Simplified: The Helpline Center is working to bring a new model of social service to Sioux Falls – one that treats poverty like a medical condition rather than a character flaw. Here's what you need to know about Transitions to Success.
Why it matters
- Transitions to Success was founded by a woman in the Detroit area who wanted to reframe the way people thought about poverty with an emphasis on using social determinants of health – i.e. non-medical things that affect our overall health.
- The Helpline Center last month brought the first round of training for Transitions to Success to Sioux Falls. Nearly two dozen people from a variety of social service agencies attended.
- The program essentially helps all agencies keep track of a person's various referrals to different services, the folks they've been in contact with and, simply asking at every step along the way how someone is doing in a variety of areas. The hope is it'll help better identify community needs, as well as how they're being met over time.
"We can be more proactive," said Shauna Batcheller, program director for the Helpline Center.
Tell me more about Transitions to Success
The hope is to catch folks who might otherwise be falling through the cracks. This occurs through that mentality shift of thinking of poverty as a medical condition rather than a personal or moral failure.
- Think about it like this: If you were diagnosed with a serious illness, you'd probably have medical appointments with various doctors, nurses, specialists, etc. And maybe some of those folks refer you to even more doctors.
- Each of those people would be able to pull up your chart, see where you've been, what the diagnosis is, what we know so far about your medical history, etc.
Transitions to Success aims to take a similar approach to addressing poverty.
- Using a shared, secure database, they'd be able to track individuals and see where they've been referred, what their background is, what their specific needs are, and what external forces are contributing to their situation.
Marcella Proukup, director of access and workforce at Southeast Tech, and one of the first Transitions to Success trainees in town, gave the example of a meeting with one of her students.
- They'll talk through things like federal funding available for students, filling out the necessary paperwork, etc. But then she'll have a chance to ask her student to take an assessment about social determinants of health like economic stability, access to healthcare, and more.
- Maybe there she learns the student is having some car trouble, Proukup said. Then, knowing that need, she can refer the student to SHIFT Garage, a local car repair ministry service.
"Because all of these other agencies have people trained in this coaching model, we're all going to share information ... so now, when the student goes over to SHIFT Garage or the Helpline Center, the student doesn't have to repeat their whole story," Proukup said.
What happens next?
The Helpline Center is working internally to figure out how exactly Transitions to Success will fit within (and amplify) the work they're doing in their existing Network of Care.
A number of the folks who've already completed training are also going to soon be able to train others and help Transitions to Success have a broader reach.
The Helpline Center is also looking for more partners both with Transitions to Success and within the business community to serve as a place to refer people.
- For example, Batcheller said, after someone completes a financial literacy course, the center would like to have a bank to be able to refer them to where they can get set up with an account.
