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Community Impact: Safety Net for People in Crisis - A Strategic Plan

Safety Net for People in Crisis - A Strategic Plan

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REVISED - 2/20/2008
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United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area
Safety Net for People in Crisis – A Strategic Plan

In March of 2007, United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area received a grant from United Way of America’s Hurricane Response & Recovery Fund that had fundamental strategic planning requirements. Concurrently, the Senior Staff at United Way participated in a strategic planning retreat to take a look at what, with some foresight and planning, they thought the next 5 years could/should look like.

From both efforts, the notion that United Way’s Community Impact work could be strengthened by a thorough look at the goal areas, what they wanted/needed to achieve, and where they should focus, evolved. The first area targeted was the Safety Net goal area.

The strategic planning work was led by a small group, a Vision Council, which was composed of individuals with related areas of expertise and representing multiple sectors. After review of the environmental scan data and goal area configuration materials, the Safety Net Vision Council developed goals and recommendations for future work in and funding for each of the strategy areas.

Safety Net for People in Crisis
Strategy	Focus	Goal
Prepare for Disaster & Provide Relief maintain levels of effort & funding	Parish, Regional, and/or Statewide	Citizens & nonprofit organizations know how to and do prepare for disaster; nonprofits take appropriate action when disasters occur.
Recover & Rebuild expand levels of effort & funding	Neighborhood and Recovery Supports Housing Supports Long Term Recovery Case Management	Neighborhoods Recover – residents are in suitable housing in vital neighborhoods.
Recover & Rebuild expand levels of effort & funding	Workforce Development*	People are business owners or are gainfully employed in meaningful jobs, contributing to the economic recovery of the region
Resolve Crises maintain levels of effort & funding	Emergency Assistance & Basic Needs Intervention in Domestic Violence, Abuse & Neglect	People in crisis have their immediate needs met and move towards self-reliance.
*From the Financial Stability for Hardworking People goal area

Next the Vision Council considered where the goal area needed to focus, i.e. which goal was the one that was imperative to address. After much deliberation they selected Neighborhoods Recover: Residents are in suitable housing in vital neighborhoods.

Further recommendations approved December 10, 2007 follow:

Demonstration Projects: United Way should engage in two pilot or demonstration projects to test the viability of international recovery models locally in not only facilitating a full recovery but creating a more resilient community as well. They should be conducted in two areas; one located in an urban neighborhood, Gentilly Expanded in New Orleans, and in a non-urban area, Port Sulphur in Plaquemines Parish,

Funded Programs: United Way should work with the programs funded in the Recover and Rebuild strategy and the Workforce Development focus area to accomplish the following:

Identification of which programs have the potential and interest in participating in the demonstration projects; secure participation.
Identification of which programs are vital supplements to other areas’ recovery and work with them to enhance communication, share best practice information, and effect reciprocal arrangements to boost effectiveness.

Funding Term: In recognition of the longer term complexities of this coordination and collaborative work, the grant cycle for participating programs should be expanded from 6-months to one year.

Click on the full report for details on the Safety Net Vision Council recommendations, demonstration planning and implementation, data compilation and analysis, best practice research, and appendices.