(Beaufort, Pitt & Sampson Counties) Farmers across North Carolina are facing a crisis of compounding issues that are threatening their mental health and that of their families. Farmers are among the most likely to die by suicide, compared to other … Read more

The Community Guide produced by the Opioid Response Project is available to assist communities interested in pursuing a similar process for addressing “wicked” problems using a collective impact model. While the Opioid Response Project is used as an example throughout this guide, the process, resources, worksheets, and lessons provided could be used to address any number of complex, inter-jurisdictional problems.

Focusing on social capital’s impact on job acquisition may reshape the current way nonprofits and local governments approach employment assistance. By refocusing the problem not just on how to connect job seekers and potential employers, organizations can instead look to build relationships that will open doors for employment today and in the future.

Left unattended, social capital or the lack thereof has the ability to reproduce existing inequities. It also points to the importance of addressing the systemic problems that have created these inequities. However, if social capital investments are managed correctly, they can promote equity and address historic and systemic barriers to accessing social capital.

The Opioid Response Project launched in 2018 and applied the Collective Impact Model to support local collaboratives in efforts to mitigate the opioid epidemic in their communities. The Opioid Response Project local teams all reported improvements in their ability to collaborate and developed action plans with strategies ranging from public information campaigns to post-overdose response teams, which they implemented.

At the individual level, social capital networks help all people access resources that promote economic mobility. However, low-income young adults are more likely to be disconnected from individuals and institutions that promote economic mobility through the labor force. Programs that intentionally build social networks for these young adults to such individuals and institutions may help them gain the knowledge about opportunities and skills needed that lead to career advancement.

In the Asheville/Buncombe County area, there are an estimated 554 people homeless on a given night, which is about 21.5 in every 10,000 people. In Asheville, 40% of the people experiencing homelessness are veterans, which is significantly greater than the national veteran homelessness rate of 11%. Homeward Bound is an organization dedicated to ending the cycle of homelessness through homeless and housing services such as Housing First, along with several community partners.

In 2006, the suicide rate for children and youth in Watauga County was thirty percent higher than for the state of North Carolina. To address mental health concerns for students, Watauga High School partnered with Appalachian State University to establish High Country Help.

Historically a mill town, the decline of the textile industry resulted in economic and job loss for Rocky Mount. The city and private investors engaged in adaptive reuse, which means using buildings in creative new ways beyond the intended original purpose of the building (especially when the original purpose is obsolete), to strengthen the local economy.

The Highland community in Gaston County, a primarily African American neighborhood, struggled with a lack of access to affordable, healthy foods and healthcare. The Highland residents formed the Highland Neighborhood Association and the Healthier Highland initiative, which enables them to form additional partnerships and empowers them to drive change based on their needs.