Articles for the Topic "Outreach"

Assessing the Evidence: What We Know About Outreach and Engagement

2009-02-24T01:01:28

Many of us recognize the value in outreach and engagement, and we practice and promote it in our communities. But what defines it? How do we know what works? How do we know that our approach to outreach is consistent with other successful approaches? This evidence brief shares preliminary findings from HRC’s review of outreach and engagement.

Culture and Trauma Brief: Trauma Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Questioning Youth

2011-02-01T10:29:01

More and more, today’s youth are self identifying as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or openly questioning (LGBTQ) their sexual attractions and gender identity. There is an urgent need to ensure that comprehensive and culturally competent social and mental health services and resources are available for LGBTQ youth. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network promotes culturally competent trauma treatments and practices for children and adolescents exposed to trauma, and disseminates its findings through factsheets, culture and trauma briefs, and reports.

Dignity and Innovation: Project Homeless Connect

2009-05-05T04:47:00

Project Homeless Connect is an innovative, one-day event that takes place in 220 communities. The event connects people who are homeless to services, housing and other community resources. This article features Norfolk, VA and San Francisco, CA for their innovative approaches to helping people obtain personal identification during Project Homeless Connect events.

Does Outreach Case Management Improve Patients' Quality of Life?

2007-09-13T09:31:43

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether enhancing standard aftercare with an outreach case management intervention would improve patients' quality of life. METHODS: A sample of 292 patients discharged from an inpatient psychiatry service at an urban general hospital were randomly assigned either to an intervention group (N=147), which received outreach case management services in addition to standard aftercare service, or to a control group (N=145), which received only standard aftercare services. The follow-up period was 15 to 52 months. Individuals in both groups were reinterviewed by an independent research team about 21.6 months after discharge. The groups were compared using 39 measures of quality of life. The interviews elicited information about patients' physical well-being and competence in performing activities of daily living; their emotional well-being as shown in emotional expressiveness, sadness, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse; and their interpersonal relationships, living arrangements, friendships, income maintenance, and employment. RESULTS: No difference was found between the groups on any of the quality-of-life variables. CONCLUSIONS: Outreach case management was not associated with improved quality of life. (Authors)

Evaluation of a Mental Health Outreach Service for Homeless Families

2007-10-08T08:18:38

This resource prvdes information about a study conducted to determine the satisfaction and effectiveness of mental health outreach to homeless families.

Impact of a Psychiatric Outreach Service for Homeless Persons With Schizophrenia

2007-10-08T07:41:28

Since 1988 a 24-hour psychiatric out reach service has been in operation in the inner city of Sydney to provide services to residents of refuges for the homeless. A total of 506 homeless persons with schizophrenia were referred to the outreach service between April 1988 and mid-1992, of whom 91 failed to attend. Hospitalization data were collected for the four years before and the four years after each individual's referral to the service. After the introduction of the service, the rate and duration of psychiatric hospital admissions for residents with schizophrenia who were treated by the outreach service decreased significantly, whereas those who failed to attend showed no such decrease. (Authors)

Mobile Outreach: A Guide to Help Plan and Implement a Mobile Outreach Vehicle (MOV) - Based Risk Reduction Intervention Program

2007-10-25T10:46:40

This guide is designed to help Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and other individuals or groups in the planning and implementation of a Mobile Outreach Vehicle (MOV)-based risk-reduction intervention program. It is specifically designed for mobile outreach programs targeting active drug users. However, it may be helpful for anyone interested in mobile outreach to other target populations. (ATTC)

No Place to Stay: A Handbook for Homeless Outreach

2007-10-09T09:46:11

This handbook will give much encouragement and practical help to seasoned workers, the educator/legislator, or the compassionate volunteer in their efforts to house the homeless. The author writes off no homeless person as being unmotivated; instead, she fashions a program with a pace and quality for interaction that accommodates the fears that must be overcome. (Author)

Outreach to Homeless Mentally Ill People: Conceptual and Clinical Considerations

2007-09-27T11:26:18

This paper describes a model of outreach predicated on developing a trusting, meaningful relationship between the outreach worker and the homeless person with mental illness. We describe five common tasks inherent in this model of outreach (establishing contact and credibility, identifying people with mental illness, engaging clients, conducting assessments and treatment planning, and providing ongoing service). Other issues discussed include: (a) Responding to dependency needs and promoting autonomy; (b) setting limits while maintaining flexibility; (c) resistance to mental health treatment and follow-up service options. (Authors)

