County’s Community Network Soldiers On

By Margie Doyle

An unheralded group of county social service providers decided last week, on Thursday, July 11 to continue its bi-monthly meetings with member funds and new leadership.

The San Juan Community Network/Readiness to Learn Consortium/Community Mobilization Boards (the Network), chaired by Liz Illg, Director of Non-profits Unlimited, and staffed by Joyce Sobel of the San Juan Family Resource Center, was cut from state funding when legislators decided last month to end both RTL and Community Mobilization.

The San Juan County Community Public Health and Safety Network was established by legislative action in 1996 with funding from the state’s Family Policy Council.  Its purpose was to plan and provide support for reduction in seven (7) problem behaviors.  The focus of the San Juan County Network was to help children survive and families to thrive.  Over the years, the Network has become the policy board for the County’s RTL programs,  Community Mobilization, Early Childhood Learning, Drug and Tobacco Prevention, Literacy, and other community-based initiatives; “funding for all of which has gone away,” noted Sobel.

Until 2012, funding came from the Family Policy Council for 40 hours a month. As staff, Sobel’s duties included preparing the agenda, submitting minutes and organizing the bi-monthly meetings as well as planning and year-end reports.

This year, funding from the Community Mobilization Administrative Fund was $1,000 per year for a total of 40 hours annually. It is estimated the costs to continue the network meetings to be $1,000 to $2,000 per annum.

At  the July 11 meeting, board members and partners from Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands discussed continuation of the bi-monthly meetings, new members and new leadership. Liz Illg has announced that she will step down this September and plans a long road trip shortly thereafter.

From Lopez, Christopher Aiken, of SJ County Community Health Services and Celia Marquez, Readiness to Learn (RTL) Coordinator and Lopez Family Resource Center Director, both stated the high value they placed on exchanging information through the network rather than “working in isolation.” Aiken said, “It’s harder to start from scratch than to keep going. Any community connectivity is very helpful: let’s keep going.”

On Orcas Island, Community Network partner Margie Doyle, Orcas Readiness to Learn Coordinator/Orcas Island School District staff, said she valued the Network meetings highly in informing and mobilizing social services throughout the county. Erin O’Dell of the Orcas Family Connections Resource Center and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) consultant, agreed and spoke of the “trickle down” affect to agencies’ staff and volunteers.

Network members in attendance at Friday Harbor —  John Manning, County Director  of Health and Community Services; Jennifer Armstrong, new office manager for the SJ Family Resource Center; Melanie Rollins, County Affordable Housing Coordinator; Marty Huleatte, Federal Emergency Management coordinator for food and shelter and United Way of San Juan County Board member; Cynthia Stark-Wickman, San Juan Island Prevention Coordinator; Dr. Steve Gresham, formerly head of the County Prevention Partnership and now Compass Health Chemical Dependency staff ; and Joanne Campbell, representing the San Juan community – all voiced their support of the continuation of the Network.

Stark-Wickman spoke of the bylaws of the Network and said, “We’re all accountable to each other. Across the state, people are looking at what will be the next support system.”

John Manning said “We all learn from our separate islands. All around, everybody’s learned from each other and made our services better. It’s a valuable group for kids and families, and essential to keep moving forward.”

The group quickly reached consensus to continue the Network as it currently functions and as defined by its existing by-laws.

After discussion of past Network operations and funding, the decision of the group, approved by board vote, was to continue funding by Network board and partner member organizations who will assess “dues” to the best of their ability to contribute and to investigate fiscal agency through the individual boards of existing non-profit member organizations.

San Juan County Prevention Coordinator Cynthia Stark-Wickman and United Way Board member Marty Huleatte both stepped forward to suggest their organizations in a possible leadership role for the continuing Network.

Manning, Campbell and Sobel volunteered to review the bylaws, which address fiduciary and non-fiduciary membership, and recommend any changes as the organization continues.

The next meeting of the San Juan Community Network is scheduled for the first Thursday in September, from 8:30 to 11:15 a.m. at the County Health Department conference room in Friday Harbor. Videoconferencing is usually available at the Lopez Island Public Library and the Orcas Island Public Library.