About hOur Exchange Ypsilanti:
hOur Exchange Ypsilanti (hEY) is a time bank that was founded in April 2013 by members of the Ypsilanti community: Monica King, Jen Whaley, Heather Wysor and Jeff Yoder. It is a community organization that was built on the principles of community involvement and growth through providing services for one another using time as currency. Members spend time credits for services they receive and earn time credits for services they provide. The organization currently has about 100 members and has exchanged over 1,200 hours.
Services that are currently traded include: laundry, house cleaning, language classes, music lessons, home repair, computer repair, gardening, transportation, massage, mental health services, permaculture design, pet care, photography services, cooking lessons, and snow removal.
Jeff Yoder and hOur Exchange Ypsilanti memberAdrienne Clark offer up their views on what time banks can do for the community and the economy.
Why to bank on your time
The health of Ypsilanti depends on the strength of our economy and the well-being of our people. Ypsilanti has suffered economically and there is inequality amongst its residents. What led to this inequality? How can people get what they need even if they have fallen on hard times? Our mission is to play a part in the revitalization of our community by exploring time as an alternative currency.
Time banking encourages members of the local area to participate in activities that better themselves and their neighborhood. Members have a vested interest in the city and are active participants in its revitalization. As it prospers, the city becomes more attractive for new local business and new residents. For example: those who cannot afford to pay for a lawn service will have the ability to trade their time for it. Home values will rise and attract new buyers. As land value increases so does the tax revenue for the city. This will increase funding for public services and other vital needs of the city.
We also feel a stronger sense of belonging in Ypsilanti after meeting some of our neighbors through hEY, people we can rely on in our time of need. We now look to our neighbors in Ypsilanti to meet our needs instead of going to the phone book for an impersonal transaction. When we spend money we are more likely to spend it here and are less tied down by money to complete the projects we need done. For example: Adrianne now has a way to pay for finishing her basement which she could not have done otherwise. hOur Exchange Ypsilanti is a much needed presence in a city where many of its citizens have fallen on hard times.
Even in its inception we were building on a sense of community that already existed here in Ypsilanti. People were helping one another and felt a strong sense of "Ypsi-pride." hOur Exchange Ypsilanti takes that existing value and allows people to earn hours which they can then use to create new relationships and learn what this community has to offer. Our hope is that this will work to create greater equality by showing that no one's time is more valuable than another's.
More than anything we want the region to embrace the idea that everyone has something to offer and that our community as a whole is vital to our success. Residents have been locked inside their homes with curtains drawn, separated from each other for much too long. We want to see the curtains opened and the doors unlocked. We want to see neighborhoods made safer not by policing but through trust and respect. If our most desperate citizen trusts that his neighbors can and will help him he is more likely to simply ask for what he needs rather than take it.
Conversely, if our most affluent citizens respect that the individuals around them can help, they are more likely to help those who ask rather than refuse their request. We want to see cleaner streets not cleaned by under-paid workers but by citizens feeling a sense of pride about their city and choosing not to liter. We want to see an Ypsilanti where every person loves and has a sense of respect for our city. This starts with getting to know each other. Slowly we will become accustomed to getting and providing help for each other. We want all citizens to see that this is our home and that a strong community is integral to a sustained sense of place.
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