Include influential stakeholders in your Steering Committee
Your Steering Committee should include at least one representative from your local mental health provider community, one representative from law enforcement and one mental health advocate. It is also important at this stage to ensure that influential stakeholders in your community are involved in the Steering Committee, including leaders and executives from agencies represented by your core partners.
For example, a large community or regional collaborative may include dozens of law enforcement jurisdictions. At this stage it is not vital to have every chief and sheriff on board, but you should include influential law enforcement leaders with large jurisdictions.
In addition, make sure your committee includes other executives, such as:
- Mental health center directors
- Hospital emergency room administrators
- Directors of local advocacy groups such as NAMI and Mental Health America
- Mayors, county commissioners or their representatives from local government
Your committee may also want to reach out to other community leaders who could be champions for your program. These leaders may include:
- Jail or correctional administrators
- State supreme court judges, juvenile court judges, tribal judges and judges involved in problem-solving courts such as mental health, drug and veterans courts
- VA and University Administrators
These leaders may not buy-in immediately, but reach out to them anyway. In the long term, their participation will bring influence and legitimacy to your program.
Perspectives:
- Once these influential stakeholders are involved, do not try to force the further expansion of the Steering Committee. The committee should focus on solidifying these partnerships and developing shared goals. The committee will naturally grow as it begins to address complex community issues and concerns.
Political leaders may not align themselves with early grassroots efforts, but are likely to join as your movement progresses and they see that it's in their best interest to be involved.