Andrea Ferstan, our intrepid reporter impact manager in the area of homeless prevention, recently helped out with the Wilder Homeless Study count—interviewing people about the unfortunate circumstance they have found themselves in. (Every three years Wilder Research issues a report on homelessness in Minnesota, based on headcounts and interviews. This invaluable report gives us information about the causes, effects and circumstances surrounding homelessness, including specific subgroups such as youth, veterans, and older adults.) 

She was kind enough to answer a few questions about her experience.

LP: So what exactly did the evening entail? Where did you go? How many people did you talk to, did you work in pairs, and how long did it take? 

AF: I went to Mission Lodge, a transitional housing program in Plymouth. I arrived at 5:00 p.m.  There were eight of us available to interview residents, including Wilder staff who had been there since at least 1:00 p.m. Everyone serving as an interviewer for the study is asked to watch a training video, review the interviewing tool in advance, and conduct one practice interview. This training and preparation ultimately ensures the integrity and clarity of the data. Residents are encouraged to participate in the study and are paid $5 for their time upon completion of the interview. Each interview is done individually, one interviewee and one interviewer, taking approximately 30 minutes.

We were all at tables in the dining area. Mission Lodge staff encouraged residents to participate, noting that this information would help inform efforts to improve and expand housing and services for homeless people. Residents generally approached us if they were willing to participate. Due to the large number of interviewers and possibly the timing of our shift, I only had the opportunity to interview two individuals.

LP: How did it make you feel?

AF: I enjoyed the opportunity to hear directly from these individuals about their challenges and successes. What is always frustrating in these situations is the need to strictly follow the interview questions which can at times be challenging when someone may need or want to just share their story. Asking someone to share a great deal of personal information with you, a stranger, also feels a bit uncomfortable, even when one knows that this is for a worthwhile purpose. In the end, I just felt extremely grateful to those who took the time to open themselves up one more time with the hopes of creating more opportunities, and possibly a better system from which they and/or others can achieve and maintain greater housing stability.

LP: What surprised you?

I wouldn’t say anything surprised me, though I am continually amazed at the capacity of the human spirit to overcome seemingly insurmountable adversities, particularly when there are people and resources that can serve as a hand up.

LP: What were you hoping that you wouldn’t see that you did?

One father noted that while he had temporary housing, his son could not stay with him, something which we know results in unaccompanied homeless youth.

LP: Do you think you’ll do it again three years from now?

Absolutely.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Basic Needs, Homelessness, Housing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.