What is important to you?

As someone who has a keen interest in homeless issues and works in the field (Australia), I would like hear from anyone across the globe (particularly those who have directly experienced homelessness) about what they wanted from service providers when they were homeless? Could you also mention experiences that you didnt like as well.

Have you come across any services that you really liked, what were they and why did you like it? You dont have to mention the service provider name, just share what happened?

This feedback will assist me to become a better worker and provide greater experiences. I will then pass on to other workers as well.


Best wishes
Richard

The number one thing i wanted from service providers was to be treated like a human being. Don't try to rush me out of the chair because you have 10 other people to see... i was here before them, and this may be the first time i've been warm and comfortable all day. Ask me how my day is going. I may tell you fine and not mean it, or i may go into detail about all the bad things that are going on. Either way, i'll secretly be glad someone cares. Take your time and find out what my needs are. if i feel rushed, i may forget something important, just wanting to get whatever i can and not waste your precious time. smile at me. You may be having a bad day, and you may feel like you'll never get everything done, but when you dont smile, and you act irritated, i WILL take it personally. I'll think you dont want to help, that this is JUST a job for you, and it will hurt my feelings. Please, above all, show me that you CARE. Not just about homelessness in general, but about ME as a person. Remember, I may not have had anyone to care about me in a very long time, and your time, your concern, may make more of a difference than any food, any coat, any THING you can give me.

I know that may not have really been what you were looking for, but it's what i wanted most of all when i was homeless. i always got treated like a number, and now that i am happily in a home of my own, the one service provider that i really remember was the one who i could tell really cared.

I was going to reply to Marksangel's post with a qoute, but when I tried to delete bits not needed I couldn't find any. :D That post should be taken and provided to every service provider to be put inside the front cover of their training manuals. :)

I have dealt with some great people and some not so great people through various service providers. I understand their job is a difficult one but the one's I recommend to other people in need are the one's where I was treated like a person, where I was showed care and respect. Luckily here in Brissie most of the "true" service providers treat their "clients" as people not numbers.

Hi,

I think those are really good questions to ask, richard, and I also totally agree with everything Punter and marksangel said, 100%. Even though, like I do obviously take into account that everybody's human and even service providers can have a bad day, it does make you think that they just don't give a shit about you, and you probably won't go back to that service.

I definitely think that the thing that matters most is for service providers to show that you really 100% care about you, that they're not just pretending cos it's their job. And I think that believing the client is a big one, makes you trust the worker more, and experience.

I've had good and bad experiences with workers. One was bad cos they didn't believe my story, and at the end of the day they weren't there to support me in the choices I wanted to make. I think that's a big one, that no matter what the client does, at the end of the day the worker has to on their side and supporting them.

The best worker I ever had listened to me really well, supported me and helped make things happen for me, was pretty experienced, and really really showed that she cared. And that's the most important thing. If a worker listens to you, and shows that they care, they're a good worker.

Sk8r rat.

...to be treated like a worthwhile human being.

Some service providers are getting paid by the government...their salaries are paid for by tax dollars...I PAID TAXES FOR YEARS!!!!...still pay taxes on purchases, (sales tax), when I have money to buy anything.

The girl in charge of my case, insisted that my last day of work was Sept 2004, I think I should know it was May 2004...it clearly stated on the form....DATE APPLIED for unemployment...tho' I was correct she kept insisiting I was wrong....and because in her eyes, and the eyes of her supervisors, I'm just a disgusting homeless person....

That is the person who is getting paid to help me....that is what she is getting paid to do, not to judge me and just assume...

LISTEN! Every person is an individual.

...went to service provider #1 who sent me to service provider #2 who sent me to 3 who sent me back to #1....

I learned more from the other homeless people....

What I appreciated was hot meals, being able to sit at a table indoors.

When I went to a shelter, I could not stay. The male guard frisked me than said "oh, you are a woman...", he knew that.

The bus people were just as sexist and using their position to harrass the female homeless. Reporting them does no good, they stick together and deny their actions.

I wanted help to get off the streets.

"get a job"

How? oh, some of the younger guys did work and live in the shelters or sleep on sidewalks & wash at Service Providers...with my hand injury, heart condition, and age, simply could not do that....

