Friends of the Homeless National Resource Center
Dianne Fanti describes herself as good at finding and helping to fill in missing gaps. She loves to connect people with resources and support, and to help them understand how they are uniquely aimed. She has developed an educational program enabling those experiencing homelessness to develop essential life skills through the healing and expressive arts. “It’s in my nature to help and I’ve been working with the homeless for many years. At 15, I had my first encounter with the homeless and I felt this calling.”
Fast forward to 2013. Dianne and her partners created the Friends of the Homeless network, a Maryland non-profit designed to provide an organized structure and support system that both helps the homeless directly and helps organize, mobilize, and improve support for them.
Dianne’s Story
It started one day when, at 15, Dianne and some friends were taking a short cut through a field in the Baltimore, MD suburbs and stumbled upon a homeless encampment. Some of her friends were acquainted with the people there and got into a conversation with them. Dianne was surprised, she didn’t know there were any homeless people in their town. After listening to the conversation for a little while, she came to discover that, “They didn’t sound that much different than the other adults that I knew, and even had similar problems, only theirs were stacked or compounded. So while one person might be going through a divorce or have lost their job, they would have many problems occurring simultaneously. But something about their humanity touched me and I would return to see them regularly after school.”
In her blog post, Warming the Stone Child, Dianne describes her own challenges with almost experiencing homelessness as an adolescent, before receiving the support she needed and turning her life around. She recovered, began to thrive, and went on to college. She started in social work, but went on to study the holistic health sciences, and healing and expressive arts. But she never forgot the homeless, and in so many ways she still lives for them today.
Origins of the Work
After college, Dianne continued to think of the homeless and wanted to share what she had been learning. She developed an educational curriculum of essential life skills, and taught her first class at a shelter. Over several years, she refined the curriculum with the help of the participants and staff, so it became customized for them. She developed a passion for discovering how each person’s journey through the kinds of troubles that may lead to homelessness is unique. For example: “Some people cannot hold a job for more than a few months. But why? Have they taken jobs that don’t suit their nature, like an introverted hostess? Do they need to feel validated and supported to unlock their potential? How can we help them discover what they need, and become their partners in getting it?”
Friends of the Homeless National Resource Center
After years of teaching and working with the homeless directly, Dianne and the colleagues she connected with along the way formally established FOTH in 2013. The website describes FOTH as: “A nonprofit project fostering resilience and resourcefulness in marginalized women and men through the sharing of community resources and our transformational educational curriculum and programs.”
The Resource Guide and Resource Cards are now being distributed in 20 states. FOTH is a network of professionals and concerned citizens working together to provide the following services:
- Street Outreach: FOTH publishes and distributes street cards (resource cards), which volunteers can hand out directly on the street when circumstances seem appropriate. The cards can also be distributed to friends, colleagues, churches, or other care-giving organizations. The cards can be handed out along with recommended gifts of toiletries, snacks, or other articles as well as the simple gift of human contact and encouragement. For many homeless or challenged clients (hereinafter, “clients”), a street card is a starting point for recovery and receiving further help. FOTH volunteers can also connect clients with local and national resources.
- Resource Guide and Workbook: FOTH’s freely-downloadable resource guide is a “train the trainer” sort of publication that can be given to clients and their supporters. It is designed to provide awareness of helpful resources available in communities, including hotlines, meals, lodging, counseling, and career support. It also provides guidance on discovering one’s skills and strengths, reducing stress, and building or rediscovering life skills for budgeting, saving, and job search. A free companion introductory video accompanies the guide online and is used to train volunteers in multiple centers. These materials have been peer-reviewed and approved by a panel of expert clinical social workers, psychologists, and human service professionals.
- Educational Curriculum: The educational curriculum is a teacher-training program for professionals working with the homeless. It enables them to provide hands-on training with participants in shelters and centers to acquire essential life skills through “engaging classes that utilize the healing and expressive arts and holistic health sciences, through 42 techniques and over 20 additional activities.” It includes evidence-based and proven techniques for helping clients with many of their challenging problems and can help them to build a new life.
- Connection: FOTH connects supporters in communities with giving initiatives and helps them find a way to contribute that suits their individual skills, talents, or abilities.
- Advocacy: FOTH also advocates to dispel myths about homelessness and the causes of homelessness through public talks and their videos online
Moments of Greatest Challenge and Inspiration
Dianne explains that: “Street outreach is really challenging. Yesterday I was