FEC has adopted the mission of improving the lives of people living in East Chicago. To do this, they distribute scholarships to students, give grants to East Chicago organizations and implement a host of other strategies as well. One of the ways that FEC is able to do all of this is through its collaborative approach.
This collaborative approach works by FEC partnering with community organizations with the goal of developing programs that will work to improve the city of East Chicago. In many of these relationships, FEC provides the funding while the partnering organizations work to carry out the programs.
FEC has two major networks involved in its collaborative approach which are the Education Collaboration Network and the Public Safety Collaboration Network.
The Public Safety Collaboration Network includes five strategies that work to enhance public safety in the city of East Chicago. The first strategy is to reduce crime.
Combating school truancy is one strategy used to reduce crime. To do this, FEC partnered with the East Chicago Police Department to implement a School Truancy Initiative. This program involves police intervention for students who repeatedly miss school.
The second strategy is to build neighborhoods. The ECPD has played a huge role in this strategy as well, particularly with its Citizens Police Academy. This program helps to build relationships between community members and law enforcement officials so as to improve security within East Chicago neighborhoods.
The third strategy that FEC implements is strengthening youth programs and the fourth is strengthening families. FEC collaborates with many organizations that offer programs for youth and families including, but not limited to, the Salvation Army of East Chicago, Feed My Sheep and the Food Bank of NWI.
Finally, the fifth strategy that FEC uses to increase public safety in East Chicago is to ensure early intervention and a continuum of care. This is meant to create long term success for high risk residents of East Chicago by providing necessary resources and teaching self-sufficiency, beginning with prenatal care for expectant mothers.
By implementing all of these strategies, FEC has been working to improve the lives of East Chicago residents for several years. This collaborative approach builds a network of relationships producing creative options to addressing common problems.
