Your One-Stop Shop for Community Well-being
Resources, services, and connection – all under one roof.
Community Resource Hubs strengthen local economies, expand access to services, and encourage collaboration through shared space and resources. A Resource Hub serves as a one-stop shop that that brings together health and social services, economic supports, and community‑building activities in a single, easy to access location. Help us plan our way to a Grand Community!
About the Centralized Building Concept
The Grand County Rural Health Network is exploring the development of a centralized building that would bring together government and nonprofit social services, businesses, and other community resources. This idea has been in discussion for over twenty years, and multiple community needs assessments have identified a Resource Hub as a promising solution to better meet local needs. The goal is simple: bring essential community services together in one place to improve access, coordination, and efficiency.
Planning Progress
Phase 1: Community Engagement (July-November 2023)
The Network conducted a Phase 1 planning process to re-engage the community and assess current levels of interest and support for a centralized building. We worked in partnership with The Steadman Group, a Colorado-based consulting firm with expertise in community health, behavioral health, and collaborative building models and implementation. The Steadman Group produced a findings report summarizing input, themes, and recommendations from Phase 1. A summary and the full report are available below.
Phase 2: Feasibility & Business Plan (through September 2026)
Grand County Rural Health Network has again contracted with The Steadman Group to lead initial Phase 2 planning. This includes a comprehensive Feasibility Study to evaluate financial, operational, technical, and legal viability. We are actively pursuing additional funding to support the remaining Phase 2 work, which involves developing a Business Plan that will outline ownership, governance, tenant mix, and long-term sustainability. Funding award notifications are anticipated early this summer.
Stay Connected!
If you would like to stay informed on the planning process, please sign up for email updates by clicking the link below.
Phase 1 Summary
Phase I included focus groups of people who would use the building, one in English and one in Spanish, three stakeholder meetings, and a stakeholder survey. The goal of Phase I was to identify level of community support, educate the community on the model, and identify partners and level of interest. Overall, community support was positive. The majority (82%) of survey respondents either strongly support or support the idea of a centralized building for various social and community services in Grand County.
Click here to view the Executive Summary. For the full Grand County Business and Resource Hub Report, click the button below.
Focus Groups
The Network and the Steadman Group conducted two focus group meetings in September 2023. The purpose of these focus groups was to refresh the knowledge of the experiences and needs of people who would use a hub. In addition, the focus group findings informed the next steps in the project, including the stakeholder meetings, recommendations on a feasibility framework, the stakeholder survey, and the report recommendations. Participants also provided basic anonymized demographic information that spanned age, sex, family status, and other categories, including residence. Facilitators asked the focus groups questions on, e.g., their current challenges, services needs, location of the hub, important hub design features, and amenities.
Stakeholder Survey
We distributed a Stakeholder Survey throughout the community in early November 2023 to gauge the level of support or involvement of potential partners and tenants in the Business and Resource Hub Centralized Building. We will use data from this survey to solidify commitments as we take our next steps towards making this building a reality. Check back here for future updates.
Stakeholder Meetings
We engaged all types of stakeholders through focus groups and public planning meetings, and learned more about the Grand County community’s needs, thoughts on feasibility, economic benefits, and support. Meetings took place October 11 and 12, 2023, and over 45 partners, stakeholders and community members attended. Click here to view the Stakeholder meeting presentation.
Concept History
A Centralized Business & Resource Hub continues to arise as a community need to better support Grand County’s service organizations and businesses. Community members impacted by social barriers (e.g. housing, transportation and income, etc.) have identified the need of a Resource Hub to make applying for and receiving social services more accessible and efficient for community members and service organizations. A Resource Hub is also a priority strategy identified by stakeholders and impacted community members in our recent communitywide behavioral health strategic plan to significantly improve mental health individually and as a community.
Centralized buildings are evidence-based models proven to help improve access to services and resources, reduce organizational costs, and improve the local economy. Our plan for a centralized building will be informed by existing, successful models.
Resources listed below can help you understand centralized buildings’ research and models:
- Why Nonprofit Centers Matter to Communities
- 2016 Perception Survey Results
- Ownership structure and model examples
Please contact Amanda Uehlein or Christine Smith by email or phone: 970-725-3477 if you have any questions.