Energizing A Community
Anyone thinking that "collaboration" is just another buzz word should stop by the South Lorain Lincoln Community Center on 31st in Lorain. The Center is an effort by the Coalition for South Lorain and partnering agencies to bring needed services to the neighborhood as well as to energize the local community. And, they are doing just that.
This isn't to say that community centers have not been around for a while nor housed multiple services. However, what distinguishes this center's effort is that Lincoln's leadership "gets it" regarding the community piece. They understand that their organization is not just a stand alone "silo" of service programs. Silo thinking once dominated the Lorain County landscape. It has long since been abandoned by successful companies and organizations. A look at any day's business page speaks to the reality of the global thinking and the success or failure of those who understand what genuine collaborations mean.
The web site www.touroftheplanet.com describes silo thinking well: Silo thinking is a metaphor drawn from the large grain silos that are seen in the continental Midwest. It is a term of derision suggesting each department or organization is a silo that stands alone, not interacting with of the other departments. Silo thinking is prevalent in many businesses and may go unidentified until well out of control. The main point is that it is dangerous and will almost always cause a business to flounder. Silo thinking is extremely treacherous..."
Those words ring especially true when it comes to delivering health and human services, when people are seeking critical help or are hurting. The web site's sentence could very well read "The main point is that silo thinking is dangerous to someone's well being and will almost always cause help not to be given to the extent possible." That is why our United Way requires evidence of genuine collaboration before nickel one is given to a program. The reasoning is simple: individuals needing assistance should have easy access to services and those services should be inter connected to related services because needs usually have many dimensions.
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United Way's 2008-10 fund distribution application process opens September 1, 2007 and closes on October 31, 2007. Healthy Agency application packets will be available online during that time at www.loraincountyunitedway.org. Healthy Agency applications will be due back at the United Way office on October 31, 2007 by 4:00 PM.
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