Outreach To the Homeless: Craft, Science, and Future Implications

2007-10-09T10:17:15

Outreach is a treatment modality for engaging underserved populations in health care. Nowhere is outreach more relevant than in delivering services to homeless persons with mental illness. Programs providing outreach to homeless people have been in existence for at least two decades and a craft has developed naturalistically. However, there has been insufficient formal examination of factors that influence the effectiveness of outreach and how it is actually performed. The authors present an in-depth examination of issues related to outreach to the homeless. They review different outreach modalities, the role of the individual clinician, and the art of teamwork. They also discuss external issues such as financing, access to housing, interactions with other professions, and working conditions. The authors conclude with a brief discussion concerning the application of outreach to populations other than homeless individuals with psychiatric disorders and suggest future directions for improving our understanding of this important modality. (Authors)

Outreach Workers' Experiences in a Homeless Outreach Project: Issues of Boundaries, Ethics, and Staff Safety

2007-10-09T09:42:46

Mental health professionals and researchers have emphasized the importance of conducting outreach to locate homeless persons with mental illness, and of creatively engaging these persons into a therapeutic relationship. These outreach and engagement activities raise challenging issues in the areas of client-staff boundaries, professional ethics, and staff safety. While several issues in each of these three key areas have received attention in the growing literature on homelessness, certain issues within each area remain unexplored. The authors draw from the street experiences of outreach staff in a federally funded homeless outreach project to further explore each of these areas, and suggest that experiences of outreach workers are essential in shaping and redefining work activities in these, and other important areas. (Authors)

Overview of the ACCESS Program

2007-09-13T10:45:38

The authors provide an overview of the ACCESS program (Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports), which evaluated the integration of service systems and its impact on outcomes for homeless persons with severe mental illness. The ACCESS program provided funds and technical assistance to nine community sites to implement strategies for system change that would promote systems integration. These experimental sites, along with nine comparison sites, also received funds to support outreach and assertive community treatment for 100 clients a year for four years at each site. Data on the implementation of system change strategies were collected from 1994 to 1998 during annual visits to the sites. Data on changes in systems integration were obtained from interviews with key informants from relevant organizations in each community. Client outcome data were obtained at program entry and three and 12 months later from 7,055 program participants across the four annual client cohorts at all sites. Detailed findings from the ACCESS evaluation are presented in two accompanying articles, and overall conclusions are offered in a fourth article. (Authors)

Promoting Personal Safety during Outreach, Shelter and Home Visits A Technical Assistance Document

2007-06-24T02:29:33

This is a technical assistance document form Public Health-Seattle & King County Health Care for the Homeless Network (HCHN). Its purpose is to provide recommendations, sample polices from other organizations, and guidance to HCHN contractors and HCHN providers that will promote safe behaviors and activities during field visits. a field visit may include a visits for the purpose of outreach and engagement of the client, or for the provision of health care services in the streets, in the community, in shelters or in homes. The document is divided into three sections: Promoting Safety: (1)Steps for employers and Employees Can Take. (2) Safety Strategies for Lone Staff on field visits and (3) Avoiding Risks to Personal Safety during Field Visits. (HCHN)

Shaking Hands With Veterans

2009-07-30T03:35:39

Mike Kabisch, Intensive Case Manager and Veteran Specialist with Project REACH in Seattle, speaks from the heart about his work in meeting veterans where they are. In the United States, roughly one third of men who are homeless are veterans. Sixty-seven percent served their country for three or more years. Kabisch works closely with 12 veterans and believes that he provides an important human connection. “It doesn’t take an extraordinary person to do this work. A little bit of kindness and respect goes a long way,” says Mike.

SOAR: SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery for Persons Who Are Homeless

2007-04-06T01:01:28

The SOAR Website: SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery

Street Outreach for Homeless Persons with Serious Mental Illness: Is It Effective?

