Welcome, everyone, to Midday Magazine for this November 21st, 2023.
Have your host, James J. Mailoff here.
And right now, we're welcoming into the studio.
One of our favorite people to talk to, Amy Fluno, 211 director with our United
Way of Southwood and Adams counties. Amy, good afternoon to you.
How you doing? Good afternoon. I'm really good. How are you?
I'm doing good. I wish I was in as comfortable of a sweater as you are.
That looks awesome. It's warm.
That looks amazing. Like that. So it looks so comfortable right now.
We appreciate you joining us, Amy. We don't get the chance to talk as often as we'd
like to with you. I wanted to get into a couple of the events and things going on
with the United Way. But first, if you don't mind, as you are the 211 director,
let's start with the 211. Sure.
Now, I, one of the things that I've noticed, Amy, and we touched on this last time we
talked to. We here in Rapids were fortunate. We beginning a lot of, you know, new
people moving into the community. A lot of people in our surrounding areas,
Nicosia, Port Edwards, a lot of those areas. Yeah, areas that the United
Way serves. Right. I think for, for most people back in the day, you move to a new
town or something like that. You try to meet your neighbors, try to go to the
local stores and a lot of that. That still exists. And I know a lot of people
still, you know, nowadays and stuff will use their search engines to, to look
for things. But it only gives you so much. And this is where 211 comes in.
And I have always felt like 211 really covers the, the things that fall
through the cracks, the gray area. Yeah. For sure. And I, you're right.
A lot of people just go on, on Google and, and look at it. But Google's not
always right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we get those calls all the time.
Well, and for those that don't know, Google has partnerships with businesses
and places that, you know, make it so that they're, you know, when you search,
hey, where can I get dog food? This company that, you know, paid Google is
going to be the first thing to pop up that kind of stuff. Yeah. And we at
United Way, it pops up if you, sometimes if you Google food pantry, it says
United Way is a food pantry. We are not. And I'm not going to argue with Google.
But, you know, yeah, I mean, but you're not right. So, yeah, I mean, so we
get those calls too. Like, are you the food pantry? No, we're not. But here is
the food pantry. So, you know, I've got to connect you the right way. Not
that Google, there's nothing wrong with Google. I have to use it a lot. But it's
not always accurate. Right. And more than not, I don't know the last time I
heard somebody say, oh, you know, I'm going to call a place. But I want to
talk to a computer. I don't want to talk to a real person. Like, it doesn't
happen. You get the chance to actually talk to a real human being and ask real
questions. Yes. Every time there's always somebody at the other end of
line, always 24 seven, that's the matter. You know, and I don't think that we
necessarily get a chance to really stress on that. How impactful and how
awesome that is. Yeah. The fact that there's a real person there 24 seven,
that's amazing. Yeah. And I get that a lot too. I get that, oh, I didn't expect you
to answer. I didn't expect you to answer that faster. I didn't expect it to be
a person. I expected it. I mean, we do not, we do have an automated system that
you have to go through, you know, to actually talk to someone. But you get to
talk to someone. Right. You don't have to press a lot of buttons. You don't have
to yell at it. You don't have to, you know, get upset. It's like, I want to talk
about what the, what services a 211 offers and what ones they might not. But
let's take a second to focus on the 211 worker, the operator. What does it
take to be a 211 operator? I mean, do you have to know everything? Do you
have to do everything? We do. Don't you think I know everything? I know everything.
I'm going to trust that you do. I'm just going to assume it. Don't ask my
children though. Don't ask my children, you know, those adults, those are
the children. They still think you don't know anything. Exactly. No, you don't need
to know everything. Obviously, we do a ton of training. I haven't trained
anybody for a really long time. Linda and I have been there together for over
10 years. So, you know, we kind of know we're new one. We like to think
anyway. Sure. Oh, I'm positive. You guys do. When it comes to that though,
that's actually that brings up another good conversation because I know how
you guys are. I know Terry is. You don't just sit on your laurels. You don't
just sit. You're constantly looking to get better at these things. So, do you
do? Is that they do go to some or survey? Do you go to kind of like a different
events to learn more? Yeah. So, we just did our, our yearly air, well, it's
changing names. So, it was the airs, which is the Alliance of Alliance of
Information and Referral Systems. And it's changing its name to inform USA,
which actually kind of tells you a little bit more, I think, with name. So,
everybody fights name changes because it's, you know, a pain. But we just had
the conference. And we did our state one. And I am on that board, actually. So,
we just planned our conference. We had it two weeks ago in Warsaw. And it was
really, really good. Great turnout. So, that's one of the many, just one of the
many ways that we do training and we do, because we are certified. So, like, we
have to keep up our training. We have to do 10 hours every two years, which
doesn't sound like a lot. And it's not a ton. But still, it's, you know, it's
that time that we take to learn new stuff and meet with our peers. And, you
know, just kind of find out the new stuff that's going on. Yeah. Yeah. And
the conference was the word I was looking for. I think, I know, yeah. At these
kind of, what kind of things are you guys learning, what kind of things are
you research, like ways to find information better? We, I think more ways to work
with different populations. You know, we, the air, inform USA, sorry, it's just
recently changed. Yeah, focuses a lot on two on ones and then like the ADRCs. So,
we had a lot of both sides from two on one and ADRCs because we do a lot of
similar work. You know, so we have speakers that come in and it's, you know, from
dementia, working with people with dementia, to working with baby boomers, to
working with people with disabilities, to, you know, just every kind of walk of
life and, you know, and self-care too is huge still because, you know, we deal
with a lot of things every day. Colors are not always super easy to deal with.
