Questions and Answers about Street Outreach

• What is your name, role, and how long have you been working in street outreach?

Sara Varnado, Street Outreach Housing Navigator with Roof Above. I have been doing street outreach with Roof Above for three years now. I have previously worked with other outreach teams and homeless services programs off and on since 2008 in several other communities including Atlanta, Nashville, Asheville, and Washington, DC.

• What neighborhood(s) or areas do you typically cover?

Our team overall conducts street outreach all over Mecklenburg County; however, I specifically focus my outreach in the Woodlawn Road area between S. Tryon and South Blvd; Tyvola Road off I-77; Wilkinson Blvd; and W. W.T. Harris Blvd near the Northlake Mall area.

• What does a typical day look like for you?

There is no such thing as a typical day! Ha! In my work, I have learned to expect the unexpected. We are dealing with people’s lives that are regularly in crisis, so we have to be prepared for anything. We might do things like help neighbors order new identification documents. We help them obtain SNAP benefits and Medicaid and we help them get to doctor appointments or refer them to programs to help get employment. And our ultimate goal is to, of course, help them get to stable, long-term housing!

• What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your work?

There is not nearly enough affordable housing! It is also difficult to get identifying documents for neighbors (ID, Social Security Cards, etc.) – lots of hoops to jump through. I find it difficult to help neighbors get, keep, and stay on medications and follow basic health instructions from physicians. There are myriad reasons for this including nowhere for them to store medicines, risk of theft, battling the elements (rain, heat, cold, etc.), lack of understanding of how to care for themselves, mental health, and overall functional impairment.

• What part of your job feels most meaningful or rewarding?

I love seeing “a-ha” moments in people! For example: when someone has been resistant to services for a long time, but then, for whatever reason, a lightbulb goes off and they decide to get help. I also love sharing simple moments of humanity with other people – laughing with neighbors, sitting with them when they are feeling down, seeing their face light up when I give them a bottle of water or a t-shirt. Basic human needs.

• Is there a moment or interaction that has stuck with you?

I worked with a woman who had developed severe cataracts in both eyes and had become almost totally blind. It was a months-long process of going to eye doctor appointments and waiting for a surgery time and place to become available, but I will never forget the moments after she came out of surgery and was able to see her partner again. She was so excited, grinning from ear to ear. On the drive to the shelter where she would be recovering, she had the greatest time reading street signs along the way. It was a long, hard process, but the reward was greater than all the struggles that led up to it!! Later that year, we were able to get her housed and she is still there doing great!

• What motivates you to continue doing this work?

Celebrating small wins – getting someone an ID; helping someone get to a doctor when they haven’t been checked out in a long while; finally completing a Coordinated Entry assessment when the person has been reluctant to do so.

Also, the smiles of people I meet with. When they get good news or when we just share a laugh together over something silly.

Also, the team that I work with! They are so supportive and I love that we are always there to lean on each other and jump in to help when needed!!

• What do you wish more people understood about street outreach?

That it is not a scary endeavor. It involves interacting with other human beings who just happen to need some assistance. People are people and deserve to be treated as human beings!

• How do you approach building trust with clients you meet in the field?

My approach is to be consistent (and persistent), be genuine, be honest, and do what I say I am going to do. I do not make promises that I cannot keep. If I do not know an answer, I am willing to say, “I don’t know, but I will find out!” Sometimes it is a slow process – especially when someone has been hurt by “the system” and/or friends and family who say they care about them. It takes time to build trust!

• What tools, resources, or team practices help you be successful?

Partnerships with other agencies like DSS (Food Stamps and Medicaid), Atrium Health (Street Psychiatry, Street Med, and Post-Overdose Response Team), CMPD Community Coordinators, Social Security Administration, and Mecklenburg County CJS & Pre-Trial make things a lot easier and allow us to get resources to people who might not otherwise be able to access them.

One practice that our team shares is a text-chain celebration of wins. We share positive things that happen with our neighbors and celebrate those things together via text – even when we can’t always be together in person. It is a great way to support each other.

• How do you take care of yourself amidst the emotional and physical demands of outreach?

I have two goofy dogs at home who need a lot of attention! They are great stress relievers. I also love to read and have recently started working in my yard. I never thought I would like gardening!

• If you could share one message with the broader community about homelessness or outreach work, what would it be?

Street outreach is a necessity! There are so many individuals who cannot access services at an actual service center because they do not have transportation to get there or due to other personal reasons, so we need to make sure all human beings have access to services and support. All human beings deserve housing! The power of street outreach is the ability to bring your office to them and truly meet them exactly where they are at. Doing so really helps get the mission of ending homelessness done!