Why homeless outreach matters

Some want help and others are being victimized and need help

The social service system in charge of helping the homeless needs to rethink everything. They have poured billions of dollars into housing, studies, committees, think tanks, and countless meetings. As their budgets have grown, so has homelessness, which shows if money were the solution, we would have solved it by now. We now have record budgets and record homelessness. Some have argued this was by design. Create a system of dependency, which will, in turn, help grow the system.

I don’t believe that was their intent, but after decades of failures, the social service system pivoted from a permanent solution to keeping people comfortable on the streets. They stopped blaming internal stressors such as addiction and mental health and instead blamed external stressors such as affordable housing, systemic racism, and discrimination. Knowing that many would still consider things like addiction as a leading cause, the social service system went on the offensive and, in a coordinated effort, did two things. They turned homelessness into a Social Justice cause. They made addiction a right, not a choice. People, they said, have a right to use and encouraged that by decriminalizing drugs. To any leftover naysayers, addiction was blamed on Capitalism, and therefore, anybody who was actively using drugs is a victim of capitalism and should be treated accordingly.

Despite the billions we have spent on the homeless cause, we are nowhere near ending this crisis. I am often asked what would be the first step. The answer is it needs to start with the outreach. What is outreach? It involves going outside the walls of the social service agency to engage with the homeless outside. This usually means going to their camp or where they are hanging out. The reason is an overwhelmingly large percentage of the homeless population does not trust most people and ones who work in social services. This is why a majority do not actively seek services. They either tried multiple times and became completely overwhelmed with the dysfunctional system and stopped trying; they managed to accomplish a majority of what was required to receive assistance, and the system dropped the ball, forcing them to start over or for the few that made it into the system had a negative experience and was either kicked our or left voluntarily.

Me doing outreach in Seattle at the infamous ‘jungle’

Outreach is an opportunity to rebuild that trust. Go to them and build rapport. Learn their story til you have a strong understanding of what is going on with them, what their barriers are, and how we can help. Once trust is established, a good outreach worker must be consistent. Regular check-ins are necessary to grow the fragile trust. With enough trust, hope returns, and the homeless person you are working with starts to feel empowered. Soon, they are an active participant in their own life.

Over the last two years, I have interviewed over four hundred homeless and over 90% have told me they do not trust the social service system and they have rarely, if ever, been contacted by an outreach worker. Non-profits argue they have the programs, and the homeless just need to come to them. There are two reasons why they do not do this. They do not believe it will make a difference, and when they leave their camp, it is almost guaranteed another homeless person will steal all their belongings. This is why we must go to them.

In 2020, I was doing outreach in the deep woods and saw a lone tent. I approached it and announced myself, and nobody answered. I tried again, and eventually, a man did answer and told me to go away. I recognized his voice. I had helped him a few times before and thought something was strange with the tone of his voice. He began growing increasingly upset to the point of threatening me if I did not leave. I told him I was not going anywhere. He finally unzipped his tent, and in the corner, I saw a young girl curled up in a ball. I asked if she was okay, and she did not answer. The homeless man pulled out a machete and told me to leave. I stood my ground and told him I was not going anywhere without the girl. He jumped out of his tent, holding the machete firmly. I ignored him and told the girl to come with me. She was terrified but gathered the strength to stand up and come to me. She looked to be about 16-18 years old.

The actual tent before anyone answered

I started to escort her out of the woods, and the homeless man followed me with his machete. I was about a 3/4 of a mile from the road, and the man followed us for about 400 yards. Eventually, he gave up and turned back. I asked the girl for the phone number of a parent. She gave me one to her dad, and when I called him, the first thing he said was, “Oh my god, she’s alive.” This girl had been missing for some time and was in complete shock. He dropped everything and agreed to meet us at the trailhead. I then called the police. Just as we reached the trailhead, her father showed up and stopped in the middle of the road, jumped out of his car, and ran toward us.

They embraced, and she began to cry. The father was still in shock and showed little emotion. What I learned later is the homeless man had befriended this girl near her school, and she told him she loved nature. He convinced her to go to his camp, which was in the middle of nature. Once there, he told her he had prostate issues and that it was vital for him to ejaculate regularly. She was then stuck in his tent for several days, enduring unspeakable things. I use this as an example that outreach serves two purposes. We must assume people want and/or need help. In this case, this young lady needed help. This is one of the dozens of incidents I could describe of finding young woman held against their will.

We must bring outreach back as an essential part of our goal to end homelessness. We do this will not only be able to engage with the homeless at a level never before achieved, but we will also prevent many future assaults.