United Way of Hall County's Executive Director Joy Griffin said the recent words of a colleague struck a chord with a group working to define the resources available to the low income segment of the community.
"She said, 'This community is resource rich but coordination poor,'" Griffin remembered.
The words of Phillipa Lewis-Moss, the Director for Hall County's Community Service Center, perhaps served as a catalyst for an upcoming workshop for public and private agencies who are working toward curbing poverty in Hall County.
"We really feel like United Way's role is to be that coordinator, to be that organization that looks at problems that are larger than one organization can solve alone and serve to be that 'uniter.'"
Griffin said the workshop, set for Friday, Feb. 24, is open to social service agencies, schools, faith-based ministries, health care providers, business leaders and local government officials.
"Anyone who has any resource is invited," Griffin said.
The goal is to identify the resources, fill in any service gaps and also prevent overlap of services.
Once the information is gathered, United Way will funnel it back to those who need it through the agency's new Compass Center.
"When our Compass Center opens on March 1, we want to be able to point those experiencing hardships of any kind to the resources," Griffin said. "Unless we know of every resource available, we'll not be as effective as we could be."
The workshop is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 24 from 8-11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church Banquet Hall, located at 751 Green Street in Gainesville. United Way asks that anyone interested in attending RSVP to [email protected]. Dr. Merrianne Dyer, former Gainesville City Schools superintendent and consultant for Scholastic Corporation, will moderate the workshop. There is no charge for the event.
