The United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region is keeping its focus on many of the same issues, but officials say they are going “deeper” on finding solutions.
The United Way released a series of community goals which include improving high school graduation rates, increasing economically stable households and ensuring safety nets for basic needs.
Executive Vice President Chris Sargent says addressing those goals will require collaboration between the private and public sector. He says it’s a long-term effort that will require persistence. Sargent says there have been “starts and stops” on many issues, where there is improvement, but it has not been sustained.
Sargent says the social issues that the United Way is trying to address are complex. So he says the solutions will not be simple. He says the problems won’t be fixed tomorrow, but he says there will be short-term improvements. Sargent says it’s important to measure success, and to make changes when solutions are not working.
