Can I contact a social worker to deliver a gift?
December 9, 2014 11:25 AM Subscribe
A homeless man in my neighborhood mentioned his social worker's name to me; can I ask her to deliver a care package to the homeless man?
The neighborhood I've lived in for the past 13 years is frequented by homeless men and women who sleep there and use the services of the churches in the area. One man in particular is very nice and has grown quite fond of my dog and we always have friendly conversations when we're out on a walk. We've know each other for about 4 years now, but sometimes I see him frequently and sometimes I go for months without seeing him. I just ran into him over the weekend and he mentioned that his social worker found him a place to live and he mentioned the name of his social worker. I'm going to be moving out of the neighborhood in 2 weeks and I'd like to get him a Christmas/moving-away gift (nutritious snacks, a bag of oranges, etc.). I was able to Google the name of his social worker and the organization she works for. Would it be okay to contact her and ask her to pass along a gift from me? I'm not familiar with social work and I don't know if this is totally inappropriate or not. I'm also worried she might be a little freaked out that her client is dropping her name to random people and then those random people are Googling her and tracking her down. Any ideas? If I saw my homeless friend before I move I could give it to him directly, but there's no guarantee I'll see him by then.
The neighborhood I've lived in for the past 13 years is frequented by homeless men and women who sleep there and use the services of the churches in the area. One man in particular is very nice and has grown quite fond of my dog and we always have friendly conversations when we're out on a walk. We've know each other for about 4 years now, but sometimes I see him frequently and sometimes I go for months without seeing him. I just ran into him over the weekend and he mentioned that his social worker found him a place to live and he mentioned the name of his social worker. I'm going to be moving out of the neighborhood in 2 weeks and I'd like to get him a Christmas/moving-away gift (nutritious snacks, a bag of oranges, etc.). I was able to Google the name of his social worker and the organization she works for. Would it be okay to contact her and ask her to pass along a gift from me? I'm not familiar with social work and I don't know if this is totally inappropriate or not. I'm also worried she might be a little freaked out that her client is dropping her name to random people and then those random people are Googling her and tracking her down. Any ideas? If I saw my homeless friend before I move I could give it to him directly, but there's no guarantee I'll see him by then.
Best answer: I used to work in a similar capacity with people experiencing homelessness and it is absolutely fine to get in touch with her - community members would get in touch with me from time to time, and I was always pleased to hear that they wanted to help.
I think it's a great idea to pass a gift along to him. Many agencies provide people who are moving from homelessness to housing with a gift basket to welcome them to their new home, so it might be nice to ask if there is anything they think would help him adjust to his new home that you could gift him (anonymously or directly.) We often were very happy to have help providing inexpensive cleaning supplies, dish towels, packaged snacks, a wall calendars etc. but I'm sure it varies from agency to agency. Thanks for wanting to help!
posted by cimton at 11:40 AM on December 9, 2014 [9 favorites]
I think it's a great idea to pass a gift along to him. Many agencies provide people who are moving from homelessness to housing with a gift basket to welcome them to their new home, so it might be nice to ask if there is anything they think would help him adjust to his new home that you could gift him (anonymously or directly.) We often were very happy to have help providing inexpensive cleaning supplies, dish towels, packaged snacks, a wall calendars etc. but I'm sure it varies from agency to agency. Thanks for wanting to help!
posted by cimton at 11:40 AM on December 9, 2014 [9 favorites]
Best answer: I would have been delighted to do this when working in social work, but there are good and crap workers everywhere!
posted by tanktop at 11:46 AM on December 9, 2014
posted by tanktop at 11:46 AM on December 9, 2014
Best answer: You have nothing to lose by trying, and the homeless has food to gain if you succeed. Seems like an easy decision.
posted by Librarypt at 12:43 PM on December 9, 2014
posted by Librarypt at 12:43 PM on December 9, 2014
Best answer: I have been that social worker, go ahead and call her. You'll also want to coordinate in case she is making use of any of the many charities that exist for the homeless around the holidays.
Also, trust me, we are totally used to the homeless dropping our names all over the place. That part is not a problem.
posted by corb at 1:33 PM on December 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also, trust me, we are totally used to the homeless dropping our names all over the place. That part is not a problem.
posted by corb at 1:33 PM on December 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I do similar work and I would be happy to do that, but keep in mind that if your friend is recieving health or mental-health services through that agency, the social worker may not legally be able to confirm that he's a client. Your best bet would be to call and, without mentioning his name and thus triggering confidentiality regulations, ask if you can leave a holiday/homewarming gift for a person who told you he was a client there, and see where the conversation goes from there. If it were me, I'd also leave the gift unwrapped so that the social worker can vet it before passing it along.
posted by jaguar at 1:54 PM on December 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by jaguar at 1:54 PM on December 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the help! I've left a message on her voicemail.
posted by shornco at 3:11 PM on December 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by shornco at 3:11 PM on December 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
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posted by Pineapplicious at 11:29 AM on December 9, 2014 [6 favorites]