To have an income & private place to sleep, hang my clothes, would be the starting point of finding a job....but, like I mentioned to those PIC's (people in charge)...

If I could get a job, I would have one and would not be here seeking your help.

..not a drug user, not a Veteran of War, not physically handicapped (the arthritis that causes my fingers to lock and at one point made it impossible for me to use my right hand...important when one earns a living doing data entry....isn't considered severe), not in an abusive relationship, not a young mother with small children, not diagnosed with mental illness (ho, ho, ho....the severity of my mental illness is kept very well hidden...if I were to be honest they might lock me away and throw away the key...)

(depression, self-injury, suicidal, frugal, voices come from outside my head, smell things that are not there....)

LISTEN.

When i ask you to listen to me,
And you start giving me advice,
You have not done what i asked.

When i ask you to listen to me,
And you begin to tell me why i shouldn't feel that way,
You are trampling on my feelings.

When i ask you to listen to me,
And you feel you have to DO something to solve my problem,
You have failed me, as strange as that may seem.

Listen! All i asked was that you listen,
Not to talk or do - just hear me.
Advice is cheap - 33 cents will get you both Dear Abby and Billy Graham in the same newspaper,
And i can do that for myself - i am not helpless;
Maybe discouraged and faultering, but NOT helpless.

When you do something for me,
Than i CAN and NEED to do for myself,
You contribute to my fear and weakness.

But, when you accept as a simple fact that i do feel what i feel,
No matter how irrational,
Then i can quit trying to convince you and can get about the business of understanding what's behind this irraional feeling;
And when that's clear, the answers are obvious and i don't need advice.

Irrational feelings make sense when we understand what's behind them.
Perhaps that is why prayer works, sometimes, for some people,
Because God is mute...
He doesn't give advice or try to fix things.

So, please listen and just hear me.
And, if you want to,
Wait a minute for your turn;
And i'll listen to you too.

I'd have to say the worst is when they hit you with the lines (or should i say they PLAGARISE) straight from their text books...
The old favourites such as "...and why do you feel thay way?" or "can you tell me more about that"... ; they cant even say it like they mean it!

Again it has to do with being treated like a human being. A lot of service providers (no doubt with good intentions, however) have not been where we have been and they DON'T know how it is. There is nothing you can read in text books or learn at uni that comes anywhere close to REALLY allowing you to know how it is. And for those service providers who DONT, WONT and CANT listen to us and treat us with respect, they will never come close to even learning what it is really like.

You can read all the books oh homelessness, on drug addiction, on alcoholosm, DV, abuse, mental illness..... do all the research you want - but until you have walked a mile on the 'other side' of society (or REALLY REALLY REALLY listened to someone who HAS) then there is so much that you don't even know you don't know.

Nothing like falling between the welfare classifications is there ;)


Regards,
Konstantìn

And the labels...
OMG
the damn LABELS
if someone breaks their leg - are they 'a broken leg'? NO
if someone has cancer - are they 'Cancer'? NO
So then WHY, for f### sake, does someone who suffers from schitzophrenia (or similar) always get called SCHITZOPHRENIC??
It takes the person away and recreates an ideantity based around the illness and it is just SO wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
People who are mentally unwell are still PEOPLE!!
It is just such a shame that so many people within our society fail to see it.

...meals (depending on how you define good), showers, washing machine & dryer, being remembered and asked how you were doing....treated with courtesy and laughter.

The Service Provider's funding is being cut by the government, so a lot being laid off and sevices, such as the free bus to the place to shower, are stopped. This puts other people out of work...some may end up homeless too.

The overnight shelters are horrors! The staff treats you like it were jail. (sometimes due to the people, strictness is needed, tho') Ration soap & toilet paper...first time, did not know there was no toilet paper in the john's...

NIMBY....not in my backyard....couldn't find a place for the winter shelter, so Long Beach people bussed to another town...church donated space...then remodeling, so port-a-pots...4 for 500 or so people, get clogged no sink to wash hands..

the shelter hack...germs spread...the guards blare the tv's in the middle of the night impossible to sleep, so back to freezing on the streets, hoping the police don't give you a ticket...

get woken in the middle of the night lucky wasn't harmed

a safe private place to sleep

was told the shelter's get $100. a night per person, if 1/2 given directly to me, sure I could stay off streets not only at night but day time hours too...and having shelter, might be able to take steps to get off streets...

