thecommunitywewill.org

The Community We Will is a broad based community effort to engage all Clark County residents in answering one profoundly important question, "What kind of community do we 'will' for our children, especially those at risk of child abuse and neglect?" We now have very strong evidence that adverse early childhood experiences, particularly abuse and neglect and its related trauma, have profound affects on the adult lives of such children. At the same time, separating children from parents who can be helped to safely parent only adds one more trauma along the pathway to adulthood for such children.

The fabric of children's welfare cannot be woven entirely from government programs, or even the joint efforts of government and nonprofit organizations. This fabric begins with a community's commitment to the well-being of all children, ensuring that children are safe and that their educational, health, mental health and social development needs are met.

In most all cultures, the family is the primary source of safety and nurture. But in all cultures it is also true that the nuclear family is assisted and augmented by extended family, the clan or tribe, neighbors and the community at large. This has been true for all time and it remains true today.

Most children who experience abuse and neglect do not need to lose the family that created the child in order to remain safe and to develop well. But families struggling with poverty, mental illness, substance abuse and domestic violence can reach thresholds at which strengths that once existed are no longer able to provide the protection and nurture needed. For the most part, these are temporary circumstances if parents can get the support and help they need. This requires the commitment of the community as a whole, a community that sees families as a solution rather than as simply the problem, a community willing to help rather than just blame.

We believe that the citizens of Clark County imbue personal and religious values born of compassion and personal commitment. We believe that beyond the colorful lights and magnificent buildings of the Las Vegas Strip there are neighborhoods whose permanent members prefer that their community be known for the quality of its character, who share a vision of Clark County as a place where children grow to become contributing adults and families can get the help they need to make this happen. The Community We Will is about the social fabric with which we wrap children and families and protect and nurture their future and the future of our community.