Poverty is among the major areas of needed improvement in Mendocino County. The adult and children’s health is affected by the inability to cover basic expenses. One of the key strategies of the Ukiah Poverty Action Team is identifying barriers to opportunity, growth, and access to services (Mendocino County, 2018). Moreover, they find it important to strengthen coordination and collaboration, improve the citizens’ knowledge of community resources, identify successful poverty alleviation measures in similar communities, and develop an entrepreneurial training project (Mendocino County, 2018). Thus, the ways of decreasing poverty indicators in Mendocino County are detecting the main factors keeping people in poverty and helping them become more prosperous.
While working with families short of funds, it is necessary to understand that all family members should be engaged in the process. For instance, women should be supported in achieving financial success and economic independence with workshops on starting and managing businesses (Mendocino County, 2018). As for children, financial literacy and vocational training should be increased for them (Mendocino County, 2018). Local organizations offering financial counseling, such as the local Family Resource Center, Project Sanctuary, and West Company may also be helpful. Involving the whole family with a tight budget in such projects has an encouraging effect and allows them to believe in their chance to change the situation.
Speaking of the ways to inform the community and officials about the impact of poverty, data collection and community focus groups seem to be the most efficient strategy. It can be beneficial to conduct surveys of households having financial problems to better understand the poverty state in Mendocino County. This step will provide credible information for elaborating future strategies for poverty elimination and let the community members know that their voices are heard.
Reference
Mendocino County community health improvement plan 2016-2019 [PDF Document]. Web.