2007-10-08T07:58:18

Objectives. This study examined data on case management clients who are homeless and have a severe mental illness to determine how those contacted through street outreach differ in their socio-demographic characteristics, service needs, and outcomes from those clients contacted in shelters and other health and social service agencies. Methods. As part of the Center for Mental Health Services' Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports (ACCESS) program, data were obtained from potential clients over the first 3 years of the program at the time of the first outreach contact (n = 11,857), at the time of enrollment in the case management program (n = 5,431), and 3 months after enrollment (n = 4,587). Results. Clients contacted at outreach on the street, as opposed to being contacted in shelters and service agencies, were generally worse off. They were more likely to be male, to be older, to spend more nights literally homeless before the contact, to have psychotic disorders, and took longer to engage in case management. They expressed less interest in treatment and were less likely to enroll in the case management phase of the project. Subjects contacted on the street who did enroll were more impaired than their street counterparts who did not enroll. Three month outcome data showed that enrolled clients contacted through street outreach showed improvement that was equivalent to those enrolled clients contacted in shelters and other service agencies on nearly all outcome measures. Conclusion. Street outreach to homeless persons with serious mental illness is justified as these clients are more severely impaired, have more basic service needs, are less motivated to seek treatment, and take longer to engage than those contacted in other settings. Street outreach is further justified as it engages the most severely impaired among the street population. Street outreach also appears to be effective as the clients reached in this way showed improvement equal to that of other clients in most outcome domains when baseline differences were taken into account. (Authors)

Streets Ahead: Good Practice in Tackling Rough Sleeping Through Street Outreach Services (International)

2009-04-08T12:56:35

This good practice project is the first national (European) evaluation of street outreach for five years. It examines six different good practice themes relating to the delivery of vital outreach services that can prevent early homelessness from becoming entrenched or engage people who have been excluded from mainstream services and often society itself for many years. (Authors)

Taking It To the Streets: Recording Medical Outreach Data On Personal Digital Assistants

2007-10-25T09:52:47

Carrying hundreds of patient files in a suitcase makes medical street outreach to the homeless clumsy and difficult. Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston (HHH) began a case study under the assumption that tracking patient information with a personal digital assistant (PDA) would greatly simplify the process. Equipping clinicians with custom-designed software loaded onto Palm V Handheld Computers (palmOne, Inc, Milpitas, CA), Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston assessed how this type of technology augmented medical care during street outreach to the homeless in a major metropolitan area. Preliminary evidence suggests that personal digital assistants free clinicians to focus on building relationships instead of recreating documentation during patient encounters. However, the limits of the PDA for storing and retrieving data made it impractical long-term. This outcome precipitated a new study to test the feasibility of tablet personal computers loaded with a custom-designed software application specific to the needs of homeless street patients. (Authors)

The Streetwork Outreach Training Manual

2007-10-09T04:40:44

This document is intended to be a guide for action for people concerned about the youth who live alone of the streets of America without the nurturing, protection, and supervision of caring adults. It describes the varied activities, knowledge, and skills and outreach program needs to provide services to these youth who are living on the streets. Specific topics include discussions about life on the streets and why youth become runaways, street subcultures and hierarchy, and the underlying principles of streetwork and two streetwork programs. The bulk of the document covers outreach program development; the creation of an outreach team, including staff development and training needs; program implementation and the rules to be followed to aid success; and the various services, both direct and ancillary, that are needed. The final chapters examine the cultural diversity that can be found among homeless persons, and Alaska's response to the homeless youth problem. (Authors)

The Value of Outreach

2008-03-10T09:36:12

Tips for Outreach Workers by Outreach Workers

2008-03-10T09:36:47

On February 13, 2008, several outreach workers from around the country gathered in Boston to discuss the skills needed for effective outreach. In the course of their discussion, they came up with some tips for other outreach workers. Here they are.

To Dance with Grace: Outreach and Engagement to Persons on the Street

2007-08-10T04:19:24

Outreach and engagement strategies are critical in helping homeless persons transition from the streets into housing and services. A literature review was conducted and commonalities across populations were found (although the preponderance of literature describes homeless persons with mental illnesses). Definitions, exemplary practice models, values/principles, worker stances, measurable outcomes, and multi-level factors relating to outreach and engagement are presented as well as issues related to research and funding. (Authors)

Urban Street Outreach: Using Clinical Principles to Steer the System

2007-07-11T01:21:19

A decade ago, urban street outreach was part of a rapid response to the epidemic of homelessness. Today it struggles to develop into a clinical craft that will define its own niche in the system of services to the homeless mentally ill. (Authors)

Welcome to the Street Outreach Good Practice Handbook

2009-04-08T01:16:08

Homeless Link’s good practice companion for street outreach is now online FREE. The handbook is in five parts: Theory - sets the theoretical context of street outreach services and the factors that affect their operation. Creating a positive service - outlines the measures needed to set up and develop an outreach service and its staff. Accommodation - details the different accommodation options available to rough sleepers. Delivering a quality service - outlines the practical approaches to street outreach working. Resources – examines published literature on rough sleeping and related issues. (Authors)