...people they are losers and 'grow up' 'quit drinking' 'you're so pretty why do you want to kill yourself' are not helpful things to say

what I'd want is to be reminded what a great wonderful person I am and that 'yes you can' overcome this....

just listen post sez it better than I can

if someone breaks their leg - are they 'a broken leg'? NO

Unless you are in theatre. ;)

"Is the leg prepared?"
"Well we have an interesting wound today."
"Today we will be operating on a cancer."


So then WHY, for f### sake, does someone who suffers from schitzophrenia (or similar) always get called SCHITZOPHRENIC??
It takes the person away and recreates an ideantity based around the illness and it is just SO wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
People who are mentally unwell are still PEOPLE!!


I agree.

Regards,
Konstantìn

And the labels...
OMG
the damn LABELS
if someone breaks their leg - are they 'a broken leg'? NO
if someone has cancer - are they 'Cancer'? NO
So then WHY, for f### sake, does someone who suffers from schitzophrenia (or similar) always get called SCHITZOPHRENIC??
It takes the person away and recreates an ideantity based around the illness and it is just SO wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
People who are mentally unwell are still PEOPLE!!
It is just such a shame that so many people within our society fail to see it.

In Romania many people call street children or other homeless people Aurolaci, because they inhale 'Aurolac' paint (that's a brand). :mad:

Wow this is a great topic i must say, i am one of the "workers" but now i am looking for work fulltime once again. i have recently quit the last place i was working at many cause i became friend with a past servicer user 8 months after he left the service. My manager found out about this and i told her that im not going to tell some i cant be friends with then because there a "past client". no no no i wont.
I would also get in trouble for being to friendly with "client". My manger thought this because i would often get along with clients and make the time to talk with them, i would like to know how there day/week was going and i would even tell them what i have being up to if they asked me and wanted to know.
My old manger was also stuck in the 80s and need to retire now that she is over 60.
Wel now i am having troubles getting fulltime work as a "worker" because all managers will call the refrances that i need to put down and she is giving me a Bad refence. I only do casual work now as the manager here listen to his clients and instead of calling up my old boss.

Oh well what can i do, not too much i guess but just stick it out and hope to find somewhere eles that listen to client.

One service that i found was really good is a mission australia youth service in kings cross. The reason they were so helpful was because they do outreach all over sydney as well, so once i got off the streets my worker still came to see me twice a week and helped me out with things like getting furniture and blankets etc, getting a job, getting involved in sports again, etc. I found that a lot of services helped you in the short term while you were on the streets, but once you moved on they cut contact with you. Unfortunately as i have said many times, getting accomodation is not an instant cure to all thats bad in your life - even with a roof over your head your problems and issues are still there. Often i used to think that the only way to get help and keep it was to stay on the streets forever. But once i got hooked up with this service (they do intensive case management for ppl under 25) it was amazing.
As someone who has HUGE problems when it comes to making and particularly maintaining meaningful attachments, the fact that this service didnt ditch me once i got off the streets was such a great thing.
I think they need more services like this. Too many services have workers that will work with you for say 3 months, then you get a different worker, then they ship you off to another service, then they hand you file over to another service... but getting someone involved in your life that will actually stick it out with you for the long haul is ssooooo much more helpful.
:)

Too many services have workers that will work with you for say 3 months, then you get a different worker, then they ship you off to another service, then they hand you file over to another service...


This happens in the Job network agencies too it is soooooo frustrating.

Regards,
Konstantìn

Sashalee - your words entitled 'LISTEN' brought goosebumps to my arms and tears to my eyes. You are a gifted and talented writer and a very perseptive person! Your words are opening up my mind! I bet (and hope) you hear this all the time!

