Mission
Improving access to and the effectiveness of community services through collaboration, coordination, and integration.
About
Community Resource Connections (CRC) serves the four-county area including Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, and Hubbard Counties. The mission of Community Resource Connections is to connect residents with the services they need to thrive and service agencies with the people they are intended to serve.
CRC is for Individuals
CRC staff serve as navigators for people searching for resources to address home, family, employment, and other self-sufficiency issues.
Service Access Specialists
CRC employs Service Access Specialists who make themselves available to the public, as well as area professionals, for the purpose of providing information about area services. Service Access Specialists are trained to assist the public on a wide spectrum of service options including but not limited to: Social Security Disability, Medicare, Housing services, Mental health services, Financial Assistance, and more.
Service Access Specialists can be found at several locations in the four-county area:
- Beltrami County Health and Human Services Building
- Community Resource Connections Headquarters
- Blackduck Resource Center
- Bagley Northern Dental Access Center
- Walker BI-CAP (by appointment only)
- And soon: Park Rapids
MNsure Navigators
The staff of Community Resource Connections are certified by the State of Minnesota to provide MNsure navigation. CRC Navigators will, explain how the MNsure program works, they will help you establish an online account so that you can track your eligibility status, they will walk through the health insurance application question by question, advocate for you if things don’t go as planned, and provide follow up support for as long as it is needed.
We strongly encourage you to call ahead for an appointment so we can discuss what types of information and proofs will be needed to make your visit with a Navigator successful.
Call 218-333-0880 and request a Navigator near you.
CRC is for Agencies
Membership benefits include facilitation of networking opportunities, group representation at public events, consulting, and involvement in an active list serve style communication system. CRC services and projects are taken on in response to the expressed needs of member agencies. CRC does not compete with members for grants, and we seek to eliminate duplication of services.
History
Community Resource Connections, Inc. (CRC) originally called “Bemidji Area Council of Nonprofits (BACN)”, began as an informal networking group of nonprofit agencies in the early 1980’s. The formation was, in large part, a response to a trend in the competitive bidding process for community service grants and contracts. BACN worked to bring nonprofits together to identify who could most efficiently and effectively take on growing community needs, replacing competition with collaboration. This level of networking enabled nonprofits to support one another, lessen service gaps, and develop experienced professionals.
A name change in 2004 did not alter the mission of BACN/Community Resource Connections. Rather, it emphasized the organization’s response to the need for collaboration amongst all community services. CRC’s focus expanded to include networking and support amongst private, nonprofit and government organizations. Understanding through experience that improved communication amongst agencies clearly benefits the consumers receiving services from those agencies.
CRC values the autonomous manner in which agencies operate. While CRC encourages and enables collaboration through membership, networking events, centralized information/referral, and joint projects; CRC recognizes the importance of each agency staying true to their mission.