I wake up every day to a full inbox and a marathon of online calls. I send my kids to school, fighting the urge to keep them home because of the gun violence they experienced at school last year. Later, I make dinner, finish up work tasks, and tackle chores. I’m counting down the days until my son graduates, but we keep running the numbers and have no clue how we’re going to afford his dream school on top of our other bills. Finally, I crawl into bed thankful, but still feeling lonely and stretched. If this routine feels relatable, you’re not the only one.

That’s because America is in a loneliness crisis. We’re more anxious and uncertain about our futures — our dollars don’t stretch as far, we’re approaching a contentious election, and we have less social support to lean on as we navigate raising our families, earning a living, and everything in between. It’s a tough time to be a human being.

But on Wednesday nights — it’s different. I run a Zoom room with what feels more and more like a close group of friends and leave inspired by what’s possible when we organize together.

Politicians tend to feed us messages about how great things are — check out the latest jobs report! But their words are hard to hear when they don’t honor what so many of us are feeling and experiencing. The MAGA agenda is an obvious hard pass, but Democrats cannot win this election with priorities that don’t resonate with everyday people.

So how do we move voters in a year of historic disillusionment with our electoral system? By reminding people of our potential, of the better future that’s possible for America if we are brave enough to pursue it. We need to feel and experience that our votes, and every other way we make our voices heard, can make a difference and we can have a better life. I’m personally not putting my faith in any one candidate, but instead in what we can do collectively in pursuit of a vision for our futures.

This old-fashioned organizing looks like people having conversations with trusted friends and family members about our lives and the issues we care about and then taking collective action. A simple text or phone call can remind us that we’re not as alone as it seems, and I believe this reminder is the antidote to the solitude and disconnection many of us feel — and how we can save our democracy.

During the pandemic, I worked to build an online organizing program designed to turnout voters to ensure Trump wouldn’t have a second term and to build faith in democracy. I believed it would be temporary, filling the need for community online during times of physical distancing. 

But the morning it was announced that Trump was ousted, my phone blew up with messages asking for an online space to celebrate together. While on the sidelines of my daughter’s soccer game, tears streamed down my cheeks as volunteers from all over the country shared how much this community meant to them and how proud they were. 

It was clear that morning we were filling a deep need: creating a political home. People joined because they wanted to defeat Trump, but stayed for the community. And that community is still growing.

Since launching in 2020, Community Change Action’s program has tracked hundreds of thousands of conversations between friends and family about the election and issues our volunteers care about. People committed to vote, updated their voter registration and, in some cases, voted for the very first time because our program convinced them that our votes have power and can make a difference. Even those who couldn’t vote organized their networks.

Powerful people sow seeds of disagreement in the hopes of driving us apart because doing so can make us more susceptible to polarization, extremist ideologies, and even fascism. But when we feel close to one another, and understand that we’re all looking for a life where we can breathe a bit easier, get our time back, and live more joyful lives, it’s harder to be swayed by divisive rhetoric. We want to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. And seizing on that can make us an unstoppable voting block.

In 2024, our community has a goal to turnout 250,000 voters in swing states. When the votes are counted, we want to be able to say that we turned folks out who otherwise wouldn’t have voted — and our voices and the issues we care about can influence electoral outcomes.

Over the last four years, we’ve built a community that welcomes people of all backgrounds across the country to organize for a better future — and we’re successful. But it’s not just about winning in 2024. It’s about not falling prey to the unhappiness that makes us more vulnerable to MAGA extremism.  It’s about building a resilient, true multi-racial true multi-racial democracy for the long-term, one that everyone feels invested in. It’s about organizing for transformative policy change.

In 2024, let’s leave the isolation behind and organize for the future we want to live in. To win, Democrats must acknowledge our pain, include us in the solutions forward, and tap into the power of human connection. Together, we can create a better future to usher in a new American era: One built on democracy, on humanity — on the sacred connection between We the People.