Here is what the Case Management strategic team came up with for goals. We will have print outs at the August 8th meeting as well.
Archive | July, 2013
Belle Andrea Krueger
Andrea in front of the Dearborn Heights Co-op sign.
Joie de vivre: Joy/happiness is derived from life.
Andrea joined the Hannan family on April 23, 2012 and has settled into working the Dearborn Heights Corporative. Andrea is no stranger to social work. After receiving her Bachelors in Communications and Theater Arts at Eastern Michigan University in Communications/Theatre Arts in 1991, she pressed on as a VISTA worker for two years. As a VISTA, Andrea was an advocate for adult literacy at Washtenaw Literacy, an adult literacy program. She worked in the community promoting the services of Washtenaw Literacy and taught ESL classes. A geriatric scholar with a focus in community organizing and social policy, she received her MUP and a MSW from the University of Michigan. Her passion in “housing” is clearly represented in her past employments such as Realtor and Insurance Agent. Yet the driving force behind her interest in Housing Development was in large part due to her positions as a “Housing Coordinator” while working for the Senior Alliance, DAAA, AOA and the Washtenaw Homebuyers (non profit) organization. While working with low income housing, Andrea came to know the many barriers residents face in getting affordable housing. Andrea’s interest as a housing agent for HUD properties took on a new direction in the welfare of seniors and this placed her with PVM during her MSW internship. It was then when she came to know Rachel.
Although housing development and one day writing a HUD Grant is on the top of Andreas interest list, she, herself has many interesting and creative layers.
Andrea’s interest in people stems into her hobby of reading. She favors and brings a light to the debut novel, The God of Small Things (1997). The book is written by an Indian writer Suzanna Arundhati Roy and describes how the small things in life affect people’s behavior and their lives. At a very young age, Andrea was exposed to British television. This is something her mother shared with her. CBC, PBS Master Piece Theater shows one of Andrea’s favorite TV dramas, “Coronation Street”. Having exposure to European entertainment, it is no wonder one of Andrea’s favorite quotes “I’d rather be strongly wrong, than weakly right” comes from the most popular actress, Tallulah Bankhead, of London’s famed West End, the British equivalent of Broadway. Andrea’s was also exposed to other cultures through her traveling. She has ventured to Paris France, Mexico and Canada, with Montreal Canada being her favorite to visit. Andrea’s favorite eat-out foods are Indian and Mexican at Taqueria Mi-Pueblo’s in Southeast Detroit.
Andrea was grounded an inspired by Dina Harris, founder of the Washtenaw Home Buyers Program, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dina has been an inspiration to Andrea. The Home Buyers program is designed to help people who want to buy a home but needed help in accomplishing this. Andrea used words like ambitious, compassionate and committed to describe Dina. Interestingly, the very same words I would used to describe Andrea. Thank you Andrea.
Written by: Monika George
BIG CHANGE IN FAP REDETERMINATIONS
BIG CHANGE IN FAP REDETERMINATIONS
Under a new & clarified policy, DHS cannot immediately close a case just because DHS did not receive the Redetermination form or all the information requested on it by the due date.
Under federal law, DHS must give the recipient a chance to provide any missing information “late”. If certain things are missing, they must also inform the client what it is, such as “no proof of earnings” etc.
As of July 1, if the missing information has eventually been provided to DHS BEFORE the end of the current “certification period”, the case can be reopened without filing a new application. The certification period is usually at the end of the month in which the Redetermination form & proofs are due.
This policy should solve problems where the client states that he never got the Redetermination form & then receives a notice FAP is closed because he did not send in the form & verifications. If your client cannot reach his worker by phone to get a new form mailed in time, he can go to the DHS office. One of the workers in the lobby should be able to assist in filling out & filing a Redetermination form on the computers in the DHS office.
SOURCE: Friends of Oakland Co. Welfare Rights Organization, July-August 2013
Guest Speaker Agreement and Guidelines
Here is an agreement developed by AASC to use when guest speakers from for-profit organizations present.
