Thanks to some wonderful staff members at The Wilson Law Firm, St. Francis House Social Services has said goodbye to file cabinets and paper files.
Jennifer Wilson-Harvey came to St. Francis house with the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Matthew 25 committee for a tour. “We went into social services, and I thought ‘we could help with this,” states Jennifer. She took the idea back to her firm and presented the idea to the COO of their computer group and the journey to going paperless began!
Team members Elizabeth Moore, Matt Rasmussen, Rita Spears, and Chris Cruse met with Executive Director, Darlene Bourgeois and head of Social Services, Phyllis Jones to determine what was needed to make intake easier and keep track of the hundreds of clients that are seen monthly. “Seeing the way things are done was really helpful,” said Elizabeth, “and it motivated us to do even more.”
Rita agreed. “After talking to Darlene and seeing what we could do, we were so excited about it and knew that this could make things better for both Social Services staff and clients.”
“Seeing the file cabinets and stacks of files, I remembered when we went paperless. For a company that has to be security conscious, paper just isn’t secure” explained Matt. “St. Francis House has the same issues for their clients. There’s a lot of personal information that needs to be kept private.”
The group met with St. Francis House staff multiple times and eventually developed online documents that can be used for intake and follow-ups. It allows for information to be changed as a client’s living or financial situation changes as well as keeping track of the services used. The program keeps client information readily accessible and allows staff members to compile statistics more easily. Having all of that available helps with everything from ordering food to determining future needs.
Chris had a slightly different take on the effort. “We’re glad the project is helping, but in the end, I think it did as much for our group as it did for St. Francis House.”
Thank you to all who were a part of this endeavor. It has already done everything expected and more, and we look forward to staying in touch with our new friends at The Wilson Law Firm!