Retrospective

This week marks another birthday for me. It isn't one of those milestone birthdays, and yet I have found myself more retrospective than usual for some reason. This blog is an attempt to share some of the lessons I have learned up to this point in my life.

1. People are not the problem. The problem is the problem.

Everywhere I go it is likely that a sentiment of some sort will be shared about people that do not want to change or are resisting services or are sabotaging what is being made available to them. In other locales it is that the business community or a neighbourhood group is flabbergasted that homelessness is seen as disrupting their way of life or livelihood. People are not the problem. The problem is the problem. Problems are solvable. People will just keep being people. If you focus on solving problems rather than trying to treat people as the problem, you find more success.

2. You don't need permission to be awesome.

Inspiring awe in others is a by-product of living your passion while being effective. Over and over again I meet people who know exactly what needs to be done, and often know how to do it. So why don't they? Because they live in fear of the view of others. Because they exert more effort trying to be liked than on being effective. Awesomeness is a force multiplier. Be brave enough to be awesome when it is the right thing to do and support for your impact will follow.

3. Sweat holds more value than tears.

If you work on a complex social issue it will be the hardest work you may ever do. Every day you choose to run into the fire while others are running out. And you do so for little pay or glory in almost all instances. Yet there are those whose motivation is to open a can of worms to go fishing for sympathy rather than silently working their butts off to compassionately live empathy. News flash - it is a privilege to serve others, not the other way around. Work hard in an effective manner and you will have more impact than trying to get people to feel sorry for you or the people you serve.

4. A big heart and a big brain are not the same thing.

Homelessness continues to be the only industry I know of where we think concern about the issue equates to knowledge of how to solve the issue. Caring does not equal qualified. Of those people and organizations I have met that have the biggest, long-term impact, they have figured out that marrying your heart with your head is the only way to go. We need smart compassion.

5. Therapeutic incarceration must be ended.

People do not need to be healed or fixed to be successful in housing. If you keep adding programs into a homeless service to try and heal or fix people, you are working against the objective of ending homelessness. Sure some people will need a lot of supports to be successful in housing. But put those supports where they belong - into your housing program - rather than prolonging the experience of homelessness.

6. The mistakes of our youth is what makes up the beauty of our age.

The more mistakes we make, and the faster we make them, the more we learn and the faster we perfect our craft. A musician considered to be a virtuoso did not become so over night. They practice. A lot. They make mistakes. A lot. Then they can continue to challenge themselves to get better and better and better. If you learn from your mistakes, you are doing it right. If you are risk adverse, you will become stagnant.

7. Being an innovator is unpopular.

If you are a disruptor - even a positive disruptor - by coming up with new ways of thinking and doing the work or being creating new tools and strategies, you will be hated - at least by some. The sooner you embrace that your job is not to be liked, but to serve, the easier it gets. Hatred is a problem of the hater, not a problem of the innovator.

8. Complex issues are solved by doing, not by planning.

Homelessness has never been ended in a committee. It has never been ended through a 10 year plan. It gets ended by doing. This is not to say that planning and meetings are not important. They most certainly can be. But committees and planning without dedication to doing is meaningless.

9. Figure out what you CAN do rather than lamenting what you CANNOT do.

Naming and discussing the barriers that exist becomes old fast if all you do is name and discuss and never get into the business of either: 1) what you can do regardless of the limitations and circumstances within which you work; 2) actually providing solutions to the barriers. 

10. Live an authentic and vulnerable life.

The worst, flawed real me will always be better than the best, fake me. As a recovering asshole, I can find myself relapsing back to lashing out rather than seeking understanding; I can find myself protecting my pain rather than opening myself up to sharing. Maintaining an open ear has always been harder than attacking with a sharp tongue. But the more I learn to let my guard down and invite others in, the more I find myself engaged in real relationship, real dialogue, and real change.

