I had a spinal cord injury in 2011.
Uh, when I, I fell from a tree. I became a person
with a disability and I realized that it was,
there was a lot of struggles that I had to deal with,
you know, in terms of getting healthcare coverage
and accessibility
and, you know, different things like, like employment.
And so that was
what pushed me into getting a degree in human services
with an emphasis in disability studies.
I was looking some stuff up online
and I found out about the Hub, and so I called them.
When I called. I really felt like people were listening
to me and trying their hardest to help me find the resources
that I needed at that time in my life.
There was just a wealth of information and knowledge.
So I hear every day
from callers that they're grateful we exist
because we take time to listen
and help guide them according
to what's most important to them.
A number of years ago, my son was diagnosed
with a disabling condition, and it was brand new to him.
It was brand new to our whole family.
He wanted to live an independent life,
and as he was determined eligible for certain programs
and resources, he wanted to learn how
to navigate the system.
And it can be scary, it can be complicated,
and you just wanna help that individual you
care about greatly.
And I kept telling myself, it's going to be okay.
Just keep gathering information, keep moving forward.
We are really here to just provide you the options
that you have, not to tell you what to do,
but to provide you what your options may be so
that you can take that next step in the direction
that you want to go.
So I'm statutorily legally blind in Minnesota.
I had, was diagnosed with cancer when I was 1-year-old
with severe vision loss almost my entire life.
I had a friend who referred me to the Hub who was working
with a different organization through the state,
and she had mentioned that they are a great resource
for people with disabilities.
It can be very difficult to navigating benefits such
as medical assistance and social security
We're designed to help people with disabilities
and their yeah, and their, and their support team.
We help people solve problems and navigate the system
and plan for the future.
And so it's really beneficial
that we have people all across the state.
We use person-centered approach,
so we really help them understand what's most important
to them in that given moment
because they may have a list of needs by communicating
to us through calling, chatting, uh, email inquiries.
We know that what we're doing is making an
impact in people's lives.
We can help people find what they're looking for
or help them find out about things
that they don't even know existed,
and that can change a person's life.
And I've seen it happen over and over and over again.