Empowering destitute people towards transforming communities

3.3The role of “phasing” in outreach and engagement

According to Plecia, Watts, Neibacher & Strelnick (1997:60-61) four main goals of outreach may be distinguished:

1. 
   The first is to care for pressing needs, including ensuring safety, providing crisis intervention, referring to urgent medical care, and helping clients with immediate needs for clothes, food, and shelter.
   
2. 
   Helpers must develop a trusting relationship in order to achieve the additional goals of…
   
3. 
   …providing services and resources, whenever and for as long as needed.
   
4. 
   Lastly, helpers aid in connecting clients to mainstream (formal, specialized, professional) services.
   

According to Erickson and Page (1998:7) an inherent factor related to these goals is the notion of phasing. Objectives are developed and reached over a period of time by taking small steps that are directed to a more structured, service-oriented goal. Persons often move from accepting food from helpers, to developing trust, to discussing a goal that in part can be achieved through services provided in the community and finally to accepting those services. Specific goals are gradually developed by both the client and helper.

Outreach and engagement principles carry over into case management and are viewed as an ongoing process. As trust develops, clients take a more active role in setting and achieving (their own) goals. Ultimately, the goal is to successfully phase or integrate persons into the community and/or into professional services which will assume the task of promoting community integration. Just as clients are “phased” into outreach services from the streets, they are phased into the community from outreach (Erickson and Page 1997:8)

In terms of missions with the destitute, “phasing” should be defined as the “non-directive intentionality of helpers to empower destitute people step by step (as determined by destitute individuals themselves) to become whole, grow, change and develop according to their own pace, desire and valued outcomes as stated by the latter.”

Successful outreach is subsequently phased into engagement. Whereas outreach as a strategy would be something that can easily be engaged in by laypersons (the whole people of God), it would seem that engagement would gradually promote a phasing into more formal, professional and specialized missions with the destitute.

3.4Engagement as a follow-up strategy to empower destitute people

Engagement follows outreach; indeed, Morse (1997:22) describes engagement as a crucial, on-going, long-term process necessary for successful outreach. It is also described as the process by which a trusting relationship between helper and client is established. This provides a context for assessing needs, defining service goals and agreeing on a plan for delivering these services (Barrow et al., 1991; ICH, 1991; Winarski, 1994). Some clients require slower and more cautious service approaches (Morse, 1987:23). The engagement period can be lengthy, and the time from initial contact to engagement can range from a few hours to two years (ICH, 1991:4) or longer. Effective helpers can "establish a personal connection that provides a spark for the journey back to a vital and dignified life" (Winarski, 1998:34).
Engagement reduces fear, builds trust, and sets the stage for "the real work" to begin (Cohen, 1989:506). Morse (1991:47-53) classifies engagement in terms of four "stages". They are:

3.4.1Stage 1 - Setting the stage

Helpers become a familiar face and begin to establish credibility in places which homeless persons frequent (Morse, 1991:47). They use a non-threatening stance/approach (Cohen et al, 1990:17), and obtain some kind of permission from the client, either verbal or non-verbal, before approaching. In these early stages, helpers gently cease interactions that appear too overwhelming to clients and try again later.

3.4.2Stage 2 - Initial engagement tactics

Helpers attempt to engage the potential client in conversation, beginning with non-threatening small talk (Morse, 1991:49). This allows helpers to assess the situation for signs of problems and also the impact of the interaction. Is the client feeling intruded upon? (Morse, 1991:49.) Helpers may provide items that act as incentives (Cohen, 1989:508), such as food, drinks, vitamins, toiletries, etc., with real and perceived benefits that promote trust.

3.4.3Stage 3 - Ongoing engagement tactics

Helpers begin to "hang out" and "share space" with clients (Morse, 1987:81). As clients become more comfortable, helpers begin to provide or help the client to meet some important needs that can be easily solved or obtained. This might include offering transportation to obtain clothes, linking the client with medical care, and furnishing incentive services that are based on clients' perceived needs (Cohen, 1989:506).

3.4.4Stage 4 - Proceeding with the outreach/maintaining the relationship

As trust is established, helpers assist clients to define service goals and activities, which may include the obtaining of housing, income, and medication (Morse, 1991:24). Staff accompanies clients to appointments, help them prepare for upcoming tasks, and assist in the negotiation of service settings.

3.4.5Strategies towards respectful engagement

At Honolulu's Health Care for the Homeless Project, the staff uses six simple engagement strategies in their interactions with destitute people:

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  Treating people with positive regard, by demonstrating that helpers are glad to see them and care about them. Helpers remember details of past encounters and discussions. They are honest, humble, and share information about themselves when appropriate, to equalize power and respect.
  
• 
  Working with their perceived needs.
  
• 
  Providing incentive items and services, as listed above.
  
• 
  Letting clients set the pace whenever possible.
  
• 
  Communicating effectively, both verbally and non-verbally. For example, helpers move to the client's level. If the client is sitting on the curb, the worker sits on the curb. Helpers gauge the expression of language so that it fits with that of the client's in terms of vocabulary, speed, eye contact, and culturally relevant responses.
  
• 
  Being creative. For example, an outreach dog is used by one helper. A pet is a great ice-breaker and has been effective in connecting with some paranoid and very isolated mentally ill persons. One woman, who would previously never speak to helpers, will now talk to the dog (but still not to the helper), providing opportunities for ongoing assessments, and topics for future discussions. Art is also used as an engagement tool, and client interests, such as hobbies, books, and collections, are incorporated in incentive items and discussions. When possible, outreach helpers transfer engagement strategies on the streets to the clinics, where clients can receive further care. For example, a drawing by a client on the streets might be displayed in the clinic where pertinent services are offered. Other effective programmes use creativity as a foundation for outreach and reach out to engage homeless persons through such non-traditional approaches as the use of theatre, the arts, and creative grass-roots community organizing.