Fostering Private-Public Partnerships: The People Concern's Mission to Address Social Challenges - Free Paper

The People Concern is one of the largest social agencies in Los Angeles County. The agency offers and advocates for evidence-based solutions for challenges arising from domestic violence and homelessness. Besides, People Concern also provides mental and healthcare, interim housing, outreach, wellness, life skills programs, permanent supportive housing, and domestic violence services. The services mentioned above are tailored to the distinct needs of the challenged youths, domestic violence survivors, homeless individuals, and other disadvantaged members of society. The People Concerns' mission to ensure that no one lives in violent households or on the streets. People Concerns also addresses the challenges of poverty, mental illness, substance abuse, and addiction. Tulynn Smylie is a Chief Program Officer at the People Concern Agency. She lives in Long Beach, California. Smylie oversees the People Concern's eight critical programs, including domestic violence, interim housing, public toilets and showers, K-9 connection, Health and Wellness, Access center, and member resources. We interviewed Mrs. Smylie to find out the People Concern's relationship with local, state, and federal governments. This paper discusses the requirements necessary for creating an effective private-public partnership between The People Concern and the public agencies and the challenges the agency must overcome to address social issues that relate to its mission.

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Smylie argued that the People Concerns' success relies on the existence of a healthy private-public Partnership relationship between the agency and the government and the general public. According to (“The People Concern 2020”), 73% of the agency's revenue came from the government and the public in the financial year 2018. In return, People Concerns offers its services to society's vulnerable members and ensures transparency to enhance good relationships with the public.

The public-private relationships are becoming increasingly important in achieving what both the public and private sectors struggle to accomplish alone. According to Casady et al. (2020), private-public partnerships enable private firms to work with the governments, adding to the private sector's efficiencies, expertise, and capital. Matraeva et al. (2016) show that in recent times, the private sector is partnering with the public sector to enhance social infrastructures, including health, environmental conservation, and domestic violence, among others. Smylie revealed that the People Concern is committed to maintaining and establishing more private-public partnerships. According to Casady et al. (2020), efficient private-public relationships necessitates creating a shared vision between the private and the public sector. Matraeva et al. (2016) also show that companies have to ensure that their teams have the right expertise to maintain good relationships with the public sector. Moreover, Matraeva et al. (2016) indicate that companies require transparency to ensure the sustainability of their relationships with the public sector. Also, Casady et al. (2020) suggest that companies need to establish transparent decision-making processes to enhance consensus and negotiations that can enhance private-private relationships' creation and maintenance.

The private-public partnership between the People Concerns, Local, central, and federal government, and the general public will ensure that the agency easily achieves its mission. However, Smylie said that the company has to overcome a couple of challenges that hinder the agency's mission of combating homelessness, addiction, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Poverty is one of the challenges that people concerned have to overcome to mitigate homelessness. CHIKOKO et al. (2019) show that people impoverished are always unable to meet housing costs, contributing to homelessness. Other challenges include a shortage of housing and structural factors. Besides, People Concern need to overcome system failure to combat societal problems. CHIKOKO et al. (2019) indicate that system failures occur when the systems or the support fail, making vulnerable populations turn to substance abuse and homelessness.

Conclusion

In summary, People Concern is a social work agency that aims to combat homelessness, substance abuse, and domestic violence. The success of the agency depends on effective private-public partnerships. To achieve its mission, People Concern must overcome the challenges of poverty, system failures, structural factors, and housing shortage.

References

Casady, C. B., Eriksson, K., Levitt, R. E., & Scott, W. R. (2020). (Re) defining public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the new public governance (NPG) paradigm: an institutional maturity perspective. Public Management Review, 22(2), 161-183.

CHIKOKO, W., RUPARANGANDA, W., MUZVIDZIWA, V. N., & CHIMHOWA-CHIKOKO, E. M. E. L. I. A. (2019). THE CHALLENGES FACED BY SOCIAL WORKERS IN FIGHTING SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOURS AMONG THE STREET CHILDREN OF THE HARARE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, ZIMBABWE. Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, 157.

The People Concern. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.thepeopleconcern.org/

Matraeva, L. V., Konov, A. A., Belyak, A. V., Erokhin, S. G., & Vasyutina, E. S. (2016). Public, private partnership in the social sphere: Models review. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 6(8S).