Success Comes From Working Together

It was a simple change. When a homeless individual comes to Resurrection House for the first time, more than just the completion of an intake form should happen.

Always before, the new client would answer the questions on the intake form and then disappear into the general population of our homeless clients. This simple change is for them to meet with a case manager who will try to direct them on a path to a better living situation.

During the first week of implementing the change, two new clients, both under the age of 24, met with Volunteer Coordinator, Joe Lucero, and Sherree Brown, Senior Clinical Case Manager for the Sarasota Police Department.

When both new clients indicated they had no place to spend the night, REACH Master Case Manager for the YMCA, Dawn Sakes, was called. Dawn heads a new program for youths ages 16 to 24 who are considered unaccompanied adults. Dawn was able to find over-night shelter for both and that was just the start on their journey to a better living outcome.

Just less than three months into her new job, Dawn states that, “Just starting a conversation with this age group is the first step.” “Next is to identify the needs of each individual and try to help them successfully meet the basic need for shelter. I have 16 active cases in just the short time since I started,” she concluded.