Hardin County Achievement Unlocked

The Mobile Express has been on the road for about three years (over 66,000 miles if you're curious). In that time we've attended hundreds of events and completed thousands of applications. These are all good things.

But counting miles, clients, events, and applications is only part of the story. We also like to count space. We're an Ohio organization so we want to make sure all parts of Ohio are covered. In other words, we want to make sure we attend an event in every county. We're almost there.

We got a little closer on Wednesday, April 25.

For the first time, the Ohio Benefit Bank Mobile Express set up shop in Hardin County. Specifically, we were in their county seat, Kenton, at a soup kitchen at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. The kitchen is open in the last week of every month (smart; that's when the SNAP Benefits start to run dry) and also offered a free consignment shop for its patrons.

Erin and I started off a little slowly. A sad truth about events and distributions is that they often involve a lot of waiting around. There is no way around it. We can take advantage of that by using the dead time to talk to people about benefits. It's a lot easier to convince someone to apply for Medicaid if they're just going to be standing around. This event had no lines. Which is awesome! That is obviously a net positive. But it does make telling people about our services a little bit more difficult.

Thankfully, Erin and I did a good enough job with our 20-second elevator speeches when people arrived at the front door. After their meal, the kitchen's patrons came back. Erin and I completed half a dozen applications, most of them for food assistance. And, in what is becoming a pet project of mine, I helped an ex-felon register to vote.

A huge thanks must to go to Dorothy Hogue, the person who runs the soup kitchen and who allowed us to take their best parking space with little notice in order to be closer to her clients. That sort of support is instrumental in helping us reach out to low and moderate income Ohioans, and we truly appreciated her hard work in getting the people ok Kenton a hot meal and a submitted application in one fell swoop.

Now, only a few more counties to go until we've hit all 88 in the state! Butler, Darke, Auglaize, Wyandot, Delaware, Belmont, and Hocking: We'll be seeing you soon.

Tax Season Comes to an End

 The Mobile Enrollment team attended 43 tax clinics this season, completed 510 applications and traveled a total of 8,882 miles.   We could not have done this without the help of our 2nd seats and wonderful host sites along the way. 

A big shout out to folks that acted as a 2nd seats!  Thank you.  Your time and energy is much appreciated.  Here is a list of our tax season travel partners who shared road miles with us:  Martin, Elizabeth, Brent, Jasmine, Dan, Daniel, Carol W., Jessica, Zach, Erin W., Mo, Sarah, Suzanna, and Megan. 

It has been great to get to know you all better!



Transitioning Back to Benefits

Starting in the middle of January, it's been nothing but taxes, taxes, taxes. Erin and I have helped hundreds of clients over the past three months and we have nothing but taxes on our brain. The Ohio Benefit Bank tax module has dozens of screens and I am confident that we memorized every single one.

Now, in mid-April, it's time to start transitioning into benefits. What better way than to team up with our pals at the Lutheran Social Services Mobile Pantry. We made the drive down to Pomeroy and started talking to people in line for the food distribution.

Erin and I did great. We completed 11 applications in about two hours and spoke to all 180 people that went through the distribution. But, man, I was rusty.

I can't speak for Erin here, but I felt just a shade slower than my usual self. I had to look up things (income eligiblity requirements, Legal Aid numbers), that I can usually access in mere seconds. Of course, it's not like food insecurity takes a break between January-April. I don't get to ease my way back into this.

But then I was surrounded by a Zen-like feeling of calm. I was thinking of January. When January hit, I was a little bit slower when it came to helping clients submit their taxes. I needed to look more things up. I didn't every page memorized. But soon, with repetition and practice, I was back to my old self.

With taxes in our rearview mirror, it's time to switch gears. Soon, I'll be at full speed. I can't wait.

Wellsville Hosts the Mobile Express

The Mobile Express team visited Wellsville, Ohio conducting a tax clinic outside the local library.  Cindy Slavens, pictured below, had much enthusiasm for the van and our services.  Her work passion has been to advocate for people with disabilities in addition to being an Ohio Benefit Bank counsellor. 

