First Step on the frontlines
OUR CAMBRIDGE STREET OUTREACH TEAM WORKS ON THE FRONTLINES TO HELP PROVIDE UNSHELTERED NEIGHBORS WITH LIFESAVING RESOURCES WHILE BUILDING BRIDGES OF HOPE.
On any given day in the City of Cambridge, there are about 100 unhoused residents who live almost entirely outside. This subset of people experiencing homelessness are sometimes referred to as “unsheltered” and will not access traditional shelters, or go inside anywhere except in the most dire circumstances. They sleep on cardboard near train stations, on park benches, or in tents in wooded areas. The vast majority have severe substance use disorder, and usually also untreated mental illness/history of trauma—including a high rate of domestic violence survivors among women. They are highly vulnerable to extreme weather, street violence, and preventable medical conditions, as well as malnutrition and overdose. All of these factors, and especially the disease of addiction, leads to a high-risk lifestyle that decreases the life expectancy of people experiencing homelessness to just 51 years.
The CASPAR First Step Street Outreach Team works to mitigate the harms of homelessness and substance use disorder by bringing lifesaving services directly to unsheltered people. While the Street Outreach Team is distributing meals, water, coats, shoes/boots and other vitally important items, they are getting to know each person and their needs. This work to bring about change for the people we serve does not happen quickly—the Street Outreach Team often needs to show up with help every day for weeks or months before they become a trusted presence in the lives of unsheltered people. Only when trust is established can the Street Outreach Team make deeper inquiries about the circumstances of each person’s life, and work to systematically remove barriers to recovery and permanent housing.
In addition to being out on the street every day, one day a week the Street Outreach Team facilitates the Homelessness Resources Outreach shift, which includes homelessness/housing providers like Cambridge Health Care for the Homeless, Home Start, Cambridge Multi Services Center, and the Cambridge Police. These organizations rely on the Street Outreach Team to know who needs help, who will accept what kind of help, who needs urgent attention, and who might be ready for deeper conversations about available services.
As a point of entry program, each contact with each unsheltered person is literally a chance to save a life—contacts like the ones made with Rachel, who had lived in the woods of Alewife for many years. Alexis Grandberg, director of First Step, had regular contact with Rachel. “She was all about chatting your ear off, and she was also all about wanting help—which was really great, but it was also hard for her to follow through because of her mental health and addiction. So it took a while for her to get to a place where she could follow through.”
But recently, Rachel was offered a housing opportunity through the City of Cambridge, and she took it. Alexis adds, “She knew we would be there [to offer support] when she made the decision because we’ve shown it over a long period of time. There are new responsibilities that go along with maintaining a room or apartment that she never really learned—and because of the trust we’ve built, she’s accepted help creating that structure from our in-reach team. Rachel is now so proud of her space, and she had us over to show us how she’s decorated.”