There's, you know, little things every day, whether it's, you know, a challenging
color, whether it's something that you're, you're struggling with finding
something for someone and it, and if you're like me, I'm a helper and I want to
help you and if I can't help you, then that's hard on me too. Yeah. You know, so
there's a lot of that too. And we just, we do stuff statewide. We do, you know,
training for the things that we do statewide, like our addiction recovery
helpline or mental health stuff, you know, so we're always trying to get to the
next level on stuff. So, yeah. You brought up a couple of key things there when
it comes to 211. I think that a lot of us, including myself, usually when I
have thought of years past of 211, oh, I need to know where the local
recycling plant is or when recycling gets picked up or, or little random
questions like that that we don't always think of when we're moving to a town
or even if we've lived there and maybe moved to a different side of town or
or along those things. Yeah. Heck, you can move a block to a different block
and it's a different thing, you know, and all that. So I pay attention to my
neighbors. So my neighbors had the stuff out. And I know it's dead. Same. Yeah,
same here. But you brought up a couple of other things that 211 is a great
asset for. And when it comes to addiction and recovery, we know we've seen the
stats, whether it's from Alice, the Alistair Port, or just, you know, your
everyday reports that come out, we have an issue in this state when it comes to
addiction. Among a number of things, not just alcohol or prescription pills,
but there's other thing factors as well. For sure. And we also know that from
the stats that we see that a lot of people are trying to get through that are
trying to find ways to recover, trying to get better. Pride gets in the way
oftentimes, shame gets in the way oftentimes. Very much so. I've seen this in my
own family. I've seen this. But I'll say one thing that you get with 211, you
are calling somebody and you're not having a judgmental person on the other
line, but a real person which can feel good. But also, you're not seeing the
person. You're not, you know, yeah, some of those things that can get in the way
of reaching out for help, you don't have as a factor to get in the way with 211.
Yeah, I think that's a really good point too. And I think a lot of people don't
don't really think of it that way. I think it's easier for people to talk to
someone you don't know. And that is not closely related to the situation. And
you know, I mean, you can call me and you can ask me stuff about, you know,
finding places for your loved one to go or, you know, and you can, you can pour
your heart out to me. And I'm not going to judge you because I don't know the
situation. You know, I only know what you're telling me. And I'm not going to
say, you know, oh, that, you know, why are you doing that? We don't do that
because it's not what we're there for. We're there to listen to you. We're
there to listen and to hopefully be able to help find resources that can help
you know, but we do take it a little differently too. Then if you're talking to,
you know, you're a different family member that has their own opinions and has
their own thoughts on what you should be doing or not doing. And why aren't you
doing this? And why are you doing that? And, you know, I mean, we are just like,
well, have you tried this or have you tried that? You know, just trying to
help you find different ways to think about situations. And it is easier to
talk to someone that you don't know that doesn't have, you know, intimate
knowledge of what's going on in your house or what you, you know, it's, it
just feels so much easier. And I hear that a lot like it's just easier to
talk to someone that, it's, it's straight information, you know, and it's not
opinion, it's information. And that goes a long way for people in these
situations. Yeah. And we're not, you know, we're not a machine. We do have
feelings. We do, you know, understand. And our empathetic to what you're going
through. So we're not going to, you know, it's not like it's just a average
conversation, you know, we, we try to have that empathy and we try to, you
know, just help you talk through it and walk through it and see, you know, how
we can help, which, you know, makes a huge difference. I think you said one of
the biggest words you can there, and you try, you try to help you try to
empathize. And that goes so far farther than we can ever put in the words when it
comes to people in these situations. Yeah. And I do think it means something
that you get the best of both worlds where you're talking to a living, breathing
human being and that empathy of that that a computer can't give you will
also though somebody who doesn't know you. And you've got the
enominousness of that and everything that really goes a long way.
