Our Partnership with United Way to End the Cycle of Poverty

YWCA Clark County is pleased to announce that it has been chosen as one of 30 select organizations to participate in United Way of the Columbia-Willamette’s new Community Strengthening collaborative cohort designed to improve outcomes for low-income children and their families, and ultimately break the cycle of childhood poverty in the four-county (Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah and Washington) region.

 The collaborative cohort, which is based on the “collective impact” approach, is part of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette’s new strategic direction to leverage the expertise, resources, and effort of multiple organizations across the region in working together toward one common goal: breaking the cycle of childhood poverty.

 United Way’s Community Strengthening cohort is comprised of 30 emerging and established non-profits serving low income and culturally specific communities across the metropolitan area. The cohort will work together for a period of three years (July 2014 through June 2017) to create and participate in learning communities designed to share experiences, exchange data and information, and build collective knowledge around new and promising practices to improve outcomes for low-income families and their children. Each member of the Community Strengthening cohort will be awarded up to $50,000 per year, to complete this critical work. (*Funding to YWCA Clark County and the other non-profits in the cohort is contingent on the funding United Way receives as an organization to its Breaking the Cycle fund.)

 “We are pleased to participate in United Way’s Community Strengthening cohort because it will not only help ensure the sustainability of our programs, but it will ensure a concerted effort to integrate best practices in effectively addressing the root causes of poverty.,” said YWCA’s Director of Programs, Natalie Wood. “We hope to work collaboratively to better identify how poverty is intertwined with the prevention and crisis intervention services we provide, assess our strengths and growth areas to determine what organizational changes we can make to directly address the root causes of poverty more effectively, and ultimately adopt new practices that allow us to have an even greater impact in the community.”

 Each non-profit organization participating in United Way of the Columbia-Willamette’s Community Strengthening cohort has agreed to share their results through a common measurement framework, to work together on critical problems and innovations in the field, and to build a common knowledge base about collective impact on childhood poverty in our region.

 “We are ecstatic to be collaborating with the outstanding organizations selected to be a part of our Community Strengthening cohort on breaking the cycle of childhood poverty. The issue of poverty is incredibly complex, with multiple facets; it’s a far greater issue than any one organization can resolve alone,” said Keith Thomajan, CEO of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. “In utilizing the collective impact model, we are confident we can amplify and accelerate the impact we are making in our community specific to student success, family stability, and connected communities to give every child, regardless of their socioeconomic status, a fair chance at success. Quite simply, we are better together.”

The Collective Impact Model 

 The collective impact model, as articulated by the non-profit consulting group Foundation Strategy Group (FSG), is a model of work that brings people together, in a structured way, to achieve social change. There are five conditions** of “collective impact” that lead to meaningful results:

1. A common agenda: All participants have a shared vision for change including a common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving it through agreed upon actions.

2. Shared Measurement: Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all participants ensures efforts remain aligned and participants hold each other accountable.

3. Mutually Reinforcing Activities: Participant activities must be differentiated while still being coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action.

4. Continuous Communication: Consistent and open communication is needed across the many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and appreciate common motivation.

5. Backbone Organization: Creating and managing collective impact requires a separate organization(s) with staff and a specific set of skills to serve as the backbone for the entire initiative and coordinate participating organizations and agencies (The backbone organization for the Community Strengthening strategy is United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.)

 **Source: Foundation Strategy Group (FSG) http://www.fsg.org/OurApproach/CollectiveImpact.aspx 

 To learn more about United Way’s Community Strengthening strategy and the other organizations involved in the cohort, please visit http://www.unitedway-pdx.org/community-strengthening-investments

A Solid Foundation for Survivors

By: Emily Ostrowski

 Often at people’s darkest hours is when YWCA provides the help they seek. When those people come into our office, we want them to feel at ease and empowered. One of the first and most fundamental ways to do this is to create an environment that feels comfortable and have available up-to-date resources to assist them and their families.

Earlier this year, YWCA completed a facilities upgrade for a Survivors of Violence project thanks to a generous grant from United Way, an organization with a long history of commitment to healthy families and communities.

The grant of $13,120 focused on two important facilities upgrades. First, the grant allowed us to replace 15-year-old carpet in the wing of the building which houses the SafeChoice Domestic Violence Program and Sexual Assault Program. Nancy Prager, Office and Facilities Manager, worked side-by-side with volunteers to help remove and replace the carpet in January. She was excited to learn that some of the volunteers were from United Way; the same individuals who approved the grant in the first place. They were able to see firsthand just how much their contribution improved our facilities.

 The second part of the upgrade provided new equipment to the adult resource room, the teen resource room, and the interview room used by advocates during their sessions. Among these items were two new, high-speed computers, new printers, a flat screen television, and a new DVD player. 

The benefits of these upgrades go far beyond just improving our facilities' aesthetic. It’s about making people feel empowered. The new computers make it easier for people to access resources, look for jobs or housing, stay in contact with loved ones, or just unwind and browse the internet. Children can watch a movie, or play with some of the new toys purchased for SafeChoice while their parents work with an advocate. It’s about making people feel empowered.

 When talking about the impact these upgrades have on the people we serve, Nancy puts it simply, “Without the facility you can’t provide advocacy and services.” Thanks to the generosity and wonderful support YWCA received from United Way we now have a facility which is vastly better equipped to advocate for and empower survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, and help build healthier, safer lives for themselves and their families.

Uniting to Support Survivors

By Lee Watts

A recent study by Portland’s Volunteers of America – Home Free Program reported that 38% of domestic violence survivors in abusive relationships become homeless, while 46% reported staying in an abusive relationship to avoid becoming homeless.

On October 23rd, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette sought to address this issue and more. They hosted a Survivor Housing Summit, which brought together landlords, homeless service providers, domestic violence service providers and government officials from the four county area to discuss the need for safe and affordable housing for domestic violence survivors.

Planning for the United Way Survivor Housing Summit began two years ago, following a local summit where 130 local community leaders identified housing as one of the largest barriers for survivors seeking safety.  As the Director of SafeChoice Community Services at YWCA Clark County, I had the opportunity to represent Clark County on the Survivor Housing Leadership Team.

The Survivor Housing Summit focused on identifying the barriers survivors currently encounter when attempting to access housing and finding possible solutions to overcome or lessen those barriers. Participants from each county were asked to articulate barriers, identify existing resources, envision a better system and create a plan of action. Clark County participants identified a need for increased collaboration around gaps in services to domestic violence survivors. The group was also able to identify many strengths already in existence in Clark County, including a collaborative network of community partners who meet several times monthly.

I was impressed with the group of committed leaders who came to the summit on behalf of Clark County. We had a lot of challenging, intense and inspiring conversations around funding (or lack thereof), rapid re-housing, coordinated entry, community organizing around gaps in the system, systemic change, and what true collaboration looks like. I’m looking forward to keeping those conversations going. We have a great start. I know that together we can reduce the barriers for survivors seeking safe, affordable housing.

More information on the summit can be accessed through the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette website at www.unitedway-pdx.org or contact Lee Watts at lwatts@ywcaclarkcounty.org.