Meet Ebb & flow connections cooperative
What started as conversations among like minded folks five years ago has (finally!) blossomed into a real live cooperative! Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative was founded in 2021 in Wisconsin to expand opportunities for social connection and emotional wellness. We are a group of people passionate about creating spaces where people can be seen, heard, and valued.
Lynn McLaughlin and Karen Iverson Riggers, two of the founding members of Ebb & Flow, starting bringing people together for conversations based on their own experiences with seeking help that was sometimes not helpful. Initially, they called it the “Merry Band of Weirdos,” expressing creating spaces for people who often didn’t feel like they fit into many traditional environments. Many people joined the conversations with interest in bringing their own lived experiences for systems change. Inspiring conversations ensued generating lots of ideas of what kinds of services a cooperative could provide to our community. Groups discussed providing one on one supports, alternatives to current systems of care, and training. Although there were lots of great conversations, momentum didn’t pick up until 2020.
One of the areas of discussion for a cooperative was eCPR (Emotional CPR) training. Leslie Taylor was a local champion of bringing people together and eCPR training. Her incredible vision, kind heart, and focus on connection helped launch eCPR in northeast Wisconsin. Leslie helped find a home for eCPR at LEAVEN, a community agency that provides emergency financial assistance. The growth of eCPR over two years helped launch a listening space at LEAVEN and trained community members in how to connect, empower, and revitalize. And then 2020 happened…
We questioned what would happen with eCPR, a practice that was all about human connection - how would we do it when we had to be apart? The need for eCPR exploded in 2020 as we all tried to navigate grief, fear, sadness, anxiety, and uncertainty. We moved trainings online and started offering an introductory two hour workshop along with a 12 hour certification. As the need expanded, so did our need for more facilitators! We brought an incredible group of folks on to the eCPR educator team who were equally passionate about connection as prevention. This group needed an organizing structure, and Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative was born!
Our name is inspired by the power, adaptability, and life giving force of water. Like water, connection with ourselves and others ebbs and flows. Water, like human connection, can be life giving and can also be destructive. Emotions, like water, can ebb and flow, can feel like a trickle or an overwhelming wave. Our name also tries to capture the ebb and flow of human experience, the times of challenge and crisis and times of joy.
Initial members of our cooperative include Karen Iverson Riggers, Lynn McLaughlin, Scott Peoples, Priscilla Pires, Baleigh Tolksdorf, Dominique Christian, Jeff Miller, and Cathy Spaulding. Each of us brings unique life experiences and abilities.
We’re still in the forming, growing, and changing stage of development and are excited with what’s to come!
