The United States Census Bureau reported 18.7% of Fayette County residents are living in poverty. Of that 18.7%, 19.1% of Fayette County residents living in poverty are below the age of 18. This means nearly 1/5 of those living in poverty in Fayette County are children and adolescents. As a concerned resident and high school basketball coach living in Fayette County, I vividly see first-hand the kind of turmoil our students bear witness to on a daily basis. Drugs, violence, poverty, and mental illness are just a few of the tumultuous obstacles our youth living in Fayette County face as a result of a broken system. My heart aches for those who are young and full of life, yet have their life cut too short due to a society that doesn’t have the resources to effectively support them. I, Aaron Zolbrod, in partnership with Terry Vassar, dedicated citizens of Fayette County, and the support of the Commissioners, have crafted a vision for a better Fayette County. One Voice One Community, will act as a comprehensive network to support the unique needs of Fayette County youth. As a 501-c3 organization, our mission is to provide a sustainable network of support for human-service organizations, in an effort to disseminate and promote usage, accessibility, resource-sharing, and opportunity to the youth of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Our ultimate goal is that no child is denied the proper support they need to become their most authentic self, while in search of their pursuit of happiness. One Voice One Community will provide a network of support, implementation, and accessibility to the County’s readily-available youth social services. Our organization, strategically located on centric West Fayette Street, will act as a bridge of support for all youth-centric non-profit organizations, while filling a myriad of community service needs that recognize and advance an adolescent individual’s or family’s social-determinants of health. In addition, One Voice One Community will have a strategic organizational partnership with 180 Degrees (180°), a revolutionary afterschool program model developed by Terry Vassar, in alignment with the National Mentoring Program Standards. As such, core programming will have a hyper-focus on academic skill building such as tutoring, and college/career preparation, as well as mental wellness and advocacy services concentrated on grief counseling and depression/suicide awareness for our local youth. One Voice Once Community will utilize the following five strategic goals as key operational pillars:
Goal #1: Create a shared, open, and accessible strategic network of youth-service organizations and professionals. Goal #2: Identify resource gaps via interoperable and standardized data on social needs, and on the conditions in which Fayette County youth live, learn, work, and play. Goal #3: Create an inclusive and comprehensive plan for addressing gaps in social-services, inclusive of welfare, anti-violence, self-sufficiency, education, and equity. Goal #4: Provide a hub for resource and service accessibility, dissemination, and delivery. (Let’s Overcome Violence Everywhere), a community-centric mentality to care for our youth via financial and service-oriented support. In direct alignment with the needs of Fayette County, we are hopeful you will join us in this vital community endeavor. Our youth, and their lives, depend on it.
