One at a Time

From the inception of CivCom in Lake County, beginning in FY 21/22, Provider staff encountered several significant barriers to garnering community trust, identifying key collaborators, and generally finding warm and welcoming partners to allow us at “the table.” Examples of these initial challenges included being escorted out of a school, encountering siloed community agencies that actively blocked our communications, and finding a solid wall between Provider staff even such agencies as the local Department of Health.

However, during subsequent years, Lake County staff has steadfastly forged ahead to not only accomplish critical BTFF deliverables, but also significantly increase Tobacco Free Partnership awareness, cultivate impactful SWAT Club(s) across local middle and high schools, secure key policy wins, and truly reach the heart of our Lake County community. Our team achieved this by making one friend at a time, finding common ground inch by inch, and consistently serving as that one reliable entity who remains professional, responsive, and polite.

This persistent “one at a time” approach finally yielded major traction, leading to substantial progress through quarters 2 and 3 of FY 25/26 and laying a strong foundation to kick off FY 26/27. Beyond solidly connecting and collaborating with previously elusive partners, our team is now proactively invited to major community events, internal agency meetings, community action meetings, and outreach initiatives from which we were formerly excluded. So many new “tables” have opened up to us across the county! Furthermore, CivCom is now frequently called upon as trusted subject matter experts in tobacco prevention and public health advocacy, maintaining a solid reputation for delivering exceptional support and resources to our community partners.

The work of public health is not always easy, immediate, or seamless. Building lasting infrastructure and community trust is often slow, incremental work that must be done “one at a time.” However, as our recent successes demonstrate, it is always worth the sustained investment of patience, strategic outreach, and professional excellence to meaningfully impact the holistic health and wellness of our community both today and for generations to come.