New Look, New Focus, Same Services

Along with the new look, The Ohio Benefit Bank Mobile Express will also be working to upgrade its ability to support the OBB network! 

As you all know, the OBB Mobile Express functions like a full-service OBB site and is available to attend various events and provide OBB enrollment services. The Mobile Express comes complete with two highly trained OBB counselors and all of the technology necessary to use the OBB, including satellite Internet access.

In an effort to better support the OBB network as a whole, the Mobile Express will now be focusing on attending events that will target specific populations, including seniors, veterans, and people living with disabilities.  These populations often face unique barriers to accessing and utilizing benefits, so service providers have to work smarter to help.  The Mobile Express team will identify effective strategies and share them with the OBB network.

If you are planning an event that will reach out to populations including seniors, veterans, or people living with disabilities, please fill out the OBB Mobile Express Request for Participation found at www.ohiofoodbanks.org.  If you have any questions, or if you are not sure if your event fits, please contact Tyler Davis – tdavis@ohiofoodbanks.org.

On the road again: Veterans Day Parade

The Ohio Benefit Bank Mobile Express is back on the road! In lieu of a christening ceremony for the newly styled Mobile Express, we instead gave it a rousing send off by participating in the Columbus Veteran’s Day Parade.

Not only was this a great chance to thank our Veterans for their service, but it was also a fantastic opportunity to reach out to hundreds of people in Columbus. The Ohio Benefit Bank helps veterans apply for the tuition assistance and training that they have earned, including resources like the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill. (Click here to apply today)

We were joined by several OBB regional coordinators and other staff members from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, all of whom helped pass out nearly 500 flyers about veteran-specific benefits. Our candy throwers, on the other hand, seemed to have an inexplicable popularity with the “ages 5 and under” bracket. Hmmm....

We couldn't have asked for a better way to showcase the Mobile Express’s brand new look, nor a better way to get excited about our upcoming events.

Extreme Makeover: Mobile Express Edition

The Mobile Express is back on the road after some much needed R&R. In other words, the van got a makeover, and looks better than ever thanks to Trent Lundberg at Guru Graphix. 

Trent did a fantastic job of redesigning and updating the Mobile Express, and we couldn’t be happier with the results! For more examples of Trent’s work, or for any graphics needs of your own, check out his website. Thanks so much, Trent!

  

People say you learn something new every day

But some days you learn more than others. This is especially true when you get a chance to work with someone who has as much experience as my boss, Zach Reat, the outreach programs manager for The Ohio Benefit Bank. Just the other day, I traveled with Zach to a Life Skills Back to School event, and learned about a fantastic resource for a traveling benefits counselor like me, which is also extremely useful to benefits counselors helping clients that might be in from out of town or who have family members in different counties.
 
As a mobile enrollment specialist who travels to different counties on a daily basis, I frequently need to refer clients to community resources, even when I am not familiar with resources available locally. The first thing that comes to mind during instances such as these (other than referring the client to a local OBB site that might have more knowledge regarding local resources) is to refer someone to their local community resource directory through the Ohio 2-1-1 network, which provides referrals for local food and clothing distributions, free legal aid, or any other local assistance that is designed to help clients meet their particular needs.
 
However, not all of these community resource directories can be reached by dialing 2-1-1! Luckily, there’s a map for that. Zach referred me to a fantastic web page, which I now keep bookmarked on my computer, that shows whether the Ohio 2-1-1 network is active in a particular area, and lists the local call center contact information for each county. 

Check it out: http://www.referweb.net/ohio/ 

A "Golden" Opportunity

I have been told on more than one occasion that I have developed quite the obsession with Golden Buckeye Card applications. In fact, what’s not to love? 

The Golden Buckeye card offers 5% discounts at a number of restaurants, $0.29 drinks at McDonalds, and (most importantly) allows one to get discounts on his or her prescriptions through the Ohio’s Best RX program that is included with a Golden Buckeye card. However, the benefits of using a Golden Buckeye card are only part of the reason that it comes up so frequently in my conversations with clients. The truth of the matter is that I talk to so many people about whether or not they might be potentially eligible for a Golden Buckeye card because most clients are unaware that the age requirement is waived for adults with a permanent disability. It’s an awesome thing for a counselor to be able to tell a client that all we need in order to apply for his or her Golden Buckeye card is to see a Medicare card or a letter from Social Security stating that the client is permanently disabled. 

The icing on the cake is that by applying with a counselor from The Ohio Benefit Bank, a client is able to walk away from the experience with a temporary Golden Buckeye card that he or she can use until their official card arrives in the mail. This is a fantastic way to introduce someone to the OBB, and to transition into checking if a client might be potentially eligible for any of the other benefits offered by the State of Ohio. So if that’s not worth obsessing just a little bit over, what is?

-- Tyler

Crowd Control

This past Thursday, Erin and I were able to attend a fantastic food distribution in Lorain. It turned out to be an extremely well-attended event, hosting more than four hundred people from across the county. The volunteers did a great job, and kept people moving quickly through the lines. However, that meant that Erin and I had to step up our pace in order to attempt to talk to as many families as we could about The Ohio Benefit Bank. Even for us, it would have been a tall order to try to get to everyone, but fortunately the Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio was able to provide us with some backup in the form of VISTA Nancy Smith.

Having Nancy along was a great experience. She has a lot of passion for the work that we do, and she was extremely effective at reaching out to groups of clients. It really reminded me of how important the work of national service members is to the work of The Ohio Benefit Bank network. In this case having an extra teammate working on outreach greatly augmented our efficiency, as we were able to maintain a consistent flow of applications throughout the duration of the event, something that never could have occurred had Erin and I both been focused on working on both outreach and the actual application process.

Thanks Nancy!

P.S.
If you are interested in learning more about AmeriCorps, visit our website.  If you would like to increase the capacity of your agency by hosting an AmeriCorps member contact Maureen Ringlein at mringlein@ohiofoodbanks.org, or Kelsey Raines at kelsey@ohiofoodbanks.org.

A Mobile Reunion in Pomeroy

Every quarter, the Mobile Express meets up with the Lutheran Social Services Mobile Pantry in various locations. This week we went to Pomeroy, Ohio to do a benefit clinic in the parking lot of Alligator Jacks, a local flea market. Churches in the area provide volunteers and supplies to make this distribution possible.  

Pictured here is Tyler with Mark McPherson, who manages the LSS Mobile Food Pantry and the LSS Lancaster Food Pantry. Mark is a man with a big heart. He enthusiastically announced our arrival and does his best to  make residents aware of benefits available to them through The Ohio Benefit Bank.

Below: canned food and produce are the main items given at the mobile food distribution. Sausage was a special treat at this particular event.