Tonight I made the pilgrimage downtown for the Boston Homeless Census. All communities that receiving funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Continuum of Care (CoC) need to conduct an annual "census" of people who are experiencing homelessness. It consists of literally counting every person in the streets (and shelters submit their numbers too) on a given night, usually in January.
My partner and I didn't find a single person in our assigned area, but I still didn't consider the evening a waste of time. My partner had 15 years of experience working with youth in the city of Boston. I learned about how the Department of Youth and Families responds to gang violence, conflict resolution, and treatment of the family (not just the individual). It was a great learning experience; much more valuable than adding tick marks to our sheet.
Showing posts with label in the field. Show all posts
Showing posts with label in the field. Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
When goodby is the absence of goodbye
Tonight I found out that "Will,"* one of my favorite guys at CASPAR (the shelter where I volunteer weekly), hasn't been around lately because he got housing. Of course I'm glad that he got housing but I'm reminded of why it stinks to be a volunteer and not a full time staff.
As a volunteer I never really get to know these guys (and some gals). I'm only there one day a week so even though I develop rapport it's only surface deep. I often can't tell when they are making up stories to pull one over on me. Tonight one told me that he had a partial lobotomy when he was 26, staff confirmed that this wasn't true but I believed it for a good 15 minutes.
When Will told me he was going to get an apartment I figured that some optimistic caseworker was putting silly ideas in his head. Turns out that the optimistic caseworker was right and I never had a chance to say goodbye.
I'm truly going to miss him, he was at the shelter the whole year and four months that I've been going there. Every week he'd tell me my eyes were so blue with such curiosity that I am certain that he doesn't remember the majority of our conversations. He was inappropriate enough to make me blush but not so bad that I was truly uncomfortable. And he had great stories. I'll miss him but I don't know if he ever even knew my name.
*Name changed to protect confidentiality
As a volunteer I never really get to know these guys (and some gals). I'm only there one day a week so even though I develop rapport it's only surface deep. I often can't tell when they are making up stories to pull one over on me. Tonight one told me that he had a partial lobotomy when he was 26, staff confirmed that this wasn't true but I believed it for a good 15 minutes.
When Will told me he was going to get an apartment I figured that some optimistic caseworker was putting silly ideas in his head. Turns out that the optimistic caseworker was right and I never had a chance to say goodbye.
I'm truly going to miss him, he was at the shelter the whole year and four months that I've been going there. Every week he'd tell me my eyes were so blue with such curiosity that I am certain that he doesn't remember the majority of our conversations. He was inappropriate enough to make me blush but not so bad that I was truly uncomfortable. And he had great stories. I'll miss him but I don't know if he ever even knew my name.
*Name changed to protect confidentiality
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Tour of the Boston Rescue Mission
This weekend I had the opportunity to tour The Boston Rescue Mission (BRM) with Boston Cares. The shelter began in 1899 and is one of the oldest in Boston. Services available at BRM are extensive, including men's and women's recovery-focused programs, a halfway house, meal programs, and a women's re-entry program. We got to see the space that houses several of the services and the Saturday morning outreach in the Boston Common. The outreach was probably the most interesting part, BRM sets up a table in the Common and hands out hot food to anyone who wants it. By the time we got there a line had already formed and there was another group handing out clothing from tables nearby. I'm sure I've been in the Common on Saturday mornings before but this weekend I saw it in a new light.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Making a Connection
Recently, I went out in the outreach van with staff at the shelter where I volunteer. The night van operates more like a taxi service than an actual outreach service. They drive around and pick up people who are called in, either by themselves or by hospitals, police, and storekeepers. One of our pick-ups on this evening was at a local hospital. A 21-year-old man that had come in earlier that day was being discharged and since he didn't have anywhere to go they asked him if he wanted them to call us.
A common topic in homelessness literature is how difficult it is to engage people and get them to come into services. Not this guy. Speaking fast enough to impress the most talented speed talker, he was quick to tell us that this was his first shelter visit, even though he had been homeless before. This was the first time I had ever been a part of someone's first night, and the first night is often important to get people to come back for more services. I followed the lead of the program staff and kept quiet while the boy rapidly asked a string of questions. To me, the staff seemed distant and preoccupied with driving the van and filling out paperwork but every once in a while they would interject with the questions that I have read about but never really saw in action.
"What do you do? Do you drink..."
They created a nonjudgmental environment by normalizing substance use.
"I'm glad that you went to the hospital to get checked out"
They showed that they were concerned with his safety and that they recognized the importance of his decision to seek help.
"Do you know where you need to go to get benefits?"
They were knowledgeable and knew exactly where to send him to get an ID, section 8, and other benefits.
I have done so much reading about intakes and first time interactions with people but watching these two seasoned outreach workers was a unique experience. There was this flow to the conversation and it worked. I know it worked because before we got to the shelter the young man said "You guys are good people." I'll never know if he was trying to make a good impression or if he was being honest. But I do know that it will be a while before I forget how seamless that that interaction was.
A common topic in homelessness literature is how difficult it is to engage people and get them to come into services. Not this guy. Speaking fast enough to impress the most talented speed talker, he was quick to tell us that this was his first shelter visit, even though he had been homeless before. This was the first time I had ever been a part of someone's first night, and the first night is often important to get people to come back for more services. I followed the lead of the program staff and kept quiet while the boy rapidly asked a string of questions. To me, the staff seemed distant and preoccupied with driving the van and filling out paperwork but every once in a while they would interject with the questions that I have read about but never really saw in action.
"What do you do? Do you drink..."
They created a nonjudgmental environment by normalizing substance use.
"I'm glad that you went to the hospital to get checked out"
They showed that they were concerned with his safety and that they recognized the importance of his decision to seek help.
"Do you know where you need to go to get benefits?"
They were knowledgeable and knew exactly where to send him to get an ID, section 8, and other benefits.
I have done so much reading about intakes and first time interactions with people but watching these two seasoned outreach workers was a unique experience. There was this flow to the conversation and it worked. I know it worked because before we got to the shelter the young man said "You guys are good people." I'll never know if he was trying to make a good impression or if he was being honest. But I do know that it will be a while before I forget how seamless that that interaction was.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Because I Need to Spend Time in the Field if What I Say is Going to Have Any Credibility
Last night was my first night volunteering at a wet shelter. I have experience at a dry shelter in a suburban town; I conducted a small survey to see what kinds of groups people would be interested in and helped to start up a reading group and a computer group (sadly both groups fell through shortly after their inception because both I and the other facilitator got new jobs) but a wet shelter is another story. Here clients regularly come in drunk, substance use problems are a prerequisite of being able to regularly access a bed at this shelter. I was quite nervous going in but the staff made me feel right at home. The clients were also great, even though one wasn't too happy with me for putting gravy on his potatoes. I didn't get to talk to too many people in great depth but the few that I did talk to were quite friendly, one updated me on the state of the Red Sox while another asked some deep questions (how am I supposed to answer "What's the most important thing in your life?" on the fly?). I'm looking forward to going back next week, I shouldn't have waited this long to get started!
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