The STOPLight

Volume 10, Number 1
June 1999
© Copyright 2003 Adults Saving Kids

Positive change through collaboration

The background

Karen Trondson, founder and director of StreetWorks, has experienced homelessness first-hand. A strong and direct person, she knew her personal mission early in life:

"Kids -- homeless kids and kids at risk -- are my calling."

With formal education in social work and psychology, Trondson's work with youth has been varied and her experience and responsibilities have increased through the years. When she heard about a program where outreach workers used backpacks, she took the initiative to contact all known outreach agencies in the Minneapolis, St. Paul (Minnesota) area and invited them to meet and explore possibilities.

"There were people from about twenty agencies around the table when we began to discuss how we could work together, how we could start, could we come up with a common vision and mission. Many of us felt we could do something together we couldn't do independently." After six months of discussion, nine agencies remained at the table, committed to the concept of a collaborative outreach effort. Their vision:

All youth [will] have the opportunity to be nurtured, to belong, to be heard, to be valued, and to have their needs met.

The newly named StreetWorks would reach out to youth who are homeless, are in high-risk situations, or are vulnerable to exploitation or violence. Member agencies decided their outreach workers would all carry identical backpacks; they listed the kinds of training and ongoing support workers would need; and they defined what kind of person they wanted to coordinate the program.

"Then we started asking for money." After their first grant was received, member agencies posted the director job opening -- and hired Trondson in December 1994. Two weeks later, StreetWorks got a three-year federal grant.

Program description

As a true collaborative, StreetWorks member agencies increase both their individual and collective effectiveness. By combining outreach efforts and referrals, each agency increases its visibility among the youth who need -- but may not know about -- its programs and services. Members jointly established guidelines for working together; each must agree to abide by a common code of ethics for street outreach. Intake information and paperwork are turned in to StreetWorks where a database on youth served by outreach workers is maintained. This reduces frustration and eliminates duplicate paperwork, repetitive efforts, and wasted time.

A frequent problem of agencies with street outreach is burnout among their workers. According to Trondson, it typically takes six months for a new worker to be accepted and trusted in the street culture. Six months to a year later many workers have burned out. This creates an inefficient and troublesome situation for both the agencies and their clients. StreetWorks has proven its value in this area especially.

Outreach workers are paired on a rotating basis with peers from the other agencies since street outreach is always conducted by teams of two. They are regularly briefed about services available from each member organization. By learning to know and respect their peers, outreach workers gain support, understanding, and professional encouragement -- all of which help to stave off burnout.

A key component of the collaborative is a green backpack with a StreetWorks logo that is carried by all outreach workers. Youth on the street have come to identify those who wear the backpacks as safe people. This means even if they haven't personally met the individual wearing the backpack, the worker has credibility because of the trust kids have in others who also wear the pack. Each pack always contains a cell phone, first aid kit, CPR mouthpiece, rubber gloves, scissors, sewing kit, flashlight, brochures, and resource cards. Among other items may be personal hygiene items, bus tokens, motel vouchers, snacks, pens and paper, food gift certificates, new underwear and socks, or seasonal items like gloves, hats, and bug spray.

Making it work

"This is the hardest job I've ever had in my entire life, but I do believe it's worth it," says Trondson. "Coming together with a common mission, sharing our successes and our failures" helps keep the member agencies committed to the collaboration, Trondson feels. Her negotiation skills are exercised trying to keep collaborative members happy, making sure they feel their voice is heard, that they are contributing…while getting them to leave their own agendas at the door and still holding them accountable.

Trondson walks a tightrope when it comes to fundraising also. Street-Works is dependent upon the success of its member agencies; the stronger they are, the better StreetWorks can fulfill its mission. At the same time, it seeks funds and grants like any other nonprofit organization. Each time it submits a grant proposal to a funder, StreetWorks asks that its own request be withdrawn if it jeopardizes a request from a member agency.

Trondson spends much of her time learning nonprofit management, writing proposals, teaching interns, and coordinating volunteers and staff. In a single year, outreach workers contact more than 8,000 youth on the streets; of them, 5,000 indicate they are homeless. Workers offer immediate counseling, advocacy, or other assistance on the street. Young people may enter member agency programs for single or multiple services in order to reach their individual, self-defined goals. (See agencies and services listed on below.)

Now entering its sixth year, StreetWorks is seen as a model for collaboration and is a leader in the youth services field both locally and nationally. Besides the full-member agencies, other youth-focused organizations and community members participate in and contribute to StreetWorks. The professional networking and sharing of ideas among diverse agencies breaks down many barriers. StreetWorks also has an advisory board made up of youth who receive or have received services. This board meets regularly, has voting rights in the collaborative, conducts peer outreach, and does public speaking or educational presentations.

You can help

"Within 48 hours of being on the street, a young person will be approached to get involved in some criminal activity -- prostitution, selling drugs -- and it will happen very quickly. The vulnerability of youth entering the city is immense," says Trondson. "There are lots of perpetrators who are going to take advantage, who can see when a kid is vulnerable."

We need to get creative in how we reach out to young people, according to Trondson. "Smaller communities can do more for their young people, and do it better than we can in larger cities. Kids leave if they feel there are no resources for them or that they've exhausted all that's available and have no hope of getting their needs met if they stay.

"Adults -- parents, teachers, friends, elected officials, those in authority -- should enlist the voice of their youth; ask them what they need, then act responsibly to provide it. Is there a safe place to hang out with friends if there is conflict at home? Are there appropriate adults willing to invest their time in getting to know teenagers? Don't make your relationships with youth into tradeoffs like "do this, then you'll have my love.' Don't substitute things for your affection. Have unconditional love for young people. "I do believe if every adult mentored one kid, or if every young person had at least one adult who truly cared about them, this world would be significantly better."

by Joan Nitz, editor

Current full-member agencies in Street Works:

Street Works Collaborative
2222 Park Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Phone 612-252-2735
Karen Trondson, director