Feel helpless? Think smaller. (Smaller.)

Polly Barks

When I first moved to Warwood, no one knocked on my door.

That's not an indictment of Warwood. I've lived in many places in my adult life, and there's rarely been more than a wave from our porches, a smile in passing, and a quick retreat to our own private lives. But I moved to Wheeling for a sense of community, so I’d be damned if I didn’t cultivate that in my own little piece of the city.

I became the weird neighbor. I invited people into my garden, handed out my phone number, and offered little things. Some people remained standoffish, preferring not to interact with that weird lady with all the tattoos, others having inured themselves to the small meanness of their entrenched isolation. But many, many more welcomed it with open arms.

Those open arms became critical to a new project in November 2025: Feeding Warwood. Starting on the first, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was slashed due to the ongoing government shutdown. With roughly 1 in 5 West Virginia households relying on SNAP to feed their families, many of our friends and neighbors were left with few options. 

With the help of a friend I’d made through my awkward overtures and new friendships with other neighbors, we started to quite literally feed Warwood. Since last year, we've: raised more than $3,000 to feed local families, provided food boxes and/or direct cash assistance to 45 Warwood households, and shared over 300 meals.  

State and federal government continue to fail us in ever horrifying ways and problems this large can make us feel powerless. Honestly, in some ways we are if we’re only considering the largest common denominator. Get smaller. What can you tangibly affect?

Big, existential question: “How do I address the federal government shutdown that’s cutting food stamps across the country?”

Its hyper-local form: “How do I make sure my neighbors/neighborhoods have dinner tonight?”

Suddenly, the problem is daunting. But not impossible.

Now add in the neighbors you’ve cultivated by being awkward and open; suddenly, you’ve got a cadre of caring folks who probably have enough resources to get your neighbors fed tonight.

I know we want to solve the big woes of the world, but if you're feeling helpless about the state of the world, think smaller. Be a connector, people are desperate for it. At worst, someone slopes away from you awkwardly with a rude offhand comment. At best you’ve made someone's day and forged another connection that makes your neighborhood just that much more inoculated from the tragedy of a lonely life.