nswadmin, Author at NorthWest Compass, Inc.

Get Creative to Help the Homeless

You know, for many of us our only real exposure to homelessness may be the people outside the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago begging for change or folks selling Streetwise before a concert at Millennium Park. You may reach in your pocket and drop a dollar in the cup, or you may recall something you’ve read about such donations being spent for alcohol or cigarettes and opt to keep walking.

We all agree that homelessness is a societal problem and most of us would like to help, but it’s tough to identify how to provide assistance most effectively. You want to be part of the solution to homelessness in general, but there’s a person in front of you that you literally know nothing about asking for your money. There are two easy reactions: keep walking and ignore that person, or hand him a few coins or a buck. There’s another approach, though, that may have a greater impact and, even better, is more creative and fun.

We’ve recently read about the college student who’s providing free socks, a crucial clothing component for homeless folks who are constantly on the move. There are artists in Boston who create professional-looking signage to replace handmade signs and a charitable organization called Project Night-Night that distributes tote-bags to homeless families filled with a children’s book, a security blanket, and stuffed animal. Many other individuals and groups are developing their own unique approaches. In fact, there’s a whole section on Pinterest devoted to ways to help the homeless.

The point is that if you feel you need to help, there are lots of ways to do it. For those of us who are working and have limited time to try anything that may take time, you can support your local non-profit like Northwest Compass by writing a check to support its efforts (learn more about how NWC helps neighbors facing a housing crisis or food insecurity). However, we also have many groups to which we belong or otherwise have access to, such as church groups, work teams, boy/girl scouts, student groups, clubs, quilting groups, and so forth that occasionally have the capacity to do discretionary projects. Why not put on your thinking cap and propose an effort that would benefit your local homeless population? Check out some of the ideas on the Pinterest page—there are literally dozens that hold potential for collaborative development by a group of like minded individuals.

Other individuals may have a specific skill or own a business, for instance the artists mentioned above who created signage for homeless beggars, that can be leveraged if they are able to donate time and materials. The homeless have the same basic needs as the rest of us. The only limit in how to help them is your imagination.

OK, say you have a creative idea on how to support the homeless—how do you actually connect with such a mobile population that’s largely transparent to most of us? We can help. Contact Northwest Compass at 847-392-2344.

So, drop a buck in the cup, or put your thinking cap on, get creative and do something that’ll benefit a broader audience (or both!). If you truly want to help, there’s nothing stopping you!

What is a Career in Digital Marketing?

As online school becomes the new norm, students still have to choose a career and continue doing well in classes. Fall is approaching and freshmen or undecided majors have to choose a field of study. It is extremely hard to make this big decision, let alone deal with the effects from the current disruptive environment. The goal of this post is to help you determine if digital marketing is the right fit for you.

Proceed Innovative has volunteered to customize techniques through search engine optimization (SEO) for our website. They are a digital marketing company specializing in the following services:

What is Digital Marketing?

In general, digital marketing involves internet and online-based technologies and media platforms to promote products and services. Specifically, it has many departments such as: brand management, web content, social media management, search engine optimization (SEO), web analytics, mobile marketing, and much more. Each digital company has its own focus on some of these areas.

Proceed Innovative mainly specializes in SEO, lead generation, and pay-per-click. Their commitment is to accomplish each client’s objectives and meet their ROI goals. Therefore, Proceed Innovative creates a customized marketing solution plan for each of their clients.

What is Included in Digital Marketing

Each of the following include fields of digital marketing with which to become familiar:

SEO – known as search engine optimization, SEO is the practice of optimizing a website with search engine and human-friendly strategies to improve the online presence of an individual or company while providing quality, relevant, updated information that is convenient for the user. When applying these strategies, one must conduct proper keyword and competitor research, incorporating it into the website while maintaining consistency with the brand message to rank well on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Pay Per Click (PPC) – advertisement through a search engine in which the user bids on specific keywords within a specific time and location to attract relevant traffic and improve conversions. Costs will vary according to the search term, location and competition; however, advertisers have full control of their budget, turning the campaign on and off as needed.
Lead Generation – the practice of generating quality, relevant leads through digital marketing strategies to help commercial clients grow their business. This involves users searching for a local service online, they find the website, call the phone number or fill out the form, which is sent to the commercial client to service the lead. Leads can be charged individually or through a flat fee.
E-mail marketing – the promotion of a product or service through email to send advertisements, request business, or solicit sales or donations. Previously, it was used to target mass audiences. Now, the emails and newsletters are more targeted to specific audiences according to their interests to be relative and improve click through rates (CTR) and conversion rates for the advertiser.
Social Media Marketing – the promotion of a product, service or business through one or multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat and much more. Advertisers can choose to post on their page only or “boost” their posts, paying only when a user clicks on the sponsored ad. Advertisers can choose their budget, audience, location and time to advertise to improve user engagement and conversions.
Content Marketing – the practice of creating and promoting quality, relevant and updated content, such as blog articles, infographics, pictures, videos and more to promote products, services, individuals and business. There is a common saying that “content is king” and it pairs well with social media marketing, SEO, email marketing, lead generation and many more forms of digital marketing.

