Something new: In Rock County, our offices are in the same building as our partner Community Action. This creates a more effective way of delivering resources to clients by establishing a “one-stop-shop” for services and resources.
Why it matters: When we can put clients in touch with warm hand offs to partners, they are more likely to have their needs met quickly when time matters most.
It saves them personal time and gets them through programs more efficiently minimizing the chance they return.
Consider this: Anastasia just had given birth to her second child and was facing eviction. She was scared, but very strong and driven by the needs of her children. She was motivated to create a stable environment for her new family.
She enrolled in our Wisconsin Works (W-2) program for a CMC placement, an 8-week position for new moms.
Since Community Action is in the same building as our W-2 services staff, Anastasia’s case manager was able to walk over her to their office. They could offer Anastasia a transitional living and job program and she was connected that same day.
These programs gave her housing assistance and placed her in a paid receptionist position to help stabilize her in the short-term while she worked with Misty, her W-2 case manager, on a long-term solution.
It proved to be a testament to our working relationship with Community Action—she was hired as a receptionist for their organization. Since, she has worked her way up to a case management position where she helps clients in their fatherhood program, using her own experiences to identify essential resources.
Now, she refers clients to us.
Since she works in the same building as her W-2 case manager who has been able to watch her grow. Misty says, “Even though we had a small role, she’s moved up through everything and did whatever she needed to do.”
Once Anastasia was receiving the help she needed, she finally felt like she was getting somewhere. Having a one-stop shop like our joint office with Community Action in Rock County really does help.