Community Coalition Kick-Off Events: Lessons Learned on the Launchpad

Abstract

Research has found that collaboration is important for family service agencies, and community coalition building is a common form of collaboration. Guided by Community Coalition Action Theory, this article analyzes a community coalition convening around health and housing in a resource-challenged, large Midwestern metropolitan area. Implications for practice are discussed, describing initial lessons learned from the coalition kick-off event for community coalition convening. Using theory to anticipate coalition challenges and barriers, looking beyond simple meeting agenda objectives to identify specific coalition tactics, and asking hard questions about coalition capacity at kick-off are ways to strengthen health and housing interventions within family-based services.