To help outreach workers gain deeper self-knowledge and improved skills in building trusting relationships with people experiencing homelessness

The learning activities in this section are designed to engage participants with the subject material using informative and interactive approaches. Instructors will need to determine which, if not all, of these activities to carry out depending on a) participants’ learning needs and interests, b) the focus of the training, and c) time available.

Instructors are encouraged to prepare for each activity by reviewing the handouts to be given to participants and by reading the recommended resource papers and materials that are listed. These papers and materials, along with other relevant resources, will provide useful background information to assist in fulfilling the purpose of this section. The amount of time suggested for each activity should be adjusted as needed.

Time: 15-20 minutes

Materials: Handout: Common Human Needs: The Value Base for Outreach

Procedure:

1. Distribute the handout and ask participants to reflect on each of the common psychosocial human needs identified on the handout and think of examples from their own life experience when each of these needs has been well met and times they have not. What were those experiences like? How did they affect the level of trust in the relationship? Invite participants to share examples with the group.

2. Next, ask participants to individually rank these needs from highest to lowest importance for themselves. This ranking exercise is rather arbitrary and can create difficult choices. However, it does reveal something about oneself and the relative value a person places on these human needs.

3. Invite participants to share in small groups or the large group about their rankings and how they arrived at them. Note the differing perspectives and values that various individuals place on these common human needs.

4. Facilitate a large group discussion about how a worker’s appreciation for each of these human needs might have a practical impact on one’s outreach encounters with people experiencing homelessness. For example, a worker might become more proactive in inviting clients to express their feelings, or might acknowledge the need for personal secrets by asking clients to share only what they feel comfortable sharing. Also, emphasize that being responsive to these fundamental needs is directly related to building trust.

Time: 25-30 minutes

Materials:

Handout: The Story of Edward Moore

Handout: The Land of Fools

Handout: The Little Prince

Preparation: Read the three stories in advance and prepare to facilitate a brief discussion about each based on the questions posed in the activity procedure below.

Procedure:

1. Explain that in this activity participants will hopefully expand their understanding about effective engaging and connecting strategies through the use of stories.

2. Begin by stating you want to provide an historical perspective to outreach and engagement, in this case, from Seattle in the 1850’s. Read aloud The Story of Edward Moore including the introductory paragraph in italics. This story of course is pretty much about all the wrong ways to do outreach and engagement. Have the group identify from this story the various ways how not to do provide outreach and engagement services!

3. Next, have someone read aloud the Chinese folk tale called The Land of Fools. Follow up by asking for examples of how the outreach approaches as illustrated by the two strangers in the story might "translate" to real life outreach encounters.

4. The third story is an excerpted dialogue from The Little Prince. Ask for three volunteers to do a little reader’s theatre. You’ll need someone for the roles of the Reader, the Prince, and the Fox. Stage the reading at the front of the room and encourage the actors to "get into" their roles. After the reading, ask what the story tell us about some of the aspects required for "taming" the fox (e.g. initially keeping at a safe distance, being careful with words, meeting basic needs such as feeding, keep coming back on a predictable schedule, etc.) Also, inquire what the fox means when he says, "words often confuse things."

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: Personal computer and Internet access

Preparation:

Procedure: