Shared Stewardship in Practice

One Big Thing Collaborative

Written by 5 Healthy Towns Foundation staff

At the 9th quarterly Community Leadership Meeting t his past January, over 40 community members gathered to continue discussions about work ing together to improve the mental well-being of our collective communities. It was a valuable time to listen and learn from one another and to share some upcoming opportunitie s for grant funding.

What does shared stewardship look like in practice?

If you have followed the discussion, you may have noticed that the leaders around the table all share a common sense of urgency about awareness and prevention of mental health illness and want to work together to understand a framework on which we can take action. It’s not easy.

The stakeholders in attendance, including public health professionals, physicians, social workers, housing advocates, transportation providers, school district personnel, concerned community volunteers, and many more, want to work together to invest time and resources in the vital condition s that affect health and well-being. These are the important indirect means of improving our lives.

In January, we heard from the City of Chelsea social worker, Emilee Fetters, on the work she is doing in collaboration with Chelsea’s service departments and community assets. We also heard about the Washtenaw County health and safety millage renewal,

and the many investments that are being made to address a variety of mental health issues.

In the end, we agreed to keep meeting and working together to find common ground for future collaboration. This important process of building consensus and taking action together will serve us well as we increase our understanding of the issues facing our residents and create new resources to meet changing needs.

The next Community Leadership Meeting is scheduled for April 29, 2025, at 8 am. To receive an invitation, contact 5 Healthy Towns Foundation for more information.