Blog Every Day in June Day 19 : Libraries and the Homeless

This time last year I was in Chicago attending the American Library Association Annual Conference, completing research as part of the Kath Knowles Award. I attended a number of sessions on public libraries providing quality services to people who are homeless, following rising rates of homelessness in the US.

One session that particularly stood out to me was a panel session about libraries working in partnership with local youth workers to develop relationships with homeless youth in the area. Two such youth were on the panel and telling the audience about what the library meant to them as a safe place where they could meet friends and take time out from the streets.

'One youth explained how, without a safe place to sleep, you pretty much

need to walk around all night, because if you do stop or go to sleep, your

chances of being robbed or assaulted start to go up. Even staying in some

shelters, if you can get a bed, is not guaranteed to be a safe night. He spoke

about how with only limited sleep, you cannot function properly as a human

being, and you will start to get sick. That is why the library becomes such an

attractive place to spend time, as it is safe, sheltered and quiet.'

The stories I gathered from the library professionals I met at the conference informed a lot of the work I completed within this project and assisted with the development of ‘Libraries are for everyone’, a toolkit for public libraries to rethink services in the context of providing for those who are homeless. The toolkit has been developed in partnership with Newcastle Region Library, City of Sydney Library, NSW State Library and The Footpath Library.

The toolkit highlights the important leadership role that public libraries can play in shifting community attitudes toward library users who are homeless and also offers some practical ideas for implementing targeted programs or services to those in need. This includes rethinking membership requirements for better access opportunities and building relationships with community organisations and homeless shelters to increase understanding and develop services to meet the needs of the homeless in your community.

Taking these actions are important steps toward building the sense of belonging and meeting the need to connect with others that can also be missed by those who are not having their most basic needs of food and shelter met. Public libraries can promote equity in their communities by actively investigating the needs of people who are homeless within their community and providing the correct service and access levels to meet those needs. We can also lead the conversations within the community about how we can best meet these needs and promote understanding.

For my full report, please visit here, and stay tuned for publication information on the toolkit! 

Heather Davis is the Service Planning Manager at Waverley Library. 

She has been investigating the role of public libraries in providing service to people who are homeless since 2012 after receiving the Kath Knowles Award for her project proposal on the topic. This month she will be continuing the conversation as part of the ALIA LinkedIn Professional Discussion series.

Using my library powers for good

I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer with the Sydney Homeless Connect day this year, which was held on Tuesday 4 June at Town Hall. The Sydney Homeless Connect is a day where service providers such as Housing, Medicare, Centrelink and the Salvation Army join up with other providers such as The Big Issue, Legal Aid and medical service such as dental, optical, chiropractic to get together in one spot to provide free service and provide advice to people who are homeless.

I worked the information desk on the lower level of the building where hairdressers were providing free cuts and styles, clothes and shoes were handed out and people could get a massage. Upstairs was the medical area and service providers all had stalls to give free info and advice. A hot lunch was served and there were even a couple of bands playing. Two girls were walking around the building with a big sign saying ‘Free Hugs!’

My job was to direct people to the services they were after. I had a map of all the stalls and a list of the services that were there on the day. My library skills came in very handy and there were quite a few people who were asking questions about whether there were service providers who could offer low cost internet connection in their hostels or boarding houses. I was able to suggest that they could visit their public library to stay connected with the free wifi and internet access most of us provide. I am not aware of service providers who might offer a cheaper connection to disadvantaged people, has anyone else heard of something like this?

I also helped a man who had a question on where he might track down his fathers war medals which had been lost when he became homeless after his mother died.

I did feel during the day that there should definitely have been some library representation, if not just with the volunteer side of things but even with a stall of our own where we could let people know of the technological and recreational services we provide. If we brought some brochures and a few laptops we could help people with the information we know is out there to help them. We could even gather some more information ourselves from the other service providers to provide our customers with once we are back in our libraries.

The Footpath Library were there handing out books and their stocks had nearly run out by lunchtime. I propose we create a Library Stall next year with ALIA Sydney for the next Homeless Connect Day to spread the word on how much libraries can do to help all of our customers and community! Who’s with me?!

Cheers,

Heather