THE PATH FORWARD

FINDING SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS FACING THE MIAMI VALLEY

WE ARE LIKE ALL OF YOU. We care deeply about our community. And like you, we want it to be the best it can be. But this community is at a crossroads. There’s a lot to celebrate in the Dayton region, but there are also serious concerns — concerns that will keep us from becoming our best if we don’t find solutions. And soon.

THAT’S WHY WE FORMED A NEW TEAM to dig into the most pressing issues facing the Miami Valley. We want to engage you and the community to find solutions, to find a path to a stronger and better future. We spent weeks looking at research and talking to people throughout the area to help identify those issues, and we formed a 16-member community advisory board to give us feedback throughout this project.

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS like the opioid crisis, which has torn families apart and scarred our community reputation. We’re talking about the future of our economy, which has seen higher-paying jobs replaced with lower-paying work for the past decade. And we’re talking about Dayton Public Schools, because we must turn the district around if the region is going to succeed.

THESE ISSUES ARE NOT NEW, but we believe our approach is. We’re going to focus our efforts on revealing the deeper causes behind these problems, inspiring solutions and innovation, and empowering our community to make the changes we need to make. And we’re going to stick with it, tackling these issues one step at a time, until we’ve created momentum.

WE KNOW THESE ARE HUGE ISSUES, and there aren’t easy answers. But this community has never walked away from a fight, and we don’t intend to, either. Because we’re like you. And we can work together to make this community the best it can be.

TODAY, WE START WITH A LOOK at how our community can heal from the opioid epidemic and change its image around the crisis. Please join the conversation on our Facebook page, and watch for more from us.