AARP Shred Events
AARP is hosting 2 shred events on August 2nd at:
Hannan House, 10am-2pm
Chinese Community Center, Madison Heights, 3pm-7pm
Flyer is attached.
Health and Pamper Me Fair
Hi Everyone,
Here is the flyer for Jane’s Health and Pamper Me Fair at Meyer’s Plaza. She has opened an invitation to all CSI Co-ops that are nearby to have their members attend. Please contact her for additional information.
Thanks!
Lindsay
Vote for Meals on Wheels
Also, you can go to this link to vote for Meals on Wheels to receive extra funding! Spread the word and share it with your contacts!
Reaching DHS Case Workers
I found this site the other day when looking for some phone numbers for DHS. I found it to be very helpful. Wanted to share 🙂
http://www.michiganlegalaid.org/library_client/resource.2005-05-29.1117417903315/file0/at_download
Scudder and CSI Rent
CSI SCs are invited to use the Scudder fund, with the exception of using it for member’s rent. CSI has requested that we not use this fund for member rent, because (1) we cannot do it for all members and (2) it may be perceived by members of Hannan and CSI being related.
However, if a member is at risk of eviction due to a precipitating event that caused them to fall behind on rent, you may be able to consider other items in their budget that Scudder can assist with.
7/18/2013 Conference Call Notes
We had a very suscinct and informative conference call yesterday. Thank you for all who attended and participated in the discussions. Of cource it was optional but in attendance were Brenda, Cheryl, Rachel, Adrienne, Alexa, Andrea, Crystal, Diane Crawford, Emily, Karen, Kari, Jackie, Judy, Lindsay, Yours Truly, Maryanette, Puffer, Trudy, and Victoria.
CSI update provided by Rachel was that Microsoft Office 2010 will be installed this weekend (7/20/2013) on all Hannan systems. Users must be logged out of ALL software prior to the installation. There will be an optional training following the conference call next week on Thursday 7/25/2013. The call will run as normal from 12:30 – 1:30 and the training will follow immediately from 1:30 – 2:30 with NpServ staying on after to assist with any questions.
PVM uptdate provided by Brenda was that HUD has approved budget grants at two new PVM buildings. Sage Grove in Kalamazoo and Hillside in Harbor Springs. It’s no secret that Brenda is looking forward to direct supervision visits up north 🙂
Crystal asked about dental resources for low income/Medicaid eligible residents. Several call participants offered suggestions. Among the suggestions are the Tri-County Dental Health Council, contacting the AAA in your area for assistance, Victoria has a list of resources for Wayne Co. that she will post to the SCoop, or exploring options at the area dental schools.
Finally, Cheryl was on hand to give an overview of the Scudder and the American House funds. A big thanks goes out to Monika, who offered to assist Cheryl in getting all information posted to SCoop. Basic information relayed on the programs are that they are funds of last resort and are both available to all PVM or CSI SCs. Both programs are only available to residents living in the tri-county region of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. Scudder funds are available to individuals 60 and up and American House funds are available to those 65 and up. To obtain funds, SC and individual must demonstrate that the funds will be used for special/emergency needs and that the fix will be sustainable. Scudder funds can be up to $300/individual/calendar year and American House funds can be up to $2000/individual/calendar year, however where there can be 6 – 8 grants of Scudder available per month, there is only about $5,500 American House funds available per year. Some examples of different funding opportunities for Scudder are a bed, fresh food box, or in conjuction with other sources, helping to paydown a utility bill in shutoff status. American House fund examples include durable medical equipment i.e. a hospital bed, a utility bill not in shutoff status, or car repairs. American House also requires that grant recipients provide a current photo for American House to use in their program marketing. Hannan is the gatekeeper on both programs and any questions can be directed to Cheryl Bukoff in the Zena Baum Service Center at extension 20. The Scudder application form is available on the shared drive and doubles as the application for American House funds.
Thanks again to those that participated in the call yesterday and hope everyone is able to get out and practice a little self care this weekend.
Cheers!