When the Chatham Success Network (CSN) launched as a pilot in 2025, the goal was not simply to create something new, but to strengthen how our community supports families – by bringing partners together, aligning resources, and making it easier for families to move from crisis toward long-term stability. At its core, the CSN was designed to change how families experience help – so that reaching out wouldn’t mean starting over, telling their story again, or navigating a maze of disconnected services.

For one Chatham County family, the difference wasn’t just access to services – it was experiencing a system that finally felt connected.

Referred through Siler City Elementary School, the family was connected to a CSN case manager who could step back and look across housing instability, employment challenges, and transportation barriers together. Rather than navigating multiple agencies on their own, the family was supported by partners who were already coordinating behind the scenes – sharing information, aligning next steps, and problem-solving together. Progress took time, but the experience was different: support felt intentional, consistent, and shared.

Stories like this became more common during the CSN’s pilot year. Families weren’t just receiving referrals; they were being supported through a coordinated network designed to focus on long-term stability, not short-term fixes. For partner agencies, this meant more connected work, stronger relationships, and a growing sense of shared responsibility for outcomes.

“I’m so proud of how the Chatham Success Network leverages the strengths we already have in our community,” said Daisy Butzer, United Way Impact Manager. “From innovative agency leaders to seasoned direct service providers, to families repeatedly showing up to meet their goals, we have found a synergy through collaboration. It’s an honor for United Way to support the capacity for that collaboration, especially as we plan for how we’ll use our strengths in new ways this year.”

An external learning partner, Partners for Impact, named an important truth that emerged during the pilot year: the CSN is working – and that success is surfacing real system barriers, like transportation access, employment constraints, and the lack of affordable housing. Rather than seeing those challenges as failures, the CSN treats them as data. Our role isn’t to solve every barrier directly, but to convene partners, elevate lived experience, and help the right people come together to explore solutions.

Behind every coordinated moment for a family is an intentional investment in people and practice. Throughout 2025, CSN partners participated in trainings, webinars, and learning sessions focused on shared case management, data quality, systems thinking, and collaboration. These spaces built trust, strengthened skills, and reinforced a simple but powerful idea: families are better served when providers are supported, connected, and learning together.

One year in, the Chatham Success Network is doing more than supporting individual households. It’s building a stronger, more responsive system – one that will continue to serve families across Chatham County long after the pilot year ends.

As the Chatham Success Network moves into 2026, that foundation is guiding what comes next. The focus is on building from what the pilot year revealed – both what’s working and where systems need to evolve. Partners are strengthening shared practices, deepening coordination across agencies, and using learning from the first year to improve how families experience support. Insights from ongoing evaluation are also helping elevate broader system barriers – such as transportation, employment access, and housing stability – so they can be addressed collaboratively, rather than in isolation. This next phase is about deepening what works, expanding collective capacity, and continuing to learn together.

“I have sincere respect and appreciation for the work that our agencies do in collaboration to address poverty in our county,” said Carlos Lima, United Way Executive Director.

This work is possible because of strong partners and generous supporters. Thank you for being part of the Chatham Success Network’s first year, and for helping shape what comes next.