Sudbury officials say well-intentioned but untrained outreach workers are doing harm

Sudbury -

Some officials who work with the homeless in Sudbury are speaking out about untrained people attempting to do social work with the homeless.

While they recognize many people have good intentions, they are asking people to allow trained outreach and social workers to properly do their jobs.

The Homelessness Network said if people want to prepare meals and hand out clothing to the homeless, that can be helpful. But experts said untrained people doing outreach work can be extremely harmful.

"If what you are doing starts to look like social work, then you have to remember that that is a profession that is regulated. That is work that needs to be done by professionals to make sure that we are not harming the clients," said Denis Constantineau, executive director of the Centre de Sante Communautaire du Grand Sudbury, the lead agency of the Homelessness Network.

"For the most part, these are clients that have suffered traumas and it’s very important that the approach be appropriate so that we are not re-victimizing or re-traumatizing these clients."

Constantineau said his team has even seen examples of volunteers becoming romantically involved with clients they are supposed to be helping.

"That’s clearly ethically unacceptable," he said. "It creates unrealistic expectations among the clients and it’s blurred that professional line between the two and it’s made it more difficult for people doing actual outreach work and supporting these clients. It's made their work more complicated because the clients no longer understand what the boundaries are."

The Samaritan Centre offers a number of services to the vulnerable population. Officials there agree untrained people attempting to do outreach and social work is extremely detrimental.

"Trained professionals are going to have the wherewithal, the ability to refer people to the services and supports that they need," said Lisa Long, executive director of the Samaritan Centre.

"At the core the issue is housing. We know that the solution to homelessness is housing."

Constantineau said there is a fine line between helping and enabling, as shown by the growing homeless encampment at Memorial Park.

"(It's) the largest one we have ever seen in Sudbury and not everyone would have gravitated to that encampment had this current situation not existed," he said.

"So I think we are attracting people with what we are doing there right now."

Officials said it’s great the community wants to help, but people should connect with an agency that is already doing the work on the ground and with people who are established and have the proper credentials and experience.