Was in the city of miami in 72. Asked a police officer where a hungry, street man might get a meal. He gave me directions and I arrived at the location. It was a huge cafeteria and clean. Many of the people there had on expensive suits. Upon inquiry I was told the rich and poor both ate there: the homeless, the business people and the city politic. I was utterly amazed as I made my way thru this elegant chowline. I said to myself, I must of died of a heat stroke down some where on earth today because surely this must be heaven where the poor and rich dine together. As I held onto my tray they heaped whatever delicious foods I indicated to my plate and asked if I'd like delicious sandwiches to go. Well I kept on pinchin' my self as I asked the dear lady a pourin' my hot coffee, How could this be? She said everybody's loved here at The Little Brothers of the Poor. She said no one is turned away; no one is charged for a meal. She said people paid only if they wanted to. They were never short on funds. Never saw a place like this again as I was a passin' through. This is a true story. It happened to me.
KaBong

Service providers need to treat everyone with respect and if necessary to be reminded that they could very well be homeless themselves in one fell swoop of misfortune. Now while they don't want to hear this at all, even makes some of them hostile, it makes others secretly think. Service providers don't care any more. I was directly homeless myself three different times though I didn't look it. Service providers also need to consider and be prepared to treat married couples at high-risk with much more courtesy. My husband was minimally treated at one free clinic and I was refused treatment and the security guard was conducting medical triage thank you very much. They tell me it was HIPPA(federal law) that kept us apart when he needed me. Just because we're married doesn't mean we're better off. This is a dangerous assumption by health care workers. I'm tired of the lame, uncaring excuses used by the medical community.

OK here yah go
on-the-nickel.blogspot.com its my blog.
Advice number one

Ask a question. That's right we are the true experts on what problems we face.

Never speak for me or us.

Homeless people have the right to eat better then your dog.

Identify where program rules block mypath to self sufficiency and get the fuck rid of them. for instance A shelter curfew rule that says i have to be in at 6pm and I work till ten can't get back till 11:30 just don't work for me.

Go sit in a soupline

Take care;

Las Vegas Superbum

I am new to this forum and the issue of "homelessness" though recognize the call for respect from service providers. Hopefully, I will not attempt to bolster my self-respect by putting down clients, and will remember that my duty as a "professional" is to serve others.

A warm welcome to the forums, SrLwrnz. :)

I hope you'll enjoy meeting new friends here and taking part in all the conversations.

Hopefully service providers from all over the globe will visit this site and take on board what is being said by the homeless.

I personally have little time for service providers ... I find that they are of very limited understanding of the homeless issues and do not really want to hear about them. OK maybe they will sit with you and listen to what you are saying ... but they are only waiting for you to finish (often they will not even do that) so as they can start to repeat the same old philosophy that you will hear regardless of the day centre you are sat in. (Repetative parrot talk.)
It seems to me that these 'care workers' are cloned from the same text book.

I of course realise that they are paid to get people off of the streets ... that is their prime objective.
I also realise that they are limited as to what they can offer you ...
There is a framework that they must operate within and cannot create individual solutions to suit individual clients.
However, there are some things that they can do to try and understand the issues of the homeless:

1.
Do not patronise people ... it is counter productive in building trust and confidence between client and worker, and it also demonstrates your inability to accept someone for what he / she is. (This is your personal problem, and not a homeless issue.)

2.
A part of the training for care workers is to dominate the situation /conversation. This immediately makes the statement " I am in control of this .... " Or, I am superior, you are inferior.
I disagree with this stance everytime ... the response from the would be superior one is to get verbally aggressive or insultive, or on one recent occasion, potentially physically aggressive ...and come at me with clenched fist's.
I have mastered this situation by being polite and truthful.
Note: Without sarcasm.

3.
Follow on with what you have promised ... All too often someone is told that their case is being dealt with, or I will get you an answer by tomorrow at the latest, when in reality that client is being ' fobbed off ' to keep him / her quiet for now.
Tomorrow will be a very disappointing day for that client ... because someone lied to him / her or forgot to follow through yesterday.
If this relates to de-tox, or re-hab ... you have destroyed all his / her faith in the system. you have kicked him / her in the head effectively.
It might seem petty to you, but maybe he / she has been awake most of the night anticipating getting in somewhere while the mindset is optimistic and even dare to think of a new start.

4.
I want to curtail this ... ( short of time ) So may I ask that you treat us like fellow human beings and not like components on a production line ...
And please do not assume that because we are homeless that we have failed in society ... That might be a convenient thought that you can justify your actions with ....but it is not always the truth.

Nothing personal Richard ... this is a generalisation, and of course there are exceptions.

" Acknowledgements and understandings are the foundations of solutions "

Tom.

