How to help a person who is homeless, from those who know
Originally published in The Boston Globe.
So you’re on a neighborhood stroll on a freezing night, or passing through an MBTA station on your evening commute, and you see someone lying on the pavement who doesn’t appear to have a home.
What should you do?
Street outreach workers in Boston recommend a range of practical approaches that can make a big difference in getting a person who is living on the streets to a safer place — and potentially save lives.
The first lesson, say outreach workers, is to treat people who are unhoused like anyone else — with respect and dignity. Unless you feel a situation is unsafe, smile, make eye contact, and identify yourself by name while not invading their personal space, say outreach workers. Then focus on the person’s immediate situation with simple, open-ended questions such as: How are you doing? And is there anything you need?
“You don’t want to be invasive,” said Jim Greene, the city of Boston’s assistant director for street homelessness initiatives.
After a friendly introduction, outreach workers say it’s critical to check if the person needs medical attention. If the person is visibly injured or sick, then you can ask them if it would be all right to call an ambulance and have them medically evaluated. In some cases, people will refuse medical care, and their choice should typically be honored, say outreach workers.
“If they don’t seem to have the capacity to understand what’s going on — and it’s clear they are really sick — then it is appropriate to call 911 even if they’re not agreeing to it,” said Dr. Becky Lee, a member of the street team at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program.
Even if a person refuses medical care, you can still get them help. If a situation does not appear to be a medical emergency, you can contact Boston 311 by dialing 311 or call 617-635-4500 — a 24-hour service that connects with city representatives. The city can respond to 311 calls by sending a member of its street outreach team.
The situation becomes urgent if you encounter a person who appears unresponsive. In such cases, one should pause in front of the person from a distance and check if the person’s chest is rising and falling, Lee said. If you still can’t tell if the person is breathing, Lee recommends “nudging or jostling” the person’s feet with your shoes.
The next step is to gently shake their body, and if they are still not responding call an ambulance and administer the opioid-reversal drug Narcan, if you have it, said Lee.
Lee also recommended simple gestures of kindness. She routinely hands out Dunkin’ gift cards because the shops are convenient safe havens from the cold and give people access to a restroom.
“Just think of [people who are homeless] as our neighbors,” she said. “It’s demoralizing and lonely to be in the middle of a big city and to have people walk by you every day.”
Originally published in The Boston Globe.
