{"id":75291,"date":"2019-01-30T16:31:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T22:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=75291"},"modified":"2019-01-31T17:14:59","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T23:14:59","slug":"chicago-area-public-libraries-offer-staff-social-workers-to-link-patrons-to-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chicago-area-public-libraries-offer-staff-social-workers-to-link-patrons-to-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago area public libraries offer staff social workers to link patrons to resources"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kimberly Jin<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Out in the bitter cold air, Daniel Palmer waves his crumpled cardboard sign — \u201chomeless anything helps\u201d — at people and cars passing by. Every day the 34-year-old stands here, at the intersection of South LaSalle Street and West Congress Parkway, patiently panhandling for hours. This is his \u201cspot,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not only about the busy traffic flow. From here, he can easily take a five-minute walk to the Harold Washington Library, where he goes to stay warm if it \u201cgets too cold\u201d in the wind, to read the newspaper, and check on the weather forecast, like many other homeless people.<\/p>\n

Public libraries welcome everybody, no matter how much or little they have. But as more people in need such as Palmer turn to public libraries for warmth and safety, Chicago and area suburbs are leading the way in a growing trend where public libraries respond to the needs of the homeless by including social workers on staff to offer professional assistance.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Addison Public Library hired its first social worker in 2015 and the Oak Park Public Library kicked off its social service program in 2016. The Evanston Public Library hired one social worker in 2017. In September 2018, two Uptown branches of the Chicago Public Library collectively welcomed their first full-time social worker, Justine Janis, who splits time between the Bezazian branch and the Uptown branch. And many more social workers are expected to join library staffs.<\/p>\n

As an outgrowth of their long-standing mission of providing information to people, libraries are working hard to listen to the local concerns and tailor their programs to meet specific needs of their communities, including the homeless.<\/p>\n

The \u201csanctuary\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear a lot from vulnerable patrons, especially people experiencing homelessness, that the library is their sanctuary,\u201d says Robert Simmons, who works as the director of social services and safety at the Oak Park Public Library. A 2016 report<\/a> by the Oak Park Homelessness Coalition shows that 2,182 people were estimated to be homeless in west suburban Cook County, which includes Oak Park.<\/p>\n

When local shelters are closed, often during daytime hours, large groups of homeless individuals and families flock to the Oak Park library system, seeking free spaces such as study rooms where they can stay for a long time, bathrooms and also computers where they can connect to the internet to keep in touch with friends and families. That\u2019s critical since 42 percent of homeless people don\u2019t currently have a smartphone and over a third don\u2019t have access to the internet after losing their homes, according to a 2017 study<\/a> by the University of Southern California.<\/p>\n

First inspired by a joint workshop with the Harwood Public Innovators Lab, the Oak Park Public Library hired Robert Simmons as its first full-time social worker in March 2016 and later developed a safety and security team, all trained with mental health first aid, to serve patrons with special needs, a majority of whom are homeless.<\/p>\n

Since 2016, Simmons and his team have helped 297 homeless individuals to find public housing and job opportunities. Some 96 percent of them are experiencing disorders that include mental illness and substance abuse. The team regularly organizes outreach to Oak Park\u2019s three library branches to identify patrons in need. Librarians make referrals and the number of walk-in and call-in patrons has increased significantly within the past year.<\/p>\n

\"Janis,
Justine Janis has had more than 300 meetings with vulnerable patrons in the past five months while working at the Chicago Public Library. She says she is so grateful that social workers at public libraries don\u2019t have to bill for services or do so much paperwork and that she can \u201cjump right in and get down to the meat and potatoes people need and help them.\u201d (Photo credit to AMITA Health)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Immigrants also rely on the social services offered at libraries. In the Addison Public Library, serving a suburb where more than 42 percent<\/a> of the community\u2019s population are Hispanic and about 35 percent<\/a> of local residents speak Spanish as their primary language, social services coordinator Lily De La Cruz says her bilingual capacity is crucial to her job.<\/p>\n

Patrons, especially immigrants who are new to the country, come to the library to seek assistance with enrolling kids in schools, applying for Medicaid and Medicare online, and seeing doctors.<\/p>\n

Unlike many other social workers, De La Cruz says she decides to work several evenings during the week and stays in the library on some Saturdays and Sundays to \u201cmake it easier for people to just stop by the library\u201d and to serve patrons who often get off work late and may have only one day off on the weekend. Offering such hours helps fill the gap left by traditional community caregivers, such as non-profits, who tend to be closed at night and on weekends.<\/p>\n

\u201cLibraries have always been seen as approachable,\u201d De La Cruz says. \u201cOur services are very informal, very welcoming. People are not obligated to give any information that they don\u2019t want to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referral-based model<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently, most of the social services provided in libraries are referral-based. In other words, social workers don\u2019t directly offer help to their patrons but help them connect with relevant community organizations after listening to and understanding their needs. Oak Park Public Library, says Simmons, is in collaboration with over 45 organizations in the Chicagoland area.<\/p>\n

