Tax Clinics, Survey, Stories, Follow-Up & More!

Get ready to click on some links and PLEASE take 20 minutes help get this information to people who can use it!

The free tax-preparation clinics that CIN & CCC supported last year are back! Saturdays in February from 10am - 1pm at the Hastings Library and Wednesdays in February from 6pm - 8pm in the Apple Room on CCC Campus (there will be NO clinic on Feb. 14th).

Print and share the flyer here. Go to vita.unl.edu/signup to get an appointment if desired.

Walk-ins are WELCOME.

South Heartland District Health Department is conducting a short survey of what our community (4-county jurisdiction: Adams, Clay, Nuckolls, Webster) is doing to improve Health Equity.

We are asking you to help us gauge where we are as a community. We will then come back to you with the aggregated results and ask you to help us choose 1 or 2 priorities for health equity improvement to work on as a community.

This 30-question survey is the first component of the 2024 community health assessment (CHA) the health department is conducting during 2024. Please follow this link to complete the survey by Friday, February 16. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete.

Take the Survey

January CIN Meeting Results

50 people attended the January CIN In-Person quarterly meeting at the library (includng 17 via a Zoom call) representing 41 different organizations! Thank you for making time for collaboration. Table conversations focused on

1. What does it take to build a community-based prevention system;

2. What is one thing you want from the Collaborative in 2024, and;

3. What are internal and external goals to strive for in 2024 within the Community Impact Network.

Read a list of the "One Thing" + internal and external goals here.

Bridging Forward Update

This week is the last chance to join the 2nd Cohort for Bridging Forward (the Network will be hosting TWO Cohorts in Hastings in 2024 at this time). Encourage interested individuals to attend an Information Session on Wednesday, Feb. 7th at 5:30pm or Saturday Feb. 10th at 9:30am at the Hastings Library. Registration helpful but not required.

Position available: We need someone to be the Hospitality Coordinator for the Cohorts! This person would make sure there is a meal for all the Bridging Forward families and coordinate the great team of volunteer servers and clean-up crew. Read about it here and reach out if you are interested!

Volunteer Opportunities: Bridging Forward is designed to eliminate barriers to participation, so child care and a great meal is provided for each cohort meeting. We need volunteers for the Child Programming Team! This is a great opportunity to see the program in action and help out a little too. Volunteer for 2 hours 1-2 times a month and be a great role model for kids at the same time. More info here .

Opportunities

Area Substance and Alcohol Abuse Prevention (ASAAP)

is hosting their quarterly breakfast on March 20th from 8:00am - 9:30am at Blue Fork Kitchen. The content for this quarter is presented by the Central Nebraska LOSS Team (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors). Volunteer team members will speak about what survivors experience. See and share the flyer here.

WHAT: Mental Health First Aid class.

WHEN: June 8th, 9am - 3:30pm

WHERE: YWCA in Hastings

CALL to Register: 402-462-8821

Learn how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults.

Flyer here

CIN STORIES: Collaboration Success!

On any given day in our region of Nebraska there are undoubtabley stories of partnership and coordination that changes lives. One day in particular highlighted the level of collaboration and life impact happening because of THIS collaborative! Send your stories of collaboration and success to coordinator@unitedwayscne.org and let's highlight the cooperation within the Network!

A family with three kids - two born days earlier - needed help with a high cost vehicle repair. Catholic Social Services, Faith Lutheran and Central Navigation coordinated to fix the car within a very tight time window.
A family with three kids was dealing with an overwhelming bed bug infestation that was keeping kids out of school and the dad away from work. Central Navigation, Hastings Public Schools and Catholic Social Services worked together to get new beds and bedding within 24 hours.
An elderly woman reached out to Central Navigation with after-surgery needs. CN worked with Midland Area Association on Aging and Dept. of Health and Human Services to get rent and aftercare needs sorted out and paid for.
A young couple in need of work got connected to a hiring event with CPI and connected with Community Action Partnership to support their rent payment. Central Navigation coordinated help applying for the ERA2.

Housing Lobby Day - March 13th

Interested in advocating for housing? Need some training and comraderie? Check out the Housing Lobby day and make plans to attend. A contingent from Bridging Forward will be attending and there is room for other riders if interested. Check out the website here for more information and to register!

Training, breakfast and travel compensation included.

ERA2 Updates and Prop. Manager Webinar

The ERA2 process may seem like it is a taking a long time for some area residents. Here is some information to use as talking points and context:

Over 3000 applications were received in the month of October.
This caused a major backlog in processing.
Backlog was caused by several factors. Examples include:
1.007 application have been flagged for fraud. Those applications require extra levels of review.
Verifying Landlord documentation or obtaining missing documentation.

Steps being taken improve processing time:

Adjusting statuses on both portal, and tenant side for more transparent communication of the steps on the backside *coming soon
Adding in a time tracker to see how long each application is in a status *coming soon
Adjustment to HotB (ERA portal) system to improve documentation tab
Ability to add notes
Ability to move files more efficiently
Ability to reject and archive files
Significant capacity/staffing increases
See the Dashboard here - almost $2 million disbursed to 650+ households