HDC MidAtlantic’s Post

We are in the planning stages for the 14th National Innovative Communities Conference, and we can't wait to see what exciting initiatives are developed based on what those in attendance discuss and learn. Eleven years ago, the NICC inspired the founders of the city of Jurupa Valley to launch their Healthy City initiative, Healthy Jurupa Valley. What is Healthy Jurupa Valley? **** HJV is part of a global movement of healthy city initiatives that work to improve the health and quality of life of all residents. Healthy Jurupa Valley is a public/private partnership between the City of Jurupa Valley and the nonprofit agency Reach Out. The mission is to inspire residents to ignite change, bringing greater health, safety, and quality of life to everyone in the city. The initiatives we've undertaken in the past decade are far-reaching, and the impacts are broad. ✅ Through the efforts of this initiative, HJV has increased green space, community gardens, and awareness of substance abuse issues and vaccine availability. ✅ We've held leadership academies to empower community members to become leaders and share resources. ✅ We've created "Shop the Walk" events to drive connection between local business and the community, and hosted face-to-face meetings with elected officials to allow them to meet the community members they represent. Health represents so much more than physical well-being, and the HJV initiative has grown community connection, safety, and well-being in immeasurable ways. We can't wait to bring this program to more Inland Empire cities! #NICC #innovativecommunities #communitydevelopment #HealthyJurupaValley #healthycityinitiative #bluezones

Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) is a program offered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) that aims to enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities and older adults. What is CFSS? CFSS is a person-centered program designed to provide flexible, customized support services to help individuals live independently in their communities. It focuses on empowering individuals to direct their own care and support services. Key Features: 💡Personalization: CFSS allows individuals to tailor their support services to meet their unique needs and preferences. 👥Self-Direction: Participants have the ability to hire and manage their own support workers, giving them greater control over their care. 🌍Community Integration: The program promotes active participation in community life, helping individuals achieve their personal goals and improve their quality of life. Impact: CFSS is making a significant difference by fostering independence and enhancing the well-being of countless individuals across Minnesota. By prioritizing choice and control, CFSS ensures that everyone has the opportunity to live a fulfilling and empowered life. If you know someone transitioning from PCA to CFSS and seeking more information, there are several great consultation providers out there. Consider reaching out to my friends at the Harry Meyering Center, Inc. They are ready to help navigate this change and make the most of the CFSS program. https://lnkd.in/ej6eXPZE

A Letter from MSSA's Board Chair! Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Makeisha Hall, and I will be MSSA’s Board Chair for 2024-2025. I’ve been an MSSA board member for four years with 20 years of experience in community and health systems management and community engagement. My most recent role was as Director of Community Services for Model Cities of St. Paul Inc., where I led the supportive housing, youth services, economic services departments and provided senior leadership to the agency. As I prepare to begin my term as MSSA’s Board Chair on June 1, I am thinking about how far we’ve come as an association, and where I hope to lead MSSA over the next year. From my perspective, some of the highlights from the past year include: ☑️ We have increased our membership. MSSA had record membership with over 4,000 individual members across Minnesota. ☑️ We strengthened our advocacy program. Over 80 MSSA members participated in MSSA’s second annual Day at the Capitol, and MSSA members met with over 45 legislators! MSSA advocated for issues that our members care about, including workplace safety for human service professionals, increasing wages for waivered case managers, and funding for nonemergency medical transportation, emergency general assistance, and transitional moving services. ☑️ We offered local programming across the state. MSSA’s regional chapters offered conferences in Sandstone, Fergus Falls, Mankato, Redwood Falls, and St. Paul. Our regional chapters also offered legislative listening sessions in Region 9 and Region 3. ☑️ We improved our Annual Conference. We moved our Annual Conference to a new, larger venue to better meet the needs of our membership. ☑️ We have made significant investments in our student members. Our scholarship program is set to give $74,500 in scholarships to students over the next two academic years. Looking ahead, my goal for the next year is to continue the leadership efforts of ensuring all HHS professionals can Rise and Thrive! During my tenure as Board Chair, I intend to champion the systemic increases in HHS funding and the safety of HHS providers and the communities they serve. Additionally, I would be remiss not to state the equal importance to continue to challenge ourselves to create opportunities for more access and leadership for people from marginalized communities. MSSA’s greatest strength is our grassroots membership. MSSA is the professional home for human services in Minnesota— we’re here for you year-round. We understand how important your work is, and we are thankful for you.

We are in the planning stages for the 14th National Innovative Communities Conference, and we can't wait to see what exciting initiatives are developed based on what those in attendance discuss and learn. Eleven years ago, the NICC inspired the founders of the city of Jurupa Valley to launch their Healthy City initiative, Healthy Jurupa Valley. What is Healthy Jurupa Valley? **** HJV is part of a global movement of healthy city initiatives that work to improve the health and quality of life of all residents. Healthy Jurupa Valley is a public/private partnership between the City of Jurupa Valley and the nonprofit agency Reach Out. The mission is to inspire residents to ignite change, bringing greater health, safety, and quality of life to everyone in the city. The initiatives we've undertaken in the past decade are far-reaching, and the impacts are broad. ✅ Through the efforts of this initiative, HJV has increased green space, community gardens, and awareness of substance abuse issues and vaccine availability. ✅ We've held leadership academies to empower community members to become leaders and share resources. ✅ We've created "Shop the Walk" events to drive connection between local business and the community, and hosted face-to-face meetings with elected officials to allow them to meet the community members they represent. Health represents so much more than physical well-being, and the HJV initiative has grown community connection, safety, and well-being in immeasurable ways. We can't wait to bring this program to more Inland Empire cities! #NICC #innovativecommunities #communitydevelopment #HealthyJurupaValley #healthycityinitiative #bluezones

