Individuals attending a Pop-Up
event will be connected to all
the services they need.
a doctor in a clinic. Ours is more about
a pop-up intervention that we designed
in conjunction with a whole variety of
community stakeholders from Lethbridge,”
she continues.
The idea is to take as many primary
health services as possible and get them all
into one easily accessible place on the north
side. This way, a person can come in and
receive as many services as needed in one day
without having to navigate through the city.
“Many folks don’t just need one service, [so
we went with] the idea of having all services
in one space,” explains Cathie Scott, Chief
Knowledge and Policy Offi cer at PolicyWise
for Children & Families. “[We’re] working
differently with people in a much more
welcoming less stigmatizing way–more than
just providing information, but providing a
service, and a place where people can get to
easily.”
In deciding where the event would take
place, it was agreed that the pop-up location
should be positioned on a bus route, and in a
location that other methods of transportation
could also be easily considered or provided,
such as taxis or carpool services. “We went
into this in north Lethbridge saying, ‘We
don’t want to make populations more
vulnerable by separating them out to come
some place different than all the rest of us
need to go.’ So, it’s really about serving the
population as a whole better, and making
sure that people have access closer to home,”
says Cheryl. There are no criteria for north
side residents to come to this event; the team
is adamant that everyone in the north region
be given equal access to all services. “We
don’t close the doors to anybody,” Cheryl
adds.
Pop-Up providers and volunteers
are welcoming and approachable, and
individuals coming to the event will be
connected with all of the services they
need. “We don’t want anyone to feel like
they won’t be welcomed. It’s meant to be a
real welcoming, open environment so that
hopefully people feel comfortable to come
in regardless of who they are and what
they might need,” mentions Cheryl. The
IMPACT team refers to this as the “warm
hand-off ”: “We meet at the door and say,
‘How can we help today? Here are some of
the things we can offer here today and how
can we get you connected?’ We get them
where they need to go; it’s a very personal
introduction,” explains Shannon. She says
participating organizations have also started
implementing the warm hand-off in their
offi ces, making referrals or connecting people
in need with other agencies before they
leave. “We tend to operate in silos in the
health care system,” she adds, “and we leave
all of the connecting work to people. Our
intervention is about working hard to help
people make those connections.”
Since its inception, three successful
Pop-Ups have been held at the Nord-Bridge
Seniors Centre with the next event taking
place on June 28, from 3–7 p.m. At each
previous event, more than 60 residents
accessed more than 200 services. “We have
found, up to this point, that the providers
are able to spend the time they need talking
with people and really understanding their
needs,” Shannon comments, and explains
how a lot of times in care facilities or offi ces,
there is such a high volume of people in
need, providers may not able to spend the
necessary time with their clients.
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