09-02-26 Thaddeus Lesiak, MPS Resource Center Coordinator, talks with Freddie Bell and Chantel Sings about the resource center and its role in the community

0:00I can't have like an abscess to, even if they're sitting in the chair, they're going to be on the pain and their mouth and not on the learning that's happening. So we work with families and community partners to try and resolve those barriers so the kids can better focus in the classroom. So we work with some parents with most parents and like some older students, but oftentimes school staff will just call us and say I've worked with a family that's dealing with such and such issue that we can provide them with some of the best community resources to deal with it. Then the school continues to work with the family and they don't have to come into us at all. So we've been around since 1996 and many funded by grants and most of our staff are or were parents of MPS kids and speak English Spanish and smaller right now. Wow. Everybody we're talking with that is Leshuk and he is the coordinator for the Family Resource Center and Minneapolis Public Schools. You off the cuff mentioned an abscess to the pain and all the rest of it taking away from the learning process. What are some of the most familiar reasons that people seek you out and seek help?

1:02Yeah. So our community weizons are a mincer navigator so helping families navigate the city and the county and the states health coverage programs as well as chunk of our work and that often includes helping people apply for like access health services as well. So setting up appointments is finding the right clinic but we see families looking for all kinds of support from food, childcare, immigration services to shelter, eating assistance to clothes, mental health services to dental care and really really everything in between. If a family is struggling right now they're not really certain where to start. What does that process look like for helping helping that family to get the resources they need from your center? Yeah. We often ask for folks to start with their school and check in with social worker or the nurse to see our schools are super resourceful and oftentimes have what they need but for many things like we'll do that work directly with families of like applying for health coverage for EMA, MN, Minnesota Care or some of the community clinics and assistance and so we spend a lot of time with families on the phone with the county and state helping figure out what's needed.

2:11And then there's a lot of other things that will help families. And so accessing some of those community resources and partners for things that are needed and sometimes our funding drives up for things like much of the rent assistance data after COVID and a master of search. So yeah, so it's normally come in or give us a call or check in with your school. We see some questions like we see every day or every week that we have really strong connections for but sometimes we, you know, things come up once in 20 years and so sometimes we had a nurse put us on a hunt for like a specific style wheelchair that a young student needed and one of our staff found a small organization and saying cloud that had something that might work. So you never know it existed and tell somebody asked for it. And so like checking with the school or give us a call. That's exciting. How can we reach out to you and what's the best way to get involved with the resource center and get the services that you offer? Yeah, like I said, sometimes it's easiest just to check in with your school, but if that doesn't work or if someone isn't comfortable talking with their school or even if they don't have kids in school, they can call us at 612-668-4280.

3:24We may be able to help them over the phone or they can come in person as gets one appointment. You can also email FRC at mpls.k12.mn.us. We have in-person offices at Anderson Middle School and 800 West Broadway right now. I just know that there might be a little bit of a weight that everybody's working with somebody. So there's only six of us and there's a lot of Minneapolis. Wow. You know, it's interesting. You know, you just opened yourself up for a lot of stuff because people listen all over the country to this radio station. So what we should link our services, we had someone call us yesterday for a person who could paint their home. Well, maybe you call the family resource center. Minneapolis Public Schools, they can help you out. Yeah, we're doing the Indian. Oh yeah, we've been around since 96 and so we have long time relationships with folks and so we literally have people drive back from terrible or same cloud or delete just because they've worked with us for a month.

4:26For a long time. So we'll work, we'll work with anybody. All right. Well, that is you have a final thought for us this morning and the family resource center? Yeah, I just think sometimes when we're just sitting with our issues, it can be really lonely and painful. So whatever it is, like give us a call 612-668-4280 and let's see what can be done. Right. So there's no reason to kind of do it. Well, on some of these things and be scared to ask for help. So feel free to talk with us. The number went by quickly. Can you share one more time before we say goodbye? You bet you're 612-668-4280. All right. He is steady. Thank you for being with us this morning on KMOJ. Thank you.