Health, Affordable Housing, and Employment were just some of the top issues addressed at United Way of Calvert County's recent Community Forum on Wednesday, Oct. 21. The event, facilitated by United Way's Vice Chair, Bob McWhirt, called on business, government and non-profit leaders to uncover the root cause of the pressing issues, addressed in United Way's recent Needs Assessment.

The Community Forum got underway with a brief history of United Way of Calvert County's legacy by President and CEO Kelly Chambers. "For almost 30 years now the United Way has been identifying needs, developing programs, mobilizing volunteers, and funding agencies in Calvert County." Afterwards, she unveiled United Way's new Agenda for Change which is a shift from program results to community-level changes. "We are narrowing down to find the most pressing issues, and broadening our scope of partners to address these issues in order to have a greater overall impact on the community, " says Chambers.

The United Way Needs Assessment was conducted earlier this year by United Way staff and board, with support from Hugo Blasdel of Solomons. "Which issue, if addressed sooner, do you believe would improve the quality of life," was one of several questions posed at focus groups, held with recipients of local services, agency staff, donors, business leaders, and government staff.

United Way also distributed surveys countywide, which asked people to rate a broad spectrum of issues from least to major importance and provide some demographic information as well. The results of the 179 surveys and 55 focus group attendees elicited the following major issues: health insurance, medical care, affordable housing, other housing, employment, job opportunities, school readiness, financial literacy, and getting to help.

Bob McWhirt, the Vice President of Patient Care at Calvert Memorial Hospital, followed Chambers to make a case for the importance of the root cause analysis. "This is nothing new to the engineering world or the medical community; you don't rest until you've narrowed down the real reason a problem exists, and there can be many." Every Forum attendee was encouraged to join a discussion group in their issue of expertise.

Trent Jacklitsch of Jaklitsch Development Group was one of the more than 50 attendees to bring insight and expertise to the table. Jacklitsch wanted to be involved in the forum because he says, "As a resident, I feel if everyone acts as stewards of the community, the healthier our relationships, our kids, and our businesses are." Jacklitsch's group was challenged with uncovering the real reason "affordable housing" has become a major concern in Calvert County.

Bill Stanton, Executive Director of Project ECHO, Wayne Boyle, Executive Director of the Housing Authority, Christa Conant of Christmas in April, Dave Benson, owner of Maryland Country Caterers, and facilitator Bill Chambers, General Manager of the Show Place Arena joined him in the investigation. They determined much of the root cause came down to "the public and political will." "From that follows infrastructure, tax changes, and other obstacles," said Jacklitsch.

Other root causes that surfaced in the discussion groups were: the challenges of the current economy, inadequate support for parents, lack of afterschool activities, sustainable funding to address long-term care, lack of local jobs, health care reform, access to care with a shortage of providers, inadequate public transportation, and youth abandonment. In the months to follow the Community Forum, United Way will compile a more detailed report, showing a further analysis, supported by local data and statistics.

Nearly all of the Community Forum attendees have signed up to take place in future community planning efforts. To learn more about United Way of Calvert County's Agenda for Change, call (410) 286-0103 or visit their Facebook page online.