St. Paul’s Community Outreach

The Outreach Program at St. Paul’s serves individuals and families on the near-west side of Cleveland through its mission and programs. Our mission is to encourage and assist individuals and families in need into entering the public and private system of social services without pressure or prejudgment. Although not meant to be limiting, St. Paul’s defines the system of social services to include mental health, medical and social services, legal aid, housing and job searches and life skills.

The values which accompany the mission statement are as follows:

1. Respect for individuals
2. Provide a safe space to make positive life choices
3. Use a peer-to-peer counseling model
4. Maintain the trust of the individuals served
5. Minister to individuals and families in a non-judgmental way
6. Foster meaningful partnerships with other churches and services providers
7. Bridge the gap in services that exist for the people we serve.

Our Outreach Program is located at the corner of W. 45th and Franklin Blvd. and is open during the hours of Tuesday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. An Outreach Worker coordinates the program, assisting volunteers who provide services including a clothing bank/thrift shop, emergency food assistance, peer-to-peer counseling, bus tickets for health appointments, emergency prescription assistance and other referrals for services. Hot coffee and simple food is served in the lounge where people are encouraged to rest, share their stories, and take shelter from the outside.

Our emergency food program differs from other food programs on the near-west side in that we provide food assistance primarily for those living on the street or in substandard housing (without cooking facilities). Food that can be prepared simply and without cooking is always available, and individuals are allowed to take a few days supply and return again. The clothing bank addresses a similar need, providing dry socks, clothes, boots, coats and blankets to individuals who do not have a place to clean or dry their clothes. In addition, emergency assistance is provided for filling prescriptions, meeting family grocery needs, paying utility bills, and other emergencies. The Outreach Worker administers the emergency assistance program.

Between 20 and 50 individuals come to the Outreach Program on a typical day in the winter and early spring months. St. Paul’s expands the hours of operation during these months and relies on volunteers to meet the need. The Outreach Program also provides an entry into other services provided both on and off the site, including a Parish Nurse, a neighborhood preschool, AA and NA meetings, and HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, and education information. Individuals who have been helped by the program are encouraged to continue to come to the site for support, hospitality and to serve others through peer-to-peer counseling and volunteering.

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The near-west side of Cleveland is home to an incredibly diverse population of people. St. Paul’s has a long history of reaching out and welcoming all people, particularly those who are most vulnerable to poverty and health issues. A number of social service agencies are located within walking distance of St. Paul’s, as is a network of free lunch and evening meals served in the neighborhood. For this reason, St. Paul’s has become a central gathering place where individuals can receive help and support in staying healthy and safe, and connect with people who care about them and encourage them to make positive choices in their lives.

The Outreach Program is funded by donations from church members and individuals in the community, by the Western Reserve Association of the United Church of Christ, by donations from partner churches, and by small grants from local foundations that support our mission. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to ask for your support and look forward to partnering with you to improve the health and well-being of individuals in our community.

Program Description – Capacity Building of the CSW Outreach Program

We propose a two-pronged approach to building the capacity of our Commercial Sex Worker (CSW) Outreach Program. We would like, first, to train our Outreach Workers so that they can respond professionally and effectively to the diversity of intense situations they face on the job, including HIV prevention education, addictions awareness, mental health issues and be more efficient in their daily tasks. Concurrently we want to expand the hours when our Outreach Workers are present on the street to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the CSW and homeless population.

Part 1 – Professional Training

St. Paul’s Outreach has an “open door policy” – anyone or any group can use these facilities and get involved in the life of this community. Those whom we serve are all so different in many ways, but most have had numerous difficulties in life, made numerous poor choices in conjunction with negative situations with no easy answers such as addiction, neglect, mental illness and abuse. Very often these people are exhibiting behaviors that puts them at risk for acquiring and transmitting HIV/AIDS. Due to their complex and multiple issues, staff needs to have extensive knowledge and personal communication skills in order to support effective steps forward.

We operate using a peer-to-peer counseling model. Our Outreach Workers have made major transitions in their own lives. They have shown the spirit of perseverance by moving off the streets, through drug/alcohol addictions, and out of dangerous situations. There is no substitute for these experiences. Outreach Workers come to the job with unbelievable compassion, a strong desire to help others, and are asking for more training in the following skill areas: communication, organization, recordkeeping, technology, and counseling. We would open these trainings to Outreach Workers from other community organizations that serve CSWs. Funds for this portion of the project will compensate Outreach Workers from St. Paul’s for their time, purchase training materials, and pay for facilitators and speakers for the training sessions.

The Outreach Worker training program follows: Subjects have been selected based on the extensive formal and informal input from the collaborating organizations listed. To measure the trainings’ impact, Outreach Workers will demonstrate competency through a written or oral post-test and implementation of the skills on the job. Except for the first training, scheduled this fall, the trainings will commence with available funding.