Networking and building community relationships is an inherent part of library social workers\u2019 jobs, says social worker Justine Janis, who joined the Evanston Public Library in February 2017 with a master\u2019s degree in social work from Washington University in St. Louis. She later transferred to the Chicago Public Library in September 2018.<\/p>\n

Legwork \u2013 knocking on doors and sending out business cards \u2013 helps library social workers know what\u2019s available in the community. \u201cI try to practice what I preach at the very least,\u201d says Christina Mendez, a social worker at Evanston Public Library since September 2018.<\/p>\n

In addition to referring patrons to outside organizations, library social workers have tried to invite community providers into the library space. Janis says the goal is to create a \u201cwarm handoff\u201d for patrons.<\/p>\n

\"Christina
Christina Mendez joined in the Evanston Public Library as a full-time social worker in September 2018. She helps 25 to 30 different patrons in a week on average. She said the most fulfilling moment in her work is to see people keep coming back to her for help. (Kimberly Jin\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTo get into a new office, meet a new person and tell a personal story can be hard for some patrons,\u201d Janis says. \u201cIt can be an anxiety-provoking experience.\u201d Offering social services and programs at a library which is already a familiar space \u201chelps get the ball rolling.\u201d The slow process fits the principle of social work \u2013 \u201cmeet the client where they are,\u201d Janis says.<\/p>\n

Janis says she has asked Thresholds and Heartland Housing, not-for-profits that provide emergency housing, to set up outreach hours at the two Uptown branches of the Chicago Public Library.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, evaluating the outcome of referrals is a challenge that library social workers are trying to meet through different methods. At Oak Park Public Library, social workers follow up with 69 percent of those referred to a community organization, Simmons says. These people are frequent users of the library. But for those who never come back, it can be hard to track results.<\/p>\n

At the Chicago Public Library, Janis initiated a social work survey two months ago to evaluate the referral process; the results have not yet been released. In most cases, library social workers cannot directly follow up with community organizations for privacy concerns, Mendez says.<\/p>\n

A budding field<\/strong><\/p>\n

As of June 2018, about 30 public libraries<\/a> in the United State had full-time social workers. Public libraries in other areas are eager to learn from the experience of Chicago area libraries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a lot of emails and calls from people across the country to see what we are doing,\u201d Mendez says.<\/p>\n

Nicole Suhm, a candidate for master\u2019s degree in social work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will work as a full-time social worker at the Frankfort Public Library after graduation. She says the library\u2019s director and librarians became incredibly interested in the idea of library social work at the last American Library Association conference.<\/p>\n

The model, says Nicole, can ease the heavy burden on librarians. \u201cHaving a social worker who is trained in this work and has experience in hearing traumatic stories helps relieve some burden as well as giving patrons someone who is familiar with the social service system,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In academia, library social work is considered a new way to address social problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an innovative model in social service delivery,\u201d says Jennifer Mosley, an associate professor at the University of Chicago who specializes in social work and community. \u201cIt is hard to know what is available when you aren\u2019t already in the \u2018system.\u2019 This [model] helps people onboard…Libraries are already repositories of information\u2014this is just another kind of information that they can offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the digital era, libraries are changing and shifting their focus, responding to the needs of their communities. In the newly opened West Loop branch of the Chicago Public Library<\/a>, people can enjoy flexible workspaces, a recording studio, early childhood play area, and a digital lab featuring coding and design software. Library social work is an important part of the library\u2019s transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, libraries are becoming more community-center-based,\u201d Janis says.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Daniel Palmer, 34, who says he has been homeless for the past decade, visits the Harold Washington Library at 400 S. State St. every day to get warm, read newspapers and books, and use other library facilities. The Harold Washington Library hasn\u2019t hired a social worker yet, despite it being one of the most popular libraries among homeless people. (Kimberly Jin\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kimberly Jin Medill Reports Out in the bitter cold air, Daniel Palmer waves his crumpled cardboard sign — \u201chomeless anything helps\u201d — at people and cars passing by. Every day the 34-year-old stands here, at the intersection of South LaSalle Street and West Congress Parkway, patiently panhandling for hours. This is his \u201cspot,\u201d he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":545,"featured_media":75294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4559],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2019"],"yoast_head":"\nChicago area public libraries offer staff social workers to link patrons to resources - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chicago-area-public-libraries-offer-staff-social-workers-to-link-patrons-to-resources\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chicago area public libraries offer staff social workers to link patrons to resources - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Kimberly Jin Medill Reports Out in the bitter cold air, Daniel Palmer waves his crumpled cardboard sign — \u201chomeless anything helps\u201d — at people and cars passing by. 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State St. every day to get warm, read newspapers and books, and use other library facilities. Harold Washington Library hasn\u2019t hired a social worker yet, despite it being one of the most popular libraries among homeless people. 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