On the third day of community awareness, the focus shifted towards action and collaboration. The discussions centered around practical steps and initiatives that can be implemented to address the issues identified in the previous sessions. Key stakeholders, including local leaders, educators, healthcare professionals, and community members, came together to brainstorm solutions and develop a roadmap for the future. Workshops and interactive sessions were conducted to equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for their rights and access available resources. Special emphasis was placed on creating awareness about government schemes and programs designed to support education and health for marginalized communities. The day concluded with a commitment from all parties to work together towards creating a more equitable and supportive environment. The collective energy and enthusiasm showcased the community’s resilience and desire for positive change, setting the stage for continued efforts to uplift and empower the most vulnerable members of society. #CommunityEngagement #CollaborationForChange #EmpowermentThroughAction #InclusiveDevelopment #GrassrootsInitiatives #SupportForAll #EqualRights #CommunitySupport #BuildingBridges #ActionForChange #ttf

We are excited to get started with our Essential Learning Series this week with our partner KSM (Katz, Sapper & Miller). It’s not too late to register for this three-session series to learn how the FQHC Look Alike model can improve access to care, optimize #PopulationHealth outcomes, and strengthen community engagement without necessitating major structural changes. https://bit.ly/47vIXgs

🌟 On the road again!! 🌟 We are excited to announce that we will be attending the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) Annual Conference in San Diego! This renowned event gathers over 1,200 professionals dedicated to improving human services through best practices, innovative solutions, and impactful policies. At HWS Advisors, our mission aligns perfectly with the conference’s focus on enhancing the well-being of children, families, aging adults, and individuals across California. We believe in empowering organizations with tailored strategies that address real challenges—just as this conference aims to tackle pressing issues in service delivery, technology, and equity in leadership. This conference is significant for our co-founders. Erica Hernandez has deep roots in California, having been born, raised, and worked at both the county and state levels. Meanwhile, Cari Slocum and Erica Hernandez first met at CCSAS, where they bonded over a project that sparked their passion for making a change in the human services landscape. Now, they're excited to return to California with a shared mission to drive transformative solutions that elevate project success. If you're attending, keep an eye out for our QR code as we explore the conference! We’d love to discuss your insights on AI in the public sector and how we can collaboratively enhance service delivery in our communities. Let’s connect and explore how we can collaborate to elevate our collective impact! #CWDAAnnualConference #HumanServices #Empowerment #InnovativeSolutions #BestPractices #ChildrenAndFamilies #AgingAdults #ServiceDelivery #EquityInLeadership #California #HWSAdvisors #TransformativeSolutions #Networking #PublicSectorAI #Collaboration #ImpactfulChange #Conference2024 #CommunityEngagement #CollectiveImpact #LeadershipInService

Thanks for elevating equity across systems, especially in healthcare!

West Side United (WSU) is an anchor collaborative on Chicago's west side whose members include HAN members Rush University Medical Center, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Ascension WSU members discussed the anchor collaborative's strategies for the AMA Prioritizing Equity Series. Dr. David Ansell, Rush University Medical Center: Structural racism, economic disinvestment, these are historical trends, but they're perpetuated in the day-to-day, and we had been bystander to it and so we had accountability. That launched our anchor mission. We decided we become an anchor institution to hire locally, purchase locally, invest locally, and volunteer locally. That led us to say, "Well, we can't do it alone. Let's get the other hospitals in and the community in." And that led to West Side United. Ayesha Jaco, West Side United: Once Rush began to reorganize itself and really commit to health equity within its doors as well as bring along peer institutions, the table that was set that formed West Side United was all about galvanizing the collective impact of the six health care systems in our network that really have the West Side as its backyard to some degree. So in doing that, that really set an expectation for there to be early wins within the anchor mission space in a collaborative way, where you had historical competitors coming together to really take on collective targets around hiring, procurement. As we're talking about today, social impact investing. Fillmore Linen Service just opened in North Lawndale on the west side of Chicago and HAN members Rush University Medical Center and Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago are the first customers. The local healthcare laundry linen business is part of a larger job creation and West Side neighborhood community wealth building initiative. The project was led by West Side United. From the Chicago Sun-Times article: Fillmore Center aims to create more than 250 jobs and generate more than $9 million in annual income for North Lawndale’s economy. Seven years after renovations are completed, the building will be placed into a community benefit trust that allows residents to share and manage profits from the building — making it one of the few examples in the country. #SDoH #healthequity #AnchorMission #CommunityWealth #racialequity #economicjustice

Pirate of the week goes to Scott Darraugh ☠ Listening to stories like his is the best part of my job by far, especially in a week like this.   Scott and his team at Social adVentures are leading a mutiny against the private ownership of children’s care homes by forming an alliance with four other non-profits across Greater Manchester. Why? - The number of children in care has increased by 30% between 2010 and 2023 - The cost of placements is rising, with some at £10K per week, crippling local authorities  - Private companies operate 79% of children’s homes across England, many making significant profits but also maintaining high levels of debt.  That’s the short version, his piece below explains in detail, but these facts make for an unstable system where providers are often disconnected from the communities they support. The Fair Care Alliance  is challenging this with pirate style, networked collaboration to achieve scale and redistribute power in the system. This summer, Social adVentures is opening their first home - a huge milestone in their mutiny. What’s equally impressive is that Social adVentures is EMPLOYEE OWNED, and when they measure their employee engagement score it came out at 79%. Since employee engagement globally is in the gutter, I asked Scott what his secret sauce is. He said the combination of ownership and purpose. Culture improves when you give people real skin in the game ☠   https://lnkd.in/ef_DEJHt #northernmutiny