Mary Anderson is well aware of the struggles in Scotland County.
Scotland is the second poorest county in North Carolina, and homelessness is increasing. Its overdose death rate is 2.4 times higher than the state average, contributing to the county’s status as one of the least healthy in the state.
Dozens of local nonprofits and government agencies are trying to address the issues, but Anderson said they often work in silos. That’s why she’s reviving the Scotland County Nonprofit Coalition to maximize the impact the organizations make in the community.
“It’s just being able to kind of streamline things and mobilize people together,” said Anderson, who is also the executive director of the Prostate Cancer Coalition of North Carolina. “The more you know about what’s out there, that’s always beneficial, and around here it’s particularly needed.”
The Scotland County Nonprofit Coalition first emerged in 2016 for the same reason, according to its founder and Scotland Health Care System’s digital media strategist, Deon Cranford III. He said the group grew to about 30 members who shared resources, applied for grants, and created a network of assistance for residents.
Organizations saw tangible improvement because of the efforts, Cranford said.
“It just kind of snowballed,” he said. “You ended up having like four or five different organizations that were touching one person. That wasn’t happening before. Now we’re actually improving people’s conditions.”
However, Cranford said the start of the COVID pandemic slammed coalition members, and they didn’t have time for anything beyond sustaining the community. The group dissolved in 2020.
Cranford said he was excited to hear that Anderson was willing to restart the coalition. Since the group dissolved, he said several new nonprofits are working in the county that need to be plugged into the broader network.
Networking is the primary purpose of the coalition, and the database Anderson said she’ll create aims to facilitate it. The goal, she said, is to ensure nonprofits are building off each other’s work rather than duplicating it.
Anderson said she also wants the coalition to work together on finding and writing grants for state and federal funding. She said Scotland County is “underinvested in,” comparing the funding it received in the latest state budget to that of surrounding counties. While organizations and government entities in neighboring Robeson County received millions of dollars from the state, Scotland received $500,000 for its industrial park and a new assistant district attorney position.
By strengthening nonprofits’ impacts on community issues like substance use, Anderson said she hopes Scotland County will attract more employers. The county lost many manufacturing jobs over the past two decades, from the closure of WestPoint Stevens in 2006 to the shuttering of BlueScope in 2017. The county also lost St. Andrews University last year.
In June, the county’s unemployment rate was 4.6%, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce, a full percentage point above the state average. It’s the eighth-highest in the state, behind nearby Robeson and Bladen counties.
“People have to feel good about where they live and feel like their lives are appreciated and cherished,” Anderson said.
Anderson isn’t reviving the coalition alone. Elizabeth Ragsdale, sales manager for Prestwick Village, an assisted living facility in Laurinburg, is helping lead the charge. Ragsdale hopes the coalition will also serve as a hub for residents looking for volunteer opportunities.
Interest in the coalition’s new era is already strong. Over a dozen representatives of nonprofits and local government attended its kick-off meeting on July 27, including District Attorney Jamie Adams and Scotland County Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Ed O’Neal.
“We need to depend on the people in this room,” Adams told attendees. “That’s why I’m here.”
Anderson and Ragsdale are still organizing many of the coalition’s details, including how often members will formally meet and in what format. In the meantime, they are using their Facebook page to build out the coalition’s network.
“You could have a big nonprofit, a little nonprofit, if you just are interested in making a difference in anything,” Ragsdale said, “I encourage you to be a part of it.”