- Every Wednesday, Jefferson County Library hosts Social Services Day, connecting people with essential resources.
- Services offered include food assistance, healthcare, and job support, primarily for those lacking transportation.
- Watch the video to hear how services are helping neighbors.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Every Wednesday in small-town Monticello, the Jefferson County Library becomes a one-stop shop for big-time help.
“I just got re-certified for my food stamps and checked my sugar and my blood pressure,” neighbor Barbara Odom said.
ON CAM FULL SCREEN:
I’m Lentheus Chaney, your Monticello neighborhood reporter—speaking with a neighbor and library staff about how services like Medicare assistance, health checks, and job placement are connecting people to critical resources.
At the Jefferson County Public Library in Monticello, books are just part of the story.
For neighbors like Barbara Odom, where transportation is a barrier, she says access to services at the library has made a real difference.
"And it’s easy because I walk all the time. So, it would not be good for me to have to go to Madison or anything because I would never get there," Odom said.
It’s called Social Services Day. Every Wednesday, neighbors can sit down with agencies like the Department of Children and Families, the Jefferson County Health Department, Veterans Affairs, and job counselors from CareerSource.
In a rural county where access to reliable transportation and internet is limited, staff member Brian Golden says the library helps bridge the gap.
“For the people who aren’t necessarily as good with computers, as you know, the rest of us, it gives them somebody to come in and interact with who can answer their questions, who can get things done for them, and then they can help them get the information turned in,” Golden said.
Odom says the library is also her safe haven—a place to get out of the house and out of the heat. Social Services Day happens every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. No appointment necessary.
In Monticello, Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
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