Street Teams: More Info

What are the needs in areas we do Street Teams?

These are the common social problems in all the areas we do Street Teams:

• Isolation and lack of community
• Substance Addiction
• Abuse and Neglect
• Break down in family relationships
• Unemployment
• Crime and Vandalism
• Elderly and disabilities
• Youth Crime / Gangs
• Lack of trust of the Police and authorities
• Lack of Security and safety

What's our Response?

• Friendship – in response to feelings of isolation and loneliness we consistently go to the same homes and the same volunteers visit the same residents. This creates consistency and gives people a support network / family.
• Practical support – in response to vandalism and a lack of care for property, we can show people how to place value on their homes and property. By serving people without any agenda we also place value on them give people hope. Particularly for the elderly and disabled practical support is a necessity for them to get by.
• Empowerment – some residents are capable of taking care of the physical standards of their homes and neighbourhoods. By involving residents in the process we can create ownership and empower people to lift the standards of the neighbourhood.
• Referrals – to other CityCare initiatives and to other organisations. Our volunteers are not trained experts in counselling, psychology or social workers, but they can refer people to what’s available for them.
• Access to Educational Programs – in response to drug and alcohol issues, budgeting challenges, family problems and unemployment, we can make CityCare courses available for people.
• Targeting Children / Youth – through our Impact Kids program, we can start with the children in these areas and place value on them and equip them with basic skills necessary for them to move forward. We can also address some of the generational patterns and break the cycle.
• Creating Community – by getting people out of their homes, and meeting each other, it can create a stronger community in the area and make people feel less suspicious and more safe. This can be achieved through monthly street BBQ’s and other special events such as Christmas celebrations.
• Ongoing follow up – for people in these areas going through short term crisis situations, such as illness, death in the family or family challenges, we have Response teams that can do ongoing follow up with these people.
• Work with key stakeholders in the area – We want to work with the Police, Local Department of Housing Offices, Local Councils, and other community organisations such as local churches, community groups and neighbourhood centre's, to achieve outcomes for the area.

What are the outcomes we are trying to achieve?

• Create a positive and encouraging community: by demonstrating this, we hope that it rubs off on residents.
• Making the next step: Our goal is to help people move forward in their life and to make the next step to keep moving forward. This may include seeking help with an addiction, seeking counselling, taking a course to help with personal development, trying to find employment.
• Creating Community: A key outcome is to build contact and relationship between residents
• Lower vandalism: By putting value on residents and their neighbourhood, a key outcome is that petty crime and vandalism would drop.
• Empowering people: to get residents look after their own properties, and take ownership for the appearance of the neighbourhood, and have a supporting attitude towards other residents.