 Welcome to Independent Lifestyles presented by the Sheboyton County Aging and Disability Resource Center, our show directs viewers to resources that help maintain health and independence in our community. I'm Christine Jeske, an outreach worker at the ADRC, and I'll be your host today. I am very pleased to welcome as our guest Dawn Cluster, who is the Community Resource and Public Safety Specialist for the MEAD Public Library. Welcome Dawn! Hi, Chris, thank you. Thanks for having me. It's wonderful to have you. Can you tell us a little bit about your professional background? Sure. Actually, I grew up in Sheboyton County. I'm from the area, and after high school, after I graduated, I joined the military, United States Army, where I served four years active duty. And once I left active duty, I then joined the National Guard, the Wisconsin National Guard, while I went to school. I went to school for four years and have two associate degrees, one as a paralegal and one in police science. After school, I then became, I started my law enforcement career. I was military police in the Army as well, and that was just a natural progression. So I became a police officer for the city of Plymouth, and I did that for 13 years. And after I left the city of Plymouth, I was the security director at Road America, the racetrack right outside of Elkhart Lake. And from there, I actually went to Safe Harbor, where I was a victim advocate. I worked with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence for a few years. And then this great opportunity at the library came up. It is a community resource and public safety specialist. So there are two parts to that job. The first part that the community resource person, the library identified a need in the city and with its patrons that are at the library, that they needed someone to gather resources and help the patrons of the library know what was, what Sheboygan County had to offer if they were in need. And then they also noticed that they needed someone in that public safety section. I handle all the security at the library as well, which is a great fit with the background I have. So it all goes together. It does. It does. It's wonderful. And when you talk about the outside of it and you do your security, can you tell us a little bit about that? Well, when I was hired, there were a few things that we identified based on the feedback from the patrons that were visiting the library. And like I said, the library is centrally located in the city of Sheboygan, right on A Street. And we have a lot of people, especially when the weather is nice, hanging out outside. You have a lot of kids, big groups, and whether right or wrong, those big groups, they can be intimidating, right? So part of my job, I think, was to get to know all those people. I want the library to be a safe place for everyone, every one of all ages. I do think that some people, adults, even were intimidated by those big groups. Maybe they were standing in front of the door. Maybe they were in the walkways even. So I worked with the kids hanging out. They've gotten to know me. I've moved them away from the doors. I've moved them away from the walkway. I still want them to hang out, and I still want them to know that the library is a safe place for them as well. I don't want anyone to leave or anyone to not feel welcome at the library. So it's a work in progress, and I just hope that people will not be as intimidated by those big groups of people. I've noticed, since they've done their remodeling when you walk in, they have an area that looks very social, like you could sit down and there's tables. Yeah, the cafe. Yeah. Yeah, the Jerry Black Cafe. Yeah. Do you have people that hang and come every day because they really have no place to go? I do. You know, the library is open seven days a week, and it has free Wi-Fi. So it is an attractive place for people to hang out. But again, we want to be able to provide that safe place for everyone. Good. And what are some of the resources that are available to the community that you've learned about and how do you relate people to those services? Well, one of the things I did was when I started this position, which was started just August of 2018. I started meeting with, like you said, community resources. I sat down with the folks at the ADRC. I sat down with the folks at Department of Health and Human Services. I went over to the Salvation Army. I talked with veteran services. I try to gather as much information. You know, I keep a listing of the food banks, the food pantries in Sheboygan County. I try to just gather as much information as I can so that if there is a person that has a question, I can help steer them in the right direction. I've gone to Workforce Development and Economic Support on Wilgus Avenue, the Job Center. I have all of their flyers and their information, Mental Health of America. I sat down with them. I went over to Bridgeway. I know just based on my employment, I know what kind of services Safe Harbor offers. So I just, and also RAYS, Runaway and Youth Services, I'm on a committee as well for that. You know, we need to combine our efforts, I think, as a community and help those at risk people that we've identified. So making sure we can coordinate all our services. Absolutely. Yeah, that's important. Work smarter, not harder. Right. Right. And do you have people that come into the library sometimes with mental illness or do you have people that come in that maybe shouldn't be there because of drug problems? Well, I do think that there are people in Sheboygan County that do suffer from