The WWHF’s Well Badger Resource Center has two main components:
- a team of Information & Referral (I&R) Specialists who help individuals and families find the information they need
- the Well Badger Online Directory – a self-service, online resource with over 3,000 listings of Wisconsin services, organizations, and programs
Nora Miller’s role primarily consists of the latter — and it’s her job to make sure the directory is up-to-date, easy to navigate, and robust as possible.
Nora has worked at the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation, which operates the Well Badger Resource Center, since 2003 — and has managed a variety of databases through the years. “Having worked with so many different programs and database types, I’m always learning what works and what doesn’t both from the perspective of those who call in and need our services, and those who we partner with professionally,” she says. “With Well Badger, my database work comes from constantly asking myself what I would be searching for if I was in a customer’s shoes. For example, if I was someone who just lost my job, or I didn’t know where to turn, what is it that I’d seek out? And what information would be the most urgent for me to have?”
An updated online directory = empathy and care
It’s this empathy that’s woven into her everyday duties to keep the online directory as up to date as possible. When asked why database maintenance is so important, Nora is quick to answer. “When people contact Well Badger, they’re seeking help. Their world has shifted, or they can’t find an answer to a question or challenge they have. So, if we work with them to identify their most pressing concerns, and we connect them to a place that’s not open or no longer in existence or doesn’t provide that particular service anymore, it’s another layer of frustration for them. They’re going through so much already — the last thing we want to do is make their situation worse when we’re supposed to be helping.”
Making sure information is accessible
Another aspect of the directory that Nora’s proud of is that it meets people where they are. “It’s important to me that our inclusion criteria — the type of program or service you have to be in order to be included in our directory — is broad, and yet very specific.” The database is centered around information and resources for six key health topics — children and youth with special health care needs, financial assistance, mental health and substance use, health care coverage and services, nutrition services, and pregnancy and parenting help — and within those topics, the goal is to have services and programs that are either free of charge, or available at reduced fees or sliding scales.
“Many who contact Well Badger are low-income individuals or families, so we don’t want to create a barrier to help or care because of price,” she says. “Sometimes, we have resources in the directory that aren’t free or inexpensive — something like an autism camp, for example — but it’s a situation where it’s a very specialized need, or they have scholarship opportunities. The main goal is to create a place where people can start with services that they can afford to use.”
Meeting People where they are
“We meet people where they are,” she says, “and we truly move heaven and earth to find answers. Sure, there are times where we can’t find an immediate answer — and that’s where it’s so nice to talk with the rest of the staff here, who come from all different backgrounds, have often dealt with these challenges in their day-to-day lives, or are even living in different parts of the state and have insight. We’re always asking each other for suggestions, and more often than not, someone responds with something that’s worked for them.”
What Well Badger provides, continues Nora, isn’t simply help — it’s resources that can act as a set of tools to assist families as they move forward through their lives. “Getting information out to women and families who in turn, can pass that information to other women and families, or be advocates for their own health, or take preventative measures — that’s what it’s all about,” she says. “We give them information when they’re not sure where to turn, and they take it from there.”
The Well Badger Resource Center is open Monday-Friday, 7 AM – 6 PM.
Contact us. We’re here to listen and help.