Mapping the Future: Woodbury County Services Collaborate

Faith Rattei makes time to volunteer with her church.  

On a recent sunny fall morning, she visited the Dream Center in Sioux City, Iowa to learn how she and her friends in the Exceed Ministry at Elevate Community Church can financially help local people. Specifically, she hoped to discover how to make the donations to her church go further, and how they can accomplish change for people more quickly. 

“It’s a little tricky,” she shared. “Our intention is to help people in emergencies, but our system is slow. Honestly, this is something I was going to ask my husband to develop, but if it obviously exists, we don’t want to reinvent the wheel.” 

Rattei and about 40 others gathered at the Dream Center for the Thrive Iowa of Woodbury County Asset Mapping and Connection Provider Training in late October to learn about the initiative's collective impact model and how it coordinates services efficiently using collaborative software. 

Attendees were invited to join the Thrive Iowa of Woodbury County Alliance, a community-led initiative of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services that helps move people from crisis to stability, with goals of eventually thriving. 

As of October 30, 2026, 463 Iowa families have participated in Thrive Iowa, which began rolling out in February 2026 and now spans 22 counties, with more to come. Data collected by the initiative shows 57 participants have moved from crisis to being employed, with a 90.51% employment retention rate. Other support areas with significant improvement include food security, safe housing and financial stability. 

Sharing Knowledge, Sharing Services 

During the asset mapping portion of the meeting, leaders from care services and organizations located in Northwest Iowa and surrounding areas brainstormed, identified and shared resources to assist Iowans in 13 core areas of support: housing, legal, food, childcare, financial security, employment, mental health, dental health, physical health, substance recovery, safety, education and transportation. 

At each table, someone carefully gathered and listed all the resources for each category. When done, the colorful sticky papers were added to the coordinating posters hung around the meeting room. Slowly, the white sheets turned into bright mosaics of assistance, filled with names and ideas. 

Jamie Smith, Community Success Manger with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services; Tito Parker, Thrive Iowa of Woodbury County Coordinator; and Carlos Garbutt, Community Success Specialist with Restore Hope, led the exercise.  

“Asset mapping is going to help Tito and the navigators get a full picture of the resources that are available in Woodbury County. Also, think outside of Sioux City. I know sometimes we get locked in on those larger areas, but think of rural communities as well,” Smith instructed. 

After all ideas were posted, Smith visited each poster, reading the suggestions aloud so attendees could take notes and ask questions. Representatives from the agencies and organizations spoke up to elaborate on services offered, identify gaps or clarify requirements for assistance.  

The room buzzed with suggestions, feedback and inspiration. 

Olyvia Selby, Career Navigation Manager for Goodwill of the Great Plains, chimed in when the conversation focused on helping people secure employment or advance into a new position. She let everyone know Goodwill has a job center with free services that’s open weekdays, and they take private appointments for individualized resume development and interview preparation.  

“We also offer work training programs. We call them pre-vocational services, where you work at out store, or in our production, or in other areas within our company and earn a paycheck while you learn and build your soft skills.” 

Some community members asked if the coordinated efforts extend outside of Woodbury County. Parker explained that participants must be residents of Woodbury County (or another Iowa county in the initiative), be at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, a US citizen or legal resident, and a caretaker or parent of a related minor or be pregnant. 

“Other agencies in other counties are plugging their stuff in. You’ll be able to see that information and what’s going on as well, not just in our county,” he added.  

This approach expands the collective impact, allowing organizations in nearby counties to join and assist Woodbury County residents. For example, a statewide service based in Lee County can be accessed by Woodbury County residents. 

Bringing Community Resources Together 

After the asset mapping portion of the meeting ended, attendees learned about the software that brings all the services, providers and participants together. 

Alliance members join and work together through HopeHub, a collaboration software that improves services coordination and measures outcomes. When someone reaches out for support, a referral for services can be made, an assessment completed, and a support team assembled. Each participant is paired with a Thrive Iowa Navigator as a main point of contact, to streamline and expedite the process. The Woodbury County Navigators are Megen Noll and Deb DeBoer. 

Rattei’s church is now listed in HopeHub so support providers in the area can easily connect with her when they have a referral who might fit the church’s criteria for emergency financial assistance. 

“We have the freedom to put our money anywhere. Churches have that freedom. Institutions are more contained by the rules for their funding and grants,” Rattei added. “I worked at a church for 20 years before my current life, and I’ve always wanted to do this.”