OBB Volunteer Patricia Murphy, Russell, Cindy Slavens, and Erin

At the clinic, Julianna and Robert came in to do their taxes with Russell.  This couple has been married for 61 years and are still going strong.  They were excited to have their return completed for free through the Ohio Benefit Bank.

Julianna and Robert Baur

And We're Off!

Rev. Vincent Harris, chaplain at Beulah Park race track in Grove City, invited the OBB Team to provide services for those who work at the racetrack. His work is sanctioned by the Race Track Chaplaincy of America--a group that helps coordinate the assignment of 61 chaplains at 82 tracks nationwide.  His work as a missionary through the American Baptist Association proves to be both interesting and challenging.  On any given day he may support a family of a fallen jockey rider or provide food to those who need it out of his trailer on site. 



He invites Mt. Carmel Health to provide mobile health services.
Pictured here are some volunteers from the local high school.

Groomers, exercise riders, and maintenance workers live on the property during the racing season in small apartments (10’x 10’concrete block rooms).The work is hard and the pay nominal--if any (many work in exchange for room and board).  It was clear to Russell and I that there is a great sense of community behind the track and a palpable love of horses. 

Beulah Park is open from October-April. Workers will migrate to other racetracks as Beulah’s season comes to a close. Rev. Harris was so happy to hear that the Mobile Express serves people statewide and informed us that we will be off to River Downs next!

 


OBB Mobile Express working beside the chaplain's trailer.

 

We completed 19 applications with 10 people while Rev. Harris served up hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill.



Man known as"Cowboy" with Erin.  Cowboy gave a behind the scenes tour --introducing the horses, their trainers while sharing a little about life behind the race track. 
Cowboy is an "old hand" to horse racing and owns many horses.






Horses get exercise on these merry go round type contraptions.

 

Bringing in the Money

Getting Close to their Goal

Ginger Conrad and Mike Toth from HARTACUS, Tri County Community Action Agency, proudly display their piggy bank drawing.  It is their goal to help Ohioans bring $500,000 back to Ohio through tax returns. 

HARTACUS, through their hard work, provides tax clinics in remote areas, such as the one pictured.  We were in Cadiz, Ohio at the local library.  As of February 2012, HARTACUS had completed over 275 returns this tax season, leading the way among Benefit Bank sites in the North East region of Ohio. 

The weather was so warm we needed to open a window---a sign that Spring is almost here.  Yay!

"Chilling" in Canton

I always get disappointed with mild winters. Granted mild winters mean less tax clinic cancellations, but the New England in me really enjoys a terrifying ice storm. Those have been hard to come by this year.

Despite the lack of Nor'easters, the weather can still get nippy. So nippy that doing one's taxes inside of a mobile office can be uncomfortable. So from December to April, Erin and I take refuge in offices belonging to the very nice people that invite us to help out with tax clinics. Much warmer that way.

All that inside time is great for the comfort of clients and counselors alike, but it also means we haven't taken advantage of our impressive technology in a while. A tax clinic in Canton, OH allowed us to rectify that.

We were invited to Canton by Trillium Family Solutions for a tax clinic hosted by CSE Federal Credit Union. The space was gorgeous, but we didn't have a wireless Internet connection.

Enter the Mobile!

Perhaps the fanciest feature on the Mobile Express is our satellite dish. With only a view of the Southern sky, we can set up shop and fill an entire room with the lifeblood we call Wi-Fi. By pulling our mobile office next to the building, our satellite allowed at least five different counselors to access the Internet. By the end of the day, everyone had completed a total of 68 applications. That's a pretty spectacular day and it was an honor to help contribute to its success.

And I am excited to report that Canton got an inch of snow during our stay. It may not be the snowpocalypse I was hoping for, but at least I feel like I've had at least a taste of winter.