In our county, accessing health and social services can often feel like navigating a maze. While resources exist, they are not always well-coordinated, leaving many residents struggling to find the support they need. That’s why the Washtenaw Health Initiative, along with our stakeholder organizations, is exploring the merits of a community care hub model—a shared hub designed to better integrate health and social services, ensuring individuals and families can access the right care at the right time.
But what should this hub look like? What services should it provide and what would make those services easy to access? How can it truly reflect the needs and priorities of our community? To answer these questions, we are turning to the experts: community residents with lived experience.
The Role of Community Co-Design
Rather than designing this hub from the top down, the WHI is embracing a community co-design approach—an inclusive process that brings residents, health and social service providers, and other decision-makers together to collaboratively shape solutions. This model ensures that those most impacted by the limitations of the current system are active participants in designing a new one.
At the heart of this effort is the WHI Community Advisory Board (CAB), a diverse group of community residents who have firsthand experience navigating health and social services in our county. Their voices, insights, and recommendations are guiding the conversation about what an effective community care hub should look like.
In talking about how programs and services have been traditionally designed, Angela Moore, a WHI Steering Committee Community Ambassador and CAB member talks about how organizations “are coming up with a service without looking at or speaking to the people you’re providing the service for. That would be like my doctor just looking at me or looking at the statistics of where I live and basing my care plan on that and never having a conversation with me.”
From Lived Experience to Lasting Solutions
The CAB is not just offering feedback. They will be co-creators in this process. Through facilitated discussions, listening sessions, and working group meetings, board members are helping to identify gaps in services, highlight what is working, and propose solutions that are realistic, culturally responsive, and effective.
“It’s not only bad experiences,” says Sharon Moore, WHI Co-Chair and CAB member. “We’re talking about identifying the wrongs and addressing them, and talking about the good things, so that those good things can be married [to a Community Care Hub].”
This collaborative effort ensures that the community care hub will not be just another program designed for the community—it will be a resource designed with the community. By centering lived experience, we are building a system that is more accessible, equitable, and responsive to the real needs of residents.
Join the Conversation
The work of envisioning a community care hub is just beginning, and we invite more voices to be part of the process. Whether you are a resident, a service provider, or a community advocate, your input is valuable in shaping a system that works for everyone.
“Be a part of a resolution, as opposed to just sitting back and watching everyone have problems,” CAB member Debbie Vinson says to those looking to get involved, adding “I believe people have talents, and if they have the time they should reach out and try to use them to help people.”
Together, we are building more than a hub. We are strengthening the fabric of our community, ensuring that health and social services are connected, compassionate, and community-driven.
For more information on how to get involved, reach out to whi-communications@umich.edu.