There are over 100,000 seniors and adults with disabilities living in Charlotte, N.C. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Aging Coalition sponsored an Aging Issues Report that revealed over one-third of the seniors polled did not know where to turn for information about services.
Citizens, especially seniors do without senior services when they are not aware of their existence. Needs that are simple may become urgent, and even critical because information and assistance is not easily available. It has been a problem providing comprehensive Information services to states throughout the U.S. and Canada for years.
Just call the one stop, high-tech, high-touch information and assistance service in Mecklenburg County (Charlotte), North Carolina. This is a service of Mecklenburg County government and was designed by a diverse team of professionals, consumers, and other key stakeholders, both in the public and private, for-profit and not for profit sectors.
Just call used input from seniors, outline strategies to eliminate the barriers to obtaining and effectively using information. Just Call does not use an automated telephone answering system. There are no complicated push-button menus or transfers from one operator to another that often confuse and frustrate senior callers.
Just Call operators are answered by trained and experienced social workers that have the ability to effectively communicate and listen not only to what is said by caller, but what is not said, knowing when and how to delve into deeper, often difficult issues.
The social worker who answers the call is most often the only person the customers will have to speak to in order to have the confronting problems addressed, whatever these problems maybe. The social worker can do comprehensive screening and assessments by need, either over the phone or in the customer’s house.
Just Call’s social workers do a great deal more than disbursing phone numbers of service providers. To achieve the highest level of customer service, the social workers practice what J1C calls “cloning the loop.” The social workers will engage in three-way calls to assure that an effective connection is made between the caller and provider, and that accurate information is received and understood by all parties involved.
Just 1 Call can help customers access a variety of services in Charlotte Mecklenburg such as:
• Transportation and housing.
• Health care services and products.
• Financial bid.
• Leisure and social activities.
• Legal services.
Just 1 Call is totally confidential, free of charge and easy to use.
Just 1 Call has solid partnership with businesses, agencies, and organizations throughout Mecklenburg County. They are the first information and assistance provider in the region to include for-profit providers in their database.
Just 1 Call recognizes the vast cultural diversity in Mecklenburg County and can deliver the same quality service to callers in more than 140 languages. Just 1 Call also recognizes individual’s preferences regarding methods of communication.
Just 1 Call has an easy-to-read “interactive web site, which allows Internet users to access the entire Just 1 Call provider database as well as the “hottest” information on the Community Bulletin Board. Service providers can apply for inclusion or change current data in the Just 1 Call database via the web.
Just 1 Call is very successful. It has been recognized both nationally and internationally as a model of a community-based information and assistance program.
Just 1 Call has been reviewed in the state of N.C., Texas, New York, Mississippi, and Maryland.
Locally, one customer has called Just 1 Call “the best use of my tax money I have ever seen.” Another commented, “When I use Just Call, I never feel rushed, and I get the help I need. No problem is ever too big or too small for Just 1 Call.”
Just 1 Call can be contacted at (704) 432-1111 in the Charlotte Mecklenburg area, or toll-free at (877) 889-0323. You can visit Just 1 Call on the Internet at www.just1call.org.
Verlia Caldwell, Pres.
www.icareforyouhomecare.com
Ref: Alan Geltman, Just1Call Project Coordinator
