Crisis Responders Provides Help When It’s Needed Right Away
While Mike Fickling knew of the many great non-profit organizations in Denton County that assist people in need, he also realized their procedures could delay dispensing funds.
Wanting to provide needed resources quicker, the retired Lewisville firefighter, his wife Lori,and others created something different through the Cross Timbers Rotary Club in 2015.
“You drive around Flower Mound, and you don’t see any people in need,” he said. “You don’t see any homeless people. It’s just not visible driving to and from work. So how do you find people with a need we can help and can reach out to? Me being a smart aleck, I said ‘ask your police and firemen. They will know.’”
Since Mike knew so many first responders, he was asked to make those connections. They initially called their effort Rotary Responders with one member providing the funds to get started.
Mike had laminated cards printed and placed in every police car and fire engine in Lewisville, Flower Mound, and some in Highland Village. Based on tips from other first responders, he would show up with Walmart gift cards to buy food and medicine to cover the short term. If needed, he could recommend places to stay or provide other guidance.
“They don’t have to go through any red tape,” he said. “I’ll help them right here, right now. If they need housing, I’ll refer them to Kim Cloud at Cloud 9 Charities Bedtime Rescue. They have a relationship with a lot of hotels, and the charity pays for it.”
When Mike took a job as a corporate trainer that required him to travel in 2020, he dropped out of Rotary, and the program stopped. When that job ended in 2022, he resurrected it this time through multiple Denton County Rotaries and with a new name – Crisis Responders.
“My goal is to feed them and clothe them right here, right now,” he said. “If they have friends and family around, so many times people will say ‘keep your money for those that need it. I’ve got insurance, friends, and family. I’m okay.’”
In one instance, the Navy veteran learned about an 87-year-old woman whose air conditioning broke. He purchased a window unit for $300 and gave it to the first responder who notified him. The first responder installed it within two hours.
A truck driver laid off because of Covid needed blood pressure medicine immediately to pass his exam to get his job. Mike contacted the man’s doctor to approve 10 doses at Walmart for $15. He also gave him $100 for gas to get to the job in Wichita Falls.
“It worked out for him,” Mike said. “He got the job and is doing well now.”
If children are involved, Mike provides $250-$300 per person but has the discretion to provide whatever help is needed to get back on their feet. He said domestic issues are the biggest problems he finds. Knowing of the many other organizations, Mike also can connect people about longer-range services.
Today, they help about 15 families annually. Mike’s goal is to eventually partner directly with Walmart to provide direct gift cards and serve a wider area and connect with police and fire associations.
“We’re trying to refine our process and get back to our basic goal of being a first responder-based organization,” he said. “We don’t give them cash. And we’re very careful. We’re not going to support anyone with drug or alcohol problems. That’s where the cops can help me vet these people. They can ask questions that I really can’t.
They vet them and screen them, and then we do what we can, including referring them to the Red Cross or CCA or others that can help them.”
Since 2015, Mike estimates the organizations have raised more than $128,000.
When not helping people, Mike makes and repairs things in his shop while his wife is president/CEO of the Lewisville Chamber of Commerce. They have lived in Double Oak for the last five years, after spending three years on a 60-foot boat anchored in Lake Lewisville. At one time they owned The Messenger newspaper before selling for a tidy sum to Knight Ridder.
To contact Crisis Responders, contact Mike at 972-955-9901.
