More than four thousand Southwest Floridians from all walks of life sat down together on March 15th in small groups, and in various places across Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry Counties. But these weren’t just a simple brunch with friends — this was all done as part of an effort called On the Table SWFL. Participants often did not already know each other, and sometimes there wasn’t actually a table but just a place to gather. The goal was to get them all talking about the problems that are affecting the region and its residents.
Spearheaded by the Collaboratory in downtown Fort Myers, in partnership with the Collier Community Foundation and Charlotte Community Foundation, this is a follow up to an On The Table event held back in 2019.
People attended one of about 280 "tables" and about a quarter of them filled out a survey that asked them to rank the issues they thought were most pressing.
Top issues were fairly uniform across counties: the need for more affordable housing topped the list across the board, with homelessness, mental health and substance abuse, healthcare access and cost, and jobs/economic development rounding out the top of the list.
You can see all of the 2023 results here. You can see the results from the 2019 event here.
GUESTS:
- Noelle Casagrande, Communications Lead at the Collaboratory
- Amy Huddleston, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Charlotte Community Foundation
- Lindsey Touchette, Vice President of Community Engagement at the Collier Community Foundation
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