ABOUT CHARLES ENGLISH:
Charles English (he/they) is a passionate advocate for equity, inclusion, and community empowerment, currently serving as the Manager, Care Coordination for Utility Services at United Way for Southeastern Michigan. With a deep commitment to dismantling systemic barriers, Charles leads a team of dedicated Care Coordinators who provide essential utility assistance to families across Michigan, ensuring that households have access to heat, electricity, and stability during times of crisis.
A proud Detroit native, Charles’s personal journey has been shaped by their experiences growing up in a single-parent household as the oldest of three sisters. These formative years instilled in them a deep understanding of the challenges families face and a drive to create change. Charles brings a unique and powerful perspective to their work, combining lived experience with professional expertise in psychology, trauma-informed care, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Charles is known for spearheading transformative initiatives that prioritize trauma-informed care, ensuring that both staff and clients feel supported and valued. They emphasize empathy, cultural humility, and inclusivity in every interaction, creating systems of care that meet immediate needs while fostering long-term stability. By integrating these principles into their team’s daily work, Charles not only empowers staff to thrive but also helps clients navigate moments of crisis with dignity and compassion.
Beyond their professional work, Charles is passionate about inspiring others on social media, using their platform to foster meaningful connections and motivate others to embrace personal growth, resilience, and community impact. Through engaging and uplifting content, Charles shares their mission to empower individuals and bring joy to those they reach. Proud to call Michigan home, Charles is committed to making a lasting difference both in their community and online.
RESOURCES:
Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP)
ALICE Report - United Way for Southeastern Michigan
Utility Assistance - United Way for Southeastern Michigan
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89 one WEMU. And I'm sure you've noticed it's getting colder outside as we head toward winter. Some say, "Well, just turn up the heat." Well, for all too many, it's not an option. They can't afford it. I'm David Fair, and this is WEMU's Washtenaw United. I'm glad to say there is some help and support available. And today, we want to look at that and take a deeper dive into some of the root causes that people are struggling with. Our guest today is Charles English, and Charles is manager of care coordination with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. Charles, thanks for making time! I appreciate it!
Charles English: Yes, thank you! Thank you, David, for having me! I'm so happy to be here!
David Fair: Would I be wrong in guessing that a majority of us probably take essentials, like heating and cooling, for granted?
Charles English: Yes. A lot of us take just the overall basic needs, such as food, heating, gas--it's kind of just like, "Hey, this is just our norm." Hey, but everyone doesn't have that. Everyone doesn't have those opportunities or just, overall, those basic needs.
David Fair: You know, there were times in my younger life where I kind of went through this, and I remember how miserable it was to be either way too hot or way too cold. Do you bring some personal experience into the assistance work that you're doing today?
Charles English: Yes. David, this work is deeply personal to me, especially growing up facing my own financial hardships. You know, I grew up in a single parent household with a incredible mom, and there was oftentimes where she worked tirelessly in order to provide for us. However, sometimes by working tirelessly, it wasn't enough to make ends meet. So, programs like Utility Assistance became a lifeline for our family. It's assuring that we didn't have to go without just our basic needs--that we had to get electricity, especially during the Michigan winters. Overall, I just really, really like to reflect on my mom's resilience and strength because it's hard to even go ahead and ask for help, to find resources or to understand, like, I'm not alone. Other people are also going through this. So, being able to go ahead and give back and be able to go ahead and, I guess, work alongside my team of care coordinators to go ahead and give back to this community is super, super exciting and super important to me.
David Fair: You know, I'm so glad you brought up the issue of not asking for help. My foolish pride, as a young man, prevented me from doing so. Is stigma something that serves as a barrier to people getting the help they need?
Charles English: Well, when it comes to different barriers, one, again, just going ahead and asking. It's hard to go and ask, as well as communities feeling, "Can I even go out and trust this organization? Are they going to help? What is my experience going to be like? Are they going to be rude to me when I answer the phone? Are they going to ask me 50 million questions?"-- all of the anomalies that people in crisis may think about before calling agencies or not even knowing where to start.
David Fair: WEMU's Washtenaw United conversation on energy assistance continues with Charles English from the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. And, Charles, before we talk directly about the help that is available, I want to identify how big the problem is locally. 39% of all households in Washtenaw County fall below the ALICE threshold, and that is working people who are struggling to make ends meet. 13% of those live below the federal poverty line. Prices continue to go up. Wages and supplemental services are either holding steady or on the decline. Do you expect it's going to get worse before it gets better?
Charles English: You know, I do expect it going ahead. And I don't like saying it will get worse before it gets better. But we will see an overall influx with different things or prices going up, jobs changing, it getting cold. A lot of things are happening. Honestly, from October 1st all the way to November 17th, we've actually seen our 211 team have actually seen a 10% increase in utility since the request actually from Washtenaw County, which is 10% up from last year around this time. So, we definitely see the increase starting to go ahead and spike, and we're definitely ready to go in and tackle it on.
