Outreach Call Center

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

The Outreach Call Center was formed to serve Senior residents in Henrico County, Virginia, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The call center was created by the county’s Advocate for the Aging in partnership with the Henrico County Public Library. It was designed to provide scheduled outreach phone calls to Senior residents to reduce social isolation and connect people with services during the pandemic. The call center was implemented quickly after the initial pandemic shutdown and operated for nearly four months, providing dozens of older adults over 1300 friendly phone calls to check-in and connect people with resources. Library staff with existing customer service expertise were reassigned to provide these calls while library buildings were closed. The call centers provided a compassionate public service and reallocated county resources efficiently at a critical time.