Our country is at a crossroads between democracy and authoritarianism. And the only antidote is an organized, engaged citizenry. But at this critical moment when we need people to lean into the fight for our future, we find that far too many people have given up.

In a comprehensive, multiracial study, Sojourn Strategies, Ariel Research Partners and Richard Shafranek found that 35% of the US electorate – 85 million people – are disaffected, characterized by high levels of disillusionment and low levels of trust in government and politics. Our democratic revival depends on solutions that transform people from disaffected bystanders into powerful civic agents.

The desire for community is where we find hope. Almost six in 10 of the disaffected (58%) would like to feel more connected to other people. These feelings provide organizers with an opening to invite new people into community where they can build a sense of belonging and develop collective agency. The research also shows that the disaffected electorate is reachable: they are more likely to act when they feel like they belong and can see the tangible impact of their actions.

The disaffected electorate is the same as the overall population as far as race, ethnicity and gender – although disaffected people tend to be younger, have fewer resources and are less likely to be college educated. What surprised us in the research was the finding that the disaffected are as civically engaged as the general population, with the exception of voting. Disaffected people have almost the same likelihood to talk to a friend or a family member about a political issue (61% of the overall population and 60% of the disaffected electorate) or to search online for information about politics (both at 42%). Yet while 65% of the overall population would vote if the midterm elections were held today, only 56% of disaffected voters say the same.

Most institutions, including the traditional political industry, write these folks off as apathetic. But the research shows something very different. They care a great deal about their families, neighbors and communities. They want to see progress on issues they care about. They just don’t see the connection between voting and making their lives better.

So, what is going on? A common thread within this group of disaffected people is that they are extremely isolated with no or few friends or organizational affiliations. Almost half (49%) do not belong to an online community, church, mosque or synagogue or other religious groups, a community or political group, a labor union, or other community spaces. But collective spaces that we call “civic homes” are where people develop a sense of belonging and agency that is critical to their belief in the power of voting to drive change. Thus, investment in the organizing groups that operate as civic homes is a critical solution to our current democratic crisis.

Civic homes are developed by organizers as places where people can meet each other, feel seen and heard, work together on issues that matter to them, experience concrete benefits and make life better for themselves and the people they care about. Our research shows that even small increases in feelings of belonging within a civic home are associated with significant increases in voting and taking other civic and political actions.

Take Angeles in Nevada, for example. She was working long hours as a car wash supervisor, earning wages that never seemed to stretch far enough. Every month, she wondered whether her family would be able to cover rent. A few years ago, an organizer with Make the Road Nevada invited Angeles to a monthly membership meeting. During the discussion, Angeles heard her neighbors sharing similar struggles such as difficulties in making rent, stagnant wages, lack of affordable childcare and a feeling that those in power were not listening. This experience made Angeles feel seen and she began to develop a sense of belonging. She got connected to Make the Road Nevada’s Know Your Rights workshops, which helped her learn about the voting process and made her feel included. This year, Angeles will cast her first ballot as a US citizen. Not because a candidate’s campaign finally reached her. But because her people did.

Shared culture creates a feeling of belonging. Familiar food, language, music and even games are what make people feel at home. For example, a non-profit called Power Interfaith is running an innovative Soul Food Dinners program in Pennsylvania. These are nonjudgmental spaces where young, disaffected Black people, especially young men, can have honest conversations about their lives and visions of the future over a meal. Part of the focus is on young Black men who are skeptical about civic engagement and voting, but guided by their faith – a group that is undiscovered and under-researched.

The Soul Food Dinner project is similar to Georgia Alliance’s We the People initiative, which hosted intergenerational conversations among younger and older Black people as a strategy for rebuilding a sense of agency and belonging across differences. Older participants often arrived believing young people were disengaged or apathetic, while younger participants frequently viewed older generations as dismissive, out of touch or unwilling to share power. The series created opportunities for participants to ask deeper questions, listen to one another’s lived experiences and recognize shared values beneath different forms of expression. As participants moved beyond stereotypes, the emotional ground softened for collaboration, curiosity and mutual respect. Pre- and post-event feelings of power increased on both sides of the conversations, a measure that correlates to voter turnout in the Black community.

In the state next door, game facilitators with North Carolina Asian Americans Together are hosting Mahjong nights with communal hotpot meals for people in their late teens and 20s. The young people who come feel disconnected from traditional politics, but care very much about the cost of living, immigration, healthcare and making life better for their communities. The blend of familiar foods, games and conversations create connections and make people feel comfortable before they are invited into civic engagement, such as registering to vote or attending an organizing meeting.

Building trust and belonging that allows people to be transformed into civic agents is deep relational work. And it takes time. But the payoff is powerful. Transactional civic engagement aimed at a discrete outcome is a quick hit, like a sugar rush: it might feel great in the moment, but the long-term effect is weak and empty. Working to support people to become powerful civic actors through belonging and collective agency results in strong, durable architects of a hopeful future.

What’s giving us hope now

The stories of everyday people across the US standing up, getting organized and driving change to make life better for themselves, their families, and their communities is a tremendous source of hope. Take Elnora Gavin in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Working with a local civic organization, We the People Michigan, she organized a base of supporters and won $114m in school debt relief for majority-Black school districts in her state.

And she is not alone. More and more people in communities are using organizing strategies to build powerful civic homes that can be containers for people-driven collective action. In these turbulent times, people are choosing to lean into people-centered organizations and movements where they can find belonging, develop collective agency and make a better future possible.

• Julie Fernandes is managing director of the Democracy & Power Innovation Fund, a community of organizers, researchers and funders who are working together to strengthen state-based community organizing, and associate director of the Rockefeller Family Fund
• Katrina Gamble, PhD, is founder and CEO of Sojourn Strategies, a Black woman-owned social impact consulting firm that brings a people-centered approach to advocacy campaigns, research and philanthropic advising