Yeah. And some people are, I want the resources and I want to get off the phone
as soon as possible. Yes. Yeah. And then there's the next person where you
talk to them for a half an hour because they tell you what's going on. They
tell you how many times they've tried with this family member. They've tried,
you know, all this different stuff. And they tell you, you know, exactly how
they're feeling. And they just want someone to say, you know, it's okay, we
understand that you've been trying. And, you know, maybe let's try this or, you
know, have you looked into this or, you know, have you talked with the family
member? Are they willing to get help? That's always a huge piece of it too. You
know, and just different things that they might not have thought of. And I think
that this is a service that not everybody may be familiar with. But I want
them to be even if they don't need the service because I want people that for
one, we never know who's hurting, who's suffering and might need this
service. So that's an important thing. But also, I hope that it does for others
what it does for me with the United Way. And makes me want to back you guys
even more. Because to me, this is above and beyond. Yeah. This is more than is
expected of a nonprofit. And I admire it. It also speaks to the United Way
doesn't just talk a good game. They put their money where the mouth is.
They, they, you talk about wanting to help with addiction, help with these
things in our state. And it's not just, okay, we're going to do this. We're
going to do that, you know, one little event for it or something. It's an
everyday thing you guys are doing. Yeah, I totally agree. I think it's, it's
definitely something above and beyond. And just when I was at the conference
too, I met with, or chatted with some of the other center directors that I
don't get to see. I mean, we, you know, we have meetings monthly and weekly
sometimes on different things. And, you know, we see each other over the
computer and, you know, emails and whatever. But it's nice to just go back to
face to face. And, you know, and just being able to talk about stuff and talk
about what's going on in our centers and, you know, what everybody's seeing
and how everybody's doing it. And, you know, we try, you know, because we are
statewide. So we do try as hard as we can to make sure that we are all doing
the same thing and doing it the same way. And, you know, what I mean,
everybody is completely different. You know, I, I answer the phone differently
than Linda's. I talked to people, you know, you know, we do, we do the same
thing, but we are different people. Right. We have different personalities.
We have different gifts. We have different talents. So we use those differently.
But I mean, we all are striving to do the same thing. Yeah. And that's just
help people. That's, that's what we do. You mentioned a couple of services
that are also offered from two and one, we mentioned this one about helping
with addiction and that. What, what are some other things that people call up
and ask about? Yeah. So like mental health resources. So we have counseling
resources. We have, you know, if you want to, I mean, we can, we can talk
with people. It's not, you know, not that we can't, but we also can't spend
an hour on the phone with someone. I have. But we generally try not to, you
know, so we have warm lines that we can transfer them to crisis intervention.
If that's what's needed, because some of our centers are crisis workers. We at
ours are not, not trained in that. So we, you know, hand it off to the people
that are, you know, so mental health has been a really big one lately. Just, and
it will continue with the holidays. Oh, yeah. You know, different things like
that, the addiction recovery help line. You know, there's just anything in
everything that you're looking for. We usually have something always like to
remind people 988 is the suicide and crisis lifeline 988. You can call that
anytime or you can press three other numbers through one one. Yes. Yeah. And
they'll help you out with that. Yes. So there's a new, new thing too. We should
talk about too. There's a new 211 app. Oh, yes. Yes. Yeah. So, and then in my
notes, one of the makes our friends down in Dane County, they spearheaded it
and they put, they put a ton of money into it and they are, they are going
gangbusters down there. They are, I mean, they have so many partners. They've
done little kiosks with their little iPads all over the city with libraries
and senior centers and just go and nuts with it, billboards and bus wraps. It's
insane. But it's doing really well. Good to hear. Yeah. Very good to hear. This
is, this is again, what I'm talking about above and beyond. Right. And just
take, you know, okay, you could sit two on one's great as it is. Could just sit
there where it says, no, no, how can we get reach more people? Yeah. And they
had, they actually had someone come up to them and ask them, you know, to do
this and, you know, fund it and help with it. But it all of us statewide have
said, yeah, we want to have our information in there. So it is all statewide. So
you can download the 2-1-1 app off the Play Store. I don't do Apple. I do the
Play Store. So however you do it. And you, it's, it's super easy to use. I mean, we
still, you know, direct people to the website. We still, we text, we chat, you
know, the app. So there's so many ways that you can get a hold of us. If you
don't want to talk to someone, which is how a lot of people want to do it to,
which is totally fine. But yeah, the app is going really well. I'm excited to see
that I'm going to check it out myself. Yeah. Think I look at it. Maybe the next
time we get together, we can talk a little more about it. Yeah. Wherever you get
your apps, be sure to down the 2-1-1 app, everybody. And as we're kind of
wrapping up talking a little bit of the 2-1-1 conversation, I do want to
remind people when you are calling 2-1-1 to have some empathy, there are real
people on the other end and people that work their tails off for us. Some of
the hardest working people in our community are at the 2-1-1 operators and
operators in general. Yeah. So people, when you're making these calls, keep that in
mind when you're talking to people who have a little empathy, they're going to
have it for you, have it for them. Yeah, it's not an easy job. That's for sure.
