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 Q. What is the Escambia Community Collaborative?
A.  The Escambia Community Collaborative is a community-wide strategic planning partnership working toward real solutions and action plans for improving overall prioritized conditions in Escambia County.
 
Q. Who are the partners of the Escambia Community Collaborative?
A.  The formal partners of the Escambia Community Collaborative are United Way of Escambia County, Escambia County Health Department, and Partnership for a Healthy Community; all members of the leadership team are functional partners in the process.

Q.  Is there a vision for the community?
A.  The community vision is: A healthy community where all have the inspiration and opportunity to succeed.

Q. What is included in overall health of the community?
A.  The overall health of the community includes physical, mental, economic, environmental and social health. A strong community is balanced by residents who are physically and mentally healthy, who live in a healthy environment, who benefit from a healthy economy that provides good wages & an education system that help lift them out of poverty and who are supported by a healthy social system.
 
Q. Who determines the community’s priorities?
A.  The Collaborative conducted a community needs assessment survey throughout Escambia County.  Public opinion was gathered through phone, paper and electronic surveys. Focus groups Information was gathered from recent documented reports on areas where the community ranked poorly and ranked well. Through analysis and discussions of where the public opinion survey results corresponded to the research data, the Collaborative leadership team was able to identify and prioritize six community issues with measurable goals and indicators that will have the greatest probability of a positive impact on Escambia County. Your voice was heard.
 
Q. Who are the members of the Collaborative Leadership Team?
A.  The Collaborative Leadership Team Members are 41 community residents (Click here to view list) who are affiliated with or employed by local businesses, government offices area health and human services and other non-profit agencies.
 
Q. What are the priority community issues?
A.  The six priority community issues are:

• Economic Development
• Education
• Environment
• Health
• Housing
• Poverty
  
Q.  What can I do to get involved?
A.  You can get involved as a member of one of the Solution Teams; there is one for each of the priorities so where ever you have special interest and/or expertise.  You can also get involved by influencing small but significant changes in the way you, your family, friends and co-workers live, work and play.  Here are a few examples:

• Sponsor care for a child living in poverty whose single parent is improving their education to increase their earning power
• Stay in school, or go back to school (we have lots of local opportunities) to improve your own earning power
• You work to make money but learn to make money work for you …. and teach it to your children (the Financial Literacy Coalition can help)
• Health insurance or not, take advantage of health screenings at area malls and events – usually free, they could improve early detection of a problem
• Save money and improve your children’s health by eating most evening and week-end meals at home
• Help an elderly or handicapped neighbor fix up their sub-standard home
• Piggy-back errand and shopping trips – do more than one thing while in your car and “in the area” to save gas and reduce emissions
• Clean up after your dogs & other animals – even if they are in your own yard – you don’t want it in your water do you?

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Susan Senkarik
United Way Director of Community Impact
susan@unitedwayescambia.org
(850) 434-3157

 

Donna Jarvis
Escambia County Health Department
donna_jarvis@doh.state.fl.us

 

Pat Dunn-Cole
Partnership of a Healthy Community
PFAHC@cs.com

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