Yolanda Williams 

Yolanda Williams 

When I was Assistant Director of Homeless Services at City Square in Dallas, I managed our outreach teams working with unhoused neighbors living in encampments. Being a part of implementing the Direct to Housing Encampment Response was life-giving for our neighbors and outreach workers. In traditional outreach, teams are working to establish trusting connections and provide services while neighbors are waiting months or even years to access housing. Now, we are able to connect folks to housing within 6-9 weeks—totally changing the dynamic. Many of my outreach staff began requesting to work on the encampment-focused teams, even though it is fast-paced, hard work, because they found it to be the most impactful for themselves and for their clients. This experience showed me what a community can do to end homelessness when we have all the right resources at our disposal.

Categories Categories: Encampments