Things that don't work are the shelters that are a first come first serve on a "NIGHTLY" basis. Homelessness will go on much longer in such situations cause there is not a stable place to go - its all a matter of what time you get there when they open up for the night and for many who are trying to keep their jobs this can make it harder on them when they got no place to go. And much more money is being spent in the longrun and nothing getting acomplished cause there is no stable atmoshpere for someone. Having an intake process and assigning that person a bed in which will be their bed and their bed alone until they depart from the shelter will be more beneficial and make better use of funds to help get people back on their feet. They can't do that when they can't get daily showers, food, or a place to sleep cause they don't get off work in time to get in line for the first come first serve each night. If you can't get stable help you won't be able to further yourself, without proper hygiene you could loose your job and so forth - that's the best start for structure in shelter and can produce quicker more positive results.


Jeremy

Was in the city of miami in 72. Asked a police officer where a hungry, street man might get a meal. He gave me directions and I arrived at the location. It was a huge cafeteria and clean. Many of the people there had on expensive suits. Upon inquiry I was told the rich and poor both ate there: the homeless, the business people and the city politic. I was utterly amazed as I made my way thru this elegant chowline. I said to myself, I must of died of a heat stroke down some where on earth today because surely this must be heaven where the poor and rich dine together. As I held onto my tray they heaped whatever delicious foods I indicated to my plate and asked if I'd like delicious sandwiches to go. Well I kept on pinchin' my self as I asked the dear lady a pourin' my hot coffee, How could this be? She said everybody's loved here at The Little Brothers of the Poor. She said no one is turned away; no one is charged for a meal. She said people paid only if they wanted to. They were never short on funds. Never saw a place like this again as I was a passin' through. This is a true story. It happened to me.
KaBong

I am so excited to have read your post. One day a name...Hope for the Hungry came to my head. Not just the name, but in my mind it was a diner for all who were hungry. I envisioned that all would eat there, rich, poor, barefoot or shoed. I shared my thoughts with a few friends and none discouraged me, but wondered how it would survive. I suggested that if people paid, they paid and that the diner would survive the same way all other great ideas survive by hard work, determination and faith.

I have not committed to starting the diner. I have commited to writing my idea along side of other ideas as they come. I seek guidance and take it from there.

Thank you for sharing.

I think that if you opened Hope for the Hungry, it would be a very good thing. Not only because the poor will be well fed with good food, but because they get to share tables with homed or "well-to-do" people that will come to realize that the poor and homeless are people just like them except perhaps for some stroke of fate.

The food and service must be really excellent, no short cuts, even if all that show up are the poor. They deserve the best and to get the funding for the best, you need outside funding or you need the generosity of the "rich" that eat there too.

If you want the "rich" as well as the "poor", you would likely need to start as a conventional diner that attracts the business clientel, with only a small sign at checkout proclaiming that "If you have little or are broke, then just pass on by, as it is free to you. If you have extra, pay a little more to help others to get a meal". Soon the word will get out to the public and everyone will come, and the word will spread to the poor and homeless and they will come too. The homeless network is very efficient.

We had a local restarent central to a collection of homeless shelters that did some of that on a much smaller scale. It was a simple converted frame house located almost under a bridge. It was named "fruit basket", I believe, and it was a staple of the community as it attracted lawyers, judges, prominent business people, doctors, nurses, patients, and often the homeless. I think it was too sucessful due to its small seating space to be good for the homeless. You had to know someone that had eaten there to even find out about it, but it was always full. However, it did not promote itself to the poor or homeless and did not post any signs allowing or disallowing anyone. I'm not aware anyone was turned away and I know they gave free meals to the homeless while I was there. The building was not big enough and was not operated in the manner you describe - the homeless were welcome but not at the expense of table space and table space was hard to get. Most of the servers were homeless however. It was not a hope for the hungry even though it started that way - it was simply not big enough and the more affluent overwhemed it..

What I'm suggesting by mentioning it is that location and size is important, good food is important, word of mouth is important, and the complete lack of judgement is important, in the sense that everyone is treated exactly the same and everyone is welcomed the same. "Pay what you can" also comes to mind for pricing. People that know the food the poor get is paid by those who can pay more tend to be much more generous than what they would normally pay for a meal.

