Latest news with #CovenantHouse
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Remaining Nimble In Times Of Upheaval
The ground keeps shifting beneath our feet. In the span of 48 hours last week, I had a government contract for a program on crisis communications cancelled, reinstated, and cancelled again. I don't dare remove the program from my calendar in case it gets reinstated again. Fortunately, government contracts make up a small fraction of my work, so this isn't a crisis for me. But for all of us, the uncertainty in the business world can suck up precious time and mental energy, as well as cause us to hold off making decisions. Here are some suggestions for helping you steady the ship and move forward as you're buffeted by shifting headwinds and powerful waves of change. Reinforce for yourself and your team your core identity. We can't pivot if we don't have a starting point. A basketball player pivots effectively because she keeps one foot planted. She knows her starting point. If your team or your entire organization is threatened with external, arbitrary change, in your next meeting, remind everyone what you all stand for. Publicly articulating both your values and your mission will help you remember the underlying principles that will guide your decisions as you're caught up in the maelstrom. When Covenant House, a non-profit organization that houses young people experiencing homelessness, was instructed by various government agencies to limit the number of youth in its shelters during the Covid epidemic, the senior leadership could have frozen or panicked. Instead, they reminded themselves of the organization's mission to never turn away a kid in need. Knowing that remaining open is essential to their identity gave them the starting point for their decision-making. Since denying shelter to someone was not an option, the alternative was to turn offices, conference rooms, and other spaces into sleeping quarters. Knowing their mission also helped spur the creativity they needed when addressing how to feed, educate, and address medical needs of their residents. Remind yourself of the limits within which your organization operates. Although some groups are good at ignoring the rules of the game, most of us don't have that luxury, or that chutzpah. We're not only a nation of laws, but a business community bound by certain rules and regulations. Sometimes, those rules feel like restrictions. But sometimes, legal limits on our behavior make our decisions easier by taking certain actions off the table. When asked to take certain actions, being able to respond with, 'We're simply not allowed to do that,' can shift the conversation. When the pandemic struck, shuttering restaurants and cafeterias across the country, Dot Foods, Inc., the nation's largest food redistributor, found itself with massive amounts of food stuck in a supply chain that had ground to a halt. Some of their inventory is perishable and can't be sold beyond a particular date. Part of their corporate ethos is to minimize waste and support the communities in which they operate. The combination of knowing their limits and knowing themselves allowed them to pivot quickly and increase their donations to food pantries across the country. Gather ideas from outside the normal team. Your organization has a lot of talent. How well are you tapping into it? The demands some are faced with these days are not only novel, but they are also shockingly contrarian to the way we have always operated. Your immediate team is practiced at thinking and communicating a certain way. In times of upheaval, we need not only new ideas, but new ways of thinking. You may be well served by bringing different voices into the conversation. That doesn't mean opening up your Executive Committee to the entire firm. It means asking each person on your leadership team to reach out to people they may not normally interact with to understand the perspectives of those on the ground. If your leadership team communicates directly with voices and perspectives from which they are normally insulated, your team's ability to brainstorm new approaches expands dramatically. Many public-private partnerships exemplify the increased ability to tackle problems better by leveraging a variety of perspectives in the conversation. The Emerging Leaders Program – Bronx – is the classic example of this type of success. ELP-Bx works with six high schools in the South Bronx to expose young scholars to leadership skills and careers and help them see new paths for success in life. The organization is thriving because of the significant involvement of senior leaders in state and local government as well as at firms like JPM Asset Management and Brookfield Properties, among others. John Garibaldi, ELP Bx founder, says, 'Obviously, financial support from corporate sponsors and individual donors is essential to our success. But equally important are the ideas and perspectives that our partners in education, government, and business share in our consultation discussions. We couldn't accomplish all we have if we limited our conversations to people from one discipline, regardless of how smart they are. The plurality of perspectives is essential.' Stay humble. Learning requires humility. Changing course requires acknowledging mistakes. That's not failure; that's bravery. Ask yourself two questions: On a scale of 0-10, how much