WESTERLY — About 40 individuals gathered on the Westerly Armory late final week for some pleasant dialog and a free meal to assist an initiative of the Rhode Island Basis known as Collectively RI.

The visitors, who dined on pasta and meatballs, had been invited to actually carry their concepts to the desk.

After dinner, visitors had been invited to give you solutions to a few central questions, in line with basis President and CEO Neil Steinberg: What are Rhode Island’s best strengths, largest alternatives and largest challenges?

“The scale of the state was seen as the largest power,” stated Steinberg on the phone Friday afternoon. “Individuals like the scale of the state.”

“Though some individuals did suppose I would must pack a suitcase to drive to Westerly,” he added with a chuckle.

Following Rhode Island’s small dimension, Steinberg stated, individuals listed ethnic range; the shoreline and pure assets; the wholesome arts and tradition group; and the seafood and agricultural sectors as among the strengths of the state.

So far as alternatives, contributors listed the power to develop mannequin applications, to retain younger individuals, to begin small companies, to draw medical start-ups and to proceed increased schooling.

For challenges, they listed included meals insecurity, homelessness, psychological well being, substance abuse and public transportation.

“We weren’t searching for options,” Steinberg stated, it was simply to get individuals to speak … to have wholesome dialogue.”

“Individuals had wholesome dialogue,” he stated. “Everybody brings their very own views and experiences which makes for wealthy dialogue.”

Roberta Mudge Humble, president of Westerly Armory Restoration Inc., attended the gathering, and stated she “sat at a desk with a number of individuals I knew and about half I didn’t know.”

“That was a very good expertise in itself,” she stated in an e mail Friday afternoon. “All of us had been from different-thinking corners however none of them actually conflicted. I favored the conversations as a result of they did not dive into the political. Individuals stayed with their favourite concepts about what can/may very well be achieved in Rhode Island.”

Humble stated among the different points individuals at her desk mentioned included psychological well being, veterans, fossil-fuel and renewable power, historic preservation and volunteerism. 

“I believe all of us suppose that our trigger is crucial,” she stated, “however listening to the others within the group, I noticed that we have to pay attention extra to what drives different individuals and the way we could be supportive of them in quite a lot of methods.”

The concept behind the Collectively RI initiative, stated Steinberg, is to collect residents from across the Ocean State — in varied places across the state — to share civil civic dialogue a couple of set of particular points.

“It is to get individuals to speak to individuals,” added Steinberg. “There is not any social media … no Tik Tok … simply individuals getting collectively like they’re sitting across the kitchen desk, or assembly at city corridor or on the submit workplace.”

Actual neighbors speaking to actual neighbors, Steinberg continued — the neighbors you’d ask to water your flowers for those who had been occurring trip.

“You would not ask somebody you met on Tik Tok to water your flowers,” he added with a slight chortle.

The muse — one of many oldest and largest group foundations within the nation — is in the midst of spherical two of Collectively RI, designed “to create area for folk to be heard, to pay attention, to reconnect.”

The primary Collectively RI — which started on March 22, 2018, and ended on Might 5, 2018 — introduced collectively almost 1,300 Rhode Islanders who mentioned their concepts about alternatives and challenges within the state.

The objective then, in line with the muse, was to “create a impartial place for dialogue on matters which can be vital to our widespread future.”

“Divisiveness and polarization was efficiently left on the door,” the muse says on the web site.

Then got here the pandemic and a hiatus. 

The 2022 reboot of Collectively RI started on July 14 at Lancellotta’s Banquet Restaurant in North Windfall then continued on to places in Warwick, Middletown and West Greenwich in August and Windfall, Narragansett, Burrillville and Westerly in October. Two extra October periods have been scheduled in Windfall and Cranston, with two ultimate periods in Pawtucket and East Windfall scheduled for November.

Steinberg stated all Rhode Islanders are welcome to attend the periods, and never solely those of their neighborhoods.

Through the 2018 collection, he stated, there was a pair who attended each session.

“That they had simply moved to Rhode Island,” he stated. “It was an effective way to get to know the state.”

The following periods shall be held on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on the Windfall Firefighter’s Corridor, 92 Printery St., Windfall; on Wednesday, Oct. 26, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the Cranston Portuguese Social Membership, 20 Second Ave., Cranston; on Thursday, Nov. 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Hope Artiste Village, 999 Foremost St., Pawtucket; and Tuesday, Nov. 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the East Windfall Senior Heart, 610 Waterman Ave., East Windfall.

To register for one of many gatherings, or to study extra, go to rifoundation.org/community-investments/together-ri/together-ri-2022-community-events.