Current Trends in Denver Colorado

I recently moved to Golden Colorado, about a half hour from both Denver and Boulder. We moved here for the mountains and change of scenery. I'm proud of my new home but now I have something to be even prouder of.

Denver is making great strides in their struggle with homelessness, and I'm not talking about the parking meters for donations (is there any research on whether those do anything?).

Mayor Hickenlooper Beefs Up Homeless Funding
Denver Post, September 30, 2009

At a time when Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has proposed freezing city salaries, laying off 176 employees and slashing library hours, he has decided to boost spending to battle homelessness.

The mayor's proposed 2010 budget would transfer $2.3 million in general-fund money next year to homeless programs, the second year in a row in which those programs have received money from the general fund.

Why is he doing this? Is he a kind compassionate soul? Maybe, but his argument is hitting at the wallets of the tax payers: it's cheaper to provide them services than have them in jails and emergency rooms. Since 2006, bookings of people experiencing homelessness are down by half and police calls related by homelessness have also decreased since 2006. That alone is a huge cost savings.

Where is the money going? 500 new housing units to add to the existing 1,500 units. This particular article doesn't get into whether Denver is like Boston and adopting a housing first approach or if there is a focus on services as well. Another article I ran across addresses funding cuts for homeless seniors, but, unfortunately, that is how the game is played. There is only so much money to go around and helping one population means neglecting another.

How long will it last? Who knows, politicians are notorious for having to make tough decisions, but the article indicates that Hickenlooper hopes to continue this commitment for 20 years.

Without a roof but not without a Facebook Page

Homeless Folks Getting Reconnected Through Facebook, Twitter
Switched.com July 3, 2009

Although the homeless may not have physical mailing addresses, they want to have virtual ones through free social networking sites. Featured in a profile by the Wall Street Journal, 37-year-old Charles Pitts administers Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter pages, and runs an Internet forum on Yahoo, all despite living under a bridge in San Francisco. The executive director of Central City Hospitality House in San Francisco estimates that 50-percent of the visitors to its free computer center are homeless.

I've been wanting to write about how to use Facebook as an engagement tool but the field is mixed as to whether or not it is appropriate. Obviously everyone should lock personal profiles and should not "friend" clients but there is disagreement as to whether or not there is value in creating a professional profile.

Some say that a professional profile can be a great tool to connect with clients:

• You can post status updates that say where you are and when you'll be at the shelter/drop in/office so your clients know when you are available,
  
• You can send people reminders for appointments via private message,
• You can see what your clients may want you to know but don't want to tell you,
• and you'll seem "hip" since you know what is going on with technology.
  

Others say that under no circumstances should staff use Facebook with their clients:

• Boundries are easily confused on the internet,
  
• Confidentiality is at risk because others can see that your clients friended you and any wall posts or comments you make are public,
• and is is just too easy to blur the professional with the personal.
  

If you do decide to start a professional profile here are some things to remember:

• Do not friend clients on your personal page under any circumstances,
  
• Only friend clients back; do not initiate the first contact beacuse this can make them feel coerced into friending you,
  
• Be cautious not to reveal consumer status when making wall posts or comments (you may want to make it a personal rule to only send private messages with your professional account),
• Talk to your colleagues first to see how they feel and if there are any confidentiality issues or program rules that you would be violating by creating a professional Facebook page.
  

An alternative to making a professinal Facebook page is to make an organizational page like Youth On Fire. Because it isn't attached to one person boundaries aren't such an issue and it's a great way to get the word out about events and hours of operation.

If I were working in direct care I would advocate for the use of professional Facebook pages but I'm a twenty-something blogger so of course I'm going to advocate for the use of technology. Many programs are going to need time to get used to the idea and someone to help them understand the importance of connecting with their client base in this way. And the best selling point is that it is FREE!

When your gender is "other"

Homelessness among transgendered individuals is common. The most recent research (not so recent anymore) revealed that one in five transgendered individuals experienced homelessness and one in four transgendered individuals were not happy with their current housing status.

Shelters Slowly Adapt to Help Transgendered Homeless
The Associated Press

Twelve years heading the Salvation Army's downtown homeless shelter had done little to prepare Janeane Schmidt for the recent night when a soft-spoken biological male transitioning into a female walked in.

Schmidt didn't want to refuse someone in need. Having seen few such cases, however, and with limited space that winter night, she wasn't sure where to place the transgender woman. The shelter has space for homeless men and women but not anyone in between.

"Rather than turn them away, we give them a cot," said Schmidt, whose staff allowed the woman to stay a week in the shelter's lounge — the only space they could find.

This solution isn't ideal but for many shelters it is revolutionary. As recently as 2003 it was reported that some shelters in Atlanta actually posted signs that said "No Transvestites." I used to volunteer at a shelter where I co-ran a book group. After one of the sessions one of the staff pulled the other volunteer and I aside to let us know that one of the individuals who attended the group was transgendered. We didn't need to know that, we were just spending time with these people and weren't involved clinically. But he thought it was appropriate to "out" the individual, probably because he was uncomfortable and didn't understand. This is where the importance of sensitivity training (as horrible and cliche as it sounds) and reminding staff of confidentiality. He wouldn't run around telling the volunteers that someone was HIV positive (I hope) and it wasn't appropriate for him to reveal this information either.

If accepting people into programs and offering a cot in the day room is the best we can do right now so be it, it's safer than the streets and it's within the view of staff so in some situations it may be safter than the sleeping quarters. But a cot in the dayroom is still segregation and we need to strive for better.

