Defining Homeless Outreach, Engagement and Trust Building
Author: Nada Lunsford, Executive Director/Owner Steven’s Home 06/18/2023
Homeless outreach is face to face interaction with people experiencing homelessness. Homeless outreach takes place on the streets, in camps, under bridges, in temporary motels, shelters, meal sites, libraries, public facilities, and wherever else people might be located.
In active outreach, Steven’s Home seeks out and connects with individuals and families who are homeless. We find more success in being in the trenches, so to speak, than waiting for, or expecting this population to find us in an office, or other temporary business environment.
We define outreach with a few key phrases:
- Client engagement outside the traditional office setting;
- Networking to identify clients and get in touch with them;
- Meeting clients where they are and on their terms;
- Finding people, assessing their needs and connecting them with services.
On a client level, our outreach can be described as the “front door” to an agency. We support, or hand-hold, as the person takes the step to utilizing services and resources that they are unsure, or distrusting of.
Principles of Outreach
We at Steven’s Home base our outreach work on engagement and building trust as our core, niche areas.
Trust is built by giving dignity and respect, and being honest with the friends of Steven’s Home. No one likes being lied to, and we all can spot dishonesty relatively quickly.
If a friend of Steven’s Home chooses not to engage with us, but needs our help, that does not prevent them from receiving assistance from us.
The engagement will come over time. It may only take a few days, but can be as long as a few years before the person feels comfortable enough to engage with us on a more personal level.
This engagement leads to a give-and-take relationship, and all services and decisions are that person’s choice and we allow them to take the lead. It is very important that we be physically visible and approachable, take small steps toward progress and keeping consistent follow up meetings. It is counter productive to push an agenda, or our own plan, for the person. They must be in charge of the interactions and goal setting.
The following is a list of core areas that we utilize in initial engagement:
- Meet people where they are-geographically, emotionally, and physically.
- Meet basic needs.
- Be respectful and treat everyone with dignity. We are not there to tell them what to do, whether that be for personal, medical, mental, or living quarters - it is not our place to instruct them or give a "chore list".
- Recognize that the relationship is integral to successful outreach and engagement
- Create a safe, open, friendly space, regardless of the setting. (Olivet et al., 2010)
As we build engagement, Steven’s Home serves as agency/resource liaison in our community. We build relationships with resources, agencies and landlords.
We establish a trust level for the friends of Steven’s Home to utilize agencies. We believe in strong community partnerships. We advocate for community awareness and informed neighboring. Most community members are the neighbors of an unhoused person.
We meet an unmet need by serving as a bridge to agency services, establishing contact in the area of need and facilitating referrals.
Once we engage the friends of Steven’s Home, we can serve as navigators for both the person and the resource, helping clients overcome system complexities and access appropriate services in our community.
Finally, Steven’s Home can provide support to other resources, such as substance abuse and behavioral health.
