Contact us:

info@livewelllakecountyil.org

Website:

http://www.livewelllakecountyil.org

Lake County, IL's largest collective impact initiative to advance health equity

We’re excited to introduce the leaders of the LWLC Technology Team, who bring diverse skills, passions and lived experiences to this work!

Rachel Chenier, Executive Director of the Family First Center of Lake County (FFC)

Since 2015, Rachel has led the Family First Center of Lake County, where she uses her expertise in strategic planning, fundraising and community engagement to strengthen operations and expand impact. Starting with the organization in 2009, Rachel has played a key role in elevating its profile, securing support and ensuring mission fulfillment. Most recently, Rachel has helped the organization achieve a huge milestone: becoming a Behavioral Health Clinic.

Kyara Morales-Rodriguez, Director of Marketing & Communications of the FFC

Since 2023, Kyara has managed the organization's communications with families and partners about upcoming events, resources and any important FFC news through its website, social media, newsletters and flyers. A proud Lake County resident, Kyara is honored to support the community she's been a part of for over 15 years, using her expertise to help make important information more accessible and create stronger connections in the Lake County community.

Together, Rachel and Kyara provide tech support through the creation of our LWLC website, email accounts and newsletter, helping us create stronger connections with healthcare providers, organizations and community leaders across Lake County.

Storytelling Work Group - Survey

The Storytelling Work Group Leaders thank everyone who participated in the group's recent presentation on the Melian Debate. They appreciate everyone's time and engagement during this crucial discussion for our community.

The group requests some quick feedback to help them improve future events. Please take a moment to complete the short survey by clicking the button below.

Your input means a lot and will help the Storytelling Work Group continue hosting meaningful conversations, helping them improve future discussions and events. Thank you!

Update from the LWLC Access to Care and Education Teams on the Community Health Education Project

Over the past two years, students from the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University (RFU) have worked with the Access to Care Team of Live Well Lake County (LWLC) Network. Together, we have carried out objectives from the current Community Health Improvement Plan that are focused on informing a community health curriculum.

In summer 2023, students worked with the Access to Care Team to develop a Community Conversation guide that could be used to host conversations with members of various community groups with the goal of understanding the health information needs of Lake County residents. Several Access to Care Team members then hosted 8 conversations with community members served by organizations including the Antioch Area Healthcare Accessibility Alliance, the Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee of Round Lake, the Family First Center of Lake County, PADS of Lake County, the LGBTQ+ Center of Lake County, Highwood Library and Advocate Food Rx in Lake Villa between Fall 2024-Spring 2025. This summer, RFU students reviewed summaries of these conversations to identify the key health topics our community members are seeking information on and how they wish to receive that information.

The key themes from the conversations were shared with the Access to Care Team and Peers with Lived Expertise Working Group in July 2025 to confirm they were on target and to gather additional insights. Students then compared the key health information needs identified by this process to results from a survey administered by the Access to Care Team in Spring 2023, which was sent to providers and organizations in Lake County to determine what their current health education offerings were. Based on gaps between what health information needs were identified via the community conversations and what health education efforts are currently being offered, the students then came up with a list of recommended health information topics that will now inform a community health curriculum to be developed and delivered by members of the Education Team of LWLC. Stay tuned to learn more about this exciting development!

LWLC and the Collective Impact Framework

It has been said that the Live Well Lake County (LWLC) Network is Lake County’s largest collective impact initiative to advance health equity. But what do we mean by "Collective Impact"?

For starters, there is an actual (national) strategic group called the Collective Impact Forum (https://collectiveimpactforum.org/about-us/). Several LWLC Network leaders have worked directly with this amazing team of strategic practitioners for community-centered solutions.

Secondly, there is an actual framework called the Collective Impact Framework (https://collectiveimpactforum.org/what-is-collective-impact/). Here is a link to a very brief (2 minute) video, giving a basic overview of what the Collective Impact Framework is: https://youtu.be/pzmMk63ihNM

The Collective Impact Framework made its initial public launch in the Winter of 2011, with an article appearing in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The link to this article is here, for reference: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/collective_impact

Since this formative article was released in 2011, much has continued to be learned (especially through putting these strategic principles into practice).

One more recent article has been posted (linked here), which outlines additional principles of practice that can help guide practitioners in successfully putting collective impact into practice. This posting can be found here: https://collectiveimpactforum.org/blog/collective-impact-principles-of-practice-putting-collective-impact-into-action/

Please be assured that as the Live Well Lake County Network continues to develop, deepen, and expand, the LWLC Leadership Team will continue to

pay close attention to (as well as closely participate in) what is continuing to be learned through our collective efforts and co-investments in our communities and in partnership with our community members. 

Bottom line – None of us is able, on our own, to solve the complex problems our communities and community members face.

Solving these complex problems requires a range of expertise and perspective from a large number of diverse organizations, as well as

individuals who are not necessarily attached to any specific organization. 

In the coming months and in the new year, we will be sharing more specific information about aspects of the Collective Impact Framework – and its integration and intersection with the work and partnerships within the Live Well Lake County Network!

For now, please know that you are cared for and needed and that your specific areas of focus and expertise are very important and valuable to

the overall work of fulfilling LWLC’s Vision to see:


"A thriving Lake County that:

• Offers all community members truly equitable access to a healthy life;
• Recognizes and supports all dimensions of life, health and well-being; and;
• Seeks, reflects and lifts up the unique voices, experiences, beliefs and priorities of all members of our diverse communities."

The Village of Gurnee’s Gurnee Cares Grant Program partners with nonprofits and community organizations that serve Gurnee residents to expand reach, address urgent needs, and pilot effective new initiatives—building a more connected, resilient community.

This new grant program offers nonprofit organizations the opportunity to apply for up to $30,000 in funding to support programs in these priority need areas:

• Food security
• Utility/financial aid
• Housing & homelessness prevention
• Mental health & substance use
• Transportation
• Senior support
• Child & family support

The first step in the process is to submit a Letter of Intent by Friday, November 21, 2025. The Commission will review all entries as part of a preliminary screening process to verify organizational and program eligibility. Selected applicants will then be invited to submit a full grant application. After the Gurnee Cares Commission makes its recommendations, the Village Board will provide final approval of grant awards, with awards expected to be presented on Monday, February 2, 2026.

In the Letters of Intent, applicants will be asked to describe how their proposed programs will benefit the Gurnee community. Grantees will be eligible to receive up to 25% of their total award in advance, with the remaining funds distributed on a monthly reimbursement basis. All awarded funds must be utilized within 12 months of the award date.

For questions, please reach out to Matt Trujillo at mtrujillo@village.gurnee.il.us

Letters of Intent can be submitted to: GurneeCares@village.gurnee.il.us

Housing Action Team

Housing Action Team meetings are held on the fourth Monday of each month from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Please contact Liz Nelson or Joel Williams  for any questions and a link to join the meeting.



Peers with Lived Expertise (PLE)

Peers with Lived Expertise (PLE) meetings are held every other Thursday from 6:00 -7:00 p.m. These meetings are held via Google Meet.

Please contact Makiya, Bruce or Frank for any questions and a link to join the meeting.

Storytelling Working Group Storytelling Working Group meetings are held on the last Friday of each month at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Please contact Shonta Coleman or Idriss Joseph for any questions or a link to join the meeting.