I have learned so much from going to United Way of Allen County. People who are in an underserved or vulnerable population use United Way of Allen County and 211 Help Center. United Way of Allen County does not just help the homeless, they help people who have homes but are struggling to pay bills or people that are just making it by struggling. The 211 Help Center is a phone number that you can call when you are in a crisis. People call when they are being abused and need to get out of their homes. Suicide calls do occur but not as often as abuse. There are about 8 211 Help Center's in Indiana. The one in the Fort Wayne location closes at 5 pm but the one in Indianapolis is open 24/7. So when people call the Fort Wayne location, their phone calls automatically get sent to the Indianapolis location. I will be researching data about the Allen County population and conducting a research for United Way of Allen County to have. There are six sections that will be covered in my research which are Diversity/Inclusion, Safety, Health/Wellness, Education (Early education and Youth), Financial Stability and Basic Needs. I will be working on three out of six of these which are Diversity/Inclusion, Safety, Health/Wellness. My classmate/partner will be researching the other three topics. I will have to go through a Communication training so that I can attend public meetings and ask the public their opinions on the community. I will also be reaching out to other sources such as the Police Department of Fort Wayne to find out the Safety data of Allen County. I am very excited to be working on this because its interesting to know how the community is while you are living it.
-Mehvish Elahi
-Mehvish Elahi