Homelessness 101 – 2 Day Training – FULL

This is a 2 Day training – April 30 & May 1

Our Homelessness 101 model is a series of trainings covering basic content relevant and necessary for all people working in housing and homeless services. This time we will be offering six sessions over the course of two days. Below is a brief description of the covered topics.  Trainings will be presented by:

Steve Carlson: Steve Carlson, Psy. D. is a Clinical Trainer with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Mental and Chemical Health, a Community Faculty member with Metropolitan State University, and provides consultation and training for organizations in a variety of models including the Sanctuary Model for Trauma Informed Organizations.  Topics for training include: Motivational Interviewing and Stage-Wise Treatment, Harm Reduction, Mindfulness and Mental Health, and the History and Psychology of Long-Term Homelessness.  As a Certified Trainer in Illness Management and Recovery (IMR), Steve provides training and consultation to various agencies around the state of Minnesota as well as nationally.  He can be reached at carlson561@gmail.com

Warren Duncan:  Warren  is the Programs Director at Hearth Connection. Hearth Connection is a Minnesota non-profit that functions as an Intermediary, bringing in funds around support services and rental assistance for large geographic regions across Minnesota. Hearth Connection manages the network of providers and funding resources, reports outcomes to the Federal, State, and County entities, as well as other funding entities, analyzes the outcomes and looks for ways to improve programming for those participating in it. Warren has been with Hearth Connection in various roles, including as a Case Manager on one of the mobile teams working with single adults in the metro area, as a Regional Manager in Southern and Central Minnesota, and now as Programs Director. Prior to working at Hearth Connection, Warren worked with youth in an emergency shelter, a meal program for those living on the streets, adult foster care programs and case management.

Courtney Knoll: Courtney has been working in the homelessness and supportive housing field for the last 10 years, including the past 4 at MESH. She has a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Minnesota and is passionate about ending homelessness and creating policy and programs that work for people who need them most. She “curates” the MESH Facebook page (that you should follow) at www.facebook.com/mesh-mn and can be reached via email at courtney@mesh-mn.org

Geoff Meyer: Geoff has worked in the Human Services Field for the past 17 years. Along with providing trainings across the Midwest He is the Director of Housing and Services for House of Charity. Combining his BA in Film and Theatre with his MA in Counseling Psychology Geoff has developed a passion for engaging staff and clients to be able to fully experience trainings and therapy. Geoff puts a focus on person-centered, trauma informed, motivational interviewing and harm reduction with a dash of all the other treatment clichés that happen to be handy. Geoff encourages everyone to step back and not take themselves or each other too seriously. “We’re all just trying to meet our needs in the healthiest way we know and each of us has a responsibility to teach and learn from each other.

John Petroskas: John is a policy specialist at the Minnesota Department of Human Services.  Before joining DHS, John worked in programs that served homeless families and adults.  At Catholic Charities, he helped start the Housing First program, which provides supportive housing for adults who have experienced long-term homelessness.  He also worked for the Wilder Foundation, Metrowide Engagement on Shelter and Housing (MESH), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Day 1: Tuesday, April 30, 8:45-3:15

• Trauma informed Care has become a bit of a cliché and many funders are requiring a “Trauma Informed Approach” but what is it really? This workshop takes a look at Trauma Informed Care from the perspective of someone who has experienced a traumatic event and then dives deeper into the psychology of trauma and recovery.
• Client Engagement will cover basic tools and strategies for engagement, including motivational interviewing and the stages of change as this can be one of the most difficult tasks when working with people experiencing homelessness, especially when increasingly program services are voluntary
• Maintaining professionalism and healthy personal boundaries are critical if you want to do good work, avoid burnout, and really help empower your clients to achieve their goals. Boundaries & Ethics will address some of the most common ethical challenges you might face when working with people who experience homelessness, and will use real-life scenarios to challenge your thinking about this topic.

Check in starts at 8:15.

Day 2: Wednesday, May1, 8:45-3:30

• History of Homelessness will examine the socio-economic and political factors that cause homelessness, as well as attitudes and responses toward people experiencing homelessness through several major periods of history.
• Housing First/Harm Reduction is a best practice approach to quickly and successfully connect individuals and families experiencing homelessness to permanent housing without preconditions and barriers to entry, such as sobriety, treatment or service participation requirements. Housing First is also a philosophy that shapes the crisis response system and Coordinated Entry and is important knowledge for everyone, not just those working in Housing First programs.
• Ending Homelessness can seem like a daunting task. Is it even possible? This section of Homelessness 101 will explore the strategies and programs that Minnesota is using to prevent and end homelessness such as continuum of care, coordinated entry, and a slew of acronyms, and will seek to clarify and simplify some of the complexities of these different strategies. We will explore the multi-faceted approaches needed to reach “functional zero” to help participants better understand their personal and professional role in this work!

Check in starts at 8:30

Location – BOTH days
Center for Changing Lives – 2400 Park Ave, Minneapolis

Light breakfast, snacks and lunch are provided both days.

If you have any questions about the itinerary, lodging or membership status, please contact Michele Steinke at events@mesh-mn.org

How to register:

Registration below is broken into Member & Non-Member.  If you are unsure whether you are part of a member organization or would like more information about membership, please contact Michele.  You will enter all of your information then continue to payment.  If you choose to pay by credit card, you will be walked through payment process and receive an automated email confirming your payment and registration.  If you choose to pay by check, you will receive an invoice from MESH.  Payment is expected prior to training date.  Please contact Michele if scholarship help is needed. Michele can be reached at events@mesh-mn.org