Des Moines library's first social worker is helping make it a center of community resources

Frank Allee finally got approved for temporary housing. He just signed up to receive food stamps and Medicaid coverage. Up next on his list, he says, is to find a job.

So he went back to Central Library in downtown Des Moines to speak to his social worker, Ashlan Lippert.

Allee arrived at the library on a Friday morning and popped into Lippert's "office" — a small desk stationed beside a sea of bookcases near the building's north entrance. He plopped into a chair, set his backpack on the floor and greeted Lippert, who was at the ready to help him upload his resume to the Iowa Workforce Development job portal site.

Lippert is the first social worker on staff at the public library, and her work with the city's most vulnerable population has landed her among the Des Moines Register's People to Watch in 2024.

A confident Lippert reassured Allee they would get this task done today and start applying for some jobs, too. As Lippert built Allee's online profile on her laptop, she asked about his previous work experiences, skills and certifications and the type of work he is interested in now.

The 56-year-old Des Moines veteran told Lippert he has a GED diploma. That he ran his own lawn care and landscaping service for 20 years. That he's not used to being homeless or living without a car. And that this chapter of his life is all new to him.

"I'm used to having three or four trucks. Now, I'm relying on the bus," he told Lippert, who lent an ear to his frustrations and replied to him with care.

"I know it's tough," she said gently, her eyes lifting from her laptop screen to meet his. "Well, maybe with this we can get your foot back in the door."

Libraries are 'palaces for the people,' Des Moines director says

Allee is one of the dozens of patrons who have found refuge in Lippert at the library, which sits just blocks away from Central Iowa Shelter and Services, the city's largest emergency shelter. Lippert joined the staff in late August, part of an effort to expand the library's role as a center of community resources, helping connect people to agencies across the city and metro area.

Within her first month on the job, Lippert, whose official title is community resources specialist, saw 52 patrons. Some wanted referrals to housing programs or employment assistance, while others needed to use the library's free phone or internet services or find clothes or food.

The latter need inspired Lippert to open a community fridge in the breezeway of the downtown library. She has also grown the library's Outreach Project, a twice-weekly event that now includes more than a dozen community partners and organizations.

Sue Woody, the library's director, said she and other librarians have seen the needs of their patrons go beyond book titles and literacy issues. Visitors want referrals for housing, mental health and substance abuse programs — services that exceed her librarians' expertise.

"We are not social workers," Woody said. "We don't have doctorates and master's in social work and social sciences."

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Woody said she has told city officials the library would benefit from hiring a social worker like Lippert to help address issues of poverty and homelessness across the community. Des Moines this year saw a slight rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness, and metro food pantries have hit record highs this summer in the number of visitors receiving grocery staples.

Woody said she wants the library to be part of the conversation — and the solution. She had read about libraries nationwide hiring social workers. It's a partnership that just makes sense, she said.

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Even Lippert said she didn't know libraries had social workers until she came across Central Library's job post. But the more she thought about it, the more the post reminded her of social work's true mission.

"It clicked," she said. "This is kind of brilliant, like, we're truly meeting the needs where they're at."

The public library is free and open to everyone. People can come in "without being judged, without having to buy anything, without a membership of any kind," Woody said.

"That's what I call 'palaces for the people,'" Woody said.

With the addition of Lippert to Central Library's staff, people can drop in to speak with her and ask questions at no cost. Lippert is available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Patrons do not need health insurance to see Lippert or set an appointment.

"She's so approachable," Woody said of Lippert. "She'll just sit down next to someone and just start talking."

Inspired by an ER social worker, who was 'the calm in the storm'

Lippert, 36, and a south side Des Moines native, said she learned at a young age that social workers guide others in taking the next steps in their lives.

She remembers visits to Methodist Hospital in downtown Des Moines, where her mother years ago worked as a nurse in the emergency room and intensive care unit. Lippert still recalls the chaos that swirled around her when she would walk into the ER.

"I might have been a nurse," she joked, "if I could have withstood the blood and bodily fluids."

Instead, she became inspired by someone doing another job.

