Community is more than a word.

Community is more than a word. It is a responsibility.

One we at Community Access National Network (CANN) take seriously.

That responsibility is at the center of who we are as a team, and how we work with the immense variety of stakeholders. We believe that advocacy is not simply about having the right policy opportunity, being in the right room, or having a seat at the table. It is about what we do with that opportunity—and whether we are willing to step up when our communities need us.

Stepping up means taking responsibility. It means seeing a problem and asking what we can do about it. It means recognizing that the people most affected by policies and systems deserve to have their voices heard, their experiences respected, and their needs reflected in the decisions that affect their lives.

That mindset is not limited to our external advocacy. It is a core part of CANN's internal culture.

The culture at CANN is generally different from anywhere else I’ve taken a role in my last eight years in public health. I’ve worked in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) where I worked alongside people who showed up every day fueled by a core mission of improving the health outcomes of their community. I’ve also worked in spaces where the leaders were more focused on what they could take for themselves. 

In an era where leaders are more focused on margin motivations than their stated mission, the culture that has been built at CANN stands out. 

Strong organizations are built by people who are willing to support one another.

At CANN, stepping up means a lot of things. 

It can mean taking on a difficult assignment when a colleague needs support. It often means sharing knowledge instead of gatekeeping. It can mean asking a difficult question, offering a different perspective, or recognizing when something needs to be done and taking the initiative to do it.

It also means understanding that leadership is an action, not a title.

We all have the ability to lead from where they are.

Sometimes leadership looks like speaking in a meeting. Often, it looks like listening. Sometimes it means challenging an assumption. Often it means making sure someone who isn't in the room is still represented in the conversation.

And sometimes leadership is simply saying, “I can help.”

When my friend Steve suffered a massive stroke nearly two months ago, the first question from our team was, “How can we help?”  Like 7.7% of Missourians,  Steve was uninsured. Missouri ranks 27th in uninsured individuals. With the rising costs of hospital systems, the intensity of his stroke, and a lack of hospitals providing true charitable care, financial support would be required.  

CANN's work is rooted in the belief that communities deserve meaningful access, transparency, accountability, and a voice in the policies that affect their health and well-being. Achieving those goals requires more than technical expertise. It requires people who are willing to step forward when one of our own finds themselves in need.

It was in the first few days following Steve’s stroke that the board and our CEO, Jen Laws, shared that CANN would be stepping up to help us ensure he receives the best care possible. 

This blog isn’t really about Steve or even CANN stepping up; it is the very important point that in the richest nation in the world, many are struggling to make ends meet, people who are drowning in medical debt, too often who must turn to online fundraising to ensure they get the healthcare they need.

The reality is we need a healthcare system that works for everyone. We need reform to 340b. 

We need to ensure the statutory intent is met: “to reach more eligible patients and provide more comprehensive services.” We need to ensure that policies are not being put into place on the state or federal level that will harm access to healthcare services or prescriptions. 

Policy advocacy is rarely simple.

There are competing interests, incomplete information, political pressures, and complicated systems. Progress can take time. Sometimes the most important work happens behind the scenes—researching a policy, reading legislation, building relationships, asking questions, or helping community members understand how a decision could affect them.

One of the most important distinctions about community-centered work is that community cannot simply be something we talk about.

It has to influence how we operate.

If we believe communities should have a voice, we have to create space for those voices.

If we believe in transparency, we have to be willing to ask difficult questions.

If we believe in equity, we have to examine who benefits from existing systems—and who may be left behind.

If we believe in access, we have to look beyond whether a program technically exists and ask whether people can actually access and benefit from it.

And if we believe in accountability, we have to be willing to hold ourselves to a higher standard.

That is what stepping up means.

CANN's culture is not defined solely by what we accomplish externally. It is also defined by how we show up for one another every day.

We step up because community is not someone else's responsibility, because advocacy requires action, because access requires persistence, because accountability requires courage, and because the people and communities at the center of our work deserve nothing less.

It is about bringing your voice, your experience, your expertise, and your willingness to act—and using all of them in service to something bigger than yourself.

That is what true community looks like.

That is what true advocacy looks like.

And at CANN, that is what stepping up looks like, because that is who we are.