Vials of Life

Erin and I recently made a trip to Highland District Hospital in Hillsboro. Not only was this a new county for us, but the hospital was a brand new Benefit Bank site. We were happy to welcome the hospital into the OBB fold!

They were having a huge health fair offering discounted fees for blood work and other tests. Basically a health sale. And with almost a thousand people showing up, we needed to be there to spread the word about the OBB. That's a lot of word spreading.

But I ended up spending a lot of time talking about something other than the Ohio Benefit Bank. We were next to a Red Cross table and they were handing out vials of life. These vials are a good idea! Basically, you write down all of your allergies, medications, and health risks on a piece of paper, roll it into a vial, and put the vial in the fridge (presumably next to the baking soda). Then put a Vial of Life sticker on the fridge and paramedics won't give you medicine that will, uh, kill you.

that's a big cross to bear

So, great idea, right? But when I say "they were handing out" vials of life, please don't take me literally. No one was at the table. There were just hundreds of tubes on a table without explanation. So when someone in the know explained the program to me, I took to explaining it to the hospital's patients.

So now can I legitimately refer to myself as a volunteer for the Red Cross? Because that's a good way to introduce myself to people.

And, the Survey Says.......!

Navigating online systems can be like a maze at times. OASHF has been asked to survey individuals who are trying to navigate ODJFS' request pin/status change system in order to give feedback to the folks at ODJFS.

We are in search of people who:

1. Receive benefits AND,

2. Want to have easier access to ODJFS through their online reporting change system AND,

3. Have a change to report--things like: address change, income change, household size change etc.

If you know of someone in this situation or have an event where people on public benefits gather, your mobile express team would like to attend. We are also able to assist people who want to sign up and begin the process.

This online resource has great potential. It helps eliminate the need for clients to go down to the county to make these changes in person. ODJFS is interested in hearing how people experience the system and genuinely wants to make it an easy process.

We Need Second Seats to Take Pictures of the Sky

Back in the day, Erin had her passenger take a picture of sunbeams shooting through the clouds in Wilmington, OH.

Well yesterday I took the Mobile Express to Ravenna, OH without Erin and I'd be darned if I wasn't going to make our second seat take a picture of the sky on our trip home to Columbus.

I often get asked by people what it's like driving the Mobile Express. Is it scary? How does it handle in bad weather? I even had a client ask me if it's ever tipped over. (A: No. Not yet.)

The weather on the drive home was one of the few times it was no fun driving the Mobile. I promise you I have enough good sense to pull over if necessary, but driving the van in heavy winds is the only time I ever wish I was in a sleek little sports car. But at least we had that rainbow waiting for us when we drove through the storm.

Alright, Erin. Your turn for pictures of natural phenomena from the passenger seat. Maybe you'll get lucky and get a shot of a tornado!

Van Outreach Helps Local Agency

Happy St. Patrick's Day Germantown!

The Community Action Mission Program invited the van team to historic Germantown, Ohio and we set up shop at the local library. While getting our gear together for the tax clinic--computers, printers etc. we chatted about our last visit to this fine town for the Germantown Pretzel Festival.

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Pam Mornneault, CAMP board secretary indicated that our visit with the van last year really got the word out about thier organization. They have since expanded food pantry , emergency (financial) and Ohio Benefit Bank services. CAMP is a volunteer run organization that represents several churches in order to meet the ever increasing needs of those who have fallen on hard times or are facing a crisis.

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They are a good example of the many wonderful organizations out there that give the gift of their time and resources to make the world a better place. Russ and I are lucky to get to rub elbows with folks like this.

On another note Germantown is also home to Cornhole.com. Yes you too can get your very own cornhole set. They do sport a fancy van like ours but I must admit I am still partial to our Mobile Express.

The Benefit Bank is Always Free. Unless...

The fifth section of The Benefit Bank terms and conditions is unambiguous. It is always free of charge. My colleagues and I feel very strongly that tax credits and work supports are something that our clients are legally entitled to. Charging them to claim what's theirs is a perversion of decency.

But come tax season some people really want to give us money.

While we're always appreciative of people offering tips, we don't accept them. The Mobile Team is a pillar of integrity. Yet some people even go as far to drop money on the floor and look the other way. That trick doesn't work on us. We are wily. But there are some clients who won't take "no" for an answer. One client put 15 bucks behind our wiper blades! We didn't notice until we were halfway home.

So what to do with 15 dollars of ill-gotten money? The best idea is to spend it on canned food and create a small emergency stash of food in our main office for clients in need. Another idea is to gamble it on the NCAA tournament and then donate the winnings to to the state to help with the budget crunch. Any other ideas?

VAN Wert

I make that VAN Wert joke literally every time I am in Western Ohio with the Mobile Express. No exceptions.

I mention Van Wert because we had another successful clinic there and the Northwest Regional Coordinator, Gayle Loyola, was nice enough to take a picture of four of the counselors (myself included).

Me, Erin, Lima VISTA Mary, Toledo VISTA Kylee

Uh, guys? What I am going to do about my hair? This is unacceptable. I look like Win Butler.

So it's still tax season and we remain busy, busy, busy. Last year, it was considered a great event if Erin and I had four clients each. This year, that's just par for the course. Even in underpopulated areas like Monroe County, our hands are full.

We're noticing that we're getting more and more sophisticated tax documents. The aforementioned Ms. Loyola told me that back in the day, tax forms didn't get much more complicated than multiple W-2s. Now we're seeing more and more interest, pensions, dividends, and other miscellaneous forms of income. We're reaching a wider swath of Ohio taxpayers and I couldn't be prouder.

Hypothesis: Since we're getting more and more people who aren't getting huge refunds, we are going to see more and more people who need to get their taxes done in late-March and April. We'll be ready.

When There are No Big Returns

Erin and I spent the day in Vinton County yesterday. The least populous county in the state is, like so many other counties in the state, dealing with high unemployment and poverty levels. Hopefully, Erin and I could help people complete their taxes for free and inject some capital into the state.

Except I did the opposite.

Erin and I had three clients each. I had two break even. Zero owed, zero back. My other client owed a little under $200. I went to one of the hardest hit counties in the state and took their money away from them.

Way to earn that salary, Russ.

Now, of course helping people complete their tax forms for free has an added benefit not included in the refund statistics, but, still. Yuck. Not as fun as helping a mom get a $10,000 return, ya know?