I was sitting listening to a lunch time conversation at the Salvation Army between two women. One woman was trying to convince the other, X, to see the advocate at community services about getting help infilling out all the forms needed for Social Assistance. I have known X for sometime and while she is a nice person she is not capable of handling all the forms and documents required to get welfare – and the workers are certainly not about to help her. I am not sure the advocate will do it all for you, just that he/she should as X is not alone in her inability to complete the application for welfare – filling out the forms, gathering documents (ID, Intent to Rent etc) and handling any other requirements social assistance demands. This is a service that community services should be providing since there are numerous among the homeless who are not capable of doing it for themselves. If such help is available they need to get the fact that this help exists out into homeless community so that those who need help can find someone to complete the complex set of documents the social assistance bureaucracy demands.

But a more interesting idea/thought occurred. It does not matter if this help exists since X is highly unlikely to go to community services. No, I have expressed my thoughts incorrectly – X is not likely capable of getting herself to community services. For some of the homeless even seeking out the help available to try to deal with the system is beyond their ability to do. As I looked around the dining room I realized that this is the type of place where these types of services need to reach out to. Having a community services building full of people, offices and help is all very nice for those who can find out what services are available and access those services. But what about those who cannot find out what is offered, or perhaps even worse, cannot get to community services to access the help? We have ‘Meals on Wheels’ why not ‘Information/Help on Wheels’.

It seems a rational and effective use of resources to ensure that those most in need get all the help they can from community services. I can think of no good reason not to have somebody who can answer questions on what is available perform outreach by such actions as attending lunch at the salvation army, visiting other venues that attract a crowd draw from the ranks of the homeless etc. Further, the services available could not be occasionally available at locations convenient to those in need.

In this way people who need help but are (for whatever reason) incapable of seeking it out will have a opportunity to get the help they so desperately need. Perhaps the real benefit of this approach is that by getting out into the ‘field’ the people at community services would be getting direct feedback on the needs of the homeless community – communication: the first step in understanding and addressing what is needed. This seems to simple and obvious to experiment with, why not?