Basic introduction to how safe place can complement street outreach services

1. Safe Place and
Street Outreach
…a perfect marriage
Presented by
Joe Martinez,
Community Relations &
Outreach Manager
EOC Sanctuary & Youth Services
Fresno, CA
If you are listening via the conferencing call center, please
mute you phone by hitting *6. Thank you.

2. What are the common
factors that unite both
programs as the
PERFECT MARRIAGE?

3. Building blocks of your relationship
Street
Safe Place
Outreach

4. How do I know if the
marriage is working?
Safe Place Safe Place Street Street
Outreach Outreach
Youth Outreach Offers Offer education, Engage youth through
& Education Immediate prevention, and harm reduction and
Program Interventions access to intervention trauma informed
services approaches
Supported by
A network of Contact runaway and Respond to
Advocacy and
Safe Places for homeless youth immediate needs of
Access to through street youth such as shelter,
at-risk youth
Resources outreach or drop in food, clothing and
centers counseling
Help youth exit the
street and achieve
safe living
arrangements

5. Runaway and
Homeless Youth SAFETY
Outcomes
Self-
Sufficiency Well-Being
Permanent
Connections
2012 The University
of Oklahoma
QUESTION: How does your service to runaway homeless & street OUTREACH National
youth increase their safety, well-being, and self sufficiency, and help build Resource Center for
Youth Services
permanent connections with caring adults?

6. Relationship Building 101
We approach and are open about being approached
We are patient and nonjudgmental
We abide by the Code of Ethics
We remain respectful of individual differences
We are safe people. We do not have a code of silence.
We are engaged in a craft that affects human lives
We are agents of change
Trudee Able-Peterson & Richard A. Hooks Wayman’s
STREETWORKS: Best practices and standards In Outreach Methodology to Homeless Youth
QUESTION: How does your service to runaway homeless & street
youth increase their safety, well-being, and self sufficiency, and help build
permanent connections with caring adults?

7. Positive Youth Development
• Evidence • Best
Based Available
Practices Research
Opportunities
Emotional and
to develop
moral
positive social
Support from
values &
adults
norms
Strong links
Opportunities between
for skill families,
building schools, and
community
• Professional • Protective
Expertise Factors
QUESTION: How does your outreach
approach build protective factors in the
young people you serve?

8. When youth cannot
get to a Safe Place
the
STREET OUTREACH
GOES TO THEM

9. Go to the youth…

10. Go to the youth…
Know the
youth
Know the Know your
hot spots community
Know who
to educate
about
program
QUESTION: What outreach strategies do you use to
address language appropriateness, cultural
sensitivity, and the complex identities of male, female
and transgender youth?

11. It’s a two-way relationship
•Allows us to reach new youth
who may not be a runaway or
homeless but in crisis through
Safe Place program and local
shelter.
•Homeless youth population
more familiar with street
outreach program but get info
on how to access Safe
Place…when they can’t get to
us… we go to them.
•Both programs help bridge the
gap to meet the basic needs of
youth through a network of
partners and promote PYD.

12. Engaging outreach workers
with the community
YES, I DO…to YES I Promote Your
WILL. Program
Raise Funds &
Engage Your
Partners Hold Special
Events
Nurture Educate Your
Relationships Community
QUESTION: How does your program incorporate and coordinate with local
agencies to allow runaway and homeless youth to receive services outside of
your agency?

13. More ways to engage…
MAKE
Update PRESENTATIONS
TO SCHOOLS
safe place
locations
RECRUIT USE NRS
YOUTH
AS PEER CURRICULUM
MENTORS
DISTRIBUTE:
Use TXT4HELP POSTERS
technology to OUTREACH CARDS
reach youth FOOD , SOCKS, HYGIENE
KITS & BUS TOKENS
QUESTION: How will you provide runaway and homeless youth
with education, prevention and access to intervention services on
issues related to domestic violence, sexual abuse, or exploitation?

