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News of OrangeHome Family Success Alliance targets poverty in children, families Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2015 7:00 am By Amanda VanDerBroek, News of Orange staff writer, a.vanderbroek@newsoforange.com The voice of poverty is all too often a quiet one. But the Family Success Alliance hopes to forge change in Orange County by creating a pipeline of success for children. On Tuesday, Dec. 16, the group made a step toward that goal by choosing two zones out of six identified within the county to pilot the program. Those selected were zone 4, an area located between Interstates 40 and 85 in central Orange County—which includes A.L. Stanback Middle School and New Hope Elementary—and zone 6, a densely populated area that encompasses downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro southwest of N.C. 54. “The idea is to increase outcomes for children and famili es that are struggling in Orange County,” Meredith McMonigle, Family Success Alliance project coordinator, said. “There’s not a real deep awareness about the existence of those families in Orang e County. I think part of that initial priority is just to sta rt that conversation that those communities exist here, and this project is designed to support those children and families.” How it started McMonigle said Family Success Alliance grew out of discussions in spring of 2014 when the county commissioners soug ht to address the increasing rate of child poverty. Data provided by the Orange County Health Department shows the percentage of children living in poverty has increased in both the county and state in recent years. In 2011, 16.8 percent of children were l iving in poverty compared to 9.4 percent in 2001. McMonigle said looking at successful models across the naiton combating poverty like the Harlem Children’s Zone and the Promise Neighborhoods, the county set out to initiate its own program–and Family Success Alliance was born. Health Department Communications Manager Stacy Shelp said six zones were identified as being locations in the county that had higher rates of poverty. “The purpose of the Family Success Alliance was, once those zones were identified and then the two selected from the application process, was to really create a pipeline where kids aren’t falling through the cracks anymore, that’s kind of a c radle to either college or career success stream for them,” Shelp said. “So it’s going to be an o ngoing, this is going to be a long-term project for the county.” McMonigle said another key component is that it’s a collaboration based on research. “So the health department is the catalyst for getting the project off the ground, but we’re sort of servin g behind the scenes as a backbone structure to bring together this collaboration,” McMonigle said. “Anybody and any entity that is working to support children and families we’ll want at the table.”