And I mean, I love that it's different every day, but that's the hard part
that it's different every day. And every call is different. And yeah, I mean, I am
one of those where I want, like I said, I want to help you. And if I can't help
you, that bothers me. Yeah. You know, so like I tend to dwell on the harder
callers and, you know, get down on myself and not, you know, enjoy the good
callers that are appreciative. And so it's a hard job. I can feel that. And I
get that. I take it easy on yourself because you're amazing. But also, it's
understandable. I think we can, a lot of us there listen and can relate to
that. I appreciate the work that you and Linda do over there. Yeah, I
appreciate it. I want to talk a little bit about some of the things going on
over at the United Way. Now, for the audience, Amy is in studio with us.
Now, Amy loves coming by the studio here, but I'm imagine it also was just a
chance to get away from all the reefs. Just for a moment. Just a moment. Just a
moment. It's crazy. We have been super busy. I think we've had more people
walk into our office in the past two weeks than like in the entire year. But
yeah, we are surrounded by a reefs are two in one office. Stephanie hangs
them in every little spare nail that's hanging on the wall. So we are surrounded
by a reefs. They're beautiful. There's some really nice ones this year.
The registration for the reefs is closed, but you have now, now the next
stage. You have December 1st is when this will kick off. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And
like I said, there's, there's really big ones. There's small ones. There's more
wintery themed ones. They're not all strictly just Christmas. You can, you know,
leave them up longer. Yeah. Um, they're just, they're really, really pretty
ones. They are, uh, they are made by some of our greatest local creators
around here. And so they got that local feel to them. Yeah. You're, you're
supporting local and that feels good. Which I love because I'm not creative
whatsoever. So I, I'm so big because I don't, I can't make it. I couldn't
make, I, if you gave me a year, I couldn't make half a reef. Me neither.
What a, it's like a, yeah, in the creativity of the creation of these
roots. Yes. Yes. You, you think you've seen it all. And then another new year
comes by and there's just these great ideas. Yeah. Yeah. I can't do it. But
thankful for the people that can. So December 1st, this will kick off at 7 a.m.
and end Tuesday, December 5th at 7 p.m. Winners must pick up race at the
United Ways office at 351 Oak Street right here in Rapids. Payments can be made
online or when the reef is picked up. And of course, you, you, uh, you're
going to compete for these reefs, uh, and try to get that. And, and all the money
goes back into our community. Right. Yeah. Yeah. It's a really great
fundraiser for us. I mean, you know, who doesn't want a new holiday
reef to hang on your door or your wall or wherever in your office? Yeah.
It's, uh, it, you could use one in here. The last two years, it, oh, we
could definitely use one in here. Pam, that's an idea. Okay. We got to get in
on this. And I, and now I got two reefs to bid on because I have to do this
for my mom every year. Oh, that's a great present. It's a great idea. It's
their Hanukkah gift. I did it two years ago. And I just thought it'd be fun
to do. Yeah. Well, I created the monster. Uh, now she wants one every year.
That is a really good idea. It's a fun one. So there you go. If you need a
present, mm-hmm. Start bidding. And you are going to find many better
presents that not only have, uh, again, the local feel to them, you can tell
this person I got through the United Ways. So the money we spent is staying
in our community and helping so many great people and families. Yeah. Um,
but you also, these, these things have, um, I know my mom is able to keep using
the ones that she's used. Yeah. She's had and stuff. They've stayed in really
good shapes. She's taken very good care of them. So, you know, multiple doors.
She puts them on different doors and stuff and just likes to have them. I love
that. It's great. And it kicks off on December 1st. You can find out more
information at you. W. S. W. A. C. dot org. Be sure to bookmark that page to see
and keep up on this. Yeah. Um, these sweepstakes that are going on. Yes.
