Street outreach DAO meeting 4/03/24

Event

Introductions- Favorite animal ice breakers

SA is set up with a Military Structure
We drove to the outreach locations that day
Show up and they will guide you
Lt. Andrea very kind and completely organized, in command
She shared how we should enter the TL
Explained our approach and how to be
It was raining so people started off inside their tents
There was a man who asked for a bubbler (Methamphetamine pipe)
We shared we don’t have
He came back and asked “Can I pray for you?”
He was very spiritual when he prayed for us
Vinicio gave him a positive prayer
We drove around to different areas to give out coffee, water, OJ, and sandwiches
Handed out Salvation Army’s “Are you ready?” Flyer
2009 is the last time Vinicio has paid attention to San Francisco
Christian organizations used to do a lot, and he feels like many are asleep currently
Good to see SA doing the good work
Many volunteers are in the program
The volunteers provided a solid back up for us, when we were in the TL
It felt good to be in a group of 7, 3 recovery students, 1 leader, and 3 volunteers

Announcements

Pancakes in the park is next Tuesday 10:am to noon
Location: "Hippy Hill" south in Golden Gate Park
East side in the redwoods, in that region
No flames allowed here, so car batteries are used for the sake of park
It’s good to respect the rangers’ request since this is federal land
San Francisco Outer Circle
Shared by John Stiefel
This organization has been active for the past 26 years
What is an outer circle?
The name comes from the concept of including everyone into your inner circle, especially the unhoused and marginalized communities
The loving neighbor focuses on their unhoused neighbors
There are a whole bunch of local businesses where, in an inner circle, there’s always people outside, the purpose is to sit down with the people that normally stay on the margins of these circles
Our North Star invites the lonely, the outcast and the lonely bringing them to Christ
Two things we do well are friendships and referrals
Connect services and help we can network and connect people to services
Ministry presence
Haight and Asbury tends to be colorful, artistic and creative
Since 2006 pancakes in the park
It is an invitation to be seen to be known
Sharing donated toppings is one simply way a formerly unhoused volunteer supports
Goals
Some people want employment coaching
Learn how to navigate housing pipeline
We had a house in the SOMA District that absorbed any excuse to foster relationships
Medical advocacy is important, unhoused folks have no medical insurance, when you show with them there is a better outcome
If you show to the ER with them, this is especially true
While the Covid era helped with joining forces with other community service organizations, we try not to be an organization
Housing Questions
1. People think some unhoused people don’t want to be housed, is this true?
There are different reasons, being young, idealist, hooked on ex-prison life, not wanting or can’t get housing.
2. Are you guys looking for volunteers?
We are always open to get volunteers, there is something very powerful that happens when you tap into that space, every neighborhood to have a pancake space, something we love, and specifically invite our unhoused neighbors.
Appreciation for Volunteers
- The Street Outreach DAO will debrief at Cha-Cha-Cha’s for lunch
- This will be paid for by our DAO
- It’s important that our unhoused/formerly unhoused volunteers who support, join this lunch
Love Never Fails
- Christian organization with the mission to end human trafficking
- In Oakland people are trafficked that walk the streets/stand on corners in Oakland
- Of the 25 women only 2 women didn’t want to be prayed for and to learn more about the opportunities and programs on how to help them
- A lot of times, trafficked people will have issues with drugs but the people there were very clear minded and most didn’t appear to be intoxicated
- The receptiveness was amazing
- We prayed they stayed safe, we ended the night singing gospel music on the drive back to their office
People who’d like to volunteer, you will need to go through an extensive background check that it takes about a month to fill out paper work and take trainings before you can join.
Questions
1. Did anyone approach to confront or hassle you?
No, we had lots of candies, chips, body wipes and just 2 guys approached us. We offered food and will walk away if they don’t want and can engage in conversation if they accept snacks.
2. Can men join on these outreach walks?
All genders are welcome.
3. How many in a group?
There were 2 from Love Never Fails and 4 outside volunteers.
4.The volunteer who is passionate but lacks confidence in approaching or praying for people, can they join too?
- During our an orientation, we practice scenarios to make things more familiar
- They share what the cultural space is, so you don’t go in blindly
- If a volunteer is very shy they can join and pray for safety during the walk
- Active listening, a way to show up, I don’t have to say much so I can listen
- Debriefing with the volunteers is key.
Active Listening Training
- An idea was sparked for us potentially partner with Relational Peace to host an Active Listening skills training at one of our future meetings
- Janet has been a teacher and then a team builder for Adobe, and now works for Relational Peace
“Something constantly asked in my training is how to teach someone who likes to talk a lot, how to slow down and listen?” - Janet
Closing thoughts
- Introverts are great for volunteering on outreach walks
- Shy people have purpose here, especially if they have active listening skills
- At Pancakes in the Park and the YWAM, Tenderloin walk, you will find that unhoused people can be full of charisma and very talkative
- These are folks who are very eager to share about their lives
- You don’t have to be the ice breaker
- They want these walks to be replicated elsewhere and scale
- A member shared “I would need to go there maybe 3 times in order to absorb to see how they do it. In order to replicate it to do it in my own way.”
- Very important to bring the two worlds together, learn to support this group
- The next outreach is tomorrow, Thursday, 4/04/24 at Ellis room
- The next one will be Pancakes in the Park on Tuesday, 4/09/24

Name

Street outreach DAO meeting 4/03/24

Description

John Stiefel shares with our group about SF Outer Circle and their work producing Pancakes in the Park. The team shares our SA and Love Never Fails Report Backs. We meet Janet and she plants the seed for Active Listening Trainings.

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Event

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