11. Don't waste time trying to convince others you are right when they cling to cognitive dissonance.

I have yet to see a public education campaign have a long-lasting impact on homelessness. I have seen small victories in challenges to NIMBYism but never seen it disappear. I have not seen a public deputation to elected officials result in a permanent shift in ideology. But what I have seen, time and again, is that action speaks louder than words. Show people what works rather than trying to convince people what works.

12. Time does not heal all wounds, and not everything happens for a reason.

I get while people cling to these notions, but they are trite and hollow and fake. The more I have learned to live, practice and teach others what it means to be trauma-informed, the more I struggle with how we live in a perpetual state of wanting everything to be okay rather than accepting that everything is not okay. This doesn't mean we cannot focus on healing and recovery and finding balance and supporting people to be well. We can and we should do those things. But some pains never go away and some of the shit that happens in life defies all logic. Once I realized that in my own life, I started to forgive myself for having feelings based upon past events that were completely outside my control.

13. If you don't define you, others will define you.

If I do not form the narrative of why I do what I do, what I do, and how I do it, then I am at the mercy of how others interpret and view my motivation and practice. Be who you are with your own inspiration. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time and be unsuccessful defending yourself to others.

14. Ask for and grant forgiveness.

It took me many decades to both realize and practice that requests for and providing forgiveness is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness. The only cost of not doing so is my pride, and that is a small price to pay for the satisfaction of forgiveness. This is not to say all things are forgivable. Nor is it naive to say that all offences and wrongs are equal. My life, however, has been so much more peaceful once I realized the important function that forgiveness plays in moving forward rather than being stuck in the past. And this includes forgiving myself for many thoughts and actions in my past.

VI-SPDAT: 14 Things That Irk Me

Here are the 14 things that people do with the VI-SPDAT, say about the VI-SPDAT, or don’t know about the VI-SPDAT that irk me:

1. Confuse it with an assessment tool.

The VI-SPDAT is a triage tool. The SPDAT is an assessment tool. In almost all instances when a person says something to the effect of, “But the VI-SPDAT doesn’t give us enough detail about x, y or z.” I agree with them. Because the VI-SPDAT as a triage tool is not designed to give all the details about x, y or z. If you want to know more about x, y or z, learn how to administer the assessment tool because the level of detail you are yearning for is stuff that should be gleaned through an assessment.

2. Have an inconsistent introductory script. 

If you want reliability in using the VI-SPDAT, make sure that every person that administers the tool in your community introduces it and explains it in EXACTLY the same way. No variation.

3. Think that you cannot explore for more information.

 In Version 1 of the VI-SPDAT, this was the case – you could only ask the questions as written. In Version 2 of the VI-SPDAT we made it possible to further explore through observation, documentation and, with consent, what other professionals know about certain parts of the household’s history.

4. Use it too far up stream.

Diversion first at shelter entry. When that does not work, give people a chance to self resolve. Only when that does not work should a community dig into the VI-SPDAT. If you do the VI-SPDAT right away, you may inadvertently give up on people that may otherwise self resolve.

5. Use it judgmentally. 

The VI-SPDAT gives you a number. If a community starts referring to people as a number then the tool has failed. People are not a number. People are people.

6. Lack knowledge of the full suite of SPDAT tools.

There are full SPDAT instruments for youth, families and single adults. There are VI-SPDAT instruments for youth, families, single adults and people leaving incarceration. There is also a diversion and prevention VI-SPDAT. Use the wrong tool in the wrong situation and you will get the wrong results.

7. Think the score of the VI-SPDAT is the only piece of information that should be used when establishing community priorities for coordinated entry.

Let me be really clear on this – we do NOT suggest that any community prioritize households based upon the VI-SPDAT score alone. Only your community can establish the priorities for your community. That usually is some combination of VI-SPDAT along WITH things like chronic homelessness, where they are homeless (like the street), trimorbidity.

8. Fail to examine what the data tells them about their system or program performance.

Every now and then a community will say things like, “The VI-SPDAT does not work for Rapid Re-Housing. It keeps saying people should need RRH, then they lose their housing. They really needed Permanent Supportive Housing.”

