Affordable Housing • Workforce Training
Early Learning & Youth Enrichment

Thrives promotes three strategic areas of focus that we believe will result in the greatest impact on reducing poverty and increasing economic vitality. They are:

Safe, stable, and affordable housing
Workforce training
Early learning and youth enrichment

These priorities include essential support services, such as health and wellness care and life skills training that increase the likelihood of successful and sustainable outcomes.

Thrives believes that we can reverse the rapid growth of poverty in Washington County by improving access to essential resources that help establish a foundation of long-term economic security. We recognize that there is no silver bullet, no magic pill, no quick fix. But progress is possible! For every family that finds a safe, stable, and affordable home, for every person who receives training that helps land them a decent paying job, for every child whose life is enhanced by an early learning environment or youth enrichment opportunity, the ripple effect in the community is palpable.

Leverage is essential! Thrives recommends combining programs that work today in affordable housing, workforce training, and early learning/youth enrichment to increase their collective impact. For example, hard-working parents that seek affordable housing would likely benefit from workforce training to obtain better-paying jobs, and if they have young children, they may qualify to enroll them in a quality pre-K program that gives their children a head start in school.

The October gathering of Thrives All-Collaborative was our largest since returning in person and was a powerful demonstration of our community’s commitment to the well-being of children, youth, and families!

We were grateful to have 38 people share space with us, and another five join via Zoom for an engaging session that attempted to answer the question, How Are the Children?

Addressing developments specific to Washington County, we heard from Washington County Kids President and Founder Katie Riley and Executive Director Larry Crepeaux (shown above) about their efforts to improve and increase out-of-school-time programs. And to give us a picture of the early learning landscape, as well as childcare and family programs, we heard from Alessandro Mastrorocco, Senior Program Manager for Early Learning Washington County, and from Community Action’s Executive Director Kemp Shuey and Director of Family Stability Karen Henkemeyer.

At the state level, we heard about ongoing investments from Youth Development Oregon Director Brian Detman and Associate Director Paul Sell, and from Oregon Health Education Collaborative Executive Director Chelsea King (pictured) about their efforts to disrupt the cycles of intergenerational trauma and adverse experiences through community-based collaboratives.

Find the meeting notes and contact information here, and you can watch a recording of the meeting on our YouTube channel below:

Previously…

Our July gathering of Thrives All-Collaborative was a great reminder of just how important it is to foster connections with others working to make our communities healthy, vibrant, and strong!

We were grateful to have 36 people join us for a conversation about the recent Oregon Legislative Session and a lively Q&A with State Senator Janeen Sollman and Representative Susan McLain (Zooming in from her family vacation!). Topics addressed included support for behavioral health, investments in workforce development and education, and funding for the arts and out-of-school programs. Our legislators reminded everyone to reach out and engage with them on the topics, and to ask for help connecting to organizations and resources that can advance our work across sectors.

Find the meeting notes and contact information here.

If you missed any of our Thrives convenings, catch up now by viewing the meetings through on Vision Action Network’s YouTube channel.

Be sure to join us as we continue to convene community leaders in our quarterly All-Collaborative sessions to explore issues critical to Washington County residents. Sign up to receive invitations to our upcoming meetings, and be a part of the solution!

Thrives is a collaborative of nonprofit, business, government, healthcare, education, and faith-based leaders. We believe systemic barriers prevent good people from obtaining safe, affordable housing, decent-paying jobs, and an even playing field for their children in school and life.

Investments in programs and services that remove these barriers benefit the whole community. Hard-working families are able to create a brighter future for themselves and contribute to the prosperity of the community when they have a place to call home, career-track employment, and early learning and youth enrichment opportunities for their kids. That’s a healthy return on investment!