For more information about making shelters trans-friendly check out Transitioning Out Shelters: A Guide for Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People

Because Social Workers are in it for the Money

Ending Homelessness, A Tough but Well Paying Job
New Times, 2/18/2009

Ending homelessness in SLO County will be neither easy nor cheap. In fact, it will cost $100,000 just to hire someone whose job will entail finding funding.

It’s part of the county’s so-called 10-year plan to end homelessness, although those writing the plan pitch it as more a step in the right direction than a decade-long cure-all to homelessness. Federal requirements actually mandate the plan title to include reference to ending homelessness in 10 years. It may not end homelessness, but having the plan helps qualify local homeless-services providers for more federal funding.

I don't know a single person in "this field" who is in it for the money. But that doesn't mean that I think that it's unreasonable to spend $100,000 on salary AND overhead (as the article later specifies) for someone with extensive fundraising skills. You need to spend money to make money and securing the right staff person for this job can maker or break an organization.

Didn't we just hear about the $1,000,000 bonuses that AIG staffers got? That's three more zeros, for just the bonus. It's really upsetting that the only reasons larger salaries are sometimes offered in the human services world is to "lure" people from the for profit sector. What makes them worth so much more?

Genius or NIMBY?

Hawaii has unorthodox plans to help control homelessness in the 50th state:

Plan would buy airfare to send Hawaii homeless to mainland
Honolulu Advertiser, January 25, 2009

Homeless service providers are supporting a proposed state-funded program that would provide airplane tickets for people who have come to Hawai'i from the Mainland and then find themselves homeless — and stuck.

State Rep. Rida Cabanilla, chairwoman of the Housing Committee, said she plans to ask for $100,000 this legislative session for a pilot program that would fly people who have recently arrived from the Mainland and are now homeless back to where they came from.

Relocating to Hawaii seems like an exotic idea. Who wouldn't want to live somewhere that feels like a permanent vacation? But because the cost of living is expensive and jobs are scarce which can result in homelessness. As much as 19% of the shelter population in Hawaii were in the state for a year or less before finding themselves homeless. As a result, Hawaii is funding programs that provide individuals who find themselves homeless soon after their arrival with a plane ticket home.

Other states employ similar techniques but it seems more extreme in Hawaii because the state is so isolated. When I first read this article I thought that it sounded like an obvious case of Not In My BackYard Syndrome (NIMBY) but now I'm not so sure. They only offer the tickets to people who want them and they make sure that services are in place wherever home is before sending someone away. For those who will return to family and friends, or service providers, who know them and care about them this ticket could be the ticket out of homelessness.

Are Shelters the Newest Yelp Category?

Homeless need Information about Where to go for Help
Currant.com, 10/21/2007

Brenda sits on a street corner while her partner, Noel, is off convincing South Green shopkeepers to let him wash windows for money. If he's successful, they'll live large tonight, maybe get some beer (for him) or soda (for her).

Recently, some members of the American Bar Association in Washington listened to University of Connecticut law professor Robert Whitman talk about people like Brenda. Whitman has never met Brenda, but as an advocate for therapeutic homes for mental health and addiction recovery, Whitman wants to start a national database of services for people who are homeless. Someone like Brenda could go to her local library, type in her zip code, and get up-to-date information on services, including phone numbers and hours.

People who are experiencing homelessness know how to use the internts just like you and I. Some have laptops that they charge and use in public spaces while others use the library computers to check email and surf the web. This innovative idea of creating a national database could help some of these individuals find the services that they need but my question is how much of an impact will the website have on service delivery? I haven't read any research and don't have hard numbers but I imagine that many people know where the services are, and if they don't know their friendly local outreach worker would be happy to tell them. My guess is that many people who are not accessing services have had bad experiences and may be hesitant to trust them again. So, while I think that this is an awesome effort, I think that it will end up being more of a tool for outreach workers and shelter staff than for those actually living on the streets. I'm curious to see how things develop.

"Hello, this is the Friendship Shelter for the Homeless, would you like to hire our client?"

Voicemail to be used to assist homeless

Baltimore Sun, 9/25/07

Without telephone numbers to include on job applications, gaining employment can prove difficult. And without a job, finding a permanent home seems impossible.

"If they get a call from an employer, the phone is answered, 'Arundel House of Hope,'" said director of development Mary Alexander. "That opens up a whole bag of worms."

This is one of the many examples of things that those of us who are housed take for granted. When I was applying for work I wouldn't put down the number to my parents' house, for fear that one of my brothers would answer the phone with a belch, or, more realistically, that I would never get the message. A phone connection is key to job applications, medical appointments, keeping in touch with family and friends, and so much more.

At the shelter residents need to rely on staff to answer the phone, write down the message, and later (often after a shift change, maybe days later when the resident returns from detox or couch surfing) relay the message to them. Voice mailboxes not only eliminate the inevitable "outing" of the individual's status as a homeless person, put the person in control of when to receive messages, takes pressure off of the staff, and keeps personal business personal and not the knowledge of the entire shelter staff team and other residents. While many residents of such programs do have cell phones, not everyone has a cell phone and those who do may not always have minutes to use.

One program that I am familiar with uses their voicemail access as a fundraising plan, and asks possible donors to sponsor a voicemail box. This allows donors to know where their money is going and to have a set goal amount to keep on giving so the individuals can have continued voicemail access.