Part of that may be true. But let us consider something else as well – that your RRH sucks. The issue may not be the tool. The issue may be that service providers in your community do not know how to do RRH properly. Or even PSH properly. That isn’t an issue with the tool.

9. Add multipliers.

You can establish community priorities based upon priorities like trying to house medically vulnerable people first. No problem. What you can’t do is take things like the Wellness section and decide to multiply that by 2 or 3. Filter your data. Do not multiply your data.

10. Do not understand how the questions were actually created.

Most of the questions within the tool were actually created by people experiencing homelessness. We would take the research to them in shelters, drop-ins, hygiene facilities, in the woods, etc. and we would say, “We need to ask a question about x, y or z. How would you ask yourself that question?” Then we tested it and refined it. Over and over and over and over again.

11. Say that the tool is not culturally appropriate, or make claims that it is not trauma-informed, or not appropriate for programs that serve people that have experienced domestic or intimate partner violence.

To make this claim ignores that we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars getting experts in trauma, domestic violence and culturally appropriate services to vet the tool, make suggestions on improvements, and testing it with the targeted audiences.

12. Claim it does not work for (insert type of program or population group).

The more that we hear these sorts of things, the more that we investigate and find dead ends. So far the only group that MAY have some legitimacy is young head of household families. And even then, we don’t know for sure yet.

13.  Doing the VI-SPDAT over and over and over again.

Unless the household has been housed and become homeless again, or has had a major change in their life circumstances, you only need to do the VI-SPDAT once. Period. 

14. Think it is perfect.

The tool provides data. It does not make decisions, it informs decisions. The tool is not perfect. It will continue to evolve and improve. It is the best available tool based upon the best available evidence and testing. Continue to have an active voice in making it better.

Depression Sucks

It has been a few weeks since I have blogged. I have wanted to. I have not been able to. Not because I have been busy. Not because I did not have access to a computer. Not because I didn't have some ideas of what to blog about. I just couldn't.

Depression sucks.

My schedule is booked out months in advance. Communities and organizations expect me on certain dates to deliver on certain things...training, meetings, motivation, shadowing, a speech, strategy, coaching, etc. What is not booked out in advance is when depression will rear itself at a level that I am not expecting or prepared to deal with appropriately. Recently I have gone through one of the worst spells in a long time. I am working my way out of it. And I promise you there will be more blogs on more important subjects in the not so distant future.

But in the meantime, know that I am concentrating on my wellness. I am trying to take care of myself so that I can be present for others and deliver in the ways that people expect at home and on the road.

I am acknowledging my irritability and fatigue.  I am acknowledging and working through my difficulties in concentrating and remembering smaller details. I am working through my feelings of emptiness and worthlessness. I am dealing with my anxiety and loneliness. I am working on taking care of my overwhelming feelings of being tired all the time. 

I know I owe many of you emails or data or phone calls. I know that these keep adding up. And I know that when I don't respond people think it is because I am aloof, or preoccupied, or busy, or forgetful. To the outsider, I can only imagine what depression looks like when you are counting on someone who lives with it, but you don't know they are going through a spell. I feel horrible that I fail at taking care of things like communication at times like this. I want to so bad be able to manage that while working through the depression. But I can't. 

As I said, I am on the upswing again. Over the coming weeks I will catch up. Promise.

Insensitive & Desensitized

How do we get people to care about homelessness?

That question comes up a lot. Sometimes "people" means the general public. Other times it is elected officials. Sometimes it is the business community or the police. It also refers to homeless service providers in some instances.

I wish there was a magic answer. 

The truth is, homelessness - as we see it on the streets, queuing outside of homeless services, presented on the news and in media - has been with us for so long in its present form that the general result is being insensitive or even desensitized.

When the response is one of insensitivity, those that feel sensitive about homelessness feel enraged or sad. They ask - how could someone suggest that being without a home be criminalized? Or, why do some people just want those that are homeless to move along? Or, do they not see that we are talking about human beings with parents and even siblings or children?

