Trust Isn’t Broken. It’s Withheld. Here’s How to Re-earn It

Let’s be clear. When people lose trust in public institutions, they’re not overreacting. They’re responding, often with restraint, to long histories of erasure, exploitation, and broken promises.

The language of “broken trust” implies that something went wrong once. But in reality, trust is rarely lost all at once. It’s withheld gradually, chipped away by patterns of neglect and misalignment.

Restoring trust isn’t about better messaging. It’s about better behavior.

If your organization is serious about restoring trust, it has to do more than say the right things. It has to become trustworthy in the way it designs systems, makes decisions, and shows up consistently over time. That’s what legacy-first leadership is about. Not winning people over, but earning them back.

Here’s how to begin:

1. Map the Breach Before You Build the Bridge Trust-building must begin with truth-telling. Communities already know what the issues are. The question is whether institutions are willing to name them, too.

Example: The City of Minneapolis partnered with the University of Minnesota to conduct a historical harm assessment after the murder of George Floyd.

• The assessment documented decades of racial redlining, policing disparities, and disinvestment.

• Instead of a press release, the City held public listening sessions where the findings were read aloud and community members were invited to respond.

• This set the foundation for reparative investments and policy changes informed directly by affected communities.

• Rather than asking for trust, the City demonstrated accountability.

• It reframed its strategy around co-created change rather than paternalistic planning.

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2. Create Containers for Relational Repair Many institutions attempt to rebuild trust through informational campaigns. But people don’t trust systems, they trust people. Trust is relational.

Example: The Durham County Health Department launched a Health Ambassadors program in marginalized neighborhoods.

• Local residents were trained as part-time liaisons to communicate public health updates.

• Ambassadors didn’t just deliver information; they hosted Q&A nights, attended neighborhood meetings, and built ongoing rapport.

• Health disparities, particularly vaccination uptake, improved in areas with ambassador presence.

• The program reframed public health as a partnership, not a prescription.

• By using trusted messengers, the department strengthened its credibility without diluting its message.

  
  

3. Show Your Work in Real Time Transparency isn’t just about sharing information. It’s about making decision-making visible, accessible, and accountable.

Example: The City of Oakland launched a digital Budget Simulator allowing residents to test-drive policy tradeoffs.

• Residents could adjust budget categories and immediately see the downstream impacts.

• The tool was integrated into town halls, school programs, and council workshops.

• Participation rates in budget hearings more than tripled within a year.

• Officials gained insight into community priorities they hadn’t previously considered.

• Budget allocations began to reflect resident values with far less friction.

  
  

4. Make Policy Personal Again Systems that feel distant will never be trusted.

Rebuilding trust means re-humanizing governance.

Example: In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the Department of Children and Family Services embedded social workers inside schools instead of isolating them in government offices.

• This reduced referral times for students in crisis.

• Families built familiarity with caseworkers in day-to-day environments.

• The school became a shared space of support rather than surveillance.

• Reports of escalated family conflict and emergency interventions declined.

• This proximity-driven model became a best practice for trauma-informed service delivery.

  
  

5. Don’t Rush the Repair High-integrity systems don’t demand trust, they earn it. And they understand that earning it takes time.

Example: New Orleans built its post-Katrina redevelopment planning model around long-form community engagement.

• Instead of a few token town halls, the City committed to over 200 community visioning sessions.

• Residents helped design the rubric by which proposals would be evaluated.

• Planners accepted that not all demands would be met immediately but documented responses to each.

• This process helped restore some civic trust in a city where institutions had long failed residents of color.

• Residents didn’t just feel heard; they saw their input shaping outcomes.

Legacy-first leadership starts with structural integrity.

Trust doesn’t grow in darkness. It grows in transparency, consistency, and proximity. Agencies that lead with humility and purpose build the kind of trust that withstands challenge. And that trust isn’t just earned once. It’s re-earned every time systems choose courage over comfort.

Trust isn’t rebuilt by accident. It’s restored by design. That design begins with you.

Let this be the turning point. Not just where things changed, but where your leadership became the reason why.