It really does take a village

Last year, the Spokane Regional Health District piloted a “time bank” in a few select Airway Heights neighborhoods. The idea was simple and hearkened back to the 1980s — the online time bank would be an organized way for people to trade their skills based on units of time; for example, trading lawn mowing for cooking classes.

Now, the district is preparing to open the doors to the entire West Plains community, said Program Specialist Heather Wallace.

“There are a lot of people whose skills are not valued by the economy,” Wallace said. “(The time bank) helps people get together and form a web s...