Okay; I think we've tried it all, but please give me honest feedback.
We have a website and a Facebook page, and a leaflet that lots of local outlets; churches, libraries, cafes, town and district council offices, GP surgery, cottage hospital etc. have on display. The leaflet gives information about what we can do and what we don't do (more about that in a minute).
Our work is held up as an exemplar and is actively endorsed by the local police (who wrote a very positive article about us in their in-house magazine), our GP surgery (from where we get many of our referrals) and the District and Town Councils. The local newspapers frequently write articles about our work and past clients have been interviewed on radio, TV and in online media.
I have spoken to the Lions, the WI, local churches and held 'events' where people can come along and meet with the caseworkers and some of our clients. We have used newspaper and radio interviews to ask for volunteers - including taking out paid ads.
Ironically we've never really had to spend time fundraising because inevitably whenever we ask for volunteers people tend to send us money instead.
In addition to self-referrals, our clients come to us from GPs, the District council, other charities, social services, the police, our website - and most often via word of mouth. We are easily contactable and usually one of us is available by phone at any given time.
'Drink, drugs and aggression' I would say are rarely the hallmarks of our clients, but before starting a role with us everyone has thorough training in how to deal with this. In six years I've never had a situation worse than having voices raised at me - I'm 68 and 5'2" and the majority of my clients are so grateful to have help they just want to keep me well to carry on doing what I do!
Some of our clients are street homeless, but many are not. Of those that are I would say that about half of them are in work. Street homeless can mean a person is living in a tent, in a car, on a bench or in a doorway. The referral is made and we meet the client (in safe pairs of two) in a community cafe, where the staff are also 'on board'. We provide free hot meals and unlimited drinks as long as the client is engaging appropriately with us.
In addition to rough sleepers we deal with people who are fleeing domestic abuse, both males and females, with people being evicted (many at the moment are 'no fault' evictions), with people who have been denied PIP or ESA, and with people whose medical problems are exacerbated by housing issues. (That's a brief snapshot and far from exhaustive.)
Our job is basically to negotiate the best possible outcome for our client, based on a realistic understanding of their needs and what they say they want. So a lot of our time is spent in negotiation with statutory agencies, filling out forms, really listening to people and doing a lot of pragmatic tasks.
This week: I've ordered some clothes online for a gentleman who's been admitted to a care home, provided a phone to a man living in his van who needs it for his shifts to be texted to him, attended an adult safeguarding meeting, arranged a podiatry appointment (feet really do suffer if you're homeless), taken a call from a worried GP who needed advice about a patient, written an article for an upcoming Information Meeting, bought and delivered several bags of food to a field outside town (the FoodBank don't do that), sent off for a birth certificate for a client who has no ID, negotiated immediate accommodation for a man with an urgent medical need (and our brilliant Housing Team work so well with us that my request was very quickly acted upon), had several phone calls with the local PCSOs, booked the venue for our monthly Inter-Agency meeting, and that's not half of it. So you see why we need more volunteers.
My clients are mostly lovely people (actually they look a lot like you), and for the most part it's a privilege to work with and for them. I absolutely love what I do and I know that we make a huge difference in people's lives (some of them are actually alive now who wouldn't be if they hadn't had help. Not everyone engages with us appropriately and those that don't are shown the door and told they can come back when they're ready to receive the help we offer.