Planning and Creating an Island Resource Hub

from Hilary Canty, Executive Director, Orcas Island Community Foundation

The Orcas Island Community Foundation has issued a Letter of Interest to all community members who would like to participate in the development and implementation of a “Community Resource Hub” for the island. The broad goals for a Community Resource Hub are:

• To serve all Orcas Island residents, with a particular focus on community members who are experiencing difficulties in finding the services that would help them meet their critical immediate or long-term needs in the areas of health, safety, housing and nutrition (and others);
• To create a physical place where both professional and trained community volunteers can work to aid and advise individual and families who have unmet needs;
• To help create an institution capable of sustaining and expanding its work through stable financial and human resources.

Orcas is rich in individual programs and nonprofit services each serving segments of the social service needs for our community. However, individuals and families report difficulties in discovering what services are, in fact, available to them, which they qualify for, and how best to access the specific services they need. As no single place or person or central clearinghouse of information exists, neighbors are often left on their own without any understanding or help of how best to navigate this wealth of disparate information and services.

A “Community Resource Hub” would serve as a physical place individuals and families could go to access both a database containing all the information about the available medical, dental and mental health support on our island, as well as to persons who can help them gain access to the exact services they need and strengthen the network of services

The Foundation would like to engage the entire community to help make the Community Resource Hub a reality. We ask that you (and any other partners you might want to work with) share your ideas as to how we can plan, launch and sustain this Community Resource Hub. For a copy of the Letter of Interest, please go to www.oicf.us or to the OICF office, 141 Prune Alley in the Doty Marketplace.