Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Social Services Prevention topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Care Forward asks Roanoke to expand volunteer urgent‑needs platform, says small fixes avert costly services
Summary
Care Forward asked Roanoke City Council on April 21 to approve a vendor contract expanding a volunteer platform that routes urgent needs reported by caseworkers to community volunteers, saying quick fixes avoid costly public services.
Natalie Handy, executive director of Care Forward, told Roanoke City Council on April 21 that the Roanoke‑based nonprofit’s volunteer platform has been meeting urgent needs for vulnerable residents during a beta with the city and Roanoke County, and she requested a vendor contract to expand the program into city departments.
Handy described Care Forward as a “public benefit corporation” that routes urgent requests from caseworkers — items or services that, if not met in 7–10 days, risk negative health outcomes — to volunteers and partner organizations. In a five‑month beta running from October 2024 through March 2025, the presenter said the platform fulfilled most requests within 48 hours and that volunteer time, talent and resources contributed roughly $16,000 in direct value.
Why it matters: City staff and presenters framed Care Forward as a preventive, low‑cost tool to reduce high‑cost public services such as hospitalizations, emergency shelter use and police interactions by meeting short‑term needs that otherwise push residents into crisis.
Examples and impact claimed by the presenter
- A young adult with intellectual disability received firewood within five hours ahead of a storm.
- A recently homeless woman received a tire repair that allowed her to keep an Instacart delivery job and continue paying rent.
- An elderly resident without hot water is scheduled to receive a replacement water heater through community donations and volunteer labor; Handy said that single intervention increased Care Forward’s calculated cost deflection for the beta to about $1.9 million.
Handy said Care Forward tracks 34 categories of potential “deflections” (high‑cost services avoided) and reported hitting 18 categories during the beta, including prevention of homelessness and avoidance of hospitalizations.
Council questions and program details
Council members asked about scale and staffing. Handy said the core technology platform pushes requests posted by caseworkers; a community development manager staffs partner relations and coordinates volunteers. For background‑sensitive tasks Care Forward can require volunteers to complete background checks; the presenter said those checks can be completed within about 11 minutes via the platform and that costs are not borne by volunteers. Handy said the model is designed to scale by adding community development managers and through partnerships and that Care Forward already partners with multiple health plans, nonprofit agencies, higher education and faith communities.
Handy asked the city to enter a vendor contract that would allow designated city staff — public safety and Department of Social Services caseworkers were mentioned specifically — to submit urgent requests on behalf of residents and to include the city’s departments in performance reporting and ROI metrics.
No formal vote or contract action was recorded during the April 21 session; council members thanked the presenter and asked for follow up information.
Ending: Council members expressed appreciation for the program’s early results and asked staff to continue evaluating how the Care Forward platform could integrate with city intake and outreach operations.
