Omaha's homeless population faces a complex web of challenges, but a dedicated team of outreach workers are on the ground, striving to make a difference five days a week. While city leaders debate policy, these workers are the consistent lifeline for individuals living in tents and under bridges.
"They know they have somebody out here, and that’s us," says Mandy Rose, an outreach worker with Siena Francis House, highlighting the importance of their presence and the trust they build with the unsheltered.
Building Trust and Offering Support
The work of the outreach team, coordinated by Threshold CoC and including members from Community Alliance and Siena Francis House, is rooted in patience and understanding. Janis Boos, another outreach worker with Siena Francis House, emphasizes the importance of timing: "I always ask people, 'Are you ready to do something different?'"
Each weekday, the team divides lists of known unsheltered individuals and sets out to find them. They also respond to calls for assistance and investigate complaints made to the mayor's hotline. Their services are comprehensive, ranging from arranging healthcare appointments and providing bus tickets to connecting individuals with vital resources. They consistently inquire about shelter options or placement on the waiting list for permanent housing, all while providing immediate necessities like food, blankets, sunscreen, and water.
Boos notes the profound isolation experienced by many living on the streets: "There’s a lot of people who have been on the street for a while. They just lost social contact with the world."
From Homelessness to Hope: Kevin's Story
Kevin Franklin, 53, offers a powerful testament to the impact of outreach efforts. After serving a prison sentence, he found himself homeless for six years. "No one wants to be homeless, whether it’s from bad relationships or lack of employment," he reflects. He described feeling stuck, lacking the motivation to change his circumstances.
Rose persistently reached out to Franklin. "I’d knock on his tent many days," she recalls.
Franklin credits Rose and the outreach team with providing the support he needed to transition to housing. "Mandy was my angel. She was my guardian angel," he says.
Now, Franklin has lived in supportive housing at Siena Francis for 19 months. He resides in his own cottage within a secure village, staffed around the clock. He expresses gratitude for the comprehensive care he receives: "Everybody here was homeless. So they help us get to medical, whatever needs we have." He recently adopted a dog, a Chihuahua mix he named Duder, and is happy to have the time to focus on his well-being. He is now an advocate for the shelter and the life-changing services it provides.
Franklin's housing is supported by general assistance, HUD grants, and federal subsidies. Siena Francis House offers permanent supportive housing for 98 individuals, but the waitlist currently exceeds 1,000 people, prioritized based on need. Case managers also work to house another 500 individuals with less urgent needs in community housing. Additionally, Siena Francis House operates an 80-bed recovery unit for those struggling with substance dependency and provides 24/7 temporary shelter.
David's Journey to Stability
David Doro, another resident of permanent housing at Siena Francis, echoes Franklin's gratitude. "I’m able to just be myself. I have stability, somewhere to put my head at night," he says. Doro credits the street outreach team with advocating for him. Having aged out of foster care after a stay at Boys Town, he experienced intermittent homelessness for years. "I was enrolled in a program I didn’t know I was in. And four months later, I got a call, and they said you’ve got one of our apartments. I’m very grateful for this institution, very grateful."
Funding Concerns and Growing Needs
Linda Twomey, Executive Director and CEO of Siena Francis House, reports a 15-percent annual increase in chronic homelessness over the past five years. She voices concerns about potential threats to HUD funding and evolving requirements that could impact their housing and shelter programs. A recent federal proposal suggests that communities must ban tent encampments for organizations to receive HUD funding, a contentious issue that Omaha's City Council has struggled to resolve.
Twomey relayed a warning from a UNL law expert: "If there are major funding changes it could result in assistance being lost to 6,000 individuals."
A Day with the Outreach Team
Accompanied outreach workers on a recent Wednesday, witnessing their interactions with individuals living on the streets. Out of respect for privacy, the exact locations were not disclosed, but the team visited wooded areas, under bridges, and city streets, encountering a range of situations.
Lived Experience: A Powerful Asset
Rose's commitment to this work stems from her own lived experience. "I was once homeless and addicted to drugs. I can relate to where they are and how they’re feeling and where they’ve been. It definitely gives me a level up to talk to them," she shares, her voice filled with emotion.
The team, typically consisting of four women, carries bags filled with essential supplies: food, pet food, socks, water, and a clipboard for documentation.
Rose emphasizes their focus on building trust and addressing immediate needs. Each person's information is entered or updated in a database, and with their consent, they are added to the waiting list for permanent housing.
"It’s a very long process. People give up sometimes just waiting to get their ID," Rose explains.
Overcoming Bureaucratic Hurdles
In one instance, the team encountered a veteran in his 30s living under a bridge. Two workers scaled a wall to deliver bags of tuna, canned food, socks, hand wipes, and dog food.
"He shared his name. He didn’t want intake, but we told him we are here if he ever needed something," says MacKenzie Peterson, with Community Alliance.
Case managers face significant challenges in obtaining the necessary documents for each individual, including birth certificates, proof of address (requiring two pieces of mail), and social security numbers.
Once these documents are secured, individuals can apply for a state ID card, which unlocks access to vital services and housing support. Some choose to wait for this process in the shelter, which can take months. Outreach workers then attempt to reconnect, often via cell phone or by visiting areas where they are known to frequent, a process that is often unreliable.
"Express lines would be great," Rose suggests, highlighting the need for streamlined processes. "I want to see everybody win. That’s the greatest reward."
Outreach workers emphasize the critical need for ongoing support and donations to sustain shelter operations. Twomey estimates the annual cost of placing one person in supportive housing to be upwards of $20,000.
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