One Year of Community Connections

This past May marked one year of activity for the Community Connections Desk, the physical equivalent of 2-1-1 located on-site at the Monroe County Hall of Justice. A joint effort by Goodwill of the Finger Lakes and the 7th Judicial District, the desk connected over 400 individuals in its first year to things like housing, food, employment, and legal services. Connections Desk navigators look for ways to address other needs that might contribute to a person’s presence at the courthouse, and to provide a human touch to what can be an otherwise overwhelming experience. 

The idea for the Community Connections Desk was born when Simeon Banister, the Community Foundation’s president and CEO, spent time observing interactions around the courtroom. “I was watching and eavesdropping a little, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Shouldn’t services and resources be available right here in the courthouse when people actually needed them?” Banister said. 

In Rochester, like in many communities, the problem isn’t always an absence of resources: It’s often an absence of connections. The Connections Desk makes it possible to support people experiencing distress in real time at the Hall of Justice in a way that just wasn’t possible before. When people leave the courtroom and approach the desk, they are met with a friendly face, and a conversation ensues that gets at the heart of what they need and where they can get help. 

One year into the program, the number of people stopping by the desk each month continues to grow. While housing assistance remains the most frequent referral, the desk has also guided clients to assistance with things like Social Security, SNAP, credit repair, and divorce. The true value of the desk is that it connects people to the right services at just the right time. 

The Connections Desk was supported by a $74,000 grant from the Community Foundation made possible by unrestricted Community Impact Funds and the Thomas E. Goldman Memorial Fund. 

Connections Made Possible 

• A grandmother who was awarded custody of her grandchild stopped by the desk in desperate need of daycare so that she could return to work. With one call, emergency daycare was arranged for the child. The emergency daycare center then helped the grandmother find permanent daycare. 

• A mother was transitioning from a shelter to an apartment with four children and needed help finding beds. The Connections Desk put her in touch with a furniture store that donated four new beds for her children. 

• A young man was unrepresented in a court room that the Community Connections Desk navigator was visiting. After politely approaching him and explaining how the desk could help, the man got connected to a legal aid partner and the opportunity for a better outcome.