Venerable community agency to close April 15

Special to the Green Valley News

After more than 40 years of serving the Southern Arizona community, Information & Referral Services will close its doors on April 15 due to a significant funding shortfall.

A comprehensive support agency organized to assist people in their time of need by linking them to appropriate community services, I&R has served as a single point of entry into the complex network of government, nonprofit, and faith-based services and provided equal access for all southern Arizona residents, especially low income and desperate individuals and families. Issues of abuse, homelessness, elder care, financial assistance, food and income security are routinely addressed by I&R's trained staff.

In making the closing announcement, Board Chair Debra Janzen said, “Traditionally, I&Rs have been funded through partnerships with local United Ways and municipalities. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in Tucson.”

Since 2005, Information & Referral Services has concentrated on raising its service levels by hiring a professional call center operations manager, implementing national standards and protocols of AIRS (the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems), and monitoring and coaching staff. In this way, wait times were reduced to an average of less than 15 seconds, data collection and reporting accuracy were improved and the agency earned AIRS accreditation and was cited for several national best practices.

“We've been astonished by the lack of interest in the losing the service,” said Leslie Ann Williams, Executive Director. I&R protected the unprotected. The agency has been the community help line, the safety net, and truly the One Stop Shop for Southern Arizona's most vulnerable residents. Most importantly, I&R has been always available. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I&R has been there for our citizens when other agencies are closed on holidays and after hours.

In fulfillment of a promise made to the community, the 2007-2008 Directory of Community Resources will be published in June.