Washtenaw Strong

Video Transcription

Hello, my name is Bridget Herman and I serve as the executive liaison to Washtenaw County and the senior director for strategic initiatives on behalf of United Way for Southeastern Michigan. For the nine years prior to the merger, I served as the vice president for community impact for United Way of Washington County.

I’m excited to deliver an update on the progress that we’ve made in the two years since the merger, which underscores the continued need for collective approach to addressing our community’s most pressing needs.

OUR COMMITMENT TO WASHTENAW COUNTY

As part of the merger, we committed to expanded resources and services for households in Washington County that are Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed. We call them ALICE families and their folks who are living above the federal poverty level, who are working, but still unable to meet the basic and most essential needs for their families and themselves.

EXPANDING SERVICES

Here are just a few ways that the merger has helped ALICE families. In our first-year post-merger, United Way increased grant investments by nearly half a million to $1.4 million. With this investment, nonprofits had more resources available to meet the emergent needs of ALICE families that they were serving in Washington County.

Washtenaw United Way delivered free tax preparation to people to maximize their refunds and credits at no cost to them. For nearly eight years, we helped as many individuals as we could.

As a direct result of the merger, however, we were able to enhance a partnership with the Accounting Aid Society, meaning that we were able to expand our vital service programming from two to five days a week this past tax season.

We returned nearly $2,000,000 in tax refunds and credits to Washington County people. And that’s a 26% increase over what we were able to do as an independent United Way. We have long sought to partner with the county and society, but it was the merger with United Way for Southeastern Michigan that finally made that possible.

I’m excited to report that we’ve expanded our partnership with the Great Lakes Water Authority and are now able to deliver water utility assistance to Washington County people as well. While Washington United Way held many powerful relationships with businesses and corporations in our county, those did not extend into greater Detroit.

Last year United Way for Southeastern Michigan was contacted by Deloitte, who wanted to make an investment in STEM education for economically disadvantaged youth. Through conversations with the Washington Intermediate School District, we were able to partner with the Deloitte Foundation, who made a $300,000 three-year investment in Ypsilanti and Lincoln Community Schools to bring STEM education to those students. And this would not have been possible if not for the merger.

WASHTENAW PROUD

Now when I moved to Washington County 11 years ago, people told me that this community has a strong sense of self and at the time, I didn’t fully understand what that meant. However, over the years I’ve come to appreciate and know exactly what folks were talking about.

In Washington County, relationships are everything. We’re not so large that the challenges we face feel insurmountable, and that closeness means that we can come together to tackle these issues head-on. It also means that you’re likely to bump into elected officials and community leaders at the grocery store and at local events, and it fosters a real sense of accountability.

There’s also deep pride in this place; people love living, working, playing and worshiping here. And they work hard to protect what makes it special. So, it’s no surprise to me or others that with the merger announcement in 2020, folks had questions. When you care deeply about your community, you want to make sure that any change is truly in its best interest.

For more than a century, United Way of Washington County delivered meaningful solutions to some of our region’s most pressing challenges, and it consistently punched above its weight. And that’s due to the unwavering commitment of local businesses, passionate volunteers and a deeply committed team.

But when we zoom out and look at the data across Washington, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, a clear truth emerges. Our challenges are regional and so are our opportunities. Our futures are indelibly interconnected.

To truly shift the odds for ALICE families, those who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed, we need a united regional approach, one that reflects the shared realities of Southeastern Michigan and harnesses the collective power of our communities.

When I officially joined the United Way for Southeastern Michigan team in October of 2023 My first order of business was understanding how Washington has stacked up to Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, and after reviewing the data, the story that I was telling myself was flipped on it’s head.

FACING REGIONAL CHALLENGES

We face common challenges across our region and here are just a few notable examples. The number of homeowners who are housing burdened, meaning that they spend 30% of more of their income on housing, it’s comparable in Washington at 19% to Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

The number of adults skipping routine checkups in the past year due to cost is higher in Washington County at 23% than the other counties in our region. Mental health for our youth; as a region on average, nearly 20% of young people seriously considered suicide over the last year, and post COVID enrollment and chronic absenteeism in Washington County is on par with Wayne Oakland and Macomb Counties.

Housing, healthcare and education are some of the primary building blocks for a good quality of life. And in these we are challenged, not just as a county, but as a region, a collective approach, one that can be delivered through a unified, United Way, is what’s needed to increase the odds that we can make progress on those barriers to opportunity for ALICE families.

OUR CALL TO ACTION

Now, I also want to lift up a few of the data points that may surprise you in the county may call home, which I consider a call to action.

Washington County has the largest racial gap in childhood poverty, especially for black children who are nearly four times as likely than white children to live in poverty. This is a wider disparity than Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

Post COVID drops in school enrollment and increases in chronic absenteeism is worse here than in Oakland, Macomb and even steeper than Wayne’s enrollment loss. And finally, among older adults, Washington County unfortunately pairs the highest overall quality of life with some of the largest disparities by race and poverty among this age group.

So, what does this data tell me as a Washington County resident and legacy team member of United Way of Washington County?

It confirms what many of us already feel that our challenges don’t stop at county. Our futures are deeply connected and if we want to truly change the odds for ALICE families striving for stability and prosperity, we need a collective approach.

UNITED IS THE WAY

As we enter the second year of the merger, I hope you, like me, see the value in having a collaborative United Way serving our broader region in my role as the executive liaison to Washington County. I welcome your questions and I’d love the chance to connect over a cup of coffee and if you happen to see me out and about, please don’t hesitate to say hello, take good care, and let’s continue to light the way for our neighbors in need.