The Collaborative, a center for transformation and collaboration in service of women and gender diverse individuals, opened its doors in Medford, Oregon this past month. It is a combined effort between the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Child Welfare Division and Self Sufficiency Programs, Jackson County Community Justice (JCCJ) and The Pathfinder Network (TPN). These three agencies will now be housed together with the effort.

"It is inspiring to see the missions of all three agencies coming together to cultivate such a needed, intentional and innovative impact in this community. I am so proud of The Collaborative," says Leticia Longoria-Navarro, Executive Director of the Pathfinder Network.

The Collaborative says that it's vision is to co-create holistic pathways to integrated and responsive services and supports. Efforts will focus on:

• Mitigating the impacts of trauma
• Decreasing social isolation for impacted community members
• Preventing misuse of substances
• Employing community-wide approaches to reducing harm associated with behavioral health issues
• Ensuring access and coordination of services

The Collaborative focused on redesigning the center to foster a safe space for women and "gender diverse individuals".

ODHS states that the voices of individuals who would use the space led the redesign. Former and current participants describe the environment as "safe".

"The Collaborative is a great example of how we are putting the Child Welfare Division Vision for Transformation into action by creating a space where children and families are supported holistically across systems," says Kimberlee Whitney, Child Welfare District Manager. "Thank you to our partners within ODHS, Pathfinder Network and Jackson County for making this effort come to life."

Team members from all three agencies will support participants in their engagement with parole and probation and ODHS through a trauma, gender and culturally responsive approach and provide peer support in a safe space created to provide services and support.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Individuals are welcomed in by team members into the "living room" and are connected to staff in the building to assess their needs, connect them to resources, make referrals to other community resources, sign them up for group services and events at the center and provide on the spot peer support.

The Collaborative says they are a one stop shop for services that are working toward eliminating the barriers of access to services by working to stabilize families during stressful times. The goal is to see better outcomes by providing evidence-based support and services.

"By putting people first, the outcomes will follow. We know that relationships, connections and focusing on strengths lead to people being successful,” says Eric Guyer, Director of Jackson County Community Justice. “To do this work in partnership with professionals with lived experience is truly innovative.”

About the ODHS Child Welfare Division

The Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division is committed to transforming itself to better support the individual needs of families and to best serve Oregon’s children and young people.

You can report child abuse to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline by calling 1-855-503-SAFE (7233). This toll-free number allows you to report abuse of any child or adult to the Oregon Department of Human Services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.

About Jackson County Community Justice

Jackson County Community Justice says their mission is to enhance community safety by creating lasting behavior change in individuals on community supervision. The Parole and Probation Officers in the Gender-Responsive Unit use practices and programs designed to change criminal beliefs and behaviors.


--Bruce Armstrong

Post Date: 2022-06-04 10:19:06

Last Update: 2022-06-04 11:09:59