CitySquare Outreach team

The Dallas Morning News published the following report that includes information about the work of the CitySquare Homeless Outreach Team. Tough work. Important results. Street savvy workers. I'm very proud of them.

Dallas' hard-to-reach homeless often victims, advocates say

Christina Rosales

May 8, 2012

 

They live in fields and under highways. They may show up at a shelter or soup kitchen for a hot meal.

But offer them a way off the streets, and many of these men and women prefer the independence of homelessness.

These people, experts say, are the hardest to reach and need the most help. Almost all of them suffer from severe medical or mental problems, or both. They’re often addicted to drugs and alcohol. . . .

Hard to reach

On most days, homeless outreach teams search the streets of Dallas for “roaming clients.”
Last week, volunteers from CitySquare, a poverty-fighting agency, looked for Robert Henderson, 52, a homeless man who needs his seizure medicine. They also wanted to catch up with Teddy Dean Wise at The Bridge.

CitySquare caseworkers brought him there several months ago, along with his wife, Olga Ausburne. The couple had been living in a field near Interstate 30 and Winslow Avenue, near Samuell Grand Park. Wise and Ausburne both have drug and alcohol problems. But they represent two sides in the spectrum of acceptance of help.

Read entire report here.