The business mentioned recently moved into a more affluent neighborhood but began to discourage the more affluent with poor service and poor food. It soon went out of business. I don't know what they were thinking. The last time I ate there, it took 15 minutes to get waited on, the food was cold and the server informed me that I could not leave a tip on the table. The server, who looked pretty impovished, said I had to give it to the cashier. I looked around at the cashier who was eyeing me closely. It was so sad.

You would need a big space, but it certainly does not need to be fancy and the service and food offerings should be identical to all comers. The Little Brothers of the Poor seemed to have it just right. Wonder what happened to them.

I found the following web site:
http://miami.littlebrothers.org/-ourfounder.html

Apparently Little Brothers of the Poor was formed by a rich French Man who had a vision of a "Little Brothers" organization that would spread around the world, and it has.

It started as an organization devoted to the poor, but has morphed into "Little Brothers, Friends of the Elderly" which is international.

In Chicago, he tested an orgainztion that gave gourmet meals to the poor on a bi-weekly basis, including lobster etc. There is a Times article in the 70's on that and you can google and find it.

There is a Miami Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly existing today.

Thank you Oldtimer for such a thoughtful and encouraging letter. I too searched for the diner in Miami and found what you did. I marked it to read later. I will see if I can find the Times article.

I imagine it will be years in the making for such an idea to come to pass for me, but I can't imagine a better place to eat than that. It will be exciting to see it come to fruition.

Thank you again for all your great thoughts on the matter. I appreciate your time and ideas.

The 1964 Time Magazine Article can be found here.. Please read it at their site for the full story.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,940799,00.html

The Champagne Touch
Friday, Jan. 03, 1964

... Last week they started their dinner for 350 of the city's aged and indigent by serving hot rum punch. They embellished the meal itself with lobster salad, cake, and compote of fruit flambé, expertly cooked by the Little Brothers. They served French champagne, and the 117 dozen roses used as table decorations were given away to the guests afterward.

The Little Brothers believe that nothing is too good for those who have nothing. They offer superbly cooked meals—with wine, flowers and candles —to 15 or 20 of Chicago's poor every two weeks. In summer, they provide free vacations for twelve older people each month at a pleasant cottage on Delavan Lake, Wisconsin. Their ideal of a truly welcome gift for a penniless old woman is not a bundle of used clothing but a diamond ring on her silver wedding anniversary.

Founded in France in 1946 by Armand Marquiset, a rich Catholic nobleman, the Little Brothers came to Chicago four years ago, have successfully tested their technique of "luxurious charity" in several French cities and in Montreal, Naples and Casablanca. The 50 permanent members of this "pious union," who get financial and other aid from 1,000 associate and auxiliary members, are all Catholic laymen, although they take monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They also have to become master chefs during their novitiate, and many have been trained by Paris' famed Cordon Bleu cooking school.

Offering their gifts and gourmet meals to the poor of all faiths, the Brothers believe that their work is particularly necessary in the welfare state, which can provide men with the necessities of life but not the luxuries that give grace, joy and meaning to existence. "We try to have the personal touch for the poor in this world of the Social Security card," says French-born Michel Salmon, head of Chicago's four Brothers. "We try to help them because they are Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So, not because they are poor."

What a wonderful story.

Wow! What amazing acts of love those people are doing for the elderly. I could find no reference to a cafe of sorts, it seems these are holiday and birthday related meals for the elderly, but I will keep looking. All people should be treated royaly. I hope to be able to do something like this at least at Christmas, but man oh man, if a cafe that serves all people paying or not is something that I can get open here, I will be the happiest woman alive.

Yikes! I have to go to a meeting. Catch yall (that's a Texas word) later.

janshouse101,

Maybe you could get someone local to review your work and help you plan and organize it some. I'm sure it will be a great booklet when you are done. I don't think I can help you, though.

The math part is particularly difficult to understand, and maybe it got scrambled when you copied it in? For example, what does "2 millions 6.7 and 4.3" mean? Also 6x150,000 is 900,000, not 800. Where did the "total of 11mil" come from and how do you jump from 1,650,000 to 12,650,000. You need to explain that in terms simple folk like me can understand. It could be it was organized into tables and then got scrambled when it was copied. No need to explain, just get some local help in reviewing your work. That area needs a good bit of work and someone needs to sit down with you and help work it out. Also, a link to your work posted elsewhere is better than trying to post it on a forum. Much easier to work with as most forums can't take long documents like your finished work will be.

