Community Health Collaborative

In 1999 a core group of individuals representing several local agencies and organizations interested in the health of the community formed a local coalition, the Jasper and Newton Counties Community Health Collaborative (CHC). Since the beginning, the goal of the CHC has been to gather, interpret and share health information with the community, promote healthy behaviors, improve access to care, and maximize efficient use of resources by collaborating. For the past nine years the CHC has had tremendous impact on the health of the community and 2008 has proven to be another year of substantial growth, progress and sharing of ideas. The CHC now has representation from over 20 member agencies/organizations and has launched a new campaign called "LiveSmart," targeting chronic disease prevention by promoting healthy eating and exercise. They have conducted two base-line community surveys, launched a new website (www.livesmartswmo.org) and sponsored two "LiveSmart" health fairs (one in Jasper County and one in Newton County). They have also applied for several grants and received funding from new identified sources such as United Way of Southwest Missouri.

 

Homeless Coalition

The Homeless Coalition in Southwest Missouri exists to coordinate all local efforts on homelessness while working towards its vision of communities supporting a system that prevents homelessness. According to homeless coalition statistics, there are approximately 400 homeless people in Jasper and Newton Counties at any given time. The Homeless Coalition meets monthly at the Alliance office in Joplin and has set goals that include the improvement other understanding and support of the issues of homelessness, increasing the advocacy activities of the coalition, increasing fundraising activities, providing access to data on homelessness to the community, and enhancing the effective use of coordination, communication and collaboration within the community on issues of homelessness. More than fifteen agencies come together to share and educate themselves on utilizing community and mainstream resources, inform each other of the availability of resources, identify unmet needs of the homeless and plan new strategies for meeting those needs.

 

Re-entry Steering Committee

The Reentry Steering Committee meets monthly at The Alliance to discuss the issues surrounding reentry and the barriers that exist for ex-offenders. Representatives from a wide variety of agencies and organizations take part in these meetings which are co-chaired by the District Administrator for Jasper County Probation and Parole and a concerned community member. Other committee representatives include, Ozark Center, Newton County Probation and Parole, Webb City Police, Workforce Development, Jasper and Newton County Family Support Divisions, Big Brothers Big Sisters, several local recovery centers, local counselors, and concerned community members.

 

Carthage Multicultural Committee

The Carthage Multicultural committee has been in existence for nine years. The committee evolved from the City of Carthage Vision Team. The committee has representatives from the Carthage Police Department, University Extension Office, Fairview Greenhouse, Arvest Bank, Southwest Missouri Bank, Carthage R9 school district, The Alliance of Southwest Missouri, Family Literacy Center, Weber Construction, 4-H, and Country 44 Mall. The committee members coordinate the annual Festival of Friends. The committee is instrumental in assessing the needs of the Spanish-speaking Carthage community members. The committee strives to identify needs and bridging gaps in education and health issues for this segment of the Carthage population.