STEPS highlights decade of resident-led health projects, seeks sustainability after Ovid fire

Theresa Lahr, project director of Seneca Towns Engaging People for Solutions (STEPS), told the Seneca County Board of Supervisors that the resident-led program has spent more than a decade running community health projects in the southern end of the county and is now working on a leadership transition and sustainability plan after a major fire in Ovid.

STEPS launched in December 2013 as part of the Greater Rochester Health Foundation’s Neighborhood Health Status Improvement initiative, a multi-phase grant program that, Lahr said, represents about $2,000,000 of investment over roughly 11 years. The project focuses on the towns of Covert, Lodi, Ovid and Romulus, covering about 166 square miles of South Seneca County, Lahr said, and supports small resident-driven efforts such as community festivals, micro-enterprise loans, book boxes and youth activities.

"My name is Theresa Lahr, and I am the project director of Seneca Towns Engaging People for Solutions," Lahr told the board. She described STEPS’ approach as “asset-based community development,” which emphasizes resident leadership, local assets and small seed funding to help residents organize events or start micro-enterprises.

A short documentary clip shown during the presentation framed the larger grant program behind STEPS. "It happens when you invest directly into people, places, and neighborhoods," said Hannah Castelli, identified in the clip as a program officer with the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, explaining the five-phase NHSI process that moves from resident engagement and asset mapping through sustainability and policy work.

Lahr said residents have completed more than 121 small health-promotion projects under STEPS and credited the program with helping communities respond quickly after a destructive fire in Ovid. She described how residents and partners used STEPS’ local relationships to stand up a temporary office, route donations and coordinate immediate needs for displaced people after the blaze.

Lahr said she will transition to a part-time advisory role and named Emily Hoffman as the incoming project leader; Dr. O'Keefe of Lodi is serving as community engagement coordinator and Deborah Putney as a technical advisor on asset-based approaches. Lahr also noted Pivotal Public Health Partnership is the formal grantee and that Pivotal’s executive director, Michelle Foster, has committed to keeping the project operating.

The presentation included a list of accomplishments and promoted an upcoming community meeting: a STEPS “Risers” community meeting scheduled for July 14 at the Ovid Fire Department, where residents and an evaluation coach, Alice Mann, will review progress and evaluation findings. Lahr emphasized STEPS’ participatory evaluation methods, including resident surveys, focus groups and direct observations.

Board members thanked Lahr for the briefing and acknowledged the role of partners and funders in sustaining the work. Lahr asked supervisors and attendees to spread the word about the July 14 meeting.

The board received the presentation; no formal action was recorded.