Authors/Content Coordinator: Lisa Ryan
The unhoused community is frequently viewed with shame and disdain. They face judgment, mistreatment, and a lack of empathy, both at the neighborhood level and within broader systemic structures. Their needs are complex and often go unmet.
Keep in mind that homelessness is not a one-size-fits-all experience. We must meet each person where they are in their experience. Each person’s situation is distinctive, including their reasons for homelessness, their personal trauma, and their immediate needs.
The safety of the person has to be the priority. This includes meeting their immediate needs first and foremost, such as shelter, food, and access to hygiene facilities, as well as creating a plan for sustained stability.
Many people experiencing homelessness have faced significant trauma. Approach and interactions should be grounded in understanding, compassion, acknowledging their experiences, and avoiding retraumatization.
Help clients navigate and access various resources, such as social services, healthcare, legal aid, and employment assistance. This might involve navigating and linking them with community organizations, shelters, and other support services. Be their advocate.
Address both mental and physical health needs, including any co-occurring disorders. People who are unhoused often face chronic health issues and may have limited access to medical care. Providing access to health services is crucial.
Treat clients with respect and dignity. Avoid judgmental and biased attitudes, and work to empower them by involving them in decisions about their own lives.
Assist with issues related to identification, legal documentation, and financial support. Many unhoused individuals face barriers in accessing social services due to lack of ID or other documentation.
Establishing trust is vital when serving the unhoused community. Betrayal has been consistent in many of their experiences. Do not make a promise that you can’t keep. Consistent, reliable, and empathetic interactions are key to building trust, and this makes clients more receptive to help.
Work collaboratively with other service providers and agencies to ensure a coordinated approach. This can enhance the range of services and support available to the client. No one agency can meet all of the client’s needs. Work together as a coalition with other provider sites.
Be informed and sensitive to the cultural, racial, and social backgrounds of clients. Specifically, when serving the African American community, remember their experiences with the healthcare system are unique to them and should be respected and never dismissed. Cultural awareness and humility can improve communication and the effectiveness of support.
While addressing immediate needs is crucial, also work towards longer-term solutions like permanent housing, job training, and other forms of support that can help clients achieve stability and self-sufficiency.
Always advocate for systemic changes that address the root causes of homelessness, such as racism, mental health, affordable housing, non-biased healthcare access, and social safety nets. As an advocate, call out the biased behavior of service providers. Let’s hold each other accountable.
Tips/takeaways:
- Approach the work with the unhoused community as you would any other community: with respect, patience, compassion, and empathy, not sympathy.
- Be consistent and deliberate in your interactions with clients, to help build trust.
- Meet the clients where they are.
- Wear sensible attire (rather than a business suit, for example) to avoid inadvertently emphasizing the uneven case manager–client power dynamic and diminishing their sense of self worth.
- Be solution oriented and service driven.
- Allow the client to map their own care plan.
- Always use the harm reduction approach when serving the unhoused community.
Resources:
- Alameda County Homeless Services – Offers a variety of services and resources for those experiencing homelessness.
- East Bay Community Law Center – Provides legal assistance and advocacy for low-income and unhoused individuals in the East Bay.
- Bay Area Community Services (BACS) – Offers housing and supportive services for unhoused individuals and those at risk of homelessness.
- Operation Dignity – Provides transitional housing and support services to unhoused individuals and families.
- Homeless Outreach Program (HOP) of Alameda County – Offers outreach services and resources to people experiencing homelessness.
- Eden I&R – Provides information and referrals for a variety of services, including emergency shelters and food resources.
Author
Lisa Ryan is a native of Oakland California. She was raised not far from the communities that she serves today. Lisa has worked for CAL-PEP for more than 30 years, serving in many capacities. Starting her work as a Community Health Outreach Worker on the streets of Alameda County, San Francisco County, and Marin City, during the height of the HIV and crack epidemic, Lisa fought along with other community workers and CBO’s to have HIV declared an epidemic. Lisa went on to become the Director of CAL-PEP’s first Women’s Outpatient SU treatment program for sex workers. As a result of her successful leadership with the Day Treatment Center, she went on to lead CAL-PEP’s MORE Project (Mobile Outreach/Recovery for Ex-offenders), which led to her developing, implementing, and directing the first three drop-in centers for troubled youth. Years later, she would serve in the role of Deputy Director. Today Lisa is the Executive Director of CAL-PEP, where she has expanded the agency’s vision and mission to ensure inclusivity within the agency and throughout the communities which CAL-PEP serves.