14. Using TECH TALK to communicate
USE OF TECHNOLOGY: A LINK TO SERVICE….another outreach tool:
•Communicating with others is a key aspect of using social networks.
•Post public messages.
•Stay in touch with youth and make new friends.
•Use the site to make social plans and provide volunteer opportunities.
•Provide a way to interact with others who share the same interests.
•Give constructive feedback on ongoing issues and connect youth to help with problems.
•Promote safety on the internet.
•Use the social networking site to offer a forum for teens to express themselves.
•Connect youth to other sites for help and list toll-free numbers visibly and in high profile locations.
LEARN
THE
LINGO
AVOID
PITFALLS
MONITOR &
MAINTAIN SITE

15. Communicating your message
National Safe Place has launched a new project to help teens connect to a Safe Place location.
The TXT 4 HELP project uses technology to quickly offer teens information about the closest location
where they can get immediate help and safety.
Here is how it works:
Youth in crisis can text the word SAFE and their current location to the number 69866 and they will
receive an address of the nearest Safe Place site and contact number for the local youth shelter. In cities
that don't have a Safe Place program, the youth will receive the name and number of the youth shelter or,
if there is no local shelter, the National Runaway Switchboard Hotline Number (1-800-RUNAWAY).
Pictured left to right from Fresno, California is the EOC Sanctuary and
Youth Services staff next to new Text4Help bus ad campaign: Amanda
Bouche, Joe Martinez, Vince Perez, Alphonso Russ and Latasha Marin.

16. Educating your youth
Let’s Talk is an
interactive, 14 module
curriculum intended to:
Let’s Talk is an interactive, 14 module curriculum
intended to:
•...build life skills,
•...increase knowledge about runaway
resources and prevention,
•...educate about alternatives to running
away,
•...encourage youth to access and seek
help from trusted community members.
The curriculum can be used in its entirety or as
individual 45-minute modules. It includes the
companion film, “1-800-RUNAWAY”.
Let’s Talk is intended for teenagers, families, and
those who support them.

17. Building up your skills
Resources
If your town does not have a Safe Place program, contact the National Runaway Switchboard
(NRS). The NRS is a national toll-free hotline (1-800-RUNAWAY) serving
runaways, homeless,
and at risk youth and their families.
National Safe Place: |
Many organizations have joined National Safe Place as one outreach strategy. Safe Place
provides access to immediate help and supportive resources for all young people in crisis through
a network of sites sustained by qualified agencies, trained volunteers and businesses. Additional
information can be found at their website: http://www.safeplaceservices.org/
Speakers Bureau/Community Presentations: |
When it comes to outreach, there is definitely power in numbers. The more people who know
about your program and services, the more chance there is that the person who needs your
program will find you. One approach is to have a "Speakers Bureau" at your agency to do
community presentations on the services your agency provides and the unique needs of the
clients you serve. Youth presenters are a key element of successful Speakers Bureaus. In
addition, the National Runaway Switchboard has developed a "Runaway Prevention Curriculum",
which can be downloaded from their website at no cost:
http://www.1800runaway.org/educators/prevent_kit.html
Street Outreach: | RHYTTAC
One of the most effective strategies is Street Outreach - actually hitting the streets to find the youth
who need help. A number of resources are available from the Runaway and Homeless Youth
Training and Technical Assistance Center (http://www.rhyttac.ou.edu/), and the National Runaway
Switchboard (http://www.1800runaway.org/) to assist organizations reach youth through street
outreach.

18. REACHING YOUR GOALS…
Increase knowledge
Avoid Duplication & skills of outreach
workers

19. Connecting homeless & runaway youth
Find safe places to call home and ultimately to thrive.
Homeless Youth want…
A
CONNECTION
TO FAMILY
A SAFE PLACE SELF-
TO LIVE SUFFICEINCY
HELP FROM
WANT A
CARING
FUTURE
ADULTS SOURCE:
National Network
for Youth

20. Now that the
honeymoon is over…it’s
time to make this
marriage work…
so get going!

21. "Until our streets are safe...
Until families can understand each other...
Until drugs and violence disappear...
Until no young person needs to run away or feel afraid...
There must be Safe Place."