Personal SWOT

To find the best fit in the massive industry of digital marketing, you will have to self-evaluate on your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for improvement, and threats. The SWOT analysis is an easy and widely used tool to asses internal and external factors. It is a great way to assess businesses, but also individuals.

Strengths – This is a place to think of personal achievements, certifications, and anything that makes you stand out. Open your projects book and figure out why they are so good. You can even include experiences outside of school or work.

Weaknesses – Look through the qualifications of your desired job position. Are you missing any that you can improve on? Also, think about any bad habits that may keep you away from reaching your goals. They could be related to communication skills, tardiness, etc.

Opportunities – Trends constantly change. Therefore, it may be a good idea to keep up with them or create your own. Maybe there is a new technology that you read about, which can help you in the future. Are there any certifications that you would like to obtain?

Threats – Think about your competitors. In this case it may be your classmates and other job applicants. Another threat might be your own self. Maybe there are some personal traits you would like to work on.

Certifications

In addition to self-evaluation, the next step is to get some professional training to differentiate yourself from the crowd. Some ideas include: Google AdWords, Google Analytics, HubSpot, Hootsuite, Copyblogger, Facebook Blueprint, YouTube Certification, American Marketing Association Digital Marketing Certification, and much more. These will also look good on your LinkedIn profile and resumé.

We know education can make a hole in your pocket, so there are some programs to speed up the process and be more cost-effective. It is important to verify if those programs work for you and will help you in getting your future dream job. Examples include: Cornell University Digital Marketing Certificate, Duke University Digital Media and Marketing Certificate Program, GreatResponse Digital Marketing Certificate, etc.

Have Questions About Digital Marketing?

If you are interested in learning more about digital marketing, Proceed Innovative’s digital marketing blog has extensive information on the latest trends, including on SEO, lead generation, website audits and much more.

If you have any specific questions regarding digital marketing, don’t hesitate to reach out to them at 800-933-2402 for answers. Their digital marketing experts are always happy to help.

YOU CAN HELP!

This is a dire time in our Nation’s history and it is imperative that our front line efforts in meeting the urgent need of the most vulnerable neighbors among us are met. We are who others look to in times of challenges, because when our neighbors face adversity, we provide essential services, food and housing assistance and hope!

We could really use your help right now! Will you make a monetary donation today to support our services and fill in gaps as we identify them? Any amount will help!

https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/2331777

HYPE Helps Homeless Teen

While some of us might shudder to think about our awkward teen years, most of us look back on our school years with fondness. But likely not many of us experienced high school as a homeless teen. We probably never had to think about doing homework, trying out for teams or just hanging out with friends without knowing where we’d find our next meal, how we’d wash clothes or where we’d sleep at night.

And while being a homeless teen may be hard for many of us to imagine, that was John’s situation before he found Northwest Compass. In fact, John told his guidance counselor, Jen, that he felt like a ghost, like he was invisible. But the staff at Northwest Compass saw John, and they helped.

At Northwest Compass, we’re committed to ending the cycle of homelessness, for John and teens and young adults like him. To this end, we introduced Helping Youth on the Path to Empowerment (HYPE) in 2016. HYPE adopts new methods to deliver existing services through better alignment of housing resources, education, training and employment services. In addition, the program offers an array of supportive services to foster personal and economic stability, health and safety.

Jen recently wrote to let us know that John is doing well and that finding Northwest Compass HYPE played a big part in that. Watch Jen’s story to learn more about John’s journey from homeless teen to walking tall on campus.

CompassPoints_JenS.m4v from Mary Ellen Ottenstein on Vimeo.

Beyond the program mandates, HYPE offers the care and compassion of its professional staff and volunteers. As Jen wrote, HYPE went beyond providing Housing Counseling and Career Coaching and built confidence. Jen was moved by the donation of a designer jacket, and that our Managing Director of Program Delivery, Sonia Ivanov, connected John to a job at the YMCA. She could hardly believe, that from among so many clients, Sonia remembered how much John loves basketball.

