Success, no matter how small, is invaluable to street outreach specialists. With scarce affordable housing in DC and government-subsidized housing in high demand, a person experiencing homelessness can languish on Downtown streets for years waiting for his or her name to reach the top of the waiting list. Celebrating small successes along the road to recovery and housing is crucial for outreach specialists to maintain their positive disposition and to serve as agents of hope for people without homes.
The Downtown Homeless Services Team is currently celebrating successes and keeping hope alive with Antonio, a 31-year-old man living on the streets in the DowntownDC BID area. The team first met him in Franklin Square in late 2011. An extremely tall man with dark skin and a thick, unkempt beard, Antonio emitted a strong body odor and had dirty, long fingernails. His clothes were in tatters—almost falling from his body—and he never cracked a smile, always exhibiting the same somber facial expression. His voice boomed, but in short bursts aimed at the ground, while his gaze was usually fixed on his feet. Despite Antonio’s stormy demeanor, he was always polite and thanked outreach staff members for their time.
One of the team’s main goals is to offer “person-directed” services, meaning that the person experiencing homelessness directs the agenda. Antonio’s primary goal was to establish a mailing address where he could receive and regularly check his mail. The team allowed his mail to be delivered to its office at Pathways to Housing DC, which Antonio visited periodically when the weather permitted and he had the stamina to walk from the BID to Northeast DC.
During these visits, Antonio kept to himself, saying very little and quickly leaving after checking his mail. He eventually became a familiar face. Still, after several months, little was known about him, his history, or his future plans—until he began receiving piles of mail from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Outreach staffers, highly trained in accessing SSA disability benefits, engaged Antonio in a conversation about his application, using open-ended questions to elicit more information.
“Wow. A big stack of mail for you, Antonio. What’s it like working with the Social Security Administration?” an outreach specialist asked. Antonio said, flatly, “I’ve been applying for years. They always deny me.” This was an opening for the outreach specialist to uncover more. “That sounds frustrating. You know, I’ve worked on a bunch of those applications. How does working together on it sound?” It was just what Antonio needed to hear. His eyes got a little bigger; he said, “Ok. That sounds ok.”
Minutes later, the floodgates opened. Antonio began telling the team his story, which was filled with trauma, failed relationships, homelessness, and incarceration. At age five, he witnessed his father’s murder. “I lost my best friend,” he said of the only stable figure in his life. “Every day I think about killing myself so I can see him.” After this trauma, Antonio began hearing voices (“auditory hallucinations”), voices that tell him to kill himself with a gun or by jumping off bridges. The voices tell him that he’s a bad person and life is not worth living. Antonio also began seeing dead people. When asked how he knows they’re dead, he said, “They have gunshot wounds or they are just lying around.” Antonio often found scraps of fabric and cardboard to “place over” these visions.
With this level of mental distress, Antonio’s life rapidly became unmanageable. He bounced between the homes of various extended family members and quickly found himself in juvenile detention. As an adult, he has been in and out of jail, psychiatric hospitals, crisis facilities, and shelters. He rarely spoke to anyone because of his constant preoccupation with his father’s death and his fear of his own demise. Between the voices that scolded him and his fear of dying, Antonio failed to forge lasting relationships.
After more interviews, the outreach team worked with Antonio to ensure the SSA was aware of his circumstances and inability to maintain a job. It tracked down his medical records from every hospital and treating facility he visited since his youth. Antonio agreed to see a doctor who works with the outreach team to help establish a current diagnosis. After spending about 20 work hours developing his application for disability benefits (a very long time in the social service world and only possible because of DowntownDC BID funding), Antonio and the team handed the SSA a comprehensive packet of information, which painted a clear picture of his life.*
Just over a month later, Antonio received good news. His disability benefits were approved. He actually cracked a smile—a big smile that lingered for a while—and gave the outreach team member a firm handshake. For the first time in a long time, Antonio actually had something to celebrate, felt the support of other human beings, and experienced a glimmer of hope that human connections can be a viable part of his life despite his past stress and trauma.
The outreach team is now working with him to obtain intensive case management and housing through the Department of Mental Health and the DC Housing Authority. Despite the long wait-list, housing and support is actually within reach, and Antonio is celebrating being able to choose when he eats, what he wears, and where he might live with the new resources that SSA provides. Antonio and the outreach team are trying to keep hope alive until he signs a lease and receives a key to his own apartment.
*Assisting with SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) training (which is designed to increase access to disability income benefit programs administered by the SSA for eligible homeless adults) is a solid investment for the DowntownDC BID community. If Antonio receives disability benefits for just one year, $10,476 of new federal funds will come to DC to help pay for basic needs such as his food, clothing, and housing. This amount would be generated for less than $400 in outreach staff salaries (20 hours total @ $19 per hour).