1. HIV/AIDS Prevention Workshop, Trainer: Julie Patterson, MPH, AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland (September 25-26, 2007)
2. CSW Outreach Best Practices Training, Trainer: Karen Hill, LCSW, Recovery Resources, (January 2008)
3. Listening & Interviewing Skills Training, Trainer: Rev. Doug Horner, Director, St. Paul’s Community Outreach (February 2008)
4. Street Culture Workshop, Trainer: Jim Schlecht, Outreach Worker, Care Alliance (March 2008)
5. Basic Counseling Training, Trainer: Rev. Doug Horner, Director, St. Paul’s Community Outreach (April 2008)
6. Record Keeping Training, Trainer: Dr. Karen Aluma, MPH, HUMADAOP (May 2008)
7. Time Management Training, Trainer: Marjorie Pyles-Hearst, Guidance Counselor, Max Hayes High School, Cleveland Public Schools (June 2008)
8. Legal Repercussion of Commercial Sex Work, Trainer: Judge Joe Zone, Cleveland Municipal Court (July 2008)
9. Navigating Social Services, Trainer: Brian Davis, Director, Northeast Ohio coalition for the Homeless (August 2008)
10. Personal Safety Training, Trainer: Officer Jeff Stanczyk, Cleveland Police Department (September 2008)
11. Field Evaluation of New Skills to be completed by Rev. Doug Horner and Self-Evaluations to be completed by Outreach Workers (October 2008)
12. Project Evaluation to be completed by Transitional Housing, Inc?; Recovery Resources?outside consultant WHO WOULD THIS BE? (November 2007)

Part 2 – Expanded Outreach

St. Paul’s Community Outreach maintains a presence in the neighborhood at peak hours for prostitution and drug activity. Outreach Workers are present at frequently changing “hot spots” in the evenings for three evenings a week and in the early morning hours past midnight for two nights a week. We develop relationships with prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers with the hope of engaging them in a process of making different decisions in their lives that lead them off the streets. More specifically, the Outreach Workers make contact with CSWs, listen to their problems, and offer safe sex/HIV prevention education along with safe sex kits. Behind the scenes we also work with the police, probation officers, business owners and neighbors to pinpoint criminal activity and intervene when possible.

To reach our goal of reducing the spread of HIV among CSWs on the near-west side of Cleveland and enabling them to leave the trade, the Outreach Workers need to have a greater presence. At our current level of funding, the Outreach Workers are able to work only a fraction of the time when CSWs are on the streets. With additional funding, we could expand the hours that the Outreach Workers are on the streets to 15-20 hours per week per worker. The additional hours would be used for individual outreach at more locations for longer periods of time. Coupled with the training, additional hours would also enable the Outreach Workers to create and maintain better records. With better records, we can begin to compile more complete data on CSWs, HIV prevalence and action steps toward less risky behavior. Funds for this portion of the project will compensate our Outreach Workers for their time, purchase safe sex materials and supplies, and pay for transportation costs.

The target population of this part of the project is CSWs. The goal is to create a minimum of ten (10) case files per Outreach Worker to track the progress of those CSWs who have an ongoing, trusting relationship with an Outreach Worker. Because of this contact, we expect that CSWs to stop engaging in high-risk behavior and take steps to leave commercial sex work altogether. This part of the project will help reach our long-term goal of reducing the spread of HIV among CSWs and enable them to leave the trade.

No other organization does street level outreach to commercial sex workers. We depend on and work cooperatively with a number of other neighborhood organizations and city council members in the following ways.

Care Alliance Health Center (http://www.carealliance.org) - Picks people up off the street and takes them immediately to the hospital if calling 911 is not a viable option, for example, in the case of a mentally ill patient.
Commander, Second District, Cleveland Police Department – Backs up our Outreach Workers with Vice Squad when needed.
Council Member Joe Cimperman (http://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org) - Publicly supports St. Paul’s Community Outreach and has made financial contributions.
Council Member Joe Santiago (http://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org) - Publicly supports St. Paul’s Community Outreach and has made financial contributions.
Council Member Matt Zone (http://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org) - Publicly supports St. Paul’s Community Outreach and has made financial contributions.
Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (http://www.dscdo.org) - Shares information with us about where prostitution and drug activity is greatest and has shared resources with St. Paul’s Community Outreach.
Judge Joseph Zone, Cleveland Municipal Court (http://clevelandmunicipalcourt.org) - Helps us navigate the justice system.
Neon/Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services (http://www.neonhealth.org) - Provides HIV/AIDS testing and counseling.
St. Coleman's Church - Provides birth certificates, food, meals and shares information with us about at-risk medical patients.
Westside Catholic Center (http://www.wsccenter.org) - Provides birth certificates, food, meals and shares information with us about at-risk medical patients.
St. Herman's Monastery and House of Hospitality (http://www.oca.org/RHArticle.asp?SID=15&ArticleID=89) - Provides food, clothing and shelter. Many of our clients eat there. The residents at St. Herman’s help keep watch over our Outreach Workers when they are on the street at night.

Anticipated Outcomes

The long-term result of this project is to strengthen St. Paul’s Community Outreach ability to work with populations as risk of contracting and/or spreading HIV/AIDS and ultimately to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS. As a result of the professional training, we expect that our Outreach Workers will be able to work with greater independence and less supervision by the Executive Director, to handle more skillfully the conflicts and crises that arise in the course of their work and to create and maintain accurate case files on commercial sex workers. As St. Paul’s Community Outreach becomes more experienced, in the future we hope to share our experience and train Outreach Workers at other community organizations to spread the benefits even further. As a result of expanded outreach, we expect to increase the number of contacts we have with CSWs, to distribute an increased number of safe sex kits, and to witness a decrease in high-risk behavior among the CSWs with whom we have contact.

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