I am interested in knowing where others do outreach and how you decide where to go. What are the various sites or locations you visit? What are the considerations that determine where you go? It would be especially helpful to hear how this differs in rural, suburban, and urban areas.

Hi Ken,
i went to the Basic Needs Commission meeting in Columbia MO yesterday. We are gearing up for the July 29th summer, unsheltered homeless count. People from the PATH program and some of the other homeless service agencies started talking about where to outreach for the count. We started out talking about local city parks, the MKT trail state park. Other areas in Boone County included the Mall, wooded areas behind Home Depot and Walmart, the downtown business area, both the city bus station and the greyhound station and the library and the local book stores. Barnes and Nobles has 2 individuals they have been helping for over 2 years. they spend time in the store every day. Columbia will be holding their first project homeless connect August 7th!!

Hi Ken, I am a peer support specialist for PATH-RIin Winston-Salem N.C.I began this remarkable journey late August 2009, I go to places such as shelters, libraries, bus stations, soup kitchens. I work with a team of 4 others ,just recently we did mobile outreach at night we did a circle around the city where people are likely to hang out or set up camp, such as under bridges, behind shopping centers, railroad tracks ,parks ect.. You can also contact the police dept to get tips on where there has been reports of such activity of homelessness. Hope this helps.

Thanks to everyone who has posted. If anyone else has information to share on outreach and how it differs by rural, suburban and urban areas, it would be greatly appreciated.

In our area I have found that early in the mornings, people will panhandle around places like McDonalds or other fast food places or any coffee shop to get a cup of coffee and/or a biscuit. Then, also mornings and later in the day, any major intersection might have someone flying a sign asking for money. Most of our homeless camps are near these type of intersections, especially if there is a beer store nearby. Any convienience store can be a hangout to sit on the side or back drinking a beer. I leave business cards with store owners with a request to call me if they see a homeless person. There are a few parks, but the police usually keep them moving. We have several abandoned houses that people sleep in. We try not to go to the shelter because PATH is supposed to go out to people that are not at the shelter, thats where we take them to link them with immediate,temporary housing, then we go to the shelter to interact with our clients to link them with other services. The rr tracks are good also, especially near a store for their favorite beverages. They may be homeless, but they don't like to walk far for a drink. We don't have too many living near malls due to security, but they will panhandle there once in a while.