KALAMAZOO, BATTLE CREEK, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region (UWBCKR) has released new data into addressing social issues from a recent study conducted with several area non-profit organizations.
According to an official press release, the study, entitled Our Impact 2019 Edition, is a follow-up to UWBCKR’s first-ever data report issued in 2018. The study is designed to track progress on 10- and 15-year goals in health, education, financial stability, and basic needs.
It is also meant to find solutions to problems such as poverty, hunger, infant mortality, and educational success.
“The challenges our regional community faces are complex,” President and CEO of UWBCKR Chris Sargent said in the press release. “The solutions aren’t easy, nor are they entirely within our ability to influence. Some strategies may need to evolve as needs and dynamics change.”
Highlights from the report include the following:
- Awareness, education and adequate wrap-around services are crucial to lowering infant mortality, especially among babies of color.
- Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a lifelong impact, meaning these traumatic experiences must be addressed in education policymaking involving academics and emotion management.
- Major expenses such as child care, transportation, housing and health care greatly affect the financial stability of a household, even in families with two working adults.
- Housing and food insecurity continue to outpace the region’s ability to address them.
“By measuring how programs drive progress toward long-term community goals, we can act with our partners to strengthen programs that work, adapt those that don’t, and collaborate on new ways to tackle problems,” Vice President for Impact & Engagement Alyssa Stewart said. “Shared success depends on shared effort. It depends on people willing to volunteer their time. It depends on each of us making sure the voices of the marginalized are heard—particularly in the state and federal policy realm, where we’re getting more involved.”
The full report can be viewed online at changethestory.org/impact-report.
