Focus on Prevention: Our big problems require big solutions

The results of dysfunction are as clear as they are painful to see.

Too many families in Stanislaus County struggle to make ends meet. Too many children are not succeeding in school. Too many are homeless, or soon could be. Too many suffer from physical and mental illnesses. Too few have access to the care needed to heal. Too many are isolated and fearful, their neighborhoods beset with petty crime and profound violence.

As disturbing as these problems are, we are hopeful. Why? Because so many among us are willing to rise and confront the challenges we all see so plainly. That’s happened before and now it’s happening again – but this time our approach is different.

In 2015, caring and concerned people throughout Stanislaus launched a long-term effort to improve the quality of life for residents and families. Rather than concentrating on those all-too-obvious symptoms of dysfunction, we decided instead to address the root causes of the problems.

Thus, Focus on Prevention came to be.

Initiated by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors and overseen by a Stewardship Council, the movement began to grow as volunteers and leaders stepped forward.

We come from throughout the county and its communities. We come from different areas of life. We represent neighborhoods, businesses, education, faith, health, non-profits, media, the arts, sports, local government and even the homeless.

Together, we have a common goal: To achieve results that will last a generation and beyond.

Unfortunately, you can’t create such change in just a few months, or even in a year or two. The results we are trying to build require sustained engagement by ever-growing numbers of people throughout the county. In other words, a commitment for the long haul.

Our first year has been about building a firm foundation for Focus on Prevention by nurturing the critical roots of connection, collaboration and commitment. And already we’ve seen commitment to action from many individuals and organizations in our region.

Our goal is about doing better, much better, and we envision a three-step process to help achieve that goal.

First, we will live out our name – prevention – by devoting more of our resources and attention to the underlying causes and long-term conditions that cause individuals and families to struggle.

Second, we will work together to achieve our goals. Government alone cannot create the future we want for our county. Businesses alone cannot strengthen and expand our economy. Hospitals and health care workers by themselves cannot improve the physical and emotional well-being of families and communities. Community and faith leaders, by themselves, cannot help neighborhoods thrive and become safer and more vibrant. Teachers and school administrators by themselves cannot improve the graduation rates and reading levels of our children.

No, the only way to significantly improve the well being and futures of our families and communities is to act together.

Third, we will be accountable to each other. Acting together is not enough. Many of the challenges we face do not have simple or obvious solutions. As we learn together, we must also learn how to share honestly and openly. When something works, we’ll explain why; when it doesn’t, we’ll share that too. To do this requires collecting good data and reflecting unflinchingly on what the data reveals.

These commitments – to prevention, to acting and learning together, and to holding ourselves mutually accountable – can be challenging, to be sure. No single sector can tell another what to do. Sometimes acting together takes longer because we have to build the shared understanding and deep commitment to whatever actions we take. This commitment to act together, however, and to learn and adapt based on data and experience, is what will sustain this movement over time.

Our Stewardship Council will work with action councils that are topic-specific and geared toward collaborative action to produce significant and long-lasting results.

The Board of Supervisors has committed county resources to support innovative strategies that emerge through community dialogue and are endorsed by the Stewardship Council. And so far the Council itself has raised nearly $100,000 from companies, local governments and individuals.

Among the first things we began to focus on was homelessness, and the interest and participation has been overwhelmingly positive.

More than 500 people engaged in a day-long Homelessness Summit in October, a follow-up session was held last week, and hundreds more are participating in local conversations about how to make a difference for those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

More than 100 people participated in Homeless Action Council meetings since May, including some who are homeless or recently have been.

A signature achievement in our first year is the beginning plan from the Homeless Action Council, which includes four broad strategies to help people who are homeless, or are at risk of becoming homeless, permanently escape the condition:

▪ Improving strategies to build relationships with those who are homeless or at risk;

▪ Developing a countywide coordinated access system integrating public and community based supports;

▪ Increasing availability and effectiveness of support services to help people escape homelessness once and for all;

▪ Improving the quantity and quality of temporary, transitional and permanent housing.

City and county staffers already are working to align their efforts with the larger movement.

In this second year of the initiative, we want to build on what we started in 2015. We want to implement the strategies that emerged from the Homeless Action Council. We want to engage and involve more individuals and organizations. We want to hold more community conversations. We want to develop ways to measure progress in our priority results. And much, much more.

Ultimately, the Focus on Prevention is about a cultural shift toward hope in our community. Our priorities are having healthy residents, safe and connected neighborhoods, economic prosperity and a strong cradle-to-career continuum for kids.

The Focus on Prevention initiative embraces a new way of working together to improve the quality of life in our county. It won’t be quick or easy. But ultimately we will do better, because we are committed for the long haul. And we invite you to join us.

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 8:49 AM with the headline "Focus on Prevention: Our big problems require big solutions."