Hope.

Rhode Islanders are running out of it.

The long recession, now 16 months old, has left people discouraged.

Everybody knows a friend or relative who has been laid off, had their pay cut or can’t find work.

Family savings are being drained to cover the bills. The houses that parents count on to borrow against to pay for their kids’ education have shrunk in value. The 401(k)s that older people invested in don’t have enough money left to let them retire.

And nobody can see the turn, the day when things start to get better.

It’s time for Rhode Island’s leaders, the people who run government, businesses, schools and nonprofits, to do something to help people hold on.

Sure. The big-picture plans, rewriting the tax code, investing in a new economy and improving education, must be pursued as long-term strategies to create a future for the next generation of Rhode Islanders.

But there is a more immediate need — hope.

Here’s a small idea that is not a solution for all that ails Rhode Island, but it at least can show symbolic support:

Dedicate plots of land throughout the state for community gardens.

Then, invite people to pitch in to turn over the soil and plant something that will bloom this spring or can be harvested this fall. It could be anything, flowers, shrubs, herbs, trees, vegetables.

It doesn’t matter, as long as Rhode Islanders work on a joint project that shows they are all in this together.

And make sure to get together all the people who are squabbling — workers and managers, immigrants and natives, unionists and anti-unionists, city and suburban residents, minorities and non-minorities.

People working side by side can put aside the tensions while they put their hands together in the dirt. Once they do that, they may be able to work out bigger conflicts.

Do it on a Saturday. Call it Hope Day. Invite the media. Put up a Web site that chronicles the work and show the world Rhode Islanders working side by side.

The state can lead the way.

How about using some of the highly visible sloping land that runs away from the State House. Or what about the 4.5 acres across the street from the Amtrak station. A garden there on the open field could be a showplace that can be used by people who work in the city and remembered by the out-of-towners who come to shop or visit.

Make community gardens a statewide project. Make it a competition among each of the cities and towns to design and plant their own plots.

The cost shouldn’t be an issue. State and local governments have the tools and equipment. Pick the sites from available public land. The labor is all volunteer. The seeds and plants can be donated.

Once the gardens have been planted, turn over the maintenance to service organizations, such as the scouts or fraternal groups. If organizations can adopt a highway, why can’t they adopt a garden and be responsible for its upkeep.

And with so many unemployed people, let them work in a garden until they find a job. The work will keep them active, outdoors, and provide some camaraderie with other Rhode Islanders.

None of this is rocket science.

People are already planting community gardens.

The South Side Community Land Trust organizes inner-city community gardens in vacant areas in Providence. Each season, more than 200 families participate.

There’s also a statewide Childrens’ Garden program that teaches youngsters the value of growing food and flowers. It shows them the importance of cooperation and provides visible results.

They can be a model for a statewide, community garden program. The results will be tangible while giving people a common project to point to with pride.

The cynics will laugh at community gardens, saying they only mask Rhode Island’s real problems. Fine, then let’s encourage other ideas that can work now. It’s not the time to do nothing.

Someday, there will be an economic recovery. People will start to go back to work. Money won’t be as tight.

And years from now, people will talk about the dark days of the recession of 2009. Maybe a youngster will ask his parent about a plot of ground that he sees as they pass through town.

Why can’t the answer be that the land was where Rhode Islanders pulled together, not apart, when times were toughest.

It’s the place where Rhode Islanders planted hope gardens.

jkostrze@projo.com