Who cares?

Do you ever wonder who really cares in Oroville? We did, and this is our story...

A group of local people including students got together in the fall of 2006 and decided that the question of “Who Cares in Oroville?” needed to be answered. The consensus was that there seemed to be an attitude in our town of “Whatever” or “Who Cares? that was shared by both youth and adults. But we disagreed. We felt that there was a lot of good, caring people in the greater Oroville community, making good things happen. It was just a matter of pulling all those resources together where people could see them and, more importantly, be able to access them. In our search for local resources that are available to support and help local residents, we learned Oroville really does care for its people. This website is just one way to demonstrate the many ways people do care. We have set out to change the attitude from “Who Cares” to “Oroville Cares” and hope you will join us. We invite you be a part of the process!

You will find many resources for health, recreation, safety, faith, education, and economics on this website. By connecting to these resources, you will become more familiar with what Oroville has to offer its youth, seniors, families and individuals. If there is a resource or organization that you would like to see included, please e-mail the information to jwilson@bcoe.org. Your thoughts or comments are welcome, too!

About the Community Health Alliance of Oroville

The Oroville Cares website is a product of a partnership of people and organizations that come together in a coalition called CHAO – the Community Health Alliance of Oroville, the Safe Schools/Health Students Initiative, and the Drug Free Communities Support Program grant.

CHAO (pronounced “chow”) is a community coalition that addresses youth development, in support of academic success and community health. We identify, map and network local resources. CHAO is managed by Butte County Office of Education’s Partners In Health and Safety Office. For Oroville and the greater Oroville area, CHAO assists in planning and implementing activities that address positive Youth Development, Alcohol Tobacco, and other Drug and Violence Prevention programs in community and schools. We collect and analyze data, identify and share information about local resources related to partner agencies, community organizations, and schools. The coalition serves as the Community Prevention Advisory Board for 4 local school districts.

CHAO’s Vision is that “All Oroville-area youth and families will be healthy and safe and empowered to achieve academic success in safe, disciplined, and drug free schools and community.” Our goals are to:

• Goal 1 Reduce substance abuse among youths and adults.
• Goal 2 Establish and strengthen processes for resource sharing, coordination, and collaboration.
• Goal 3 Reduce violence among youth and families.
• Goal 4 Provide a family resource center to effectively use new and existing resources to improve self sufficiency of youth and families’ health, and safety through effective life skills, education, nutrition, and exercise.
• Goal 5 Advocate for affordable housing.

For more information on how to be a part of this coalition, call 532-5840 or e-mail jwilson@bcoe.org.