2-1-1 On the Go! Version 2.0
| By Unknown user - Nov 20, 2008 8:54:49 AM ET |
United Way efforts aside, Nick and I have been huge advocates of stepping up to meet the needs of others face to face in a very personal way. There is something so valuable about regular people banding together to stare need in the face and conquer it. When this happens outside of politics, outside of any sort of institution, and outside of convenience, lives are changed for the better. This is why every day I feel more and more confident about the mission behind United Way as it aligns so perfectly with my own personal passions. With that said, 2-1-1 On the Go! is focused on outcomes. We will not achieve those outcomes without regular people coming together to lay down their gifts, and those who are struggling coming to receive those gifts and use them to succeed in life.
In the first year of 2-1-1 On the Go! we took the approach of connecting people to services that were already in place. This was a respectable approach, and produced some pretty good outcomes for our homeless clients in regards to them finding jobs and places of their own to live. But as we have moved into year two, we've realized we want and need to do better. Relying on the system in place is one way of doing things, but if the system is broken, then we have a choice; complain about the broken system, or build a new one on top of it.
To clarify, our goals this year are to get 60 homeless people employed full-time, and 30 of them housed. Pretty ambitious, but totally doable. We experienced that the process for someone getting housed is rather simple, so that hasn't proven to be a big barrier for us, at least not yet. But the biggest question that we are pursuing an answer to on a daily basis is: what is the best way to get somebody employed? And not just any job, a stable job that the individual can count on to sustain him or her.
Aside from our assets - the bus passes, voicemail boxes, mailboxes, and ID assistance - one of the biggest ways we are doing this is to rely on a network of people who care about the city of Detroit and want to make an impact, specifically in the area of homelessness. When I first started this job, I had friends asking me left and right how they can get involved with efforts that help the homeless. It didn't take long before I realized that shelters and soup kitchens aren't desperate for people to serve dinner once a month. But many individuals who are struggling without a home are desperate to find work, and to be able to support themselves. So what better way to serve the homeless than to be an advocate for them and their needs. As we pursue many different avenues to try to establish relationships with employers that will hire our clients, one of those avenues is to rely on the community at large to advocate for jobs for 2-1-1 On the Go! participants. We want the community to be invested in the program on a personal level. We don't want to be another program or agency where people stop short at donating money. We want people to have an intimate connection with the people in our program, and to know that we can't do the work without them.
So that is where 2-1-1 version 2.0 is heading. Community involvement with the homeless, summed up in Giving, Advocating, and Volunteering. That is how we will achieve our outcomes, and that is how you can Live United with us.
In the first year of 2-1-1 On the Go! we took the approach of connecting people to services that were already in place. This was a respectable approach, and produced some pretty good outcomes for our homeless clients in regards to them finding jobs and places of their own to live. But as we have moved into year two, we've realized we want and need to do better. Relying on the system in place is one way of doing things, but if the system is broken, then we have a choice; complain about the broken system, or build a new one on top of it.
To clarify, our goals this year are to get 60 homeless people employed full-time, and 30 of them housed. Pretty ambitious, but totally doable. We experienced that the process for someone getting housed is rather simple, so that hasn't proven to be a big barrier for us, at least not yet. But the biggest question that we are pursuing an answer to on a daily basis is: what is the best way to get somebody employed? And not just any job, a stable job that the individual can count on to sustain him or her.
Aside from our assets - the bus passes, voicemail boxes, mailboxes, and ID assistance - one of the biggest ways we are doing this is to rely on a network of people who care about the city of Detroit and want to make an impact, specifically in the area of homelessness. When I first started this job, I had friends asking me left and right how they can get involved with efforts that help the homeless. It didn't take long before I realized that shelters and soup kitchens aren't desperate for people to serve dinner once a month. But many individuals who are struggling without a home are desperate to find work, and to be able to support themselves. So what better way to serve the homeless than to be an advocate for them and their needs. As we pursue many different avenues to try to establish relationships with employers that will hire our clients, one of those avenues is to rely on the community at large to advocate for jobs for 2-1-1 On the Go! participants. We want the community to be invested in the program on a personal level. We don't want to be another program or agency where people stop short at donating money. We want people to have an intimate connection with the people in our program, and to know that we can't do the work without them.
So that is where 2-1-1 version 2.0 is heading. Community involvement with the homeless, summed up in Giving, Advocating, and Volunteering. That is how we will achieve our outcomes, and that is how you can Live United with us.
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At Metro United Way, Louisivlle KY we will complete our 3rd year of operation in August 09. Our local Crisis Information Center manages the 2-1-1 calls for us. 2-1-1 recently received AIRS accredidation as well. While the first 3 years concentrated on call stats, our coming year must deal with outcomes and how lives are being impacted by placing a call to 2-1-1.
We are currently discussing the role 2-1-1 can play in helping the homeless in our community. While we are not at the level your 2-1-1 is, your 09 goals will certainly challenge us to set the bar higher for our 09 2-1-1 outcomes. I would like to know more about how you are using bus passes, voice mailboxes etc in helping the homeless. I look forward to your future posts.