Learn more about how Northwest Compass helps teens and young adults, and other programs we offer, by visiting How We Help. If you would like to help support neighbors turning crisis into opportunity, visit Get Involved to find a volunteer opportunity that’s just right for you.

Meet Penny: New Volunteer Coordinator

Ask anyone what makes Northwest Compass such a special place and you’ll likely hear the same answers. Of course, the caring and compassionate staff, but also its faithful volunteers. Volunteers from the Giving Back program work alongside professional staff to selflessly donate more than 35,000 hours of service each year. And at the heart of Giving Back is the Volunteer Coordinator.

We are pleased to introduce our new Volunteer Coordinator, Penny Regan. Penny is a neighbor and part of our community. She and her husband raised a family in Mount Prospect and currently live in Arlington Heights. When you see Penny around Northwest Compass, be sure to ask about her grandchildren, her travels or about Bridge.

What else makes Penny tick? Watch her story to find out!

CompassPoints Penny R from Mary Ellen Ottenstein on Vimeo.

Penny retired recently from the Mount Prospect Public Library, and during her time at the library, she learned about programs and services Northwest Compass offers. This gives her a head start in her new role because as Volunteer Coordinator, Penny is responsible for screening, scheduling and supporting volunteers across the organization. Giving Back includes a mix of skills-based, associate and community-service volunteers as well as interns and corporate groups. Following are some examples of roles typically filled by our volunteers:

Career Coach
Food Pantry Associate
Greeter
Administrative and Data Entry Support
Accounting Intern
Marketing & Development Intern

Northwest Compass hopes that volunteers use their passion, skills and knowledge to support our mission as they become our best ambassadors. If you would like to help us help our neighbors turn crisis into opportunity, visit Get Involved today to find open volunteer roles.

Coordinated Entry: How It Works

The Coordinated Entry process is a laudable attempt by our government to make things easier both for people experiencing homelessness and for the agencies that provide services to them. In many cases, these folks reach out to social services organizations via phone, a personal visit, or by using a shelter in an effort to find a way out of their situation. Northwest Compass has been named the designated ‘Walk-In’ center for our part of the Chicago suburbs, which means we have the training, resources, and expertise to work with members of the community who drop by (or call) our facility to address their problem and explain how Coordinated Entry works.

We realize that walking through our doors for the first time can be a little intimidating, though. You don’t know what awaits you and whether you have what you need to get help and whether there’s someone inside who can understand your situation. Those who are on the verge of losing their housing or are already homeless are struggling to find a way out of their predicament and the last thing they need is additional uncertainty. We’re here to help, so we’ll try to take some of the mystery out of how it works and what happens next as you reach out to us.

What You’ll Need
To make the process move as quickly for you as possible, our best recommendation is to come prepared. Bring as much paperwork as you can find that might help us assess what’s going on in your life. If you’re in the process of being evicted, bring notices and letters. Your lease document would be helpful, and the basics like recent pay stubs, social security cards, drivers license, insurance information, car repair estimates (if appropriate) and so on will be useful. In other words, you want to bring as much along with you as you can to avoid having to go back for it later if needed.

As you enter the Northwest Compass building you’ll be greeted by a representative who will ask you to sign in. They’ll determine the reason for your visit and will direct you to a seat in our waiting area for a program specialist to meet with you. Once that person arrives you’ll be escorted to an office where they’ll walk you through what’s known as the Intake form. It’s a lot of information that gives the specialist a basic understanding of your problem. We’ll need to know the basics about you, your family, your housing situation, insurance status, and so on.

Since you’re probably looking for immediate help, all this data collection may seem to be time consuming and too detailed, but it’s absolutely necessary in order for us to identify appropriate resources and may also be required by agencies that provide funding to support our program and our clients. There are several options to help people who make use of our walk-in center and we need to be able to select the one that’ll provide the most benefit. To do that, we need information. Whatever you give us will be kept confidential and will only be passed along to any agency outside of Northwest Compass when required.

So, that’s the first step in how the Coordinated Entry process works. Show up at our building during business hours, bring along whatever paperwork you have to explain your situation to us, provide the information we need on the Intake form, and be prepared to work with our program specialist to move ahead. Let’s get started!

Discover more about the Coordinated Entry program.

Coordinated Entry: What’s In It for Me?

Northwest Compass just celebrated the opening of the Coordinated Entry Walk-In Center in an on-site ceremony on June 21st. Unless you’re a client, volunteer, or contributor to our organization, you may wonder ‘Why the fuss?’. I’m here to tell you why it’s a big deal both for us and for the communities we serve.