"I would see the social worker there who was like the calm in the storm," Lippert said. "I was like, 'Oh, that's what I want to do.'"

Lippert went on to Iowa State University, and in 2010 she received her bachelor's degree in child, adult and family services. In 2020, she earned a master's in social work at Hunter College in New York. Working for St. Francis Friends of the Poor, she saw her career flourish in the Empire State, she said.

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St. Francis is a New York City-based nonprofit founded by three Franciscans who in the 1970s helped house patients discharged from psychiatric institutions and in dire need of care, a place to live and a sense of community. Lippert said St. Francis was among the first to offer a "housing first" model, which seeks to provide permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness.

There, she found her place among residents and came to understand the importance of community.

"These people that were so disenfranchised, they cared about each other," said Lippert, who spent eight years at St. Francis, first as a social worker and then as an assistant program director. "We had these wonderful tenants council meetings, celebrated holidays together and funerals together… It was the best place for me to learn about housing and people experiencing homelessness."

As Lippert looks to 2024 and beyond, she hopes to bring that same community aspect to the Central Library and the rest of the city's public libraries. Allee and Bobby Lee Ford, another library patron, said they have already felt a sense of community since Lippert arrived.

"She's an angel," said Ford, who recently sought help from Lippert.

Ford said Lippert helped him apply for food stamps, and he came to see her again that Friday afternoon during the Outreach Project event.

"She don't discriminate nobody," he said. "She's a wonderful person."

Allee and Ford said they believe Lippert cares. Her warm smile and soft voice bring comfort to them and many others who lean on her for support, they said.

"She does so much for everyone," Allee said.

Before Lippert met with Allee that Friday morning, she wheeled a cart packed with donated grab-and-go meals into the breezeway to stock the community fridge. Lippert had picked up the items from a nearby organization, loaded them into her car and brought them to the library.

As Lippert carried the boxes and placed them onto a trolley cart, she laughed about the task being her workout for the day before she called for help from a colleague and patrons.

In between chit-chat, Lippert thanked them for their help and encouraged the patrons to take food, stop by to see her or attend the Outreach Project, which was being held that afternoon. She tried to entice them with free coffee and desserts — a new addition to the event that has become a hit, Lippert says.

Lippert, who then headed to her desk to help Allee, was suddenly greeted by another library patron, Darla Hill.

With a pair of keys dangling from her finger, Hill, 66, excitedly told Allee and Lippert about moving into her new apartment after weeks of living at Central Iowa Shelter and Services. As she pulled out her cellphone to share photos of her new home, Hill turned to Allee and said he could come over for dinner once she was settled.

As she scrolled through pictures, Hill's smile widened as she pointed to her Christmas-themed potholders and the holiday decor hanging from her front door. She said she couldn't wait to use her kitchen to cook lasagna, one of her favorite comfort dishes.

"Life is good," Hill said.

All she needed now was a bed and a dresser.

Congratulating Hill, Lippert reassured her and told her not to worry. She already had something lined up for Hill to help her furnish her home.

F. Amanda Tugade covers social justice issues for the Des Moines Register. Email her at ftugade@dmreg.com or follow her on Twitter @writefelissa.

Meet Ashlan Lippert

AGE: 36

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in child, adult and family services, Iowa State University; master's in social work, Hunter College, New York

CAREER: Social worker

FAMILY: Husband, Adam, and 10-month-old son, Ellis

About the Des Moines Register's 2024 People to Watch

It's a Des Moines Register tradition to close out each year and open the next by introducing readers to 15 People to Watch — individuals expected to make an impact on Iowa in the coming year.

This year's nominations from readers and our journalists totaled nearly 60 people and posed hard decisions for staff members charged with winnowing them to just 15.

The final 15 include people in business and the arts, those who train the world-class athletes of the future, chefs on the cutting edge, farmers teaching refugees how to run their own farms, and people fighting for representation through cosmetics and medicine. We hope that you are as inspired by reading about them as we were in profiling them.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines library's new social worker offers patrons more than books