PEP OhioRISE Care Coordinator Builds Trust to Make a Difference

On the day she met her new 3-year-old client Josh*, Misty Eddy, an OhioRISE care coordinator at PEP Connections, immediately understood why she was needed. The youngster was a bundle of energy, bouncing off every piece of furniture and literally climbing the walls. Temper tantrums were frequent, and aggressive behavior was the norm. His mother Barbara* was exhausted from the near-constant vigilance it took to keep him safe – while also caring for his three other siblings under five, including a younger sister. And because he wasn’t yet potty trained, he wouldn’t be able to attend preschool.

“In a word, it was chaos,” Eddy laughed, as she described the visit.

Compounding the challenges Barbara faced was the fact that she had lost her opportunity to get Section 8 housing. She had been working with someone from another agency and unfortunately, he had been unable to finalize the process, putting her in danger of homelessness. His role had been to help her find Section 8 housing because the home where she lived was not lead safe and all her children had experienced lead poisoning. While she was able to stay in her existing residence, the situation was dire. Her choice was homelessness or continued lead poisoning.

Overcoming Client Wariness

“A lot of times our clients have an automatic distrust of us. They see anyone coming in to help as “the man,” explained Eddy. “These workers are coming in and out of their lives all the time and when they’ve had a bad experience in the past, it reinforces that distrust. Barbara is so sweet, but she was a little leery at first.”

Eddy got to work right away. She knew that in order to provide Josh the support he needed, she would need to help his mother. She also knew that in order to help his mother, she would need to build trust.

Eddy and Barbara had a natural rapport, so Eddy built on that. She provided some pointers to help address some of the day-to-day challenges that were overwhelming Barbara. She helped Barbara develop a strategy to potty train Josh and provided some pointers on how to respond to Josh’s aggressive behavior. Finally, she procured the Section 8 paperwork that would be needed to re-start that process and left it with Barbara.

“After just a week, Barbara began to see some success,” said Eddy. “Josh was on his way to being potty trained and Barbara was feeling more confident in handling his difficult behavior.”

Continued Housing Issues

One thing that hadn’t changed after several weeks, though, was the housing situation. Eddy noticed that Barbara had not filled out the paperwork for housing and made excuses for not having done so. Her inaction seemed odd after her enthusiasm around the other strategies. A light bulb went off for Eddy. It wasn’t that Barbara was being irresponsible with the paperwork or forgetting about it. She couldn’t do it. Barbara couldn’t read.

“She’s embarrassed about it. It’s not something she likes to share,” said Barbara, “but by this point, we’d developed a really good relationship. She trusted me. When I asked her about the paperwork, she hesitantly admitted she couldn’t read.”

Eddy worked with her to complete and submit the new paperwork. The application is still in process, but the right steps have been taken to get new housing for Barbara and her family. This positive development would not have been possible without Eddy’s help. In turn, Eddy wouldn’t have known the Barbara needed that help if she hadn’t established trust.

Making a Difference

As a care coordinator for OhioRISE, Eddy’s role, like all care coordinators in the program, is to make connections that promote the success of their clients. Making those connections requires first making a connection with the family.

OhioRISE is designed to help young people who have multiple needs that result from behavioral health challenges or who are at risk of out-of-home placement. Care coordinators design individualized care plans that build on family’s strengths, put together a care team with the family, and provide in-home and community resources, using available natural community supports.

“Barbara told me, ‘I love that I can call you for help and you treat me like an equal,’” said Eddy. “I’m a social worker,” she continued. “We do this work because we want to make a difference in someone’s life.”

As Barbara competently handles Josh’s challenging behaviors and her family anticipates finally moving into a safe new home, it’s clear that making a difference is exactly what Eddy did.

Learn More

To learn more about PEP Connections and OhioRISE visit our website. To make a referral or to see if your child could benefit from OhioRISE care coordination, call 216-361-2441 or email pepohiorise@pepcleve.org.

*Names have been changed for privacy.