Social Workers Make a Difference in the Lives of the Homeless
By Susan Nayowith, Ph.D., Urban Pathways
Social workers have been pioneers in work with homeless individuals since homelessness began mushrooming throughout our nation thirty years ago. Social workers ability to look at the person in their environment helped as they used their skills of outreach, engagement, and assessment to begin planning and implementing the development of programs and services to people on the streets in need of care.
Not-for-profit organizations led by social workers and schools of social work in partnership with government agencies responded to the needs of people on the street by creating outreach teams, drop-in and day treatment centers, shelters with social service components, employment programs, and transitional and permanent housing. Social workers pieced together programs to create what is now known as the continuum of care model of services.
Social workers led in the development and staffing of outreach teams. Outreach teams reach out by bringing their social work skills and services to the street. There is concrete assistance in the form of food and clothing. Social workers strive to help their clients access services: entitlements, medical and psychiatric care, substance abuse treatment, and opportunities to stay indoors.
Social workers helped create drop-in centers and day treatment programs for people to receive a wide range of services indoors. These programs provide medical and mental health care, substance abuse treatment, rehabilitation services, concrete services, and referral to appropriate programs or housing.
While shelters were originally court mandated to provide 'three hots and a cot' social workers were soon offering a wide range of social services to meet the varied and complex needs of people in need. The shelter system is a safety net for individuals and families from all populations who have not found assistance in other systems: cash assistance, criminal justice, education, food, foster care, housing, mental health, substance abuse, etc.
Social workers and their clients attempt to find thoughtful and creative solutions to difficult problems. The work is challenging and very rewarding.