IMPACT | John Hyatt, President & CEO | 414-256-4808 | www.impactinc.org
Auto-Text Referral to Milwaukee Food Pantries Enhances 2-1-1 Efficiency
Since its inception, the 2-1-1 system has relied on technology to deliver quick and easy access to information and assistance. The three-digit phone number has evolved to include online chat and mobile text engagements with Community Resource Specialists.

In 2017, IMPACT's 2-1-1 operation center became the first in the country to implement a customized auto-text platform to enhance our food pantry referral process for Milwaukee County residents.

When a client texts 'MKEFOOD' to 898-211, the national 2-1-1 text number, it prompts a relay of questions which determine focused results of Milwaukee County food pantries that serve the client's neighborhood and are available on the desired day of the week. Additionally, the client receives eligibility information including documentation required by the pantry. Food pantry referrals are limited to one per three-day period, and clients are asked to visit each location no more than once per 30-day period.

IMPACT 2-1-1 responded to 43,457 requests for food in 2017, a 6.3% increase from 2016. Seizing technological opportunities such as auto-text helps ensure that clients' needs are addressed quickly and efficiently at a time when more people are relying on the system.
 
Milwaukee Talks: IMPACT's John Hyatt

Click to read an extensive conversation published in OnMilwaukee which compares our role to that of a matchmaker, the challenges that accompany it, and the one thing that would help get the heroin/opiate epidemic under control.

Individual donations of unrestricted support are more important now than any time in our nearly 60-year history
New Report Outlines Challenges Facing Community-Based Organizations Like IMPACT

A National Imperative: Joining Forces to Strengthen Human Services in America examines the economic and social impact of community-based organizations (CBOs), and the need to strengthen their pivotal role in the larger human services ecosystem which preserves the health, well-being, and success of individuals, families, and communities.

Commissioned by the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, and the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) - two of the leading national networks representing human service organizations - the report outlines the challenges facing CBOs:
  • Persistent operating deficits, in part due to internal risk management practices and unfavorable contract terms that reimburse CBOs less than the full cost of providing the outcomes being required.
  • Few or no financial reserves posing vulnerability to any fluctuation, even temporary, in expected revenue and cost levels.
  • Lack of access to capital for investment in technology
  • Systemic barriers which limit opportunities for data sharing and integration.
  • Compliance with the current regulatory and legal environment places an undue burden when large amounts of staff time are spent meeting reporting requirements.
Beyond product and service sales and program fees, IMPACT receives broad support from private foundations, corporations, United Way organizations, government agencies and individuals, putting us in a better position than many other community-based organizations.
However, against the backdrop of an increasing need for human services driven by poverty rates, income inequality, an aging population and the challenge of the opioid epidemic, financial stability is increasingly tenuous.

Read the national report here. Read a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the financial challenges facing local non-profits here.

IMPACT changes lives, for good. We help people take the first step to resolve a crisis and create a path toward stabilization; as well as collaborate with our partners to foster system improvement.

 

Visit IMPACT's newsletter archive here.
STAY CONNECTED: