Our Second Hybrid Community Meeting of 2023
We're approaching our Second Community Meeting of the year. This event will be hybrid; we'll kick it off with free food, merch, and a brief presentation on what we've accomplished over the past six months. The remainder of the time will be dedicated to Clients providing feedback on the quality of our service.
17
OCT
Community Meeting
- Tuesday
- 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Ed Roberts Campus
Twice a year, Easy Does It hosts Community Meetings. These events offer our clients the opportunity to tell us firsthand how the quality of our service has impacted them. Our Second Hybrid Meeting of the year will feature free food, merch, and a brief presentation on our work over the past six months. With plenty of time for feedback after.
Handling Past Due CoPayments
Dear EDI Community,
As you know, Easy Does It (EDI) provides non-medical emergency support services when people’s regular support systems fail. Clients are charged $15 per hour, payable at the time of service, for our emergency care, wheelchair repair, and transport services. While this copay can be a substantial burden for some, it is far below what we would have to charge to stay solvent if we didn’t receive the great majority of our income from the City of Berkeley Measure E property tax funds.
EDI’s contract with the City of Berkeley requires us to collect a co-payment. However in many cases, once we provide service, clients tell us they are unable to pay.
- Many are unable to find an In-Home Support Services (IHSS) Provider for $18.55 an hour.
- Many are Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients and receive In-Home Support Services to help pay for their caregiving needs.
- Many have problems paying for rent and food.
- Many are not able to live their life as they choose without the help of Easy Does It.
- Many owe Easy Does It hundreds of dollars in service co-payments.
And so, we are asking you, the members of the EDI Community, for suggestions on how EDI can meet our Measure E contract obligation to collect copayments, when many EDI clients report they cannot afford them.
Thank you in advance for your input…together we are stronger!
EDI’s Board of Directors and Staff
Other Key Updates
Over the past six months, we've been hard at work building out a vision for Easy Does It that was just being realized the last time we met. In October, we'll have an abundance of Good News and Accomplishments to share that ensure our Agency can continue to excel at serving the community that founded it while modernizing our operations and expanding upon the number of cities where we can provide this vital service.
Modernizing Operations
Better Procedures, Dynamic Online Resources, and Modern IT Infrastructure
At the start of the year, a Huge Priority was to modernize our Operations. We've revised how we handle reporting and rolled out digital service agreements. We also introduced Online Service Applications. Our entire network has been refreshed; all EDI devices are now managed by Microsoft 365 Cloud Services to secure client data.
Retaining Top Talent
Actual Pay & Benefits that ensure somebody will always want to work here
The Cost of Living Crisis continues to harm workers. Retaining talent can be tough, so we fought to ensure our Team is fairly compensated for their work. EDI's base pay is now $24/hr, plus employer-paid health insurance, and a generous two weeks of paid vacation. These new offerings will help retain and attract top talent.
Expanding our Service Area
Now Proudly Fixing Oakland's Wheelchairs. With more to come.
Berkeley is hardly the only community that needs the use of our services. We recently expanded our repair program to Oakland with a grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and have no intention of stopping there. We'll continue to seek out funding that allows us to build upon the number of communities we can serve.
Reaching the Community
Building an Integrated Campaign to do the tabling for us
Trevor's Background as an Art Director has inspired an approach to Outreach that isn't seen often in this role. We will always put an emphasis on community events to reach new clients. But we're also continuing to develop EDI's Integrated Advertising Campaign, which relies on an abundance of content for New Media, Ad Grants for non-profits that let us run ads for free, and limited paid media to reach far more clients than we can with our booth alone.
Getting to the Meeting
We'll hold our Second Community Meeting in the Koret Boardroom at Ed Roberts Campus. Check-In at the front desk upon arrival and head up the ramp, hang a right, then take your first left to join us in the boardroom.
Livestream the Meeting
If you don't wish to comment during the meeting, we'll also be live-streaming to your platform of choice. There's no need to register for the Live Stream and it will be posted to this page the day of the event.