Coordinated Entry is a program developed by The Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County in response to the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) strategic plan to end homelessness.Coordinated Entry ( CE) is designed to streamline and expedite the process of identifying and supporting the needs of the homeless or who are at imminent risk of homelessness. Northwest Compass has been designated the lead agency in our area and implementation of the Walk-In Center is a big step toward fulfillment of the program’s goals.

But, you may then ask, ‘Why should I care?’. Or, stated another way, ‘What’s in it for me?’ In the business world, that’s a common question that even has its own acronym: WIFM. Actually, there are a number of answers to that question depending on what your relationship is to Northwest Compass. Let’s check out the WIFMs for a few of them…..

If you’re…
…a person or family who has just experienced a situation that has resulted in your losing your residence, it provides a much better organized and comprehensive approach to addressing your crisis.

…a member of the staff or a volunteer at Northwest Compass, Coordinated Entry may mean an increase in the number of opportunities to help those who are at risk of becoming homeless or in need of shelter. The Walk-In Center is just one way that clients can get into Coordinated Entry.

…a staff member or volunteer worker at another facility in the area that works with those in need, it provides a single point of contact at an agency that’s been designed specifically for the purpose of delivering help.

…everyone else, you have an organization working hard to use resources and tax dollars more efficiently to provide services to the homeless in our communities. Did you know it costs much less to provide shelter to those in need than it does to address the issues related to health, addiction, and crime that may result from exposure to living on the street? Additionally, in the event that a friend, neighbor, or even yourself experiences a crisis that results in a need for shelter, there’s a one-stop shop in the neighborhood to obtain services.

The introduction of Coordinated Entry is a change that we hope will have a big effect on identifying those in need of either temporary or longer-term shelter. How does it work? We’ll explore the process in more detail in a series of blogs over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

For information right now on the program, check out our page or call us at +1 847 392 2344.

School’s Out for Summer: Food for Thought

As we celebrate an Independence Day long weekend, we are reminded that Summer is in full swing and another school year is in the history books. For many in our community this is an exciting time of vacations and family reunions, looking for deals on Great America season passes, hanging out at the pool or even preparing to send children off to college in the Fall.

But for some of our neighbors, Summer is not all about fun and frivolity.

Couple the absence of school lunches with increased costs of full-day childcare or camp and some families in our community may struggle to meet their housing obligations or put healthy food on the table during the Summer. Unaccompanied young adult neighbors may feel blue about lack of Summer fun, working full time or, worse, find themselves temporarily homeless while host families enjoy Summer vacations and family time without them. And some parents may be concerned about recent studies showing that children lose ground in reading, writing and arithmetic during Summer break.

Northwest Compass is here to help, over the Summer and throughout the year. The following programs and services are offered free of charge to support the homeless, hungry, heroes and unaccompanied young adults in our community.

Northwest Compass is a member of the Alliance to End Homelessness and proud to be a lead agency in the North for Coordinated Entry, a program that strives to end homelessness while maximizing the coordination of valuable resources. On Wednesday, June 21, Northwest Compass celebrated the official opening of the agency’s Coordinated Entry Walk-in Center.

NWC Housing helps neighbors facing a housing crisis or homelessness, while NWC Food Connection helps families and individuals augment their budgets by providing healthy food options. NWC HYPE (Helping Youth on the Path to Empowerment) provides supportive services to help young adults prepare for life’s challenges and navigate crisis.

And thanks to volunteers from Arlington Heights Girl Scout troop 41614, Northwest Compass proudly offers a free lending library so parents and students can keep reading, even when school is out. No library card needed, no late fees or charges of any kind…just be a good neighbor and leave a book when you take a book. While parents pitched in with the planning, the troop members handled all of the digging and construction on their own. Without the support of a caring community, Northwest Compass cannot continue the important work we do.

Hunger Is Year-Round Problem

Food justice advocate Clancy Harrison brings up some great points in a recent blog on her site. Hunger is a problem year ’round, not just during the holidays and Chicago’s tough winters. During the summer, schoolkids no longer have school-based lunch programs available and parents may be unable to meet their needs without help. Clancy makes a number of great suggestions in her article on how to do your part to end hunger.

Under the Bridge

Ever wonder what’s under that bridge you just drove over? We know about the trusses, piers, and abutments that support it, but are you aware that some unfortunate fellow human beings may be using the bridge substructure for shelter? In Saturday’s ‘Today’s Southtown’ section of the Chicago Tribune, we find an instructive article about the significant problems faced by the homeless people ‘under the bridge’ and what a local organization led by an individual who was at risk of joining them at one point is doing to reach out. Read it here.