Working with homeless/addicts/severly underserved populations...

[Nevadanteater]

So, I've recently accepted a position working for Americorps at a free clinic in a large city. The clinic serves primarily low income and homeless people with a focus on HIV/AIDS, homelessness, drug addiction (needle exchange - harm reduction!) and a local TG/TS population. I'm so excited that I'm going to be doing this, but now that i've been accepted i'm hugely overwhelmed. I actually spoke about this in one of my interviews - being worried that i'm not prepared for this opportunity.

They reassured me that they would train me and that the experience itself would be training enough as well.

But still...

So i'm curious if anyone has any advice for working with these populations, I have personal experience with most of this stuff, but not en masse - and not in a healthcare/medical setting. I'm looking for some books or online journals/blogs or something that could help me with what i'm getting myself into.

Or maybe i'm being too bookish and just go with the flow (what i'm planning on doing anyways).

The plan thus far:
Be real, be respectful.

Anyone got any suggestions?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[jdh71]

It's tough to prepare yourself for what you are about to encounter. You'll learn as you go along. First thing about the homeless . . . most of the homeless are homeless because they are addicts/alcoholics or schizo/bipolar. You will run into the occasional person who lost their job and had no place to go, but for the most part the beforementioned is the case. The streets are a hard place to live - you may hear it referred to as "the jungle" and that is probably appropriate. The strong survive. Be nice, but be wary. Do not trust. Do not give personal information. It will probably be abused, and it's not necessarily because these are bad people, but it's how they survive. They will lie to you and take whatever they say with a grain of salt. Addicts and alcoholics active in their disease have little insight into their problems - and will probably blame almost everyone else for their problems. This will annoy you, but like you said . . . be real, be nice. Some of these people will have strong personality issues - borderline and antisocial will be the types you will run into most often. You WILL immediately react and dislike these folks because of their personality. If you try and find something, anything redeemable or likeable about these types it will help.

The awesome thing is . . . you will see some people change and grow. This will be the rare individual, but when you're the last house on the block, that's often where people begin their road to recovery. You will need to hang onto these experiences when they occur. Hope for the best, expect the worst.

That's about all i can think of off the top of my head. You are about to enter the trenches and this will be a real oppourtunity for personal and professional growth if you let it. Good luck.

 

[chef_NU]

It's frustrating to work in this sort of environment a lot of times because you have very little tools (i.e. drugs, facilities) to do anything really useful for many of your patients.

 

[noonday]

i volunteered w/ IDU's, sex workers, and assorted Queer people for years (in fact, their neglected needs caused me to decide to go to med school), and i spent time training new volunteers.

shoot me an email if you want to chat. otherwise, good luck.

 

[TexasBoy]

So, I've recently accepted a position working for Americorps at a free clinic in a large city. The clinic serves primarily low income and homeless people with a focus on HIV/AIDS, homelessness, drug addiction (needle exchange - harm reduction!) and a local TG/TS population. I'm so excited that I'm going to be doing this, but now that i've been accepted i'm hugely overwhelmed. I actually spoke about this in one of my interviews - being worried that i'm not prepared for this opportunity.

They reassured me that they would train me and that the experience itself would be training enough as well.

But still...

So i'm curious if anyone has any advice for working with these populations, I have personal experience with most of this stuff, but not en masse - and not in a healthcare/medical setting. I'm looking for some books or online journals/blogs or something that could help me with what i'm getting myself into.

Or maybe i'm being too bookish and just go with the flow (what i'm planning on doing anyways).

The plan thus far:
Be real, be respectful.

Anyone got any suggestions?

The poor and disadvantaged are some of the most rewarding patients to be treating. Its the closest doctors come to altruism in my opinion and feels great to be helping people that have no where else to go.

The *hardest* thing about treating that type of population isn't the patients, its the *system* around those healthcare venues. The pts are great, but the hospitals are usually a mess and you are constantly fighting for your patients against broken systems. That can be very frustrating. Watching your patients mistreated by other "professionals" that aren't thinking about there best interest can be hard as well.

Its the double edge sword of disadvantaged healthcare.

 

[Faze2]

All of the things posted are pretty much on the ball. One thing I've noticed id that you will see grown people act like little children. The way they lie to you that is so obvious, like the way an 8 year old lies to you. You have to be firm with them, and I've found that feeling sorry for them will only get you into trouble and give you no control over the situation. As posted before, most homeless people are homeless because they are addicts, alcholics, etc. They chose to do those things, and while they do need our help and consideration, some of them need a good kick in the ass too. Feeling sorry for them will sometimes only serve to validate their "feeling sorry for themselves" behavior, and may make you job harder. But remember that they are people too, and anyone can be helped. But realize that the % of those you actually help will be small, but rewarding.

So be nice, but don't be a pushover. But again, be nice, I hate seeing when co workers treat them like **** from the get go. I mean, what's the point? Why make the situation tense and negative if you don't have to?