Our Outreach team is critical, delivering food, clothing, and services to the streets.
Every day, people experiencing homelessness suffer from the elements, malnutrition, and violence. The HopeWorks Outreach team provides a friendly and welcoming presence on the streets, providing basic needs such as water, hygiene, snacks, clothing items, and more, all while building a relationship of trust and respect. Outreach works to identify people’s needs, develop rapport, and link people to services. Street outreach is often conducted in partnership with other service providers, including APD, Managed Care Organizations, and others. Outreach also helps connect those experiencing homelessness to housing resources that may be available in the community.
Staff Stories: Meet Joseph
I have worked with HopeWorks since 2018. I was attracted by the type and quality of work that I heard was being done here. I have worked in several different roles at the agency and I have been proud to grow into the Pathways to Hope program manager role.
When I was on the Outreach team, I spent my work days meeting with clients around the city and trying to get them engaged in services. We would drive in the van, visiting different quadrants of Albuquerque, looking for people who might want assistance or basic needs supplies.
The Outreach Team and the whole of the Pathways program has done a great job of collaborating with other programs at HopeWorks. We work closely with Housing, Hope Found, the Day Shelter, Casa de Phoenix, Dismas House, Employment, and Psycho-Social Rehabilitation to name a few.
While working in this capacity, I have learned that people tend to automatically respond with “I understand” as a way of showing sympathy. The truth is, by assuming we know exactly how our clients are feeling, it can sometimes come across as demeaning or even insulting. We don’t always know how it feels to be where they are at in life.
Despite the emotional toll that can come with a job like this, I find peace in attending church. I have a strong support system at home, and one of the ways I find rest and strength is through prayer.