Anyway, good luck with your booklet. I look forward to seeing it in print someday.

Being a Desert Dweller (Those of you in Oz can relate perhaps?) water is on my top 5 list of must haves,also a good mountain bike with puncture proof tires (lots of cactus,you know...) and sunscreen! Oh,and a wide brimmed straw hat...

Clean bathrooms and showers. Unlimited stay at facility. Good nutritious food. Phone availability. Carfare to interviews. T.V. and computer room. Medical care and pharmacutecals if needed. Clean beds. Mental health services. 12 step services. Help getting lost I.D.'s. Religious services. Employment services. All these services available in one building will make it easier to get quickly on track again.
KaBong

I need to be equipped for my mission to get on track again as quickly as I can. No games! Even if my mission is to apply for a disability, I need no nonsense help FAST. It very heart breaking to be homeless and debilitating. I hate this ....... world. So easy to appropriate money for war; damn hard to get support when your down and out. I've never been given support anywhere that was quick, efficient and effective. I have however been moved and greatful to the many sincere people that want to help but do not fully understand how to help effectively. We want to live life again, enjoy it again, feel the goodness of life again, as quickly and effectly as possible. We don't want to sleep on streets with one eye open. We don't want to be afraid or lonely or sad anymore.
KaBong

i am in need of a friend i also need a shelter 2 go 2 i'm in Lancaster s.c. can u hlep me

I'm a 26 year yong chick in need of a good friend I could use some good advice also & hopefully I'll be okay for this week-end but I do need a shelter I do have someone that will drive me just about anywere if anyone has ANY ideas on were I could go please tell me I am in Lancaster S.C.

OKAY I'VE GOT 2 GO FOR NOW PLEASE IF ANYONE IS LINTENNING WRITE ME BACK ON MY E-MIAL ADD. ms.kittinaverygpchick@yahoo.com I am praying that someone out there has the ears to their heart open and you answer me shortly I need the help befor I got lost

Angelina, there are only a few listings for Lancaster that I can find. The best one may be
Hope In Lancaster Inc (http://affiliate.yellowbook.com/intelius/addresses/Listings/Listing/210578681/hope-in-lancaster-inc.html?Partner=il.address&T=&Q=Homeless+Shelter&WH=Lancaster%2c+SC&CT=3&CS=2&AN=0)
803-286-4673
2008 Pageland Hwy (highway 9)
Lancaster SC 29720
Social & Human Svces. Organizations


Other than that, try the government offices:
Lancaster County (http://affiliate.yellowbook.com/intelius/addresses/Listings/Listing/206713909/lancaster-county.html?Partner=il.address&T=&Q=Homeless+Shelter&WH=Lancaster%2c+SC&CT=3&CS=2&AN=0)
803-286-8208
200 W Dunlap St (corner Dunlap and S. Catawaba st.)
Lancaster SC 29720-2594
Social & Human Svces. Organizations

or

Lancaster County Government Complex (http://affiliate.yellowbook.com/intelius/addresses/Listings/Listing/206713575/lancaster-county-government-complex.html?Partner=il.address&T=&Q=Homeless+Shelter&WH=Lancaster%2c+SC&CT=3&CS=2&AN=0)
803-285-7628
1833 Pageland Hwy
Lancaster SC 29720-7606
Social & Human Svces. Organizations

This last one may be in the same complex as the Hope in Lancaster one.

A search on Women's Shelter turned up the same listings.

Your best bet if these strike out is to stop in any church and ask for directions. Unfortunately many church offices are closed on Saturdays

I believe in just making sure that people get help without making a fuss about it, when we serve people we don't go straight to the newspaper and tell "yes we did this ir we did that" It is nobodies business who comes to us even when there is donated money involved. I am not in it for the glory nor are the individuals working with me, we do it because we care and people need a little help some times.