Yes. Yeah. So that ended on Friday was the deadline. Um, so I think in a short
couple of weeks, they'll be drawing names, um, just finishing, Stephanie's just
finishing up, um, entering all that great information. So that everybody that
dropped it off by four o'clock last Friday will be entered, um, five
chances to win $1,000. So it's pretty cool. Who does want money right before
Christmas? Yeah. That seems like a really good idea. That seems great. Yeah. Uh,
and congratulations to everybody when we find out who won to them and everything.
And a big thank you to the United Way for such a great idea and a lot of
fun. Uh, that we had. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and, and, you know, this is, uh, this is
a the time of year. There's a football on the mind for many of us. And we
love to root for our home team, support our home team. Um, in this state,
you've got a couple of really great football teams and Wisconsin Badger football
team, your Green Bay Packers, two great organizations to put back in the
state all the time. Uh, with that being said, and I'm saying this with respect
to those organizations, your hometown team is a United Way. Yeah. For sure.
Nobody puts back into their community like the United Way does. Yeah. Support
your local hometown team, uh, root for them, pull for them. Uh, now, certainly
dollars and cents go very, very, very far. Yes. We want the United Way to be
able to do even more than they're doing. That's amazing to think of. But yeah,
we're trying to put more on your play, Amy. I know. I'll take it. But, uh, we
can do that if we are able to give you guys the funds to be able to do. Yeah.
Yeah. And I mean, so 211 is an internal program of the United Way. And I know
I've set it before. So it's the volunteer center. And without the funding,
we wouldn't be able to do what we're doing. So we need, you know, we need that.
We need to, we need to be able to continue what we're doing and, you know,
keep getting better. So the services that, um, the people that use the United
Way, whether it, no matter what the gamut of things are, um, we know again,
going back to the L support that so many people are just a hair away from maybe
needing those services. Yeah. So it's certainly, um, and I think, uh,
forward thinking and insightful to be able to donate to these. Um,
there's also this time of year, there is not many better feelings than helping
our nonprofits and helping our organizations. And I think a lot of people out
there these days, they want for lack of a better way to put it more bang for
their buck. They want to be able to take that dollar and help as many people
as we can with it. And everybody wants that. I mean, you don't want to,
you know, you don't want to see your money go to waste. You don't want to,
you know, feel like it's not doing anything. So yeah, for sure. I mean,
we try to do as much as we can with what we got. So in that, your donations,
while you can go ahead and say, take this five dollars, put it wherever you want,
you can also be more specific with those things. Yeah. I'd like just to go to
helping early reading, you know, early child leading or I want to help out
Adams County or this or that. You can be more specific with those donations as well.
Yep, absolutely. You can tell us where you want your money to go, which,
I don't really know if that is a possibility in a lot of places. You know,
that you're doing money, money, you don't, you don't really get a say in
where your money is going and what your money is doing, but you do with us.
You really, really, really do. And you can stress that enough.
Yeah, I agree. In fact, to that point, Terry and I, it's going back to one of our
first conversations, her and I had about the transparency of the United
Way that every penny goes into other community. And that goes, you know,
especially her and I were talking right before the pandemic. And when that happened,
and it's certainly around that time, people became a little bit more
skeptical about these things. Yeah. The, you know, in a way, you can see the books.
It's all right there for you. Yeah. Every penny goes keeps in this community.
Yeah. Yeah. Appreciate that. I appreciate you, Amy. Thank you so much for hanging out with us
today. It's been a lot of fun. Yeah. I want to remind people one more time about the services
that you can get through to one one. Yeah, I mean, you can call to one one for
absolutely anything. No question is too big or too small.
Yeah. So if you're loved one, you know, always want to shout out if you're loved one
is struggling with an addiction. You know, we have the Wisconsin Recovery Addiction
Helpline and we try as hard as we can. I mean, resources for that are a few and far
between sometimes, but we try our best and, you know, hopefully can give you some
direction on how to fix and help what's what's going on. Mental health resources.
There'll be, you know, we have stuff for Christmas. We have stuff. Well,
Thanksgiving is in two days. So forget that one. I can't believe that. It's crazy.
It's crazy. Don't even know. But yeah, any question that you have?
Yeah. Give them a call at 211 and be sure to have that ready to go on your phone or
anywhere. Yeah. And get the app. Get the app. Get the app. You can text us. There's
chat. We don't chat here locally, but if you you can chat and still get resources for
there. You always appreciate the time. Thanks so much, Amy. Thanks.
And find out more by going to uswac.org. Be sure to bookmark that web page.
Follow the United Way and all your social media accounts. It's a great follow.
Well, a more midday magazine for you tomorrow right here at WFHR locally grown radio.