David Fair: There are some identified social reasons for some of the struggles when it comes to community inequity. There are still systemic racism structures in place. There's a lack of equity and equal opportunity and education among them. Do you have to be more concerned in your position of treating the immediate symptoms of need or the root causes?
Charles English: I think it's a combination of both. We can't go ahead and directly help the immediate need without addressing the root cause at the entire time. So, here at United Way, we're not only tirelessly working front lines of helping these clients, but we also have a team that's also advocating on the back end as well, too, for policies, for funding for whatever that may look like to ensure that our community clients, as well as staff, are able to go in and reach people as such and beyond.
David Fair: Well, you mentioned the 211 number, and that is the number to call when in need of assistance. It directly connects people with the opportunity for help, including utility assistance. So, Charles, if the heat is about to be shut off in my house, what do I get when I call 211?
Charles English: Yes. So, you can actually go ahead and call 211 and let them know your situation or know what's going on. If you don't want to go ahead and call 211 directly and you know that utility assistance is happening at United Way for Southeastern Michigan, you can actually go ahead and give us a call directly. And we can go ahead and help as well, too. But if you went down the 211 route, they'll go ahead and let you know a couple of different options. So, they may go ahead and give you us, as an option, to go in and help. But they'll also go ahead and inform you of other agencies as well, too, that you can get referred too. So that way, you can make the best informed decision for yourself, whether you want to work with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. You want to work with St. Vincent de Paul. Whatever you want to go to work with, you will have those options when connecting with 211. If you connect with us directly, you go ahead and give us a call. We'll tell your overall process, complete our application and pretty much go from there.
David Fair: Once again, this is Washtenaw United on 89 one WEMU. And today, we're talking with the manager of care coordination at the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Charles English. You have reported that, since the start of your program year, you fielded some 7000 calls to 211 from people in need of utility assistance. You've processed about 2000 of those applications, which is fantastic. But what happens with the 5000 who are still waiting?
Charles English: Yes. So, one thing that my team was able to go on to implement this year is really focusing on a ten-day business processing time. I know what it's like to go ahead and be in crisis and to go and ask for the help or want that help. And then you're like, "I submitted the application, but now I'm waiting a month. I'm waiting two months." There's so many people, David, in crisis right now.
David Fair: Yeah.
Charles English: So, what can United Way do to go ahead and help streamline and kind of fast track how we're going to process the application, so that when people are not without heat, people are not without gas, and they can still go ahead and thrive in this community. So, we're introducing that ten-day processing time. We've been able to kind of see to get through these applications to go ahead and ensure that everyone is being serviced. So right now, we're actually kind of reworking staff positions and different things like that to ensure we're meeting that need. And again, that number is very high, especially with the amount of calls we're getting. So, how can we make sure that we have the capacity to go in and help our community as well, too?
David Fair: So, for those whose applications are approved, how much financial assistance could they expect from the Michigan Energy Assistance Program?
Charles English: So, it can go ahead and vary, depending on their financial circumstance, depending on what they want to go ahead and come to us to get enrolled into, whether that's getting enrolled into an affordable payment plan with Consumers Energy or DTE. So, it can go ahead and vary, in regards of how much can go ahead and be given at this time.
David Fair: And you mentioned that there are alternative programs or some supplemental programs. So, if it's not the appropriate program for a caller to 211, you can direct them elsewhere. What are some of those supplemental programs?
Charles English: Yeah. So, they can go ahead, if not reaching out to United Way for Southeastern Michigan, there are other organizations they can go to reach out to, such as St. Vincent de Paul, who have very similar programs, such as the Michigan Energy Assistance Program. They can reach out to Salvation Army. There's several different nonprofits that kind of do some of the similar work that we're doing, as well as advocating for the similar things as well, too.
David Fair: One final question before we let you go, Charles. From your perspective and being ingrained in this work, how does the growing need for heat and utility assistance reflect on the collective desire at a more equitable community?
Charles English: That's a wonderful question! I think realizing that utility assistance is a core and a basic need. and the community is recognizing that. Like, hey, it's just not a simple thing that everyone has. In a way, it is a privilege. So, how can we go ahead and make sure that we're uplifting utility assistance, uplifting programs like this, to ensure that everyone has access, no matter of their background, no matter of their financial hardships or anything? How can we ensure it's happening for everybody?
David Fair: Charles, I appreciate your time and the information you've chosen to share today! I'm most grateful!
Charles English: You are so welcome, David! I really appreciate you having me today!
David Fair: That is Charles English. They are the manager of care coordination for the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, discussing energy assistance and the effort to address some of the root causes of financial hardship. And he's been our guest on Washtenaw United. For more information, stop by our website at wemu.org, and we'll have all the phone numbers, web addresses and links you need. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR Station. It's 89 one WEMU FM, Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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