This month’s blog post is written by Clair Bopp, Director of Shelter Services at the Poverello Center.
Over the course of nearly ten years at the Poverello Center, I have seen countless faces come through our shelter. Each one of them has a story, often complex and sometimes overwhelming. As a case manager in my early days at the Pov, I was struck by how many of our clients were dealt hard hands in life; some grew up unhoused, others aged out of foster care, some returned from military service to a community they couldn’t recognize. Each of these traumas, as well as all the ones I didn’t hear, make it more difficult to retain employment, find housing, and build a supportive community. In short, personal trauma can be a risk factor for homelessness.
When I started working in the shelter, we did not have a way to empirically track the traumas that our clients had experienced. After working with a few different tests, we found that the “Matching to Appropriate Placement” (MAP) Assessment is best for assessing personal risk. With questions about recent hospitalizations, recent interactions with police, disability status, and more, the MAP Assessment helps our community’s homeless response system match housing interventions to guests who are in the greatest need of immediate intervention. These assessments are indisputably valuable and have helped many clients find appropriate housing. In fact, each of the 30+ people who moved from the Poverello Center or Johnson Street Shelter into Blue Heron Permanent Supportive Housing in the past year were identified by the MAP Assessment as a good fit for a permanent supportive housing option.
As useful as data tracking methods are, they are not the ultimate form of assistance we can offer to our clients. Most of our staff could, with a look around the shelter, similarly identify the clients who would most benefit from supportive housing. This is because our staff know the stories and personalities of our guests, and oftentimes have been long-term supporters and friends in their housing journeys.
Data, including MAP Assessments, our intake packets, and the yearly Point-In-Time Count, help us better understand our community of vulnerable adults. But numbers only get us so far. The real work comes in getting to know our clients, understanding their challenges, and connecting them to the various resources in the area. Our staff is exceptional at person-first care, and works hard to coordinate positive outcomes for guests.