Adults are shaped by childhood experiences. Positive childhood experiences generally lead to thriving adults, whereas adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can lead to an increased risk of people with physical and mental health problems. This was confirmed by a 1995-1997 Kaiser Permanente study which showed adults who experienced multiple ACEs were at an increased risk of anxiety, heart disease and other health related conditions. Thrive Ottawa, not to be confused with Opportunity Thrive, is dedicated to communicating this message to the public and helping them find resources.
Thrive Ottawa County Adverse Childhood Awareness Campaign was created in May 2020 in response to data collected on ACEs in Ottawa County in 2017, and is part of the Ottawa County stakeholder capitalism system. According to the website, “Thrive Ottawa is a group of organizations and individuals,” but it appears to have heavy influence from the Ottawa County Health Department as Lynne Doyle, head of Community Mental Health and also a board member of Community Spoke, is listed as the media contact along with Patrick Cisler, formally from Community Spoke.
A recent article explained Community Spoke, an organization that brings government agencies and non-profits together to form collaborations. Community Spoke receives funding from Ottawa County on an annual basis. The Healthy Ottawa Plan created by Community Spoke, shows that Community Spoke created the Thrive Ottawa website.
Thrive Ottawa partners with and mixes funding with many local businesses, non-profits and government organizations including:
Community Spoke
Momentum Center
Opportunity Thrive
OAISD – Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
OCSN - Ottawa Community School Network
CMH – Community Mental Health
Help Me Grow Ottawa
Barbara Lee VanHorssen, the self-proclaimed sex-minister from the Momentum Center is pictured on the home page for Thrive Ottawa and featured on the stories page. Andy Ingall, former superintendent of Grand Haven Area Public Schools is also featured on the stories page. This Momentum Center virtual town hall featured speakers from Thrive Ottawa.
In summary, Ottawa County funds Community Spoke, a non-profit, that created Thrive Ottawa. Thrive Ottawa and Community Spoke partner with non-profit organizations to improve the effectiveness of all participating organizations for the benefit of West Michigan residents. Lynne Doyle from Community Mental Health Ottawa County and Patrick Cisler, former Executive Director of Community Spoke, are leading Thrive Ottawa. Are Community Spoke and Thrive Ottawa and the participating organizations really benefitting the public or are they inefficiently taking advantage of public funding?