To read this content please select one of the options below:

Don't walk by: urban faith-based homeless outreach campaigns

Hans Oh (Adjunct Faculty, based at Columbia University School of Social Work, New York, New York, USA)
Sam Albertson (Sam Albertson is based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA)

Housing, Care and Support

ISSN: 1460-8790

Article publication date: 10 June 2014

208

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the objectives and overall approach of a faith-based homeless outreach campaign. It aims to stimulate wider discussion about how civil society can play a role in achieving participatory parity for the homeless.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a case study approach, this viewpoint paper then connects practical considerations to extant literature on community inclusion.

Findings

This particular homeless outreach campaign generated a tremendous amount of volunteerism – perhaps unparalleled relative to any other recent campaign driven by civil society. Yet it aimed only to funnel the homeless into the private social sector. Furthermore, most of the homeless people engaged on the streets did not complete the rehabilitation programs.

Research limitations/implications

Campaigns such as this may need to adopt discursive habits in order to recognize the social distances that must be bridged between the housed and the homeless. With greater reflexivity, volunteers can use their interactions with the homeless to develop empathy, compassion, and understanding. Volunteers may then feel inspired to leverage their personal resources to address community perceptions of homelessness, or to advocate for systematic changes.

Originality/value

This paper suggests recasting the goals of homeless campaigns to include the development of social bridges between the housed and the homeless, which can guide advocacy efforts.

Keywords

Citation

Oh, H. and Albertson, S. (2014), "Don't walk by: urban faith-based homeless outreach campaigns", Housing, Care and Support, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 111-115. https://doi.org/10.1108/HCS-03-2014-0006

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles