Mendota is actually a great place to live because its people make it so

The community of Mendota has a lot going for it; most notably, good, caring, hardworking people who care about their families, each other and their community.

It’s an easy matter to pick up statistics and headlines and print them in the local newspaper. Data as collected and defined by someone someplace, without considering impact on the local communities affected by those stories.

Such is the case with the most recent article suggesting there is such a place as the worst place to live in America. And they are speaking about our neighbors.

We often face criticism in this Valley that we suffer from something called inferiority; our self-image. Where does that come from? I’m not certain, but it surely is reinforced by such articles.

Since 1997, I have had the honor of spending considerable time in Mendota, beginning with a planning process for Westside Youth Center. Typical board planning involves members of the board and a few stakeholders gathering in a meeting room in late afternoon or early evening. In Mendota, they set a Sunday afternoon at the Westside Youth Center. The entire community gathers around tables laden with the most delicious food from the kitchens in modest homes of great cooks. Board members, youth, families, elected officials, Chamber of Commerce, business owners; everyone is there and participating. That’s because they care about what happens in their community.

Since that first session, it has been my privilege to spend time with folks at the center, with elected officials, with city staff, with community members. Those encounters have all been around the process of building capacity for the community in all respects. Sessions and workshops always well attended by contributing individuals with the goal of strengthening the place where they live, work and play.

There are a number of ways to look at desirability of a community as a good place to live. People coming together, working to overcome challenges and create good lives for their families and their community, is one good measure. They do that in Mendota. They never give up and they never give in to the problems that face all our communities. It feels patently unfair to label a community as a “worst place to live,” and then print it in a newspaper. I challenge The Fresno Bee to send a journalist and photographer to Mendota to talk with the residents, see what is happening, and publish a feature on all the good things about living in Mendota — and Firebaugh, and Orange Cove, and Corcoran. Our neighbors. It’s only fair.