The Launch into a New Era

STORM LAKE – It took a horrible tragedy in a state roughly 700 miles south of Storm Lake for a crowded room of kind-hearted people to celebrate the launch of something great.

In 2013, career criminal Darrell Dennis was released from jail in Arkansas. Dennis was no stranger to the confines of a prison cell and the debate over whether or not he should have been re-released can't undo the consequences of his fateful actions.

Just one day after being released from jail, Dennis abducted 18-year-old Forrest Abrams at a Little Rock gas station and then shot him four times in the back and left him on the street to die.

Cold. Heartless. Unjust.

The outrage went beyond the public.

"It was one of those catalytic events that captured the state's attention, and the state legislators' attention," Restore Hope executive director Paul Chapman told a crowded dining room at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake when telling the story.

Chapman, who was in Storm Lake to celebrate the launch of the Thrive Iowa initiative, was integral in the events of change that transpired from the Abrams slaying.

With the rates of violent crime, opioid use, and recidivism among the highest in the nation, Arkansas leaders knew a change needed to be made to the model of how the citizens of their state were being served. The old methods were not working.

In 2015, then-governor Asa Hutchinson gathered members of the state's faith communities to brainstorm ideas for a solution. Chapman was part of that summit.

Chapman had read a paper authored by Stanford University years prior about the proven benefits of collective impact and he had a lightbulb moment that changed how families of the most impoverished counties in Arkansas were being served. 

Chapman formed a small team and the nonprofit Restore Hope was established.

The Restore Hope model eschews the traditional apply-and-wait style of state government assistance by using resources within the very communities families reside. When talking about the collective impact model, Chapman often analogizes the construction of a new home. The plumbers specialize in getting water in and out of the home. Electricians wire the home for power. Foundation crews pour the concrete. All answer to the project manager. It made sense to Chapman that if this cohesion worked so efficiently in the trades it should work in getting families to the specific help they need.

In its first decade, Restore Hope has brought thousands of Arkansas families out of crises and into stability and beyond. The success of the program caught the attention of leaders in other states, including Iowa. 

In early 2024, Iowa governor Kim Reynolds proposed the Thrive Iowa initiative based on the Restore Hope model. After much planning and the selection of sites, Thrive Iowa began rolling out in February of 2026.  

Thrive Iowa is a community-led initiative using resource navigation, partnerships with service providers and a shared case management system to help families access help through one coordinated system.

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Buena Vista County was among the first seven Thrive Iowa sites. Thrive Iowa of Buena Vista County has been accepting referrals since early 2026, and has already witnessed success.

On Monday, Oct. 19, with city and business leaders on hand, Thrive Iowa of Buena Vista County celebrated its official launch.

Coordinator Sarah Johnson led the event, speaking on the importance of collective impact. She also shared a success story from a mother and daughter who were in and out of homelessness before they learned about Thrive Iowa.

"We're proud to mark the official launch of Thrive Iowa because it represents a real shift in how we show up for families," Janée Harvey, director of family well-being and support at the Iowa Health and Human Services, said recently. 

Harvey and Thrive Iowa state director Page Humphrey were on hand at the launch, providing support for Johnson and her two resource navigators, Ana Gonzalez and Carter Anderson, who have been hard at work getting the initiative off the ground.

"The launch is a chance to celebrate some early successes and build on that momentum," Harvey said.

Retired juvenile court judge Mary Timko was the keynote speaker at the launch event. She praised the Thrive Iowa initiative for the work done so far in the communities of Buena Vista County and for how easy it is for families to navigate.

"Families should not have to tell the same painful story repeatedly to disconnected offices. Nor should they have to be defined by the hardest season of their lives," Timko told the crowd. 

"Collaboration can move a community from reacting to a crisis toward preventing them," Timko said. She noted distinct similarities between the Thrive Iowa initiative and the family treatment court, which brought together school and government agencies as well as health and other partners to help residents of Buena Vista County.

"Thrive Iowa unites people around a shared goal," Timko said.

The butterfly effect that started more than a decade ago at an Arkansas gas station has reached Iowa in a major way. The good being done today doesn't undo the tragedy that took place in 2013, but the outcome as a result of that collision of fates has had a lasting impact on thousands of families across multiple states.

"I'm excited to see what you do here in Buena Vista County," Chapman said.