Library Services for People Experiencing Homelessness

Interesting to see that in 2012 we were not using person-centred language - homeless patrons was the term used. People experiencing homelessness were described as having 'special needs', as having needs specifically relating to 'emotional and physical wellbeing'. They are described as presenting 'a range of needs and concerns', as having 'complex needs' and that they are a 'challenge' for librarians to work with. That these challenges are 'disruptive to library operations'. "Serving the needs of homeless people calls for library staff to be especially responsive, resourceful and creative."p.178. It will be interesting to see if this negative lens and discourse alters over time to recognise that maybe people experiencing homeless or insecure housing actually don't have needs specific to their accommodation status. Maybe they are not a 'challenge'. Maybe they just want what everyone else wants - somewhere quiet to sit ...

I often read about success stories where libraries have employed peer workers to be front-line staff at hteir branches. These workers can relate to people in the libraries and near the libraries and make them feel welcome when they may otherwise feel judged or excluded. This video is a great example of a peer worker in a public library in Denver, Colorado and the powerful influence she has on the community she works with. She is literally saving lives. Peer workers can benefit the library, its vulnerable users, and the peer worker themselves. When this works well, I can see no down-side.

  The Women's Butterfly Project is a project designed by the Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University in partnership with the QLD Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy, Q Shelter, Tenants Queensland, Mission Australia and a number of other partners. Their website can be accessed here:  https://research.qut.edu.au/best/projects/preventing-homelessness-for-mature-women-high-tech-vs-high-touch-support/   The premise of the project is to focus on women who are 55 or older, and to work with them BEFORE they become homeless, recognising that most programs and services associated with homelessness are focussed on people who are already homeless and/or impacted by long-term housing issues. The aim of the Project is to prevent homelessness before it occurs. The project connects vulnerable women with services and advice that can help them maintain their housing. The project is essentially toolkit collation of resources that are targetted at women...

Adams, C., & Krtalić, M. (2021). I feel at home: Perspectives of homeless library customers on public library services and social inclusion.  Journal of Librarianship and Information Science , 09610006211053045. This article raises an interesting point about that validity and level of acceptance and welcome experienced by library users may have a relationship to the activity they are undertaking while in the library. The participants in their study stated that sometimes they feel unwelcome in a public library if they are not reading. They are asked to move on if they are sleeping or not sitting in a chair.  " while Participant 7 was generally satisfied with library staff and services, he also explained that he sometimes felt discriminated against when staff questioned why he was sitting or lying on the floor instead of using a chair:  It seems like they pick and choose which ones to ask, you know what I mean? Yeah. If you’re not sitting there with a book, then, yeah (...

 On February 17, I spent a second day with the staff of Yarra Libraries and their outreach service. This time we were set up outside the injecting rooms at the Richmond higy-rise flats. As before we were sharing the space with other community service providers: OrangeSky was there with their laundry van again, and they also had a shower bus with them this time. There was also a presence from Ask Issy  which is a service that runs through mobile phones and connects people to services. The Ask Issy people were spruiking their site and were giving away phone charging banks.  It was very quiet, but all the staff from each of the services were saying that this quietness was really unusual and nothing like what had been the case before COVID. These days out in the community were the first in a long time since lockdowns had lifted. They suggested that the numbers would rise as they became more visible in the community and as word got around that the services were back in operati...

I attended an online presentation on February 2, 2022 that launched this report which is a collaboration between the Centre for Social Impact, the University of New South Wales, the University of Western Australia, and Swinburne University. The presentation was spoken by Paul Flatau (Uni WA), Jessica Dobrovic (Advance to Zero -AtoZ), Karyn Walsh (Micah Projects), David Pearson (AAEH - Australian Alliance to End Homelessness) and Shane Jakupec (NEAMI International), and a person called Leigh who had been without a home for 20 years, but is now housed and working as an outreach worker. Apart from the report, which looks outstanding and can be accessed here:  https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2022-02/apo-nid315326.pdf   I noted the following from the presentation: 70% of rough sleepers had periods of out of home care as children 36% had been in prison at some stage 20% had been in youth detention when younger People experiencing homelessness can find it very d...

I spent a couple of hours today with two staff from Yarra Libraries in one of their outreach projects where they set up at St Mark's in Fitzroy to distribute books, clothing and talk with community members who are visiting St Mark's to pick up food supplied by Anglicare. They also have an opportunity to wash their clothes with OrangeSky. The books that were given away were weeded from their own collections. It was very quiet, with about five people coming over to talk to the library staff. Each of them took some new clothes and some took some books either for themselves of for their children. The staff were saying that this was only their second time at St Mark's recently, although they had been there more regularly before COVID. They expect to build up their interactions over time.  They bought all their gear in a library van: Service partners: Yarra Libraries works with some partners to provide their services to the community. These are: Thread Together - for new clothin...