Human Service Summit: What Participants Said
It always takes a while to compile the notes from the small group discussions at the Summit. While every group has the same set of questions to discuss, each group has its own dynamics which leads to a rich conversation but it can make it challenging to weave the threads together. You’ll see from the summary that we tried to capture the main points, but most likely not everything that was discussed is covered.
What strikes me most about the conversations is that for the most part these are the same conversations that the social service community has been having for decades. At the top of the list are concerns about low-wage jobs, access to health care, affordable housing, transportation options and funding for human service programs. These are significant issues with no easy, or inexpensive, solution. These are also issues that do not just affect the social service community – they are economic issues, as well. Any substantial improvements in these conditions will require cross-sector efforts.
What are your suggestions for how to begin the cross-sector dialogue that can lead to improved community conditions?
This is obviously only a partial answer to your question, and it’s (just as obviously!) always my soapbox speech, but, especially given the success that UCS has attracting policymakers to the conversation, I think there needs to be more emphasis on drawing them into the conversation (and pointing them out!) to highlight the public policy implications of all of these community-wide concerns. Social service providers cannot solve these problems in isolation, but nor can we solve them by mere collaboration; we need resources on the scale of our collective society, and we need public policy to stop creating/exacerbating problems as quickly as we can approach them.
Comment by Melinda Lewis | July 26, 2010 |