Community Innovation Learning Logs

To fund a coordinated social service system of care for low-income individuals called the Sioux Empire Network of Care

To unite MHA Nation community segments in Fort Berthold Reservation and overcome isolation

To address critical gaps in North Dakota’s behavioral healthcare system using data, evidence and innovative financing

To increase access to adequate health care for rural school children in North Dakota by piloting school-based telehealth technology

To lead a statewide effort to increase the number of residents who participate in Advanced Care Planning in order to ensure that families and health care providers know and respect the wishes and goals of individuals at the end-of-life

To build sustainable educational efforts to improve services for sexual assault victims with disabilities, in partnership with the South Dakota Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities and Community Service for the Deaf

To assess the accuracy of current screening indicators as a predictor of successful tenancy and create more equitable, effective and accurate screening tools and an implementation plan

To further the collaborative development of equitable workforce solutions through an exchange between employers and residents on the East Side of Saint Paul

For a cross-sector community collaboration united together to solve the problems of drugs and alcohol abuse within the Karen community

Studies show that high quality out-of-school-time programs really make a difference in the lives of young people. However, young people of color and from families with lower income access these programs at lower rates. Urban Arts Academy is creating “Agents of Change”: a highly collaborative, sustainable youth program model fueled by youth-driven engagement. The 20 organizations in the Agents of Change collaborative believe that they will better serve youth and families in the Bancroft, Bryant Central and Powderhorn neighborhoods of Minneapolis if they truly listen to youth and work together.

To facilitate the process of expanding community-based mental health support within three rural communities in South Dakota

Affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues in Western North Dakota. The influx of people arriving in Western North Dakota in search of jobs in the oil fields created an unprecedented demand on service providers. Williston, a community at the center of this rapid growth, experienced extraordinary burdens on services. In response, six churches in Williston, together with Community Action Partnership, Job Service ND, Veterans Administration, ND Veterans Department and the Williston Basin Resource Coalition, will collaborate on an effort to better understand and respond to this issue in their community and surrounding rural areas. Together, they will collect data about the homeless population in the area, present findings to community stakeholders, develop a plan to address the issue and test some of their ideas.

Realizing Well Care: Achieving a sustainable system for community-based chronic disease management and prevention

IN Equality: Testing a new model of partnership between community members and juvenile justice system leaders to find innovative alternatives to confining youth in institutions and to transform Ramsey County Juvenile Justice Practices

To solve the need for better access to affordable, culturally competent, quality early childhood education services (ECE) in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood (West Bank)

To build community collaboration and inspire action on climate change through rural climate dialogues

A pilot program to remove barriers to Native home ownership in South Dakota

To further develop a multi-tribal power authority and to plan workforce development of a utility-grade wind power installation

To engage communities in identifying factors contributing to high youth dropout and unemployment rates

To institutionalize a statewide system in North Dakota to solve addiction with an intersection of technology, private and public sectors

To conduct a "Race Equity and Excellence in Education Action Planning" process with the goal of identifying specific strategies to address race equity in education

To create the Upper Midwest Indigenous Seed Keepers Network

To bring together diverse stakeholders from medical, insurance, advocacy and cultural communities to create and test maternal health solutions which are accessible, culturally acceptable and financially sustainable

Energy poverty, or a lack of access to modern energy services, affects one out of eight families in the United States. Rates in some communities like Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (Leech Lake) are even higher. In communities where households are on a fixed income, even a modest increase in the cost of heating or cooling can force families to make difficult choices about their resources. While energy assistance is available, funds are limited. Rural Renewable Energy Alliance will collaborate with Leech Lake partners to build a local, sustainable and shared alternative energy infrastructure. This partnership engages energy insecure households through the Tribal Government Community Action Agency, sustains an education and workforce pipeline with Leech Lake Tribal College and consult local utilities agency expertise. Developing and demonstrating this model has the potential to be transformative at the regional and national scale.

To develop a model for capacity building to provide medical respite for persons experiencing homelessness in Hennepin County

To create a community collaboration centralizing the arts as an integrated asset for inclusivity, development and sustained outreach

To develop a blueprint of business environment that will engage and accelerate minority business entrepreneur growth

To develop a community plan to address mental health care needs through the ReThink Mental Health Initiative

To plan, establish and prepare to implement a "one-stop-shop" family resource center to improve delivery, increase capacity, remove barriers and close gaps in family and social services

To develop career pathways for Latino millennials through community-centered engagement

To develop a community-guided model of coordinated mental health care for youth and children

To develop an appropriate legal entity under the Oglala Sioux Tribe to oversee water, sewer and solid waste operations and infrastructure improvement

To increase civic engagement within communities of color in the Northwest suburbs of the Twin Cities

To attract and retain more Native American nursing students through mentoring and expanded resources to address family and cultural needs of students

Hungry For Change: food business incubation in North Minneapolis in partnership with NEON

To continue the revitalization of indigenous languages through building families of Ojibwe speakers