Paula is the New Philadelphia Fire Department's Community Care Coordinator. Her job was created at the beginning of this year to look into repeat 9-1-1 calls and find ways to mitigate the burden on the fire department by connecting people with social services to improve their lives. Her position, in my mind, is the embodiment of what our community has worked to achieve long before I started watching; caring neighborhoods and healthy residents. There are so many non-profit and government organizations in our county that can help people live a full life, and Paula's job is to make sure they never go unnoticed.
Paula is now taking up a new initiative to get essentials like toothpaste, feminine products, soap and more to people in need. Essentials that are not covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The fire department is accepting donations all weekdays and can even make arrangements to pick up large-quantity donations as well. Paula knows people are struggling right now. Those who were out of work are struggling to get by, and with Ohio's unemployment system failing so many during this influx we are lucky to have a fire department that can read the needs of its community and answer the call. In short, we are lucky to have a Paula.