Perceptions and actions based upon insensitivity are not solely expressions of those outside of homeless services. When there is mounting evidence of interventions that work better than others, it can be seen as insensitive when a homeless service provider or Continuum of Care or Service Manager makes or supports decisions that are not aligned to evidence. Those that have heightened sensitivities ponder how someone cannot follow the evidence and do what is right.

A parallel phenomenon is dealing with people that have become desensitized to homelessness and the realities of day to day life when homeless. People encounter homelessness every single day. Once upon a time they cared about it. They were shocked by it. They were bothered by it. They questioned how their society allowed it to happen. They wanted to see somebody do something to help those that were impacted by homelessness. A combination of emotions from pity and sympathy through to anger and frustration by it were common. 

But then, with each passing day, encountering homelessness became normalized. The feelings subsided. Rather than seeing homelessness as a tragedy or catastrophe or failing of policy or a reflection of society, they stopped seeing it at all. Or, they expected to see people in parks, on sidewalks, panhandling at off ramps; they expected to see tents and structures on their way to work. 

With both insensitivity and becoming desensitized, those that experience homelessness are seen as the "other". The language is quite telling. Phrases like "those people" and "the homeless" become commonplace. People that are homeless are not seen as equals. People that are homeless are seen as less than. And in that hierarchy of human worth, people are quick to blame people for their homelessness or see it through the lens of labels and stereotypes that are likely ill-informed...alcoholic, lazy, crazy, violent, ungrateful, dependent, scourge, troublemaker, criminal. The same feelings they label and attribute to the condition of homelessness become the same feelings that drive their NIMBYism lest housing and supports be suggested near where people live, work or recreate. Trying to penetrate these feelings with fact or an alternate way of seeing homelessness can be met with further entrenchment or statements of having given money through their place of worship or to the United Way or some other charity that is meant to prove that they have cared and that should not be held accountable to actions that still demonstrate an insensitivity or that they have actually become desensitized.

So, what to do?

Insensitivity and becoming desensitized to homelessness are emotional reactions to the condition of not having a home. Presenting facts and logic to those that respond and view things emotionally will have limited benefits unless you find a way to connect emotionally on the issue first. Gathering an emotional connection rarely happens well through an education campaign or slathering bus stops and billboards with poverty porn. Building emotional connection is an iterative process that takes time and considerable effort. It requires finding places and times to communicate about the issues of homelessness. It (at times painfully) means listening, acknowledging and appreciating that the insensitivity or the process by which they became desensitized came as a result of experiences or feelings of inaction. It could be argued that most people that find themselves engaged in insensitive acts towards those that are homeless or that have become desensitized to homelessness did not just one day wake up and decide to be that way. Something happened (or did not happen) that led them to feeling that way. Those that are sensitive to the issues need to create space and time to hear and acknowledge that, while legitimizing their feelings and correcting assumptions without anger or negative assumptions regarding their motivations. Resolving conflict means getting to maybe before getting to yes. Resolving conflict means finding common ground.

And finally, there is the question of what you would want people to do if they did become sensitive to the issues of homelessness again? Is your motivation that they will stop engaging in actions that work against what you are trying to achieve to end homelessness? Is your motivation that they will be more humane? Is it your motivation that they will give your organization more money or resources? Is your motivation that you will have champions for your next housing project rather than more naysayers? If you cannot name the benefits of having people that have become insensitive or desensitized turning their feelings around, it kind of begs the question of what difference it would make to expend all of that effort to connect and educate them. Name your purpose for engagement and chances are your engagement becomes driven by mission and values which can be lived in action.

Hawaii Progress: Views From an Outsider

Recently, Hawaii released data in their progress towards ending homelessness. Hawaii (the Big Island), Maui and Kauai all posted decreases. Oahu more or less stayed the same, but perhaps because of improved counting methods in their Point in Time Count. As an outsider, I want to focus a bit on what they were able to achieve on the Big Island. Having visited Hilo and Kona several times over the past couple years, I want to share some observations of what I think the difference makers have been to see a greater than 30% reduction there. And if you are unfamiliar with the Hawaii landscape by way of geography and policies, this reduction is truly extraordinary.

