The Urban League of Metropolitan (ULMS) Seattle recently announced its new Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle Street Team dedicated to connecting and supporting our most vulnerable population, our homeless.
The ULMS Street team will provide support that homeless individuals and families need in order to successfully transition from living on the street to living in safe, affordable, stable housing. High-quality supportive services, from culturally trained and responsive individuals, are critical to ensuring that the people that are supported not only move into permanent homes, but stay in permanent homes long term. The services that are provided are available to anyone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. ULMS will focus their outreach and engagement on African Americans and other people of color. ULMS will provide lunch or meal vouchers, toiletries & hygiene supplies, referrals to services and housing, education programs, workforce development opportunities, linkage to interim housing partners, assistance with housing applications and process and expert advice and assistance toward a path of permanent safe housing and stability.
“Most of the homeless population in Seattle is African American. The Urban League was created for and by African Americans to put ourselves on a path to self-sufficiency,” says Michelle Merriweather, Vice President of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. “Each and every individual deserves respect, a listening ear, and support to get from where they are to where they want to go. Our Street Team is going to do just that.”
“We are making a focused effort, with the help of the City of Seattle, United Way, and others to ensure that no one sleeps in uninhabitable dwellings and is supported in their journey home,” added Merriweather.
The ULMS street team will be a consistent presence in areas where people battling homelessness are living delivering food, access to resources, and allowing individuals and families to establish a comfort in interactions with the ULMS team. The ULMS team will be trained in motivating individuals and families to become advocates for themselves while supporting their efforts in doing what is right, safe and best for their families.
The ULMS “Street Team” is a new concept based off of the ULMS experience with Peer Connectors and outreach workers through programs that ULMS successfully facilitated in the past. Through experience it is determined that potential participant will respond better to individuals that share something in common with them, the feeling that they are engaging with their peers. Thus, the “Street Team” will consist of people who may possess one of the following attributes: have experienced homelessness, be age18-24 since that is the highest demographic of the homeless population, and culturally diverse.
