Our Valley Our Future

Housing Solutions Game Changer - This game changer was initialized in our first Action Plan - 2017-2021. It has now grown to become the Regional Housing Solutions Group which meets monthly to discuss issues surrounding affordable housing low-income housing and housing in general. The planners of several of our surrounding cities now participate in the group which allows for good discussion new ideas and efforts that could be used to enhance the availability of housing. The major undertaking this year was to contract a "Community Awareness Campaign" for the region. The contract was to research the issues and get personal stories to post - management of both the marketing about the campaign along with a social media presence. Several videos were included from various agencies that deal with housing specifically - Housing Authority of Chelan County and City of Wenatchee Common Ground Land Trust Mayor of Rock island. The Awareness Campaign delved into many areas that the community was not fully aware of. Through outreach we developed marketing and social media content and provided to the public through multiple avenues. A website "ourvalleyourfuture.org housing-our-valley is devoted to the campaign and can be very informative for anyone who would like to view what's been done and what's in progress.

Early Care and Education Programs - In 2023 this Game Changer began moving the needle. There are several key lead partners - North Central Educational Service District North Central Early Learning Cooperative Catholic Charities and Wenatchee Valley College. A key focus is increasing the number of Early Leaning Programs in the region and overall childcare capacity. Invest in high-quality early learning that builds strong foundation for lifelong learning and well-being that is responsive and inclusive in the meeting the needs of the region's children. Develop innovative and collaborative strategies that ensure access to high-quality early learning programs. For more detail about the Game Changer please visit https: ourvalleyourfuture.org

Latino Communications Group - Continue to provide the Latino Communications Network weekly memo which we began 2020. In 2022 we expanded the information to include current issues in the community that deal with the valley the region the state or the country. This includes events for health fairs festivals tax preparation and other activities in which one could participate. The types of articles - all translated into Spanish - continue to expand and we expect that to continue in 2024 as well.