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The lost art of outreach

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Illinois

At a corner in North Lawndale, the familiar tune of an ice cream truck rang out as it drove past crowds of community leaders and advocates who wanted to create a welcoming atmosphere for those in the neighborhood affected by gun violence looking for resources.

The gathering at Deliverance Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith was just a few blocks away from where a 21-year-old woman was fatally shot Sunday morning. The mass shooting, which occurred at a birthday party in the 1500 block of South Keeler Avenue, left another eight people, seven of them women, wounded by gunfire.

* Sun-Times…

The purpose of the temporary center was to help victims “get on the path to healing,” said Aileen Robinson, assistant director of CPD’s Crime Victim Services.

She said city officials had just returned from visiting two cities where this is done. “We are aligning with what is going on in the country,” Robinson said.

Inside the church, counselors sat at tables with brochures outlining services available to them: a pamphlet about CPD’s crime victim services, another about the Center on Halsted’s anti-violence project.

Stress balls and Play-Doh were piled on the table. Two therapy dogs from Lutheran Church Charities sat on the entranceway floor waiting to be petted.

Ald. Monique Scott (24th) praised the city for organizing the resource center in less than a day. But she pointed out that the room was filled almost completely with outreach workers — with no apparent victims or their neighbors.

“We do have to start knocking on some doors,” Scott said. “We must find a different approach because what happened the other day, it was disheartening.”

* Back to the Tribune…

Organizers also knocked on doors on the block to provide support, stopping to chat with people sitting on their porch or walking dogs.

“Because somebody is in their house right now that needs the help and the resources that are here, but they’re scared to come to this type of setting,” [Corniki Bornds, founder of Help Understanding Grief] said.

It’s about meeting people where they’re at, she said.

I’m glad they did get out there to knock on doors and talk to people where they’re at.

Anecdote, not data, but most of the “outreach” I’ve seen at events this summer is basically people from the government or non-profits sitting at a table in a tent waiting for others to come talk to them about an important program. That’s not actual outreach.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 10:40 am

Comments

good point, Rich Miller. wonder if someone has a list of which groups knock doors for this work.

Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 11:08 am
1000%. Being a potted plant behind a table at an event is not a good use of paid staff or volunteer time. Although it’s true that Illinois does not have enough responsive human service and trauma informed victim services (just as one example), there is often no authentic and engaging outreach happening so people are even aware. And the more “government” embedded the program or service is, the worse the “outreach” is. I could give you many examples, technically anecdotes. The Crime Victim’s Compensation program in Illinois is a good one. Also: How many peope are showing up at the new local police district council meetings in Chicago and what kind of outreach are people doing? If it don’t work, let’s change legislation and implement it right with real outreach to make it work. There are too many needs out there not to do better.

Comment by The Young Gov Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 11:23 am
Spot on.

Adding: Although social media is an amazing tool, government/political/npo only talking to people online is also not outreach.

Comment by Saud side Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 12:55 pm
I think it’s easy to judge, there are a lot of factors when doing outreach work…like outreach worker safety, weather, accessibility, etc.

And also…you probably only see people sitting at tables because those are the types of events you all attend. I doubt many of you who are opining here spend a lot of time under highway underpasses and strolling down the streets of K-town. There is street outreach going on all over the state, but there are only so many of them.

Comment by Overcooked Tater Tot Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 1:56 pm