Thrive West Central, an innovative regional driver dedicated to enhancing community assets while improving the overall quality of life in West Central Indiana — including Sullivan County, announced the launch of Resilient, a regional recovery and resiliency plan to help our communities thrive.
Resilient was made possible through the $400,000 Economic Development Administration CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant that Thrive received in August.
“I want to express my gratitude for the funds we were awarded through EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant that has allowed us to launch Resilient,” said Ryan Keller, Executive Director at Thrive. “Over the course of the next 18 months, we will be collecting data through surveys, engaging with community members and determining next steps for our region. This cohesive, collaborative effort will better assist the communities we serve to overcome the impacts caused by COVID-19.”
Thrive will spend the next several months engaging and conversing with a diverse group of stakeholders to gain a clear picture of the regional challenges and opportunities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This comprehensive data collection and analysis process will culminate in the publication of a recovery and resiliency plan that will serve as a guide for communities as they look to emerge from the pandemic and work to rebuild their communities. Resilient will specifically look to engage with stakeholders and communities in Clay, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo counties.
“I am excited to begin work on this important effort,” said Alex Brown, Economic Recovery and Resiliency Coordinator at Thrive. “Communities throughout our region have already shown great resilience in responding to the hardships caused by the COVID-19, and we look forward to further equipping our communities to both recover from the pandemic and prepare for the challenges ahead.”
For first steps of in the stakeholder engagement process, Thrive is seeking responses to their COVID-19 economic endurance survey. The data collected from this survey will provide critical insight into the most pressing economic challenges caused by COVID-19. It will serve as the foundation for future forms of data collection. The economic endurance survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete and is open to anyone working in the above-mentioned counties.
If you have questions about the economic endurance survey or Resilient, please contact Thrive West Central. If you would like to participate in the survey, visit http://thrivewestcentral.com/economic/survey/.
By Times Staff
