We’re always encouraged when we remember we’re in the company of movements all around the world responding to one of the most pressing human needs of our time. Community Happens Here is proud to be leading this vital work right here in Pleasant Ridge.

It's easy to think that a neighborhood is defined by its physical infrastructure—the roads, the buildings, the parks. But what truly makes a neighborhood livable is its emotional infrastructure: the web of relationships, the shared experiences, and the mutual support that we build together.

In a world that often feels fragmented and isolating, we believe that creating spaces for authentic presence and genuine belonging can transform not just individuals, but entire neighborhoods.

At our enchanted tea gatherings, we remembered that magic isn't something we've outgrown. It's something we've simply forgotten how to see. And something that’s always waiting whenever we choose to look for it.

We are a soft place to land in a hard world. We are a threshold space where connection becomes possible, where the lost art of conversation gets remembered, taught, modeled, and encouraged. Not because it's efficient or profitable or easily explained in elevator pitches, but because it's how we survive.

CHH is more than just a physical place; it's a symbol of hope and connection. It's a reminder that kindness and understanding can be found in the smallest of places. And it is an “outpost,” a stop along the journey where visitors find rest, refreshment and human connection.

Our founder was thrilled with this wonderful article.

Many of us live under the illusion that if people simply come into the same space, they will automatically begin to know each other. Sadly, that’s just not true.

While each of these small encounters were not in themselves earth-shattering, they brought people closer together and helped us connect across difference. I met some new people who would have not come into my life. Who knows what seeds were sown, even on a cold day? Perhaps hot cocoa is fertile soil for creating the world we want to see.

Simply put, we exist to create space and offer hospitality to help people connect and to bring our neighborhood together.

There’s nothing like giving people skills to navigate the world, to break down the icy barriers of shyness, and to heal some of the parts of our world that need healing.