ANNUAL REPORT: THINKING // CLIENT STORIES // ANDY BLOCK
 

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Thinking to Solve Challenges

We love learning about organizations that develop new approaches to catalyze creative thinking. So, we were excited to understand Andy Block’s role as Learner in Residence at Spring Point Partners, a social impact organization that champions community-driven change. Andy is a professor and director of the State and Local Government Policy Clinic at The University of Virginia Law School, and we have long admired his commitment to serving and advocating for youth and families in marginalized and struggling communities. We asked Andy what being a Learner in Residence meant for him, and this is what he shared:

" My Learner in Residence journey started when a team member at Spring Point Partners heard me speak at a conference and, when we connected later, asked, ‘What’s on your mind? If you had time to think and learn about something, what would it be?’

I had been thinking a lot about a recent, and tragic, shooting at a Virginia elementary school in which a six-year-old first grader shot his teacher and why youth gun violence, which had been on the decline for many years, was suddenly on the rise. I wanted to think and learn more about this troubling trend, about what was lost during the pandemic in so many communities and what young people themselves might have to say about all of this.

Most specifically, I wanted to talk with youth to better understand how we can help young people in struggling communities feel safe enough to not feel the need to carry guns to protect themselves.

 

 

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It’s so important to have unencumbered, undistracted time to think —— and then to pay attention to the ideas and insights that arise.

ANDY BLOCK
Professor, University of Virginia School of Law

The Learner in Residence program has provided me with time, space and resources to think about these questions, to have these conversations and to, eventually, turn what we learn into concrete policy ideas to help state and local governments promote safety for children and families.

My hope is that this kind of open-ended time and space to think about important questions, which Spring Point is supporting, can lead to real solutions —— solutions that can make a genuine difference for our communities."