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June 23, 2009

Anonymous The Kokomo Tribune Tue Jun 23, 2009, 09:43 PM EDT

The Cass County Resource Network is a great idea.

United Way of Cass County first convened a meeting of social service agencies with the idea of forming a network of food pantries. With a growing number of layoffs at area businesses, organizers were looking for a way to meet the rising need for food.

When they got together, though, they realized that the need for coordination went beyond providing food.

The goal to begin with is to meet the needs of members of the community in a more efficient manner.

“We want to maximize the community resources and get to as many people in need as we can,” said Joyce Gebhardt, executive director of the United Way.

Especially in the current economic climate, it’s critical that social service agencies stretch their resources as far as they can. More than ever, they need to get the biggest bang for the buck.

Finding ways to communicate and to cooperate will help these agencies to ensure they are not duplicating efforts while at the same time helping to avoid having anyone fall between the cracks.

Some communities have gone so far as to create a central database that can be shared among the various agencies.

It doesn’t help anyone to have a family visiting multiple food pantries over the course of a single week. By teaming up, the pantries can provide that family with the help it needs in a single stop.

At the same time, a true resource network can go beyond simply addressing a family’s immediate needs. A mother might visit a food pantry in search of something to feed her children that day, but a needs assessment might discover that the family is behind on the rent or living in a house without electricity.

The fast way to help that mother looking for food for her family is to give her a fish, but the better way is to teach her to fish so that she’ll have food in the future. The easy way to provide help is to treat the symptoms. The better way is to treat the cause.

A person might come in looking for help with a utility bill, but an interview might reveal that the underlying issue is substance abuse.

The Cass County Resource Network is on the right track. We encourage others to join in the effort.

– Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, and Kokomo Tribune

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