Phoenix (STN) – Putting a dozen organizations in one place doesn’t automatically create a system that works. That was the message from leaders at Keys to Change and Contexture during ‘The McQuaid Mission’ on the October episode of ‘It Happens at STN.’ The conversation focused on measuring whether the Key Campus model is delivering results.
Amy Schwabenlender, CEO of Keys to Change, described the campus as “a collaborative force of about 12 different organizations, governmental and nonprofit, all wrapping services around people who are experiencing homelessness.” After more than 20 years, she said, good intentions “don’t necessarily pave the way to fantastic proven outcomes.”
“Co-location does not mean collaboration,” Schwabenlender said. The campus has been called a best-practice model, she said, but she wants proof. “I don’t like saying things that I can’t demonstrate with facts and data to say, ‘We know that this is a model that works.'”
To prove it, Keys to Change is working with Contexture and the Community Cares platform, which helps partners share information and track a client’s journey across campus.
“A lot of nonprofits are held together with duct tape and hope,” said Alex Demyan, Vice President of Government Affairs at Contexture. He said Community Cares allows the Keys to Change team to “automate some of those referral processes and actually track the journey of care through the different points on campus.”
Jowan Thornton, director of partnerships and collaboration at Keys to Change, said the goal is to shorten the time clients spend waiting. “A lot of folks on campus are wrapped up in the waiting game,” Thornton said.
If the system works as designed, he said, “any individual that exits the welcome center will have a clear and documented next step, full stop.”
In his call to action, Thornton borrowed the advice he gives his twin sons each night: “think big, think broad and be brave.” He urged organizations wrestling with challenges to leverage technology and examine what more they can do for the people they serve. Demyan invited groups that aren’t yet on Community Cares to join, saying “the more resources we have, the better we’re going to be able to collectively serve our community.”
Schwabenlender closed by challenging leaders not to settle.
“We shouldn’t settle as a community. We shouldn’t settle for Arizona,” she said. “We have this room alone full of smart, passionate, motivated people, so let’s not settle.”