mental illness. You know, again, my job I think with my law enforcement background and the job I have now is to create a safe place for everyone. You know, some, there are people that would take offense to me approaching and offering services, right? Right. I work with people who want to, that have questions. And again, my overall goal is to have the library a safe place. So we still have rules and I don't want people to feel unsafe at the library either way, whether it's a patron, any kind of patron for that matter. Right. Right. I think with your background you've done amazing things. Thank you. With your background in police force and EMT and working with Safe Harbor, you kind of have an insight on what's available, how to handle situations. So I think it's a safer place. I hope so. And that's what I'm striving for. I do think that a person may be a little intimidated by some of the things. People intimidate other people because they don't know. Right? Absolutely. And I can speak for myself. I remember I go to the library often with my friend who is 95 years old and I have to stop the car, get out, and then I got a bringer up there. And I noticed that there were a lot of young kids there smoking, young babies and strollers, and then not very nice language. Well now I've noticed that isn't how it is anymore. It seems better. So I'm not intimidated. Well, it's a work in progress, you know. We try. And you know, a lot of it was, I just took the time, I think, to go outside, hang out with those kids and explain what my expectations were. I think if you just take the time, a lot of people didn't know what the expectations of the library staff were. So if you take the time and let everyone know, I think we can all work together on that. I think that's very important and I think that's key. Once you get to know people and they feel comfortable with you and you're not out to get them. You want to work with them and this is your place too. It's not just my spot, it's everybody's spot. I think that helps a lot, Dawn. It does. It does. I really do. And like I said, the kids, I think the kids just needed, they don't need someone to yell at them. I think what they needed was someone to say, hey, I need you to move away from the door and this is why. And I need you to watch what your language, because this is why. We've got grandmas and little kids and people from one to 90 walking in the door and not everybody wants to hear that kind of language. Or see the smoking and the spitting. Yeah, absolutely. So that's wonderful. I think that's come a long ways. Thank you. Thank you. Can you tell us a lot about what the library offers? Well, there are so many different programs for all ages at the library. We could start with the third floor, which is the children's floor. And they have preschool, story time, and activities for kids every morning. There's something on weekends, but know that that's available for if you have kids at home that aren't even school age yet. I mean, there are so many activities up on the third floor on the children's floor for kids. Do they still have that reading hour? Because I worked all my life and my daughter wouldn't go to an afternoon thing later in the afternoon. It was like a book circle or whatever. Do they still offer that? They do. They offer so many different programs. I don't know the schedule actually off the top of my hand. That's okay. We have a little theater, actually, a little room where they do story time and things like that. That's what it's called, story time. And we have, up on the third floor as well, we also have one of the teen centers. We have a youth librarian, Matt, and he is in charge of the teen center. He has programming with the teens. Every Wednesday he tries to do something, something different, whether it's games, whether it's movie day, whether it's, he does all kinds of programming with them. Well attended? It is, actually, and early releases on Wednesdays and we see a huge increase. This past Wednesday we probably had 65 kids in that teen center. Is that wonderful? It is. Because that keeps them busy. It does. It keeps them occupied and off the streets, right, and something to do, and then by the time it's supper time they go home. You know what, I was very pleased to see when I would look at the teen center was, you know, there are three or four different schools within walking distance of the library, and all of those kids come to the teen center. So it's not just one school or one group of kids. It is kids from all different schools meeting together after school. And I think that's a neat thing to see. I do. Yeah, it is. It's important. And then there's a place called the loft. It's one of our big meeting areas on the third floor. And that actually has a matinee movie every Monday, 130, yes. And is that again for teens? No, that's for adults. That's 130 in the afternoon on a Monday. So there's a schedule. And there's an elevator, right? Absolutely. So if we have people with needs, good. So there's a publication that the library puts out. It's called Footnotes. And that has a schedule. The footnotes, each flyer is good for a few months. And it will give you the schedule for the movies, for all the story times, for all the programming that we offer. The second floor of the library is actually our resource floor. And it also has our second teen center. And that teen center is a little different than the one upstairs. It's not enclosed. It's still partially a quieter area. It does have some computers in it as well. But it also has literature, materials, books that are for the youth. So do they