Video Guidance is helping Twin Cities-based The Family Partnership use video conferencing to reach children and families in distress.
Following the recent merger of two prominent social service organizations (Family & Children’s Service and Reuben Lindh Family Services), The Family Partnership now manages six Twin Cities offices to ensure services to the metro’s most vulnerable populations. Last year, the nonprofit served more than 17,000 people of all ages, including low-income and people of color, providing mental health counseling, violence prevention and community building services.
“Video conferencing is imperative because it gives us the ability to reach the diverse population within the metro region to make our bilingual and bicultural therapists accessible regardless of where the client lives,” said Jane Ginsberg, vice president of Behavioral Health at The Family Partnership. “We also need video conferencing to communicate more efficiently and effectively with our multiple offices.”
Therapists, including bilingual experts, counsel adults and children with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. In addition, the organization’s education programs reach impoverished teens and children, whom are three times more likely to score “not ready for kindergarten” than other children. And, through its advocacy efforts, The Family Partnership works to reform public policy and to support people to address the many issues that affect their families and communities, including services for victims of prostitution and sex trafficking.
Unmatched training helps nontechnical end-users maximize investment while driving new applications
Ginsberg said she had met with many video conferencing providers and manufacturers and was frustrated and disappointed by the lack of training that was offered. Video Guidance was the exception.
“Unlike anyone else, Video Guidance provides thorough training to teach us – the end-user – how to make video conferencing simple and non-threatening to use. Its newest technologies have broadened our network so we can respond to crises, provide critical expertise and receive ongoing education through distance learning,” said Ginsberg. “Learning about new ways of using video conferencing has opened our eyes to possibilities we thought were out of reach.”
Sheila Mueller, Video Guidance’s manager of training and customer experience agrees.
“This is exactly what we want to accomplish. Our industry has always lacked providing the necessary hand-holding and individualized training that ensures users to naturally gravitate and adapt to the technology. Video Guidance is the exception,” said Mueller. “We know it’s imperative that we outfit our customers with the appropriate skill-set so they are comfortable, confident and competent using video conferencing. Our goal is to provide not only the equipment but to make sure end users are able to successfully utilize it within their own unique applications.”