Leadership

The Hawaii Community Foundation has made it possible for several leaders from across all of the islands to enhance their leadership, making a multi-year investment in capacity building in that regard. On the Big Island, people from Hope Services went a step beyond this, also availing themselves to leadership training opportunities specifically within the homelessness sector (they came to the Leadership Academy and Master Class offered by OrgCode). The leadership of Hope, along with willing County and community partners, made the brave decision to take risks and do things differently in services rather than waiting for direction or permission from others. It has changed the culture of service delivery in the community, and has provided very clear messaging on the intention of homeless services to end homelessness through housing.

Professional Development

Do what you have always done and get as you have always gotten. To change direction, there has been the promotion and infusion of a learning culture. Throughout the entire organization there has been an unrelenting commitment to learn and implement new practices to yield the outcomes that would be necessary to end homelessness. 

Working the Problem

The transition of programs and services to focus on ending homelessness has not been without its challenges. Rather than reverting to old practices or giving up, there has been a desire to figure things out. The people at Hope Services especially seem to embrace that imperfect action trumps perfect planning. They are doers. And when issues have emerged they reach out to other people and resources to gain perspective and figure out a pathway forward, staying true to what they are trying to accomplish.

Lower Barrier Shelter

Gone are the days of many pages of shelter rules. Here are the days of less than ten expectations for a shelter stay. Gone are the days of barriers to shelter that would screen many people out. Here are the days where shelter has a strong housing focus and deliberately tries to engage people with higher needs. Gone are the days of loads of in-house programming. Here are the days when programming stays focused on getting people out of homelessness as fast as possible. Gone are the days of being focused on drug testing. Here are the days of focus on behaviour not exclusion for use.

More Targeted Outreach

Another shift has been from a "contact" based approach to street outreach to a housing-focused approach to street outreach. Across the island the focus is on assisting those with higher acuity in resolving their homelessness. The measure of their success is not how many people that see or connect with, and into measuring success by how much homelessness is resolved.

Reworking the Organization

Within Hope Services - the beacon of homeless and housing supports in my eye on the Big Island - the commitment to end homelessness meant they also had to change the way the organization worked. Policies and procedures changed. Rules for services changed to expectations. Job descriptions changed. Orientation and on-boarding for staff changed. The outward relationship of the organization changed.

Unapologetic and Unrelenting Housing Focus

The purpose of providing a homeless service is to end homelessness. This is lived in practice every single day. There has been a strong movement away from short-term charity to long-term results in ending homelessness through housing. Hope Services in particular is proof positive that you can meet immediate, basic needs while never losing sight of the importance of housing.

I am very proud of my friends and colleagues in Hawaii on turning the corner with homelessness, especially on the Big Island. I will see many of them this week and look forward to giving them the high five they deserve for their homelessness. I am also excited to see the early gains in Maui and Kauai translate into deeper gains over time. And I remain hopeful that Oahu can continue to steer the large homelessness and housing infrastructure there towards the success that is being realized on the neighbour islands.

If You Were Your Successor

What if you were the person that replaced you in your current job? 

What would you do differently? Is there something that is occupying your time that you would eliminate from your day to day? Is there something that you should be making a priority that you are not making a priority? Is there a relationship you need to build or fix that you are not attending to - or other relationships that you need to let go of? Is there a new idea or project that you really want to get off the ground but have not been able to operationalize? Is there something that is definitely not working in what you are doing now but you have not been attending to?

All of this begs the question - if you know things that need to change and you ARE in the job currently, why aren't you taking action NOW?

If you had a successor, I suspect you would want that to be a different (better?) version of you. But you don't have to wait for a successor to be different (or better). You have the power to steer a course towards change now, and take the action needed to get there. Perhaps if you take some time to reflect on what your successor should or would do, you can start to steer that course sooner, and take action faster.