Building Community Trust Through Cooperatives: A Case Study of a Worker-Owned Homecare Cooperative

Trusting relationships bind people together. Building community trust is increasingly being identified as a viable strategy for improving the well-being of community members. This article explores how cooperatives build trust among worker-owners as well as with their clients and other professionals. It reviews theoretical and empirical perspectives on trust and cooperatives. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews, document review and a survey. It was observed that cooperatives provide regular contacts among members, and between members and their clients and professionals during training, conferences, task oriented committees, general membership meetings, and social events. This fosters shared understanding, empathy, openness, and confidence, which in turn promotes the building and maintenance of deeper and wider trust.