Meet Peggy Shea

The miles are long between the small communities of Fayette and Clayton counties. For some, traveling those beautiful rolling hills of northeast Iowa by car is out of the question. 

Lack of reliable transportation is one of the larger issues families are struggling with in Peggy Shea’s part of the state. 

“Transportation is a big issue,” Shea said. “We’re very rural and there are not a lot of transportation options if you don’t have vehicles.” 

Shea is the newly-hired coordinator for Thrive Iowa of Fayette and Clayton counties. 

“Getting to and from employment can be a hard time. And that can be a barrier to actually getting employment if you don't have the ability to get there,” Shea said. 

Shea said it’s not uncommon for the residents of her counties to have to drive to another town for work. It’s not uncommon for them to need reliable transportation to even get to the grocery store for basic necessities. 

“The nearest Walmart is half an hour drive for some," Shea said. 

Shea has worked most of her professional career in Fayette and Clayton counties. She knows the communities, the people, and, more importantly, what their needs are. She’s hoping to be able to serve them by connecting them to resources that will help them get to a position of stability and eventually a place where they are flourishing.  

“We're here to make it easier for the people in need to get that assistance,” Shea said. 

In addition to transportation, housing remains a top concern in Fayette and Clayton counties.  

Families in Shea’s communities have a new way of getting connected to resources that can help them. 

Fayette and Clayton counties are two of 11 Iowa counties that are participating in the Thrive Iowa initiative.  

Thrive Iowa State Director Page Humphrey said the goal is to eventually reach all 99 counties in Iowa, but the program is starting with communities that were determined to be high priority.  

“The sites that we’re implementing early on are prioritized based on need,” Humphrey told a gathering in Fort Madison recently. “Factors like the number of children in foster care, families living in poverty, and unemployment rates.” 

Thrive Iowa uses the Arkansas-based Restore Hope model. Restore Hope is a nonprofit organization that began more than 10 years ago to help bring families from crises to stability. 

Paul Chapman, executive director of Restore Hope, recently spoke with community leaders in Warren and Madison County during a collective impact meeting. 

“Collective impact is a structured way for government and community groups to work toward the same outcomes using shared data and measuring outcomes,” Chapman said. 

Chapman started Restore Hope in 2015 with the help of then-Governor Asa Hutchinson as Arkansas was faced with an alarming crisis among young families and high incarceration rates. Through local partnerships, a ‘for the community by the community’ approach, Arkansas communities were able to provide targeted support and guidance to families in need of assistance in the areas that affected them most. 

Shea is optimistic that Thrive Iowa will help the families in her area find the resources they need to find some solid ground. 

Speaking about the resiliency of the people of Fayette and Clayton counties, Shea said her neighbors are people who “continue to push forward even when they have setbacks.”  

She’s optimistic the Thrive Iowa program will continue the work other organizations around the region have been doing to help connect the residents to resources. 

“That’s the goal I think most everybody we talk to,” Shea said. “What can we do to push forward so we can do better?”