Collaboration, planning lead to outreach position

Waseca County Commissioner Doug Christopherson is in his third and final year as chair of the six-member joint powers board which oversees the Minnesota Prairie County Health Alliance (MNPrairie). The alliance is the result of a cooperative venture among Waseca, Steele and Dodge counties to continue delivering human services, many of which are mandated by state law, while finding ways to be more cost effective. Human services departments are located in all three counties, while many administrative tasks are handled by a consolidated leadership group. Christopherson, fellow Waseca County representative DeAnne Malterer, and two commissioners each from Steele and Dodge counties comprise the board which helps steer MNPrairie’s activities and its more than 170 employees.

 

Christopherson admits that, with the interests of nearly 80,000 area residents across three settings as diverse as the three counties, being chair of the board sometimes places him at the center of controversies.

 

He is grateful, however, that he was also in place to help find a beneficial response to the growing difficulties area law enforcement agencies have been experiencing because of the mental health crisis referenced repeatedly in national government communications.

 

“I had been hearing about the difficulties and frustrations they were experiencing, especially when it came to repeat calls about the same individuals who didn’t fit into any of the programs that might help them,” Christopherson said in an interview.

 

At an Association of Minnesota Counties convention, Christopherson attended a session which described a community outreach position in Stearns County; he says he asked himself almost right away, “How do we do something like that with a three-county entity?”

 

Upon returning, he met with MNPrairie staff, described what he had learned, and asked whether they could find a path forward. Along with a certain amount of state funding for programs of this type, money from the “community support program” of the Southeast Minnesota Adult Mental Health Fund Initiative – Community Support Program made it possible to get the program going.

 

Amanda Zwart was hired to fill the position late last year. Among her first tasks, she was to build community connections, work to eliminate barriers to resources and expedite access to services. So far, she tells of having received 50 referrals from numerous community entities, including law enforcement; she currently has a caseload of 28 individuals across the three MNPrairie Counties.

 

“This program is for individuals trying to build a sense of well-being in their lives,” Zwart says of the individuals she works with. “I find it fulfilling to see how much of a difference this program has already made for so many people.”