Partner Spotlight: How Izzy Supports TFC’s Critical Services

Learn how The Friendship Center uses our client services database and helpline software to provide comprehensive services to our clients.

When discussing the sometimes life-saving services The Friendship Center offers in our community, we often refer to the importance of the relationship formed between our clients and our advocates. Our clients have singular insight into their situation, including their safety risks, their needs, and their goals. The information and, much of the time, the solid instincts that our clients bring to conversations with our advocates when they seek help are what shape the path forward. Our clients’ wisdom is what makes our services meaningful and actionable in real-life scenarios. Our fantastic staff gets a lot of credit, and of course we’re proud of what we do, but the confidentiality built into our work means that the public seldom gets to see how key our clients’ innate strengths are to their ability to establish independence and ultimately thrive.

In a similar vein, we don’t often get the chance to tout the virtues of some of the tools we use to deliver the best services possible. Human relationships will always be at the foundation of our mission, but without a doubt, the software and tech solutions we use to operate smoothly are crucial. That’s certainly been the case with the platform we implemented for our client services database and helpline technology in 2023.

Within a year of adopting Izzy, the investment was already paying for itself, collectively saving our direct services staff hours they previously dedicated to data entry, reporting, and communicating important information when we were still using an old, clunky system. Asked about the impact Izzy has had, TFC Client Services Manager Jaime Gabrielli had this to say:

Using Izzy has been a game-changer for the client services team. It has increased our ability to communicate with clients through various channels and share necessary information among ourselves so we can do our jobs more effectively. The program also allows us to collect accurate data about trends and gaps so we can ensure we are providing comprehensive services to survivors in our community. 

TFC is continually exploring the capabilities of Izzy for expanding safe and reliable ways for survivors in our community to reach us. In 2024, for example, we were able to add a new chat/text function to our website, giving our online visitors an alternative way to reach an advocate during most of our business hours if phone or in-person appointments aren’t safe or accessible. Improvements like this add up and put us in the best position to meet the needs of our community, which is why we were pleased to be highlighted for a client profile on Izzy’s blog back in August!

If you’re curious about the ways Izzy has been such a game-changer for us, we encourage you to check out their profile on us. In it, our Executive Director Gina Boesdorfer points to measurable results—reports that we used to spend a month putting together now take a week, and five-minute phone calls that used to take 15 minutes of data entry now have a faster, more accurate follow-up process. She also points to some of the benefits that are harder to quantify. For instance, the software’s features have not only worked for what we needed, but in some cases, they've even changed how we operate for the better. And with work as sensitive and urgent as ours can be, Izzy’s second-to-none customer service has been essential. Also to their general credit, their founder named their product after his beloved dog (yes, the one in the header image).

Izzy is a fantastic example of a vendor that we also see as a partner. Their willingness to find solutions that meet our needs and their desire to see us have success with their product is genuine, and it's had a direct impact on our ability to meet our clients and our community where they’re at. We hope you enjoy this unique behind-the-scenes glimpse of one of the tools that makes that possible!

READ THE PROFILE

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The Friendship Center is just one of many organizations in our community working to ensure everyone is supported with care and dignity. We regularly highlight some of the fantastic people and organizations that we partner and collaborate with in our email newsletter. Sign up to make sure you don't miss a partner spotlight and learn more about some of the services available in our community.