Lauren Zuchman - BeWellPBC
Emmanuel "Dupree" Jackson - EJS Project
BeWellPBC is a countywide collective impact initiative transforming behavioral health and wellness for all residents of Palm Beach County. Initiative design in 2018 resulted from the Parkland school shooting, community recognition of structural racism, and local health assessments creating urgency to address children’s behavioral health in a new way. BeWellPBC sought to move from traditional funder-provider decision-making to a community-driven dynamic with funders and providers participating, re-imagining a children’s behavioral health governance structure that distributes leadership with community and systems co-designing solutions. This presentation will highlight what happens when power is shifted back to the “inside”, when we envision and implement systems of care that invest in self-reliance and trust in the expertise of those most impacted and highlight the power of community accountability and leadership utilizing The EJS Project as a case example, a youth program with the mission of building and empowering tomorrow’s leaders and their supporters, challenges the status quo and lets those who need it, lead it.