Announcement: Expanding Our Work with mRelief
As we reflect on our partnerships towards the end of the year, I wanted to share a special note about our work with mRelief. As one of the current Associate Vice Presidents of the Catholic Charities of Chicago, I coordinate service delivery for many programs including SNAP. I and my teams strive to meet client needs focusing on those who can benefit the most from one-on-one help. However, when it is possible we want to empower those who are able to pursue self-service options. It is this commitment to a multi-pronged approach to client-centered delivery that brought me to a partnership with mRelief in 2015.
This same spirit brings me excitement as we pursue expanding our services beyond screening to end-to-end tools that reduce wait times and provide even more relief to those without internet access.I have seen firsthand how Rose Afriyie and the mRelief team has, very intentionally, balanced efficiency, usability and security. As one of the administrators of the largest hotlines in Chicago for rental assistance, mRelief's screening services had a tremendous impact on our ability to focus on eligible clients.
A white paper published by Jason Burkett of Loyola University analyzing the impact of mRelief's technology on the Catholic Charities' call center showed that mRelief's tool decreased the number of overall calls, the length of calls, and the total number of ineligible calls. In the month that mRelief integrated screening software with the call center, call volume decreased by 57 percent leading to a more efficient service delivery to eligible families.
But what is the value of mRelief we hope to build on in 2019?: Scale and growth.
Thus, I am excited to be working with them during this period of expansion into voice tools and especially when the team has had growth year over year. In 2016 our joint platform attracted 6660 SNAP eligible families. In 2017, that number increased to 10,667. As our work moves beyond eligibility determination to end-to-end enrollment, I am confident that their team is well adept at balancing the needs of our staff, clients and the state.
When the mRelief team sets out to do something, they do it on time, with input and in service of the people in need.I think there needs to be more technology developed with the compassion and ethics that are the foundation of our work and I couldn't be more excited for what our work through 2021 has in store for us!
