Module 4. Outreach Teams and Peer Partners

Many police departments have formed specialized teams that provide outreach and wraparound services for people experiencing homelessness. Outreach teams often partner with people with lived experience with homelessness who serve as peer partners. These partnerships are essential to outreach teams, authenticity, community responsivity, and cross-disciplinary learning; they give law enforcement the opportunity to deepen their understanding of homelessness and offer clients the chance to work with colleagues who have direct experience with the issues they are currently having in their lives. Other peer partners work directly with social service agencies. The linked video panel highlights two police outreach teams who work with peer partners discussing their collaboration strengths and steps teams can take to remove barriers to housing and sustained services.

Panel Members

Christopher Belton
Peer Navigator, Catholic Community Services

Lt. Amy King
Olympia (Washington) Police Department

Fred Linker
Peer Specialist, Wichita, Kansas

Officer Nathan Schwiethale
Wichita (Kansas) Police Department, Homeless Outreach Team (H.O.T.)

Panel facilitated by Anne Larson
Outreach Specialist, Olympia (Washington) Police Department

Recommendations

  1. Partner with peer specialists to develop and offer an authentic program based on knowledge of your clients’ circumstances. Team members with lived experience provide outreach teams and clients with expertise on what works in identifying and overcoming barriers to accessing services; in addition, their presence can help convince clients that you and your program can be trusted. Peer specialists offer clients a personal connection as well as assistance in navigating systems, services, and important life transitions from someone who has been in their shoes and can relate to their experience.
  2. Commit to developing trust between police and peer partners. Local partnerships between police and peers are based on people coming together, developing trust, and learning about one another’s experiences. Officers and peers working together in your initiative may have had previous interactions or may have preconceived notions based on their past experiences. To work together positively and sustainably to serve your clients, police and peer partners need to develop a mutual understanding, one based in respect and trust. These relationships take time to build and cultivate.
  3. Shift the paradigm on how you see and understand your clients. By seeing a client as a person who has problems, not a person who is a problem, officers can develop a humanistic and holistic understanding of people experiencing homelessness. Recognizing that officers, too, are people with problems can be a moment of connection among officers, clients, and peers.
  4. Connect clients with peers with similar life experiences. Peer specialists offer a unique window into the lives of current clients. Peers not only work directly with clients, but can also help officers understand what clients are going through. Clients have varying needs that an officer may or may not have direct experience with; offering clients the chance to work with peers with similar histories or backgrounds makes them more likely to connect to and continue services. For example, clients struggling with addiction might benefit from being connected to peer mentors who have been through substance abuse recovery. By learning what agencies or programs in your area offer peer support services, you can link your clients with appropriate care.
  5. Be consistent and never give up. This work is challenging, and those you serve have compounded issues. However, you are encouraged to keep coming back and not giving up. Consistency is key to successful intervention. By continuing to show up, you show clients that you can be trusted and relied on whenever and wherever you are needed. Working with you may be the first time the client has experienced someone showing up for them and continuing to support them. This consistency is the building block of trust and understanding among police, peers, and clients. By not giving up and being consistent you can help clients overcome difficulties.

Resources 


Learn more about the teams:

View the full Sharing the Solutions: Police-Court Partnerships to Address Homelessness multimedia toolkit.