Family Services

Have you ever felt helpless? Thought financial or chemical abuse problems were too much to overcome? That there was nowhere to turn for assistance? There is someplace to turn: The Minnesota Teamsters Service Bureau.

It's not uncommon for workers and their families to have personal problems that get in the way of leading productive lives. At the Minnesota Teamsters Service Bureau, you will receive confidential, professional assistance in a broad range of human services.

We offer a safe, non-judgmental environment where you can discuss your problems. Our trained Service Bureau staff will help you define your problem and develop a plan to help you resolve them.

Our family service project is open to active and retired Teamsters and their families. The Minnesota Teamsters Service Bureau can help you and your family in many areas, including:

  • drug and alcohol abuse or compulsive gambling

  • personal, adolescent and family counseling

  • financial and budgeting issues

  • utility bills, credit, housing and food problems

  • family violence, rape, crime victimization

  • literacy and other educational needs.

The Family Services Project also provides in service training for companies and union stewards in a variety of human service areas, including family violence, chemical dependency, retirement planning, budgeting, and sexual harassment.

Our partnership with the United Way
In partnership with United Way Labor Community Services (UWLCS), the Minnesota Teamsters Service Bureau is your connection to a vast array of services. To reach your UWLCS labor liaison, Gary Hackett, call 612-676-3700.

Click here to link to Family Service Locations throughout the entire State of Minnesota

The Family Services Process
Sound scary to come in with your problems? It's not. Here are the steps that you and an advocate normally take at the Service Bureau.

Let's say you telephone the Family Services Program and ask for help. The advocate asks you how you heard about the program  (e.g., dislocated worker counselor, brochure, coworker, word of mouth, United Way, etc.).  Next, the advocate conducts triage on the phone to determine what is the problem, or problems, what has to be dealt with immediately, and what can wait until the appointment is made.

Also at this time, the advocate will put you at ease and assure you that their interactions are kept confidential. Typically, you and the advocate set up an appointment for that day or later in the week. When you come in for your appointment, the advocate and you will meet in a private office. The advocate will assure you again that your meetings are confidential.

Further, you'll learn that you control this process, and choose which, if any, options to pursue. At this first meeting the advocate collects some information about you and your family. This information is never reported on an individual basis. We use it internally to build upon our experience profile only.

After these formalities, the advocate will ask you to define the problem, need or issue with which you need help. When the problems or issues are clearly identified, you will both prioritize which ones to address first, second and so on. At this point, you begin the process of creating a Resolution Plan. In order to meet your unique needs, the plan is individually tailored and designed to be flexible.

A Resolution Plan:

  • defines the problem(s) and prioritizes the order in which to address them;

  • identifies steps that you agree to take in order to resolve your problem;

  • lists the resources needed to address the issues at hand;

  • defines the roles/responsibilities of you and the advocate in securing resources;

  • states the anticipated outcome to be achieved as a result of these actions and,

  • sets the time frame during which these action steps and follow-up occur.

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