come there to study? It's not like the third floor where you go in. You have that teen room. This is more. This is more. Video games. They can go on the computers and play video games. They can still play some video games in the second floor teen center. But it's, again, it's a more quiet area. It's not enclosed. And we do promote more of the study atmosphere in that room. That's nice. And then the first floor actually now, like we talked about, it has the cafe. That's a really nice meeting space. We allow conversation in the cafe. And the first floor also has my desk in my area. So if I'm not at my desk, which it doesn't happen a lot, but I try to be at my desk, I still display all the materials and all the resources that I can on my desk. And people are welcome to stop by and see what I have to offer and take some information along with them. That's good. That's good. Tell us about the library card, because a lot of people don't know about the library card. I mean, can anybody come in, get a library card? Is there a cost? There is no cost. Having a library card is free. You just need to be a resident of Sheboygan and have something, you know, have an ID. Or if you don't have an ID, even just a piece of mail that has your address on it. And the library card is actually, I mean, compared to when you and I were young, Chris, it offers a lot. There are a few online programs that, as long as you have a library card, you're eligible for. Do they offer any classes for people to get familiar with using the computer or using the internet? They do. They have actually a couple different things. They have a drop-in text session. Again, footnotes would have that schedule, because I think it's at least once a month. They also offer, at the library on the second floor, just beginner computer things, computer classes. They also offer one-on-one sessions. So let's say that you have a computer and you need to set up an email. Someone can help you do that at the library. That's wonderful. It is. It is. And maybe you could bring in your electronic device. Maybe you've had a desktop computer, and now you have a tablet. And you don't know how to work your tablet as well as you did your desktop. You know, you can bring that tablet in. Like I said before, Wi-Fi is free, and anybody can log on. So they can walk you through the basic functions of your tablet. Wonderful. It is. And so is it a lot by appointment? No. Like I said, either refer to footnotes or go to our website. Good. And there is a schedule. Perfect. You can also call and talk to a librarian and say, one's the best time for me to come in and maybe set up a one-on-one appointment. That's really nice, because I think of our seniors, they're not as afraid of using the computer or their iPad. And they can keep connected with their family that's maybe far away. Right. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's neat. And you have audiobooks and ebooks too? So with that library card, those two websites, I talked about the Hoopla and the Libby. Those also, you can download books. It's all free. Download regular books. You can download audiobooks. Hoopla, you can also download music and movies. And there's no waiting list. And there's no cost? No, not at all. So you can rent a video from Hoopla at no cost? Right. You know, and I believe the library and management of the library has done a really good job in the last couple of years, really keeping up with technology and what the library has to offer. Not only can you go to the library and check out a book, but you can check out movies. You can check out video games. You know, kids, instead of buying a video game or even renting, if you don't have the money to rent a video game or a movie, come to the library. You have a library card, it's free. Isn't that wonderful? Yeah, it is. And then could you tell me a little bit about some home-delivered services that the library offers? Yes, that's a really neat service. I'm really excited about that. It's the home delivery service. So if you have a long-term illness, you have a disability, you are not able, for some reason, to ever get to the library. No transportation. No transportation. You're at home. You're homebound, right? Right, correct. So you can work with a librarian assistant. Her name is Alia. You give her a call and you say, these are my circumstances. I don't have a family member to go run to the library or a friend to run the library, but I would love some books or some audio books or I would love some DVDs. Alia will talk with you. She'll make kind of a wish list, what you're interested in, maybe your favorite authors, what kind of books you like to read, and someone will deliver those to your home. And then you just present your library card or? Well, they have a, yeah, she would have it available. Through her talking with you on the phone, that interview. So you're able to have 12 books or items a month, and then they pick them up and deliver new ones. Yeah, it's a really nice service. So, with that said, can you think of anything that we may have left out or you'd like to elaborate on where? I'm really excited actually about this position. I really am. I think that it's new and it will only grow and develop. I hope that people will come to the library and use the library as a resource for whatever that may be, whatever that looks like for them. And it's not just for picking up a book. I mean, now that you're here and we have you on television. Right, so I'll give you an example. So there was a gentleman who stopped by my desk and he said, community resources, tell me about that. And I