Working in silos is one thing we at Journey Home see as a hazard to productivity and success. Our Making a House a Home program is no different. Therefore, we are currently looking into some of the ways we can work together and see more success to help our clients in need. This includes our recent partnership with A Hand Up. We have been working together for a few months now and things are going great. The two programs are communicating with each other to make sure we are not duplicating our efforts, to refer donations to each other, share volunteer opportunities, and are beginning the process of combining waitlists. With this effort, it is our hope to get the furniture to clients more quickly, help pick up at donor’s houses on a more regular basis, and ideally condense our waitlists so that when we receive a request for furniture we can fill it within that same week. There is still a lot of work to be done, but by working together, we are on the path to achieving more success and helping more of our new neighbors get back on their feet. Additionally, we at Journey Home we are working on creating new forms for donors, clients, and case managers to try and simplify and expedite the processes of picking up and delivering furniture. We are looking into ways to spread the word about the work of our furniture program and our efforts with A Hand Up, and hoping to improve our referrals process to furniture programs in Greater Hartford and around the state in order to refer clients and donors to the appropriate programs.
