Caring For Our Guests Beyond An Outreach
Today we wanted to share a conversation with our Director of Follow-Up Care, Tricia Philbert. In her role, she works to connect guests with government, faith-based, and other community service providers. Her heart and passion for people have been felt by every guest she's helped.
Can you tell us what you do and what your typical day looks like at City Relief?
As the follow-up care director, I support a team of care coordinators and interns that provide direct care to our guests. I facilitate training, strategic planning, and development of the systems that allow City Relief to continue the work with knowledge of specific guest needs and support. These systems also track our impact on guests and the communities where we are involved.
How has follow-up care grown since you've worked at City Relief?
The follow-up department has grown in its ability to address specific needs related to shelter, benefits entitlement, ID support, etc. In addition, we have increased our capacity through collaboration with varying colleges and universities through our internship/field placement program. As we train social work students, we also expand the number of guests we can serve. Also, fostering intentional relationships with specific community partners has assisted in getting guests off the street and into warm beds.
What temporary services are available if someone wants to get off the street immediately?
Guests can visit one of our outreaches to receive specific directions on how to get inside. However, they can also go directly to these resources:
Men: 30th street men's shelter
Women: Franklin's women's shelter in the Bronx
Couples and/or families: made up of an adult child go to AFIC (Adult Family Intake Center), also located in 30th street Men's shelter
Families with young children: PATH shelter in the Bronx
Do you have a story of someone you helped find permanent housing?
Yes, a guest that met us through our 14th street outreach. I was introduced to him in 2020. He had been out of jail only a few months and was struggling. He was sleeping on the street and doing odd jobs; he came to us needing help paying his storage fee for his belongings and ID help.
He declined any help with going into a shelter because he did not want to deal with shelter conditions, mainly congregate shelters. He stated, "I'd rather take my chances on the street." We assisted him with his storage bill, which was a massive help. We connected him to HRA so that they would pay it monthly. We also helped with his ID.
This gentleman slept on the roofs of buildings or inside buildings; after a few months, he slept in his employer's truck (he was doing odd work for a moving company). I would consistently check in to see if he was ready to go inside; however, it would be the same answer until one code blue night in December 2020—he called me crying and cold. He said, "Tricia, I can't do this anymore; I don't care where I go at this point; I don't want to die out here. I need to get inside." Those were the magic words that I needed to hear.
I immediately reached out to our partner at NYLAG (New York Legal Assistance Group), and she reached out to some of her DHS contacts, expressing that we had a senior citizen outside in the bitter cold and he needed a single room because of his anxiety.
That night, I was able to send an UBER to meet the guest and transport him to a safe haven (shelter) where he had his own room. He stayed there for almost a year or a little over. During this time, he received a housing voucher and began looking for an apartment. In July of this year, he moved into his own studio apartment. He was happy about this move, and although things are not perfect, he is working toward wholeness and stability. We were able to send him some cleaning supplies and necessities for his new apartment. He still frequents our outreaches for help.
What do you believe is your legacy and impact on City Relief?
A legacy that consistently reveals the love of Christ in every aspect of the work, from helping someone obtain shelter, benefits, and ID to sitting with someone that only needs a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen.
I hope our guests, colleagues, and community partners felt heard, empowered, and safe in my presence and in the space created in the follow-up care department. In life, we move through stages; I hope I met people at whatever stage they were and somehow helped them in the direction necessary for change to become a reality.