did. I said, well, this is what I do. You know, if you need help, if you're struggling maybe this month is tight with your food budget, you know. I can talk about City Market at City Church. It's $20 and you can pick up some food once a month, right? He said, well, he said, I live below the poverty level. He said, and my vehicle is in rough shape and because of my income I'm not able to get a car loan. He said, and because of my income it doesn't even pay to fix my vehicle because it's not worth much. So I told him about workforce development and some of the programs they have there. So you said workforce development. So the W-2 over on Wilgus Avenue, right? So there's a program out there. Depending on funding, they can help you get a car loan if your income is below the poverty level. They also have a program that can help you get car repairs. They can, you know, up to a certain amount. They're not going to do a really high amount for a vehicle that's only worth $50. But you know, you can work with them and that was a resource that he didn't know existed. And he actually came back the next week and said, I have a meeting with him. He was all excited. He did go there and he said, I have a meeting with him and hopefully good things will happen. You know, I just want to help provide people with the information they need to lower those barriers. You know, a lot of people face a lot of barriers that we don't every day think about. So I just want to help them. You know, maybe someone is having a problem paying their utility bill. And they have used the Salvation Army before because the Salvation Army has a great program to help with utilities. And maybe they are not eligible for that anymore. But if they came and we had a conversation about that, you know, there are three other programs in the county that can help with utilities. So let's think outside the box to get those barriers lowered, right? Or send them to something. Correct. Give them a phone number. Correct. Maybe they didn't know about energy assistance. I think people are more willing to go out and seek that information. If I said to you, I've met with that person over at Lakeshore Cap and she's a nice lady and her name is Ruth. People are more willing to instead of, you know, maybe they're a little hesitant to go into a building like that. And I think sometimes people are intimidated because they think, you know, people I don't think understand really how it is in our community. And we have people that have needs and they're the working poor too. It's not just people that are homeless. I mean, it's all over my board. Absolutely, absolutely. I, you know, I try to, I also, I want to be that a liaison person for the library to the police department as well. You know, like I said, my overall goal is to help people with resources but make the library a really safe and welcoming spot for everyone. And comforting. It is, yeah, absolutely. And it's okay if you have to talk to a police officer or it's okay if you, you know, need a little extra help with some car. Absolutely. And we've extended our hours. So, you know, like I said earlier, we're open seven days a week. On Sundays, we're only open for four hours. But you can visit our website, meadpl.org for, for our hours. And also if you have that footnotes publication that has every, all the information you need on it. And is that footnote app, that magazine, is that updated monthly, weekly? You don't know. Three times. Three times. Every, no, every three months. I'm sorry. Okay. Every three months, yeah. So that's good. Yeah, it's great. That's good. I'm trying to think. I know I wanted to, I wanted to ask you, when I walk into the library, notice that there's a side, not the conference room, but when you come in, there's a side of all books there. And then it says a donation or whatever. It is. Yeah. Could you briefly tell us that? We're running out. Okay. So there is a wonderful volunteer group. They're called Friends of the Library. And they actually run a bookstore. And they stock those shelves daily. And they run a couple of book sales a year, big book sales. But they accept donations and they have a little bookstore. It's right where my desk is actually. Yeah, it's really nice. Yeah. And it's on the honor system. The books can range anywhere from, most of them are 25 or 50 cents. And you pick out some books and they have a drop box. You put your money in an envelope. So there's not big brother watching over the show. Not at all. That's so nice. Sometimes they have volunteers working to answer your questions or to accept your money. But, and then all that money goes back to the library. That's important. It is. So that we can help, continue to help. Yeah. And like you said, that meeting space, that conference room, there are conference rooms on every floor and there are study rooms, all free of charge. You can reserve those. You can reserve those free of charge. Oh, absolutely. That's awesome to know. Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah. Well, you know Dawn, I think this was really great. Good. And I think having you in the city by us and being able to help other people, direct them will make our community a lot better if they know about your services. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for having me here today. It was my pleasure actually. So I hope, I would like to thank our guest Dawn Cluster for sharing how important it is to help one another. That you for tuning in, please join us next month on independent lifestyles for another interesting topic on maintaining your health and independence. Be well.