The Power of Together

Sue Wilson stood in front of a tower of Jenga blocks and nudged a middle block loose as attendance members waited to see if the tower would fall. It listed as Wilson told the crowd she was never any good at this game, but the structure did not topple. 

Wilson, who serves as the director of WeLIFT in Warren County, was delivering a metaphor on the power of collective impact, how, like the tower made up of individual blocks, the integrity of a community requires a strong bond between individual resources.

"Every block has to touch something else in order for this structure to stay stable," Wilson said during the launch party for the Thrive Iowa initiative. 

She pulled two more blocks out, demonstrating how weak the tower gets when more blocks are pulled away.

Representatives from the City of Indianola were present for the launch, as were elected officials, representatives from area faith-based organizations, public school officials and members of the health care industry. 

Wilson took her time and looked out across the room, giving each table equal attention. 

"Collective impact is not about doing more," she said. "It's about doing it together. It's about aligning our resources, our strengths, our talents, our gifts, for Warren County."

Warren County was one of five Iowa counties to celebrate the launch of the Thrive Iowa initiative in late June. 

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

Thrive Iowa is a community-led initiative build on the collective impact model to help families in Iowa move from crises to stability. Using resource navigation, partnerships with service providers and a shared case management system, Thrive Iowa brings services together so families can access help through one coordinated system.

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

Harvey and Thrive Iowa state director Page Humphrey were on hand at the launches, providing support for the county coordinators who have been hard at work getting the initiative off the ground in their respective counties.

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

Further west, in Cass County, Cass Health Chief Operating Officer Amanda Bireline told a crowded room at the Bluebird Club outside of Atlantic that Cass Health is invested in health equity. 

Cass Health serves as the backbone organization for Thrive Iowa of Cass County.

"What our communities are telling us they want is to be healthy and well before they get to the health care organization," Bireline said. "We are certainly here to support what that looks when they need us but health does not start in the hospital or clinic."

Bireline added that real solutions come from the communities that make up Cass County and stressed the importance of keeping vigilant about "what our families need."

In Black Hawk County, Quentin Hart told a standing-room only crowd of more than 80 attendees that Thrive Iowa is not only a nice idea but a response to something that is real. 

Hart, the former mayor of Waterloo, said he knows all too well the struggles the communities of Black Hawk County have faced throughout the years. He also knows his community's resilience.

"I have watched our cities and our communities face down real danger more than once," Hart said. "And every single time I had the pleasure to watch us do the same thing. We chose each other."

Roughly 16 percent of residents in Black Hawk County live below the Federal Poverty level.

Liz Crane, the coordinator for Thrive Iowa of Black Hawk County, said the passion that continues to be shown by the partners in her county has been incredible.

"Black Hawk County is full of organizations and people who are working hard to serve our community," Crane said. "I'm excited about the work we're doing together and the impact we're able to make."

Lee County was among the first counties to apply for and receive an RFP for the Thrive Iowa initiative. 

Tessa Schroeder is the Thrive Iowa coordinator serving Lee County, in the extreme southeast corner of Iowa. Lee County has been battling alarming rates of child abuse and crippling poverty. In Lee County alone, 21 percent of the children live below the 100 percent Federal Poverty Level.  

“To address the issues impacting struggling Iowa families, we need to address community-level barriers and also inspire hope that change is possible and that those in poverty can experience better lives for themselves and for their children,” Schroeder said.

"At it's heart it is a simple but powerful idea: coordinating existing services in our community so that more individuals and families in crisis are able to become stable and ultimately reach a place where they can truly thrive," Keokuk mayor Mark Smidt said at the launch celebration at the Quality Inn & Suites in Fort Madison. 

Smidt told a room of attendees that he's proud of the work being done on a daily basis to make Keokuk and the communities of Lee County as great as they can be. Then his tone changed as reality set in.

"But I also stand before you honest about our challenges," Smidt said.

Keokuk was nicknamed The Power City due to the hydroelectric power plant that was at one point the largest producers of electricity in the world. The irony of utility disconnections is not lost on the mayor.

"With the poverty rate in our city and the history of generational poverty that has touched too many of our families for too long, we know that good intentions are not enough," Smidt said. "I've seen too many families in need struggle to find resources and connect with the programs that they need to succeed."

Smidt brought some of the Keokuk power up to Fort Madison for the launch party and with it powered the emotions of the room with the sobering realities because the truth of the matter is that despite the launch being a celebration the reason it exists in the first place is to see an end to some life-changing issues plaguing Iowa's communities.

Currently Thrive Iowa is serving residents of Buena Vista, Cass, Webster, Madison, Warren, Black Hawk, Fayette, Clayton, Van Buren, Henry and Lee Counties, with plans to extend to serve more counties later in 2026 and more beyond that.

Thrive Iowa uses the Arkansas-based Restore Hope model. Restore Hope is a non-profit organization that began more than 10 years ago to help bring families from crises to stability and to help curb some of the state's alarming recidivism rates. The success Restore Hope had in Arkansas caught the attention of leaders in other states, including Iowa.

“This work matters because it strengthens the foundation every family needs; stability, connection and the chance to move forward with dignity,” Harvey said.

For more information on the Thrive Iowa initiative, visit https://hhs.iowa.gov/family-community/thrive-iowa.

"We need a model that works," Mayor Smidt said. "Thanks to Thrive Iowa, we now have one."