Our Work Matters: Collaboration and Coordination with Street Outreach Partners during Harsh Winter Weather
There is incredible compassionate collaboration that happens with trained street outreach professionals and Homeward - the dedicated planning agency for the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care (GRCoC) – each and every day, but especially on days with extreme weather.
Our GRCoC outreach teams responded quickly and compassionately under the pressure of last week’s dangerous ice storm and ongoing frigid temperatures. They were able to connect with people on their caseloads and worked late into the night on Saturday connecting with people sleeping outdoors. In partnership with local shelters, local government partners, and community organizations, the outreach teams made sure everyone who wanted a warm, indoor place to go was connected to it.
Despite this incredible collaboration, we know that the need for homeless services continues to rise. We also know that not everyone wants to go inside during extreme weather. Those who didn’t want to go to shelter were given hand warmers and cold weather care kits. They were checked up on throughout the duration of the storm. Outreach workers worked tirelessly to support the individuals they serve.
“There were a lot of amazing moments of collaboration,” said Vicki Wise, Homeward’s Strategic Community Engagement Manager. “One gentleman didn’t want to go to shelter because he didn’t want to leave his cats. We were able to coordinate with the local community policing officers, and they were able to do welfare checks on him throughout the bad weather, and let the outreach teams know how he was doing.”
Another amazing story is that, on the night of the storm, one of our regional healthcare partners reported that significantly fewer people than usual were using the healthcare facility as a shelter from the elements. Having additional capacity in the community allowed the healthcare partners to focus on meeting health needs during the start of the extreme cold weather. Collaboration among outreach teams was integral to that outcome.
Trained outreach workers have been connecting individually with people who choose (for a variety of reasons) to turn down shelter even during extreme weather. While respecting personal choice, our region’s outreach teams continue to engage people and offer assistance. They know people by name and take the time to build relationships when possible.
“This weather event has been hard,” Wise continued, “but I’ve been in multiple calls across our continuum of care and it has been so heartwarming, and so inspiring, to see how smoothly our system worked together to support our neighbors. Our work matters. And outreach is really key to our response in extreme weather events. They’re the boots on the ground, facilitating connections, meeting people where they’re at, and being that link across systems of care.”
How you can help.
We understand and appreciate that many people want to find tangible ways to help our neighbors pushed into homelessness. Here are two easy ways to help:
1. Connect to a local supply drive. Two current needs are water bottles and Uber gift cards.
2. Support one of the nonprofits doing this work. Here’s a list of local nonprofits that provide homeless services and are active members of our regional network.
Finally, please join us in expressing thanks and gratitude for the incredible work our outreach teams did this last week, and continue to do each and every day. Feel free to email messages to info@homewardva.org to be shared at the next collaborative meeting of the community street outreach teams or drop a note c/o Homeward at 9211 Forest Hill Avenue, Suite 110, Richmond, VA 23235.
