I work in a homeless shelter: AMA!

amother

Yellow

Thu, Nov 08 2018, 4:26 pm

thunderstorm wrote:

Do you come in contact with the homeless people?
Are any of these individuals sick and diseased? And if yes, does it bother you to be in such close proximity to them? Are the shelters clean? Would you feel comfortable enough sleeping in one?

I do come in contact with them, everyday. In the shelter where my office is each client has an illness or disability but most of the shelters are open to anyone in need of a bed- of course some of those people will also have illnesses.

It absolutely does bother me to be around anyone with a contagious disease. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness about a year ago and know what every cold or flu I get will be a huge issue and hurdle to overcome. But, I feel that way about anyone sick whether it’s my DH or a coworker lol. It’s not that the clients are homeless that bothers me- it’s that I have to be very careful about my health.

Cleanliness varies so much from shelter to shelter. Most I work with have a professional cleaning staff but with so many bodies in cramped corners, smells and germs are everywhere. Bed bugs are a HUGE issue.

Safety wise I would feel fine sleeping in a shelter. People experiencing homelessness are actually less likely to commit a crime than the general population and are MORE likely to be victims of crime. Cleanliness wise, I would never be able to fall asleep in one and I would not be comfortable sleeping on linens or a bed in a shelter.

nchr

Thu, Nov 08 2018, 4:50 pm

1. Are there particular homeless individuals you've known for a while?

2. Have you seen anyone who has been able to successfully overcome their homelessness?

3. If a regular disappears, do you wonder what's happened to them?

4. What percentage are children?

5. Do you believe many of these individuals would benefit from or not be in their situation if they had received adequate mental health care?

amother

Yellow

Thu, Nov 08 2018, 4:52 pm

flowerpower wrote:

How did you get to volunteer over there?
How many hours a week do you do it for?

It’s not a volunteer position, it’s my full time job. However, we take TONS of volunteers and wouldn’t be able to function without them. We have volunteers prepare meals, take clients to appointments, help celebrate holidays, run classes on budgeting and healthy eating, and so on. We have a corporate group right now replacing all of our floors Very Happy

Volunteers are wonderful and so needed.

amother

Yellow

Thu, Nov 08 2018, 5:51 pm

nchr wrote:

1. Yes, there are individuals that you get to know really well. One shelter I work closely with is actually a 2 year program so clients are there for years. Once they graduate we follow up for two years.

There are also clients who are chronically homeless and pop up in shelters year after year.

2. Absolutely! It happens more often than you might think. Many of the clients I know lack family or community support which is how they end up homeless. Once we step in and provide services that act in place of those relationships, people can stabilize quickly and stay out of homelessness.

You’d also be surprised at how EASY it is to wind up homeless Sad

3. All. The. Time. You never know if it’s good or bad that someone isn’t staying at a shelter anymore. It’s very hard.

4. The latest stat I found says that families with kids make up 23% of people experiencing homelessness. It’s probably higher than reported.

5. Adequate mental health care is vital but lack of affordable housing is the number 1 reason why people become homeless.

Thanks for the great questions!

amother

Black

Fri, Nov 09 2018, 12:46 am

I live in Los Angeles, which seems like the homeless capital of the US. Someone I work with once said (we deal with homeless) said that 70,000 homeless isn't a crisis, it's a culture.

That struck me. Obviously, there are different categories. You have your mentally ill, which is always so sad to watch. You have your people on hard luck, but they don't last long - they're motivated to go somewhere where they can get more social assistance. And then you have those who refuse to use their disability or their social security or any of their benefits to a solution. They want the money in their pockets instead, and that's just so very frustrating. I think that's what she meant by the "culture" aspect.

Do you disagree?

I've also experienced that homeless don't want the meal you're giving them, or even clothing. Those are plenty available. They want money.

amother

Cerulean

Fri, Nov 09 2018, 8:19 am

amother wrote:

LA has a serious homelessness issue because Ronald Regan (as governor) closed down the mental health facilities. Therefore, while UCLA is possibly the best mental health facility in the world, since there are no beds, there is almost no where for mentally ill ppl to go who need inpatient care. LA had way too few beds for being such a large city and this issue exists all over CA. There is also a drug problem and while there are many rehabs, many cost upwards of 10 or 30 thousand monthly so dont target a homeless and/or population. Also, Medical provides much less access to doctors and care as other state insurances

amother

Yellow

Fri, Nov 09 2018, 1:47 pm

bunchagirlies wrote:

how do you prevent the bedbugs from coming home with you? I've had to deal with bedbugs twice in 7 years, and it is an absolute nightmare!

The whole staff has gone through professional bed bug prevention training at this point and we were told: 1. Don’t worry about moving them to your car- they will die in the car if you leave the car in the sun. 2. As soon as you get home, change your clothes and run your work clothes through the dryer for an hour at top heat. This will kill the bugs.

I’ve never brought them home but I am so grossed out by the thought that the last time there was a confirmed bed bug issue I worked from home or elsewhere for a week. Our shelter has actually purchased its own machine to kill the bugs with heat and it’s available to take home if needed.

amother

Yellow

Fri, Nov 09 2018, 1:52 pm

amother wrote:

My experience is that we don’t provide enough safety net services in the US to actually help people not end up homeless and move out of homelessness quickly. Empty homes outnumber the population 6:1! And even once we move people into homes, some communities don’t provide enough supportive services to keep people housed. Don’t even get me started on our lack of preventative services.

So the culture of homelessness is really us, the housed. We enable this to happen through who we vote for, the policies we support, our lack of involvement. Sure, there are some people who refuse services but this is a tiny percent of the population and I’ve yet to meet someone in 20 years of this work who wanted to be homeless. Refusing services is a sign that something else is going on (mental illness, substance use).

amother

Black

Fri, Nov 09 2018, 4:55 pm

amother wrote:

No, you seriously misunderstand the situation. Ronald Reagan abolished mental institutions. And you know what? He was right. They were cesspools where people were locked up, mistreated, and no one ever got better. At least with nursing homes, (where people can also face awful mistreatment) when people complain, they're believed.

You also seem to think that homelessness is a problem in California - more than all the other states - because of Ronald Reagan. No. It's something democrats like to believe, but it's a teeny piece of a larger and complex social structure. Basically, we have a ton of people on the streets because no one wants to pay for housing, we have a housing shortage, and no one wants a shelter in their backyard. Los Angeles also has some of the highest poverty ratings in the country, due to stagnating wages and crazy high rent. In fact, homelessness is at its worst under a democratic Californian government, ironically.

The reason why Cedars closed their psychiatric ward, and the mental health facilities have limited beds, is because insurance companies don't pay enough. They're not a money maker for the hospital, they cost a lot, they attract a lot of malpractice, and recovery is too slow.

amother

Yellow

Sat, Nov 10 2018, 7:37 pm

amother wrote:

Do you need a degree for your job?

How did you get the job?
Sounds like something I would do. In the past I worked in a psychiatric hospital.

Yes, I have a Bachelor and Master Degrees in Social Work. I honestly got the job from my internship and national service experience. I was an AmeriCorps member doing similar work and it made me stand out in interviews!

LovesHashem

Fri, Nov 13 2020, 8:24 am

First of all that sounds like an awesome job. I'd love to work in something like that and I feel like I'm making a difference!

Thank you for your work!

How many frum people end up in shelters? Do you ever introduce secular jews to judaism through your work? If so do you get the local community to try and help?

Do you live in town/in a city with a large orthodox population?