Insomnia

Wednesday, 23 March 2011 18:30

“What’s keeping you up at night?”  That’s one of my favorite questions to ask when I talk with CEOs of Frederick County nonprofits.  While it may seem like a fairly inquisitive, almost intrusive question, it gets to the heart of what I need to know to help the Community Foundation create broader positive impact, especially in areas of new or emerging concerns.

Over the past month, I have gotten some pretty eye-opening responses to this question.

I have learned that nonprofits have a growing concern about child neglect – families don’t have the resources to feed their kids, parents have to work longer hours to keep their families afloat which results in children being home by themselves without adequate supervision, and the stressors of everyday life have been magnified with the downward economy.

I have heard that food and nutrition programs – the hot meal programs, food banks, and grocery vouchers – are serving more people who are the “working poor,” not just the chronically homeless.

I was told that funding for eviction prevention programs for low income families is drying up quickly because of the demand.  More families are living out of their cars, initially for what they consider to be a stop-gap measure, but now for longer periods.

One nonprofit executive is worried about staff burnout from a huge increase in the number of families seen each day and the severity of the problems staff must address. Another told me that volunteers are burning out from being asked to do more with less support from staff.

What’s keeping me up at night?  My tossing and turning usually centers around finding ways the Community Foundation can harness the energy and resources of more individuals, families, businesses, and civic groups to address these issues and more.  I also pound the pillow when I think about my nonprofit colleagues being asked to do more with less, when their capacity to provide services was already stressed.

What community concerns are keeping YOU up at night?  Your thoughts and insights are important.  Only by sharing our worries can we continue to create positive and lasting change that is For Good. Forever. For Frederick County.

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