City officials are partnering with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to help ensure that residents in crisis don’t have to also worry about where their next meal is coming from. Firefighters responding to non-emergency calls now will carry boxes of shelf-stable food.
The initiative grew out of an effort between the city’s Office of Community Health and Safety and the Bureau of Fire. The “High Utilizer” program aims to help address the underlying problems of people who regularly call 911 for non-emergencies, such as help getting out of a bed, or being unable to control the temperature in their apartments.
Those needs are “simple things that we take for granted every day,” said Sheila Roth, the continuum of care manager for OCHS. Roth helped develop the program in concert with fire Lt. Chad Hirosky.
Firefighters were called repeatedly to the same homes, said Roth, and they “felt pretty frustrated. ‘How do I help this person? We don’t have the tools in our toolkit to make changes in this person’s life.’”
A spokesperson from the Bureau of Fire was not available to comment.
Now, Roth, a doctor of social work, follows up on referrals from firefighters and asks people if she can visit them to discuss the challenges they’re facing; the goal is to connect them with existing services in the city and county.
“We’re sort of the missing piece of the puzzle,” Roth said. “Our hope is to bring everyone together to give the best care.”
Last year, more than 500 non-emergency 911 calls came from just 40 people, said Laura Drogowski, manager of OCHS. Though the office only began operations in January 2021, and with a small team, there are nearly 1,800 first responders who are out in the community every day and can share what they see with OCHS.
“We have the infrastructure and the community engagement to be able to build a more tailored, responsive network,” Drogowski said.
In making house calls during the past few months, Roth and Hirosky found that most residents whose calls the city answered either didn’t have food or had trouble accessing it.
Now, the food bank provides boxes of shelf-stable foods that firefighters and OCHS social workers can carry with them on non-emergency and house calls. The food bank already has similar partnerships with health care providers in the region, and it has worked with a community paramedics program, said Marnie Schilken, the food bank’s chief programs officer.
“As with all of our programs, the Food Bank hopes this pilot will bring food assistance closer to people who need it,” Schilken wrote in an email. “When and where they need it.”
Each box carries two QR codes that can be scanned with a phone, Schilken said. The first code opens an online food bank resource that helps people find nearby food resources that may work with their schedules. The second code provides more information about how to get help applying for SNAP benefits.
Drogowski said three new social workers will start in the new year. As the office continues to grow, she and Roth are hopeful that the food pilot program can be expanded.
