Community is Worth Fighting For
EDITORIAL BY ALISA MAGNOTTA
Over the past several months, I’ve found myself thinking about what creates a strong community.
It’s easy to define community by geography. We live on the same peninsula; we share the same roads, schools, beaches, and businesses. But the true meaning of community is something deeper. It involves caring about people we may never meet.
Care may look like speaking publicly in support of affordable housing because you want young families to have a chance to stay on Cape Cod. It may look like volunteering your time to help the guests at our family shelter. It may look like a philanthropic gift in support of our mission, providing housing stability for people whose names you may never know.
The highest form of community is displayed in our moral obligation to stand with people who are often overlooked, dismissed, and disenfranchised.
The family living in a motel after losing their rental. The senior struggling to remain in the home where they built a life. The survivor fleeing domestic violence. The worker commuting hours because there is nowhere affordable to live near their employer. The person experiencing homelessness who is treated as a problem instead of a neighbor.
These are not strangers. They are members of our community, and those of us who have the privilege to do so must take responsibility to advocate on their behalf.
Advocacy is not always comfortable. It requires courage to speak up, especially when misinformation spreads. It means challenging assumptions about who belongs here. It means remembering that every person deserves dignity, safety, and the opportunity to thrive.
Cape Cod has made important progress in addressing our housing crisis. Communities across the region are creating new housing opportunities, investing local resources, and embracing solutions that help people remain part of the year-round fabric of our towns.
Yet the challenges remain significant.
Over the past decade, the inventory of year-round rental housing on Cape Cod has shrunk dramatically, from 20% to 12% – just as Gen Z comes of age. As housing costs continue to rise, more people find themselves squeezed out of the communities they love. Without intentional action, the next generation will have fewer opportunities to build a life here than the generation before them. That should concern all of us.
As housing costs continue to rise, more people find themselves squeezed out of the communities they love.
If we care about strong schools, thriving local businesses, quality healthcare, public safety, and vibrant year-round villages, we must also care about whether people have a place to live. Housing is not separate from these priorities. It is the foundation that makes them possible.
I often think about my own journey. Like many people who chose to build a life on Cape Cod, I fought to stay because I believe in this community. I raised my daughters here. I invest my time and energy here. Thousands of others share that same story, and they deserve the same opportunity.
The future of Cape Cod will be shaped by the choices we make now. Will we create a community where only a fortunate few can remain? Or will we be the generation that made room for others, welcomed new neighbors, and ensured that opportunity remained within reach?
At Housing Assistance, we will continue fighting for housing. We will continue standing up for people who need a voice. And we will continue working toward a Cape Cod where everyone has the opportunity to belong.
The true measure of a community’s values is not how it treats the most fortunate among us. It is how it responds to those facing the greatest challenges.
I believe that is a cause worth fighting for, and I am grateful to have you alongside us.
