UCD gets lesson on homeless

Since dealing with the city's homeless population is likely to become tougher over the next few weeks due to new federal welfare and local sidewalk-loitering legislation, the University City District spent this week training its safety ambassadors to better handle people living on the streets. The training sessions -- taught by a local homeless outreach organization -- instructed the yellow-jacketed ambassadors about the state of the homeless in the city and how to direct individuals on the streets to appropriate resources, such as soup kitchens, shelters, hospitals and other care facilities. "Our goal was to present a comprehensive overview of the issues and needs that affect the homeless," UCD Executive Director Paul Steinke said. The UCD is a privately-funded organization created by Penn, Drexel University and other local institutions and exists to enhance and promote the University City neighborhood. It employs more than 40 safety ambassadors, eight of whom attended this week's training. The idea for the program arose after the city's controversial "sidewalk behavior" ordinance became law last month, making it a citable offense to sit or lie on city sidewalks for more than a half-hour in any two-hour period. A second cause for concern is the approaching March 3 deadline when thousands of city families are cut from the welfare rolls due to President Clinton's controversial welfare legislation. "We became concerned that there might be an increase in the number of people who are homeless and on the street," Steinke said. The program was designed to "inform the outreach staff about effective outreach methods, resources that are available to them, places they can refer each client and an idea of exactly who possible homeless clients may be," said Jane Prusso, a director of the Gateway 10 outreach program, which led the sessions. Over the course of the three-day program, speakers from various service organizations addressed the group of ambassadors -- called the Homeless Action Team -- about the services they provide and how to work with the homeless to obtain these resources. "It's hard when you don't know what's out there, when you don't know where a person is going," Prusso said. "If [ambassadors] have knowledge about these places and can explain it to the client, the client feels much more comfortable." Members of the Homeless Action Team will continue their normal patrol duties as safety ambassadors but will also be on call to respond to special situations involving the homeless, Steinke said. The training the ambassadors received this week will prepare them to refer homeless people who want or agree to seek help to various city facilities that will address their needs. Safety ambassadors who encounter an individual on the streets with special needs will be able to refer the individual to the West Philadelphia-based Horizon House or call the Outreach Coordination Center, which responds to calls from merchants, police and concerned citizens regarding the presence of people on the streets. The OCC sends out "response teams" that assess the condition of people on the streets and make appropriate referrals to shelters, hospitals, mental health facilities, drug and alcohol centers and other care facilities. OCC Outreach Services Coordinator Genny O'Donnell, who led Monday afternoon's session, outlined the techniques involved in assessing an individual's situation. "The idea is to get services," O'Donnell said. "If you arrest someone that has a mental illness or a drug problem, you're really not accomplishing anything." Safety ambassador Dave Bryant applauded the program, saying the sessions were informative and helpful. "They gave us a wide variety of instruments to help the homeless," he said.

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