I need no nonsense help FAST

This is perfect, we don't want to be sent from one person to another.
A good service provider should have all the information they need, they should be able to get us where we need to be with minimal fuss

as several people said - LISTEN

As someone who has a keen interest in homeless issues and works in the field (Australia), I would like hear from anyone across the globe (particularly those who have directly experienced homelessness) about what they wanted from service providers when they were homeless? Could you also mention experiences that you didn't like as well.i wish i knew what iass up with this thing

Have you come across any services that you really liked, what were they and why did you like it? You don't have to mention the service provider name, just share what happened?

This feedback will assist me to become a better worker and provide greater experiences. I will then pass on to other workers as well.
hey Richard what's up ? I've been homeless a lot of yrs.and I've done alot of different things on living if you read some of my quotes it's like a book im' writing a book and most of it is out there in cyberspace just floating around an i have to go threw it and put it all together plus all of the thing so i'm talking about and the people Thea I've talked to don't know if i want to put it in a book form or on a dvd rom type thing a disk may pbe both alittle bit in a book and maybe the whole thing on disk.well god bless you richard and you be safe you hear?till next time zipcode. by the thing came up that my chapter is to short so now its bout whole buch of nothing i don't know what to chat about oh'yseah the place that i liked the most sand help or something like that ihad to scrol down there was this place in arkansa hope where bill clinton one of our presidents was born ond raised it was like a motel it was 15rms.all on ground level adn the kichen was a whole seprate building and the bath roooms also so if a person had to go they had to run a few meters like20 meters a way noat bad place if you wwere a coulple you could stay in the same room and tha was special you fon't run across that to many times i haven't any waythat was the first one i ever ran into. in my travel thousands of miles i bet i have over hundred thousand miles on the rails or the metric would be 150,000 kilometers in al ways forget the alot of people that look at this is the metric system so some time i mite gete the meanings turned around some have to read it a couple of times dontimes don't take me wrong god blessyou'allzipcodebyetill nextime got he same tihing its too short i didn't get it i don't know how its too short.well i'll try it now still too short running out of things too says one of these times i'll get it it says 35charters well i think its about 35hundred by now hell its another chapter in my book
in fochester minnesota there a service called the homeless service team that's all they do is help the home less the salvation army built a new building its 9 stories and they put the homeless i have a friend tha lives there and it comes with every thing pots and pans everything towels sheets blankets ffrom a-Z all a person has to take in the plac3e is your clothes it has free washer and dryers cable t.v. i eventhink it comes with telephone service plus the pepople they can go to the dhs office and get sighn up for a G/A check deneral asstance check for 352 amonth and plus yu can sighn up for your food card and get 186 amonth for food and then when you are waiting for your paper work to go threw y can stay at a plsce called the dorethy day hous if you're nof going to get the apartmenta you can stsay there for 30days if you area justs passing trew aand if youdon't like the castleveiw ther's another apartment building i for got what itis call my accident messed with my memory but ti'll think oof it in days to come when i think of it i'll puat it on line so if you're thinking 'bout going in that dirrencttion it'sa goood place to resst up apit stop stop a real good one you'll probly make it home its a nice atwn if it wasn't i wouldn't put it up on this siste you'al are the onlly family i have you'al make mefeel like i've known you peopl i've been there and what i say i 'dojn't bull shittonly if i've been drinking and i havn't had a drink in 2yrs.its got to be long enough now bye tak careyou peopleout tahere.sory it said i t wasn't long enough
Best wishes
Richardi wondering if i stsarted in the wrong place

on our website we have started several chatrooms as LifeSwitch adresses several issues besides homeless issues so come and check it out if you would like.. Life-Switch.org

Also I have posted your link on our website, which we are currently re-doing i hope that is ok if not let me know and I will delee it

i am attempting to start a nonprofit here in the US to assist the homeless and be a voice for their needs and concerns. having been homeless before i am able to speak from personal experience. I kind of found this site by accident while doing research, but after reading this thread i have added it to my favorites. everything you guys and girls have said is so true and meaningful. i am so grateful for each one of you, i want you to know that i have copied each "name" onto my prayer board and will lift ya'll up to the Lord every day. I am sorry that you are having to deal with uncaring people when the last thing you need is to feel worse. I only hope that my big mouth will be able to make a difference in how things are done, at least here in my little part of the world... God bless everyone of you, you are unique and special people and i look forward to corresponding with you in the future, you can email me at hebrewstwo18@hotmail.com God bless and keep you all..... Dennis