of a perfectionist am I? On a scale of 0-10, how hard am I on myself when I make a mistake? In business decisions, accept that there is no perfect answer. There are a dozen great answers, any one if which will present its own set of challenges but will still work. As a leader, accept that you will make mistakes. The American writer and philosopher George Saunders once paraphrased Descartes by saying, 'I think, therefore I am wrong.' Accepting that we won't always get it right allows us to remain creative and open to new ideas. Summary In short, as we continue to need to adapt in an ever-changing business landscape, we'll be more successful if we remind ourselves of our mission, see our limits as guideposts rather than hurdles, gain insight from a variety of perspectives, and acknowledge that we won't get everything right the first time.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
ACA has dramatically shifted West Virginia's health care landscape
The Affordable Care Act protects 737,900 West Virginians with pre-existing conditions from being charged more or denied coverage by insurance companies. (Getty Images) The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law 15 years ago, and it remains one of the most consequential health care reforms in our country's history. At the time it was enacted I was the CEO of Covenant House. We were the recipients of a small grant — awarded from West Virginians for Affordable Health Care, no less — that allowed us to act as Community Assisters. Covenant House advocates enrolled over 300 West Virginians — some of our most vulnerable citizens — in health care; for most it was the first time in their lives that they had access to health insurance. Over the last 15 years, the ACA has expanded affordable coverage to people previously locked out of health insurance, lowered premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and helped the nation's uninsured rate reach an all-time low. Unfortunately, dismantling it remains a top Republican priority as they look to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy and big corporations. Do we really want to make it nearly impossible for West Virginians to afford health care? The ACA protects 737,900 West Virginians with pre-existing conditions from being charged more or denied coverage by insurance companies. It guarantees free preventive care for over 217,000 West Virginians, and it allows young adults to stay on their parents' insurance plans. More Americans than ever count on it today: a record 24.2 million Americans are enrolled in quality coverage thanks to Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (ePTC) that make health care more affordable for millions of middle-class families purchasing coverage on their own. Millions of Americans are relying on these tax credits, but Republicans want to take them away, which would lead premiums to spike and leave 5 million more people uninsured. I personally acquire my health care through the ACA and qualify for ePTC. I do pay my fair share: The ePTC makes health insurance more affordable for me. If the ePTC are not renewed, my combined out of pocket and annual premium costs would reach $40,000 annually. I'll be honest, this makes my heart skip a beat. Unless Congress acts now, premium costs will skyrocket for over 64,000 families across West Virginia, including me. On average, families would pay at least $1,404 for their premiums, and 5,300 West Virginians will lose their insurance entirely — including people who are self-employed, small businesses, older adults who don't yet qualify for Medicare, people living in high-cost rural areas, farmers, people with pre-existing conditions and more. Lower premium costs have helped take the pressure off families and given them more room to pay for other necessities like food, rent and gas. ACA coverage in West Virginia has more than doubled thanks to the efforts of Democrats who have worked tirelessly to protect and expand the ACA. Yet, here we are again, standing at the edge of a health care cliff. Republicans are pushing to raise premiums and health care costs for 24 million Americans by taking away these tax credits from hard working families. From day one, Republicans have been fighting to raise health care costs, from voting against these savings in the first place to now taking them away. Instead of protecting affordable coverage, Republicans are more focused on delivering tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations while leaving Mountaineers struggling to get by. Losing these savings would be devastating to millions who may otherwise not be able to access health care. As a result, millions of families will once again have to choose between being able to see a doctor or keeping a roof over their heads. As the ACA turns 15 years old this month, the law is unfortunately once again in Republicans' crosshairs while Democrats have introduced the Health Care Affordability Act to ensure health care costs remain affordable for people who buy coverage on their own. If Republicans are serious about bringing down costs, they will ensure these tax credits remain available for families for years to come, and people with pre-existing conditions can continue to afford coverage. It is time for Republicans to get on board and protect the health care of millions of Americans. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
