Together, we have worked to bring people together in collaborations that solve problems. I’m excited to write this annual report and recap some of the ways your partnership has empowered lasting change. We could not have done anything without your time, prayers, and financial partnership. We are grateful for each one of you!
Sincerely,
Bobby, One Collective Elgin Catalyst
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Year of Engaging
What’s Coming Next
You Can Make an Impact
The Year of Engaging
A year ago, One Collective Elgin committed to making this year the Year of Engaging. After completing our second community-wide Needs Assessment in Elgin almost two years ago, One Collective has moved from the stage of “evaluation” and into the stage of “engagement” in 2023. One Collective has worked to respond to the needs felt by the people of Elgin by bringing people together in trustworthy collaborations and serving alongside new and old friends! Here’s some of what One Collective has been up to…
Winter Shelter:
Due to frigid temperatures towards the end of November, One Collective responded to the city’s need to open a Winter Shelter. An incredible group people have jumped into new relationships and opportunities to make it happen. Our winter shelter team is made up of a mixture of One Collective staff, people who are unhoused, and volunteers from about a dozen local churches. They expanded the shelter hours from exclusively open on nights below 15 degrees to every night of winter (December 1st-March 31st). They work to create an environment of safety and mutual respect shaped primarily by the people using the shelter.
The long-term, community-wide, shared goal is still to find long-term solutions for shelter and housing. But, in the interim, the expanded hours have allowed increased capacity and accessibility for homeless individuals, enhanced coordination of services, elevated community involvement, and a reduction in winter-related homelessness fatalities and illnesses.
The Overnight Winter Shelter has helped improve the emotional and mental well-being of many people who are homeless here in Elgin. One man shared how he has been living in his car for the past few months – but he is now able to save the money he was using to pay for gas in order to keep warm. Another shared that this is the first time they have felt safe since experiencing homelessness.
The needs of the community are still significant. The winter shelter has hit our capacity limit almost every night since opening. The team is still in need of volunteers and donations. To learn more, please visit this page of our website.
Casework Command Center:
Elgin is blessed with many strong organizations who are working to help people. However, one of the issues often encountered, because of the diversity of our support system, is that sharing data across organizations is confusing and can lead to people dropping through the cracks. One Collective has brought people together in bi-weekly meetings that is called the Casework Command Center. This is a safe, protected space where organizations, governmental departments, and churches are able to streamline communication, form shared agendas, and develop strategy for wrap-around services. This approach serves the people in Elgin who are facing vulnerable circumstances with dignity and personalized supports.
Elgin Human Services Council:
Since 2020, Bobby has served as the Chair of the Elgin Human Services Council. This group works to promote wellness on an individual, family, and community level by empowering the community of Elgin with resources, tools, and opportunities. In 2023, we launched the ElginCares handle and website. Elgin Cares functions within and beyond the city by raising awareness and offering advocacy for impactful issues, emphasizing equity and racial justice (including a free Social Justice Handbook found on the website), and cultivating community engagement. On Facebook and Instagram, Elgin Cares features weekly spotlights centered around education, health care, and mental health-focused groups making change in our communities. Check out the page to see these spotlights, Equity Moment posts, as well as other supports, encouragements, and glimpses into work being done throughout the city!
Kane County Anti-Trafficking Summit
This past May, One Collective brought people together for the first ever Kane County Anti-Trafficking Summit working to eliminate trafficking in the Kane County area. The Summit was shaped by many collaborators including people with lived experience, elected officials, and the leaders of several anti-trafficking organizations.
Attendees participated in thought exchanges sharing their experiences and expertise about trafficking in Kane County. Their responses indicated that many people are interested in increased partnership and continuing to work together to help solve this problem. As One Collective continues to strive to see the unseen and serve the vulnerable people in our community, the hope is to expand and uplift awareness, education, prevention work, and response resources.
If you have the expertise, resources, or willingness to help with research, prevention work, advocacy, or caring for survivors, connect with us and help us End Human Trafficking in our community.
Youth Resources and Engagement
Our team has been continuing to develop our focus on youth engagement and education in Elgin. Through the counseling center, 8 therapists collectively serve over 200 clients per month- primarily youth and their families. The environments for counseling have been informed and shaped by the young people served so that it can feel like a safe place for them to receive therapy.
Additionally, One Collective continues to strive to nurture existing relationships with local youth service providers and deepen connections between School District U-46, nonprofits, churches, other counseling practices, and more. Many groups working with Elgin youth report a sense of disconnection between providers, lack of knowledge of resources, or duplication of services. One Collective hopes to continue bringing people together to support teachers, district staff, youth pastors, mentors, counselors, recreation facilitators, and everyone who works to empower young people in the community.
What’s Coming Next
National Impact
Our work is spreading! The Elgin Catalyst, Bobby, has been asked to oversee all of the One Collective US Area communities. These different locations all have unique focuses, teams, and their own strengths and weaknesses. It is exciting for Bobby to be able to help direct these US Area communities as they continue in their development, growth, and flourishing. You can learn more about these US communities on the One Collective global website, onecollective.org/communities.
Elgin Staff Growth
Here in Elgin, the One Collective team is also hoping to grow! There is a needs to find someone to lead anti-trafficking efforts, working to bring people together around these critical issues.
Additionally, there is a need to find someone passionate about spearheading the work to provide youth resources and engagement. Given that this is a consistent felt need, our goal is to fill this position with a person who can take charge in bring together youth services in healthy collaborations, deepen relationships within the local schools, and develop practical steps for the organization so every young person in Elgin has the best opportunity to thrive and feel supported.
In terms of growth, One Collective is also exploring the possibility of developing future catalysts in the Fox Valley in order to blanket the area with strategic, healthy, and helpful collaborations. The prayer is that God will help guide the vision for future One Collective communities throughout the region.
One Collective has another “first” in the works: encouraging Elgin residents to bundle up and raise cold, hard cash for The Coldest Night of the Year Walk. The family-friendly winter fundraising walk for Elgin’s homeless, hungry, and hurting will take place on the evening of February 24, 2024. One Collective is developing local sponsorships, generating teams of volunteers, finding team captains, and spreading the word to meet campaign goals and motivate walkers!
To better understand the experience of being on the streets during a cold Elgin winter, over 100 walkers on 20 teams are expected to participate. The funds raised will help us continue to advance our work of bringing people together to solve problems.
If you are interested in taking part in the walk, serving as a volunteer, or being a team captain, you can register at cnoy.com or reach out to Bobby at bobby.jackson@onecollective.org!
You Can Make an Impact
The key to lasting change is working together.
When you partner with our team in Elgin, your involvement means that needs across the city can be addressed. It's because of you that a foundation for lasting change is being built today. There are 4 things you can do right now:
Dream about what it could look like for every person in the City of Elgin would have access to food, freedom, and forgiveness. Begin to harness the energy that comes from that dreaming!
The more people that you tell what One Collective Elgin is doing, the more likely the person with the right resource will be matched with the person with the right need. Click here to see the social media page, then, click "share."
Partner financially. One Collective is currently fundraising to host the 2024 Kane County Anti-Trafficking Summit, build individual pop-up shelters for people who are homeless, bring on new staff to lead the anti-trafficking and youth engagement focuses, and preparing to engage in more areas as people come together. The more you give, the more can be accomplished!
Click here to become a financial partner and set-up a recurring monthly gift.
Come for a few hours and have some conversations. Meet the people you want to impact. Come meet a need. Click the button below to connect with one of our team members We’ll get to know you better, and you will be paired with a customized opportunity.
You can make an impact when you come together with the whole community