Promoting Safety in Street Outreach

Presented by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council
January 20, 2022 | 1 PM – 2 PM Central

The overall rise in homelessness over the last five years is largely attributable to the spike in unsheltered homelessness specifically. Communities across the country witnessed proliferation of encampments and others living in outdoor locations. This was exacerbated by COVID-19 in which gathering spaces (e.g., shelters, day centers, libraries, etc.) for people experiencing homelessness closed or decompressed. The need for outreach to people living unsheltered multiplied, accompanied by COVID-related funding that brought many new outreach personnel into the workforce. Simultaneous to this increase in unsheltered homelessness has been a growing need for trauma-informed approaches to safety and security. Health centers routinely lose staff when they feel their physical and emotional safety is at risk. But the considerations for maintaining safety in direct service differ in the street outreach setting and have more to do with skills and philosophy than investing in security personnel, for example. Join us as we attempt to train the new street outreach workforce (within the confines of one hour) in core competencies for promoting safety.