Reconnecting McDowell - Creating a village through partnerships

"It takes a village to raise a child" is an age-old saying that, quite frankly, often seems to be the opposite of what's seen in American society these days.  In fact, a study commissioned by State Farm in late July of last year revealed that only 25% of Americans surveyed knew their neighbors names. This says a lot about the depth of relationships that Americans have with the people that live the closest to them(1).

If McDowell County was one of the few areas that fostered the "village mentality", then Reconnecting McDowell is elevating it to a new level to solve the major challenges in this West Virginia county. McDowell County is ranked last in education in the state and 72% of its students live in households without gainful employment(2). Reconnecting McDowell's aim is to "make educational improvement in McDowell County the route to a brighter economic future"(2). Their approach has been to partner with the business, philanthropic, government, nonprofit, and labor sectors to tackle "poverty, underperforming schools, drug and alcohol abuse, housing shortages, limited medical services, and inadequate access to technology and transportation"(2). Click here to learn more about Reconnecting McDowell.

Reconnecting McDowell has shown just what partnerships can do - create "villages" - a community where everyone feels a sense of responsibility to make sure that the children and adults alike are doing well. In McDowell County, although they face tough challenges, there is hope in collective problem solving. The problems of society cannot be solved alone. Their complexities require collaboration amongst many sectors. Of course, Community Optimization will be paying attention to this effort and share its progress.


References:
(1) CBS Los Angeles. "Love Thy Neighbor? Most Americans Don’t Know Next-Door Names"
(2) Reconnecting McDowell website http://www.reconnectingmcdowell.org/