I have written about the many benefits to your business gained from coworking and I will undoubtedly write about it again. Today, I write about the merits of being a part of a community. I never miss an opportunity to show gratitude for the community that has emerged at The Coop, but today, more than ever, in Las Vegas, the community means so much.

I wake up multiple times on any given night, most often to the usual political banter on my TV, but early last Monday morning I awoke to the horrific news of a mass shooting on a scale never before seen in our county. This time it happened in my city. My first thought was of my friends who may have been attending the Route 91 Festival and wishing them safe. My next thought was the who, what, why, how, and if the immediate threat was over. Then I lay there thinking to myself how do I tell my children?

I had a conversation with my kids about the massacre on The Strip, a conversation we’ve had many times before, but never having happened so close to home. I stumbled over my words and hugged them a lot, and then I sent them off to school to sort their feelings with their peers, teachers, and counselors. That’s where they needed to be and I needed to be with my peers in our coworking community. We need community to help us sort through our feelings, share stories, and offer comfort. We need community to celebrate the good and cope with the bad. We need community to pool together our resources, money, talents, and strength for the benefit of each other.

Las Vegas has a reputation for being a transient, disconnected, culture-lacking town. I am here to attest, with over 2 million other residents, there is no place I would rather be. The immediate aftermath of the tragedy showed a city that waited hours to donate blood, that volunteered to help and feed the first responders, that collected millions of dollars to help the victims‘ families and survivors with their recovery, organize healing circles and prayer vigils. There has been such an outpouring of support that Las Vegas residents are being told they’re doing too much.

So, what do I want to tell my children, my coworkers, my friends? I want to tell them that, yes, there was another attack on our country and the unfortunate reality is that there will be others. Let’s be grateful that we are still here, that we are part of a caring community, and that we have the resources to help each other in times of need. Again, I am so thankful to be a part of this coworking community and the greater community of Las Vegas, Nevada.