Homeless | Public libraries | Public service | Library training
March 6, 2017 by Jared Oates
If
you work regularly with homeless patrons, you've likely encountered
uncomfortable situations where communication seems to fail despite your
best efforts. This article describes three common mistakes that can turn
a merely uncomfortable situation volatile: "parenting" a patron,
waiting, and worrying about gender. The advice here comes from Ryan Dowd,
a man with decades of experience serving and working with the homeless.
This article defines those three mistakes and offers guidelines to
counteract them to help you diffuse, rather than escalate, tense
situations.
Don't "parent"
"Parenting," in this context is about a
voice register that is used to communicate with someone of a lower
social status than the speaker. A "parent" voice presumes the
authoritative position of the speaker and is characterized by
judgemental statements. It is also usually accompanied by a tone of
voice that may be condescending, clipped, or artificially sweet.
