The Entanglements Department

For years we’ve tried to solve social problems in silos, as if they were disconnected from one another. There’s the hunger cause, the poverty cause, the literacy cause, the social justice cause, the mental health cause, and on and on. Often, even when people think big, they think big inside the prison of a system of silos. They ask, “Which of these problems should we pick to dream about solving?” But what if it doesn’t work that way? What if your efforts to solve for maternal health end up being undermined because you didn’t include transportation? What if it’s impossible to solve the problems one at a time because they’re all connected? What if it’s actually easier to address them all at the same time, holistically, recognizing that they are all connected – that they are all one big ecosystem of problems?

The Entanglements Department is all about understanding the tangled webs that connect all of the problems we want to solve, recognizing that solving all of them together is the only way we’ll ever solve any one of them.

Check out just a few of these connections…

Hi, I’m Jon Romine. I’m committed to a broad mapping of the connections between the suffering we want to alleviate. Let’s get together and talk about how you see the entanglements. I‘d love to talk. Email me and I’ll get in touch.

Check out just a few of these connections…

Many women won't leave horribly abusive relationships because they're afraid to leave their pets. Animal shelters are connected to the solution to domestic violence. image
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If public transportation is inadequate, pregnant women can’t get to their OB/GYN visits. If you don’t address public transportation, you can’t succeed with maternal health and successful pregnancies. image
You can't get funding for the public transportation that leads to healthier pregnancies without voter support. If you're working on healthy pregnancies without working on voting and civic engagement, you'll fail. image
You can't get funding for the public transportation that leads to healthier pregnancy without voter support. If you're working on early childhood education without working on voting and civic engagement, you'll fail.  image
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Kids who don’t eat don’t pay attention in school. If you try to improve early childhood education results without addressing food deserts, you’ll fail. image
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Healthy grocery stores don’t want to locate in high-crime neighborhoods. You can’t address food deserts and poor nutrition without working on crime and policing. image
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Lack of broadband connections leads to isolation. If mental health organizations aren't working with internet providers, we can't improve mental health outcomes. image
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Internet providers put the latest technology in poor neighborhoods last. If you're trying to improve internet access without addressing poverty, you'll be frustrated. image
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A myopic focus on bringing in tourism dollars creates more low-paying service jobs. If you're trying to address poverty while under short-term pressure to boost tourism, you'll increase poverty. image
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