MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
The United Way of Reno County is expanding its Reno Connections program to reach more communities throughout the county while continuing its mission of helping individuals and families navigate available resources and achieve long-term stability.
During an interview on the BW Morning Show, United Way Executive Director Lacey Mills introduced Valerie Taylor as the new director of Reno Connections. Taylor previously helped launch the program in 2022 as its first community care navigator before serving as United Way's director of community impact. After spending about a year working outside the organization, she returned to lead the program's next phase of growth.
Taylor said Reno Connections works alongside residents to identify goals, connect them with community resources, and provide ongoing guidance throughout the process.
"We're here to help our community members throughout the county connect to resources," Taylor said. "Sometimes people just need someone walking beside them, checking in, keeping them accountable and making sure doors are opening."
Unlike programs that simply refer individuals to another agency, Reno Connections emphasizes long-term relationships with clients, helping them navigate multiple challenges over time rather than addressing a single immediate need.
The program first opened in October 2022 at the Hutchinson Public Library. Since then, it has expanded to offices at several community locations, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hutchinson, the Hutchinson Clinic on Waldron Street, ESDAC and Little Hawks. Taylor said the next goal is increasing services in rural Reno County communities.
"Our goal this next year is to get out into the county, because we are Reno Connections, not Hutchinson Connections," Taylor said.
Mills said recent disaster response efforts highlighted unmet needs outside Hutchinson and reinforced the importance of expanding services across the county.
"We've got to do a better job of stepping up and trying to help those folks before there's a natural disaster," Mills said.
The discussion also focused on ALICE households — an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Mills said these families are working but still struggle to afford basic living expenses despite earning too much to qualify for many assistance programs.
According to the latest ALICE data, 41% of Reno County households are either living in poverty or fall into the ALICE category. That includes 29% classified as ALICE, compared with a statewide average of 24%, while 13% of Reno County households live in poverty compared with the state's 11% average.
Mills said the data also illustrates the gap between surviving and achieving financial stability. A single adult in Reno County needs to earn about $13.63 per hour to meet basic survival needs, but approximately $24.46 per hour to maintain long-term financial stability. A household with two working adults and two children needs about $64,000 annually to survive but roughly $106,000 per year to achieve stability.
Taylor said Reno Connections is uniquely positioned because many of its staff members have firsthand experience overcoming poverty and other life challenges.
"I've experienced poverty, substance use disorder and being a single parent," Taylor said. "We've been there, we've worked our ways out of hard situations, and we want to help you."
Residents seeking assistance through Reno Connections can submit a request through the United Way of Reno County website or call the United Way office at 620-669-9329 to be connected with a community navigator.