DOWAGIAC — Isabel Detwiler has always had a passion for helping people, but now she will be able to help the people of her own community.

As a social work intern, Detwiler will be helping patrons of the Dowagiac District Library connect with services available within their community. She will be available from 9 a.m. to noon every Tuesday at the library to provide assistance and referrals as part of the Social Workers in Rural and Small Libraries program.

The Social Workers in Rural and Small Libraries program is a grant funded partnership between Niles District Library and six other libraries located in the region, including Dowagiac District Library.

The goal of the program is to connect patrons with information about services available in their community and to develop collaborative relationships with local service agencies.

Detwiler, a Dowagiac native and senior at Western Michigan University, found out about the internship program at a field placement event in college. Through the internship, she is traveling to other libraries in the region.

“I know Dowagiac like the back of my hand,” Detwiler said. “I’m familiar with Niles. I get to go to Watervliet District Library, which is new for me, but it’s still like the same setting.”

All of the libraries have a feeling that Detwiler described as “homey.”

“Everyone is super friendly,” she said. “If you’ve known someone who has needed help, then they get to come in, and you get to help them. It’s really neat,” she said.

Detwiler said she can provide services regarding employment, emergency referral services, accessing accounts, educational advancements and referrals regarding family matters to patrons at the library.

“I like to help people find the resources that they need,” Detwiler said at a meet and greet event hosted on Tuesday at the library. “I like to assist people in any way that I can. I’ve always liked to help people.”

For example, Detwiler has created a list of all the food pantries within 10 miles of each town in the area.

If a patron came in seeking counseling services or legal services, Detwiler could offer referrals to those services within the area.

Also at the meet and greet was Tiffany Russell, the social services manager at the Niles District Library. As the social services manager, she helps oversee the project and the interns.

Russell said having a social worker at a library is necessary and is what inspired the Social Workers in Rural and Small Libraries Program.

“The reason why Niles District Library thought it was necessary to have a social worker is because they had a lot of people that were coming in looking for the services Isabel just talked about,” Russell said.

Generally, librarians and library staffs’ code of ethics and services do not allow them to access people’s confidential information, Russell said.

“Librarians are very resourceful, but there’s only so far they can go,” she said.

After Niles District Library experienced patrons needing services, they created a pilot program with a bachelor’s level social worker. Staff saw how beneficial it was and noticed a pattern. To assist patrons, Niles District Library wrote the proposal for a grant through the Library of Michigan and hired Russell as a master’s level social worker.

The grant also allowed the program to place interns at libraries throughout the area. The three-year grant started in May 2018.

Detwiler is the second social work intern to be placed at Dowagiac District Library as part of the Social Workers in Rural and Small Libraries program.

Her main goal in the internship is to find resources within each individual community.

Through the early stages of her research, she has already discovered new services right here in her hometown of Dowagiac.

“For a long time, I thought Dowagiac didn’t have a lot, and Cass — I had no idea they had four food pantries,” she said. “These places are sometimes hidden, and so you have to go and find them and connect people when they need the resources. It’s nice to get contacts, as well, and be able to meet people.”