Focusing locally – Who is responsible for providing this level of support?

Neighbors and Friends,

In this curiosity-driven series of letters, we’re exploring the surprising reality that 35% of people in Northfield and Faribault are asking for help and assistance at Community Action Center (CAC). I’ve learned a lot from honest, and seemingly incompatible, truths about how economic conditions play out in personal budgets. It has helped me understand my neighbors, friends, and community a bit more – I hope it’s helped you too. If you missed the introduction to this series, you can find it here or by following the links to my questions below.

1)  How many people need help in our community? (Nov 7th)

2)  Why do so many people need help? (Nov 14th)

3)  Who is responsible for providing this level of support? (this letter)

As a reminder, you are welcome to email your thoughts and questions directly to me at wopata.scott@communityactioncenter.org. It has been an honor to hear from so many of you. I’m changing the arc of this third letter in the series based on the abundance of your questions and our subsequent discussions.

#3 Who is responsible for providing this level of support? (choose one)

a) Individuals                         e) Government

b) Businesses                        f) None of the above

c) Nonprofits                         g) All of the above

d) Faith Communities

As I explored the various theories on this topic, it became clear that individuals are simply the building blocks of every possible answer. Community nonprofits (like CAC), faith communities, and governments are led and funded by individuals. Instead of addressing who is responsible, my curiosity became stuck in an endless partisan debate about the mechanism of philanthropy vs taxes. I admit, I was asking the wrong question. We have discussed how many people need help, we explored why people need help, but this series has yet to explore when and how should we help each other?

While these letters have prioritized more objective, even academic, perspectives; I am going to build on an assumption that we all believe helping each other is an integral part of the fabric of our community. Right-sizing, timing, and fine-tuning the details of that help is how I hope to explore when should we help each other?

Early Intervention: Proactive and early interventions are often the most cost-effective way to address challenges. This is true in healthcare for a cancer diagnosis and it’s true for other social determinants of health like housing or access to healthy food. Assisting a family to prevent eviction is more cost effective than helping a family that is experiencing homelessness. The longer and more systemic challenges become, the more expensive and difficult they are to address.

Compounding Interest: When dental care is outside of a family budget, uncleaned teeth ($125) develop cavities, untreated cavities ($500) become root canals ($1,200). For 40-50% of individuals in our community, the compounding interest of putting off healthy choices can keep hard working and employed families stuck. Organizations like HealthFinders are working to make healthcare more accessible.

One advantage of centrally supporting more than 15,000 people at CAC is the opportunity to intervene much earlier with access to healthy food through CAC’s food shelf. This very practical and robust support system opens doors for honest and earlier conversations about other obstacles families are facing related to employment, transportation, housing, or healthcare. Combining outreach and direct support in one operation is efficient and cost effective.

Overcoming Stigma: Schools install alarms and practice fire drills so that children are prepared if a real evacuation is needed. Perhaps we can benefit from similar infrastructure and education to prepare families for an acute crisis (job loss) or endemic challenges (lack of affordable housing). However, unlike fire drills or teeth cleaning, families often face social stigma when asking for help. Is it a personal failure to need help when economic conditions have depleted the margins of 40-50% of families in our community? This stigma is an obstacle to early intervention. How much harm could we prevent and how much money could we save if we encouraged individuals and families to ask for help early and often?

Families with Children: There are 65 households with children and 222 people experiencing homelessness in Rice County.* The negative impact of homelessness on children compounds generationally with increased school drop-out rates, mental health challenges, future housing instability, and lower incomes. Many of these challenges are cyclical, passing from parents to children through generations. CAC has recently doubled the number of emergency housing units we operate for families with children in the community. Emergency housing infrastructure is an immediate intervention to ameliorate the impact of homelessness on families and children.

Many of our neighbors and friends are experiencing economic challenges right now. Left unsupported, the negative cost and implications compound and grow, making it critical to respond early and meaningfully. This makes me curious about balancing long term, proactive, systemic solutions with the immediate and more reactionary assistance discussed above. Do we forsake the needs of families today in pursuit of systemic solutions? Or do we find a way to do both? I plan to explore this in one final letter in the coming weeks that asks how should we help each other?

This series of letters is intended to help us understand our community better in a time where we might be surprised by honest truths. Today’s letter pivots to solutions and the value of social infrastructure that can respond early and meaningfully. You are welcome to email your thoughts and questions directly to me at wopata.scott@communityactioncenter.org. If you’re inspired to be part of this growing and collective community action, you can donate or volunteer today.

More soon,

Scott Wopata
Executive Director
Community Action Center

* According to River Valleys CoC Rural Homelessness Data where Rice County reported higher homelessness numbers than any other rural county in Southern MN

CAC’s vitality depends on the community — from volunteers to donations to program-specific support — so that we can continue to meet our neighbors’ basic needs. Stay Connected