I could spend all day with Janell and Aaron Lane on a weekly basis because of their passion for the place they call home, the people they work with, and their commitment to addressing what I think are justice related issues. We’ve met a number of times briefly to get to know each other, but this podcast gave us a great way to get to know each other in a deeper way. We talked about growing up in southeast Fort Wayne, their educational and professional journeys, and why they’re so committed to working there.

When we think of community development, we often think about the built environment and the big issues programs aim to address. People are always a part of that, but they’re usually represented in data or the input meetings. Rarely is community development in traditional terms about the developing of the people first, which is why I find the work of Janell and Aaron so impactful and why I’m intrigued by their employer’s commitment to empowering them to do it.

They work for Parkview Hospital and hospitals obviously care for the wellbeing and health of a community’s residents, but not many are being as proactive in going to residents with community health related solutions. Parkview is certainly not the only hospital that does this, but in our area, they’re leading the way with initiatives like the Community Partner Development Center (CPDC).

Four years into their work now, Janell and Aaron are finding their stride and making an immediate impact in the lives of those they’re working on. Simply showing up, asking how they can help, asking what’s missing, and then following up in an one-on-one or small group format makes a huge difference and has been missing in many ways in the southeast. Aaron is helping with personal, professional, and sometimes spiritual development of indigenous leaders among a dozen other initiatives. Janell is leveraging her mental health professional background to bring attention, create safe spaces, and make progress in addressing mental health issues prevalent in African American communities among a dozen other things she’s leading.

If you get anything out of the conversation, I hope you’ll pick up their calling and sense of responsibility as two individuals to serve in an area they grew up in. The trend in socio-economically challenged areas is to get educated, find a way out, and never return other than to visit family that may still live there. Rarely do people come back to an area to live, work, and invest. For some it’s because they want to leave behind the challenges they faced and still present in the area, and for some like the Lanes, it’s because the area isn’t capable of meeting their family’s needs. However, they are committed to making sure the opportunities grow for those they know that live there and for future generations to have a better place to come home when considering where they’ll land to raise their families.

I really look forward to continuing to build a relationship with the Lanes. I’ve got a lot to learn from them and really enjoy just being in their presence. We all need more people like Aaron and Janell Lane in our lives if we care about improving the holistic health of our neighborhoods.