they have the necessary tools.

We successfully secured a meeting between a Fannie Mae representative and the mobile home park residents, but we were informed that the corporation had suddenly paid off their loan before this meeting took place. The mobile home park was listed for sale. Residents were excited and relieved – not only had we won, but the residents themselves directly contributed to our victory over the out-of-state corporation. They witnessed their power, both collective and individual. They realized that they deserved power, they already have power, and that when we share our power we become unstoppable.

Since then, the residents of this mobile home park here in Dubuque still have their own, self-sufficient neighborhood association up and running – a tenants’ union of sorts. Even more exciting, one of the leaders of the mobile home association applied for a grant through a local community foundation. With the help of organized people power, the mobile home park received the funds to set up a community land trust for affordable housing development, offering preservation of long-term affordability and resident ownership support by 2030.

This experience is my reminder (and hopefully now yours) that we do not need to be policy experts in order to have political power over our lives and our communities. Provide each other with the tools and support to succeed, and watch people realize the importance of community. Relationships are the foundation of community organizing – we cannot build a movement unless those relationships are based in trust, respect, and empathy.

Briana (Bri) Moss is a 37-year-old woman from Dyersville, IA. Now living in Dubuque, Bri works as a food server at a non-profit casino where she is also a union steward with the International Association of Machinists. Bri is the Board Vice President for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a 501(c)3 nonprofit with whom she does community organizing work around healthcare and housing.