Making Referrals 

Referrals in Your Own Office 
Helping someone get what he or she needs begins with knowing what you have to offer right where you work. Ask yourself, "What resources do we have in our office?" A customer needs to have your phone number in addition to an explanation of how to use your services including the hours your office is open, directions to the facility, instructions for parking, what information the he or she must bring along, and approximately how long to expect the contact to take. 

Ask your customer the question, "If I could do one more thing for you today, what would that be?" When you ask this question, you are connecting with what matters most to your customer at the moment. Of course, your customer may have needs that you cannot immediately provide. When this is the case, you will have to refer him or her to other programs and agencies in your community. Just as it’s important to operate as a team within your workplace, it’s also important to be on the same team with other community resource people. 

Referrals to Another Agency 
However, before you refer your customer to another member of your team (whether within your workplace of within the "team" of the community), it’s important to be sure you have examined every possible way to help a person. Ask yourself the following questions:

Have I listened to my customer? Have I acknowledged his or her feelings? Have I made it clear what we can offer at our facility? Have I empowered this person? Have I provided information and encouragement?

To help people in their areas of need, you will need the information in the following categories. You may want to organize the information into a chart and post it throughout your facility. The chart will contain resources that are available in every community (some are already listed below), but you will want to add names of services specifically for the region you serve. For each category, list the resources available and each resource's phone number and contact.

Housing and Shelter Assistance       Salvation Army, FIA, CAA  Fuel and Utility       FIA, CAA, United Way, Senior Centers,        Salvation Army  Clothing       churches, St.Vincent dePaul, Salvation Army  Furniture       FIA, Goodwill, Salvation Army  Medical Care       FIA, Senior Center, Catholic Social Services,        Health Department

Additional categories would include food resources, WIC, education, job training, and legal aid. 

You may want to use a referral form to give to people when you are referring them to another agency or resource. The form should state the customer's need or problem, who to contact, what agency to contact, the contact's phone number, the agency's address, and directions to get there. Also include your name and phone number in case the customer has trouble receiving help. 

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