A Springboard for Collaboration

Sometimes making all the “right” choices isn’t enough. Life throws curve balls, and even the best laid plans can still fall apart. Those curve balls come in different forms and require a variety of support solutions. They might arrive suddenly; some develop over time. Rarely are those challenges isolated to one single issue. Life is far too messy for that.

Day-to-day tasks that might seem obvious tasks to many people – like budgeting finances, going to work, or taking caring of themselves – can be daunting for people experiencing behavioral or mental health difficulties. Without proper support, setbacks in basic responsibilities can quickly spiral toward bigger concerns. Michele Merxbauer, Executive Director at South Central Human Relations Center, has seen this happen time after time.

Michele’s team works to respond to each person’s unique needs with local resources. “We meet people where they’re at when they come in the door the first time, then help them be the best person they can be with assistance to keep them on track.” Providing that strong support requires collaboration with other local agencies for medical support, food security, and short-term housing shelters. “No one just gets a phone number [referral] and is sent on their way. We help to empower them to make decisions to move forward.”

One of the challenges in meeting the needs of individuals is a delayed timeline for recovery and stability because services are fragmented, or local resources don’t exist. Sending people 45-60 miles to regularly access resources they need is an unrealistic burden for people already in critical circumstances.

Michele envisions that co-locating with local agencies in Oak Hill Communications will accelerate their inter-agency collaboration. “In-the-moment collaboration often turns into in-the-moment brainstorming. This will be a springboard for further program development and creation in our community – utilizing resources that we don’t know about or are under-utilizing. I’m really excited about that!”