The County Press

Issues addressed through collaboration and problem solving

EDITORIAL

Despite those who would divide us, Lapeer County residents cling to common ground and routinely come together for common causes through nonprofit organizations, churches, schools, business organizations and simple acts of kindness.

The Lapeer County Community Collaborative (LCCC), under the leadership of new executive director Ben Cummings, exists for the purpose to bring together community resources through collaboration, open communication and cooperation to identify concerns, initiate action and organize for impact. Cummings, former executive director of the Lapeer Center Building, is excited by the LCCC’s mission to bring together people from all walks of life and backgrounds and work to resolve shortfalls in our community. Members include Lapeer County Community Mental Health, Dept. of Health and Human Services, County of Lapeer, Lapeer County Health Dept., McLaren Lapeer Region, Lapeer County Community Foundation, Lapeer County Intermediate School District, United Way of Lapeer County, City of Lapeer, MSU Extension, GST, Michigan Works, View Newspaper Group, local businesses and other health and human service providers.

Collaboration is the process of group work. The aforementioned LCCC stakeholders are representative organizations whose members come together and contribute their expertise for the benefit of a shared objective, project or mission. The LCCC is fortunate to have someone with the level of organizational and problem-solving skills Cummings has, who while at the Lapeer Center Building helped to implement a capital drive and sustainer program that raised more than $160,000 in financial pledges and gifts to the nonprofit organization.

“In my years at the Lapeer Center Building I was very fortunate to meet and get to know community leaders,” he told The County Press. “I intend to reach out and learn all I can, in order to plan and implement projects that will benefit the entire county.”

With the wealth of experience LCCC has in its members, many issues are regularly brought up when they meet in person or identified by members in the course of their daily work.

There are many issues to be addressed in Lapeer County — including establishment of a year-round homeless shelter, to secure countywide broadband service, to ease hunger and food shortages in households, to address opioid abuse as well as alcohol and substance addition, to establish countywide recycling and improve access and affordability of physical and mental healthcare in the community.

There are probably other issues or areas where service or programs could be revamped or improved that LCCC may not be aware of. If you have some ideas, email Cummings at bcummings@lapeercounty.org. The LCCC and other municipal, civic, education, workforce development, healthcare, first responder, law enforcement and nonprofit organizations can only address issues they’re aware of.

LCCC’s role is to identify issues and facilitate dialogue among partner members and organizations as well as the general public toward the betterment of the Lapeer County community. When people collaborate their energy, talent and passion to make a difference in local lives and institutions, the enormity of tasks and asks of others in the community to step forward is often less overwhelming when shared with others — rather than if someone or an organization had to take on a complex matter on their own. A sure way to burn out people who volunteer their time is to give them more work than they can handle without sufficient help to lighten the load.

Collaborative efforts are successful when the work is carved up and distributed to numerous people or organizations. With the intention to empower people to gather information, come up with ideas and solutions to be shared with the group before charting a course toward implementation of the objectives.

The LCCC is joined in Lapeer County by foundations, civic clubs and organizations, veterans’ groups, churches and charities, and thousands of people who collaborate with others to plan, execute and review their initiatives to ensure their stated objective was achieved.

There’s plenty to do in Lapeer County, but even the most complex issues can be tackled and resolved when we all work together.