For some people getting a helping hand seems to be a lot of work with no clear direction on how to access and obtain social services.
Resourceful aims to make the process more streamlined and help people get the help they need when they need it. Essentia Health, Wilderness Health, Generations Health Care Initiatives and Stratis Health partnered with Aunt Bertha to launch this platform earlier in 2021.
According to the U.S. Census, approximately 1 in 10 Crow Wing County residents are living in poverty. What that means is you, your friend, your family, or your neighbor, may need help finding services like housing, transportation, food, or others. When you visit weareresourceful.org , all these resources are in one place.
When you enter the website, there is a place to enter a ZIP code. That will bring you to a page with the available resources in that area. These resources are set up by program, so you can easily find what you need for transportation, mental health care, legal services, and more.
There is an easy process to refer yourself or someone else to the program by clicking the “Contact Here” button. Once the program receives that referral, someone will contact you via your preferred method.
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Crow Wing Energized works to address social determinants of health. Healthy People 2030 defines those determinants as “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks”.
Social determinants of health have a major impact on people’s health, well-being, and quality of life. Examples of those determinants include:
Safe housing, transportation, and neighborhoods,
Racism, discrimination, and violence,
Education, job opportunities, and income,
Access to nutritious foods and physical activity opportunities,
Polluted air and water,
Language and literacy skills.
The top searches in the Crow Wing County area are food (government food benefits, food pantry), housing (help for paying) and mental health care.
By having a platform that helps increase access and decrease barriers, we are hopeful that we will see an impact on people’s overall well-being — but the user is only one piece of the puzzle.
Resourceful relies on the help of our community to continuously enhance the resource directory so all can benefit from the information being in one place. Community-based organizations are encouraged to sign up for a free training on our website — weareresourceful.org — to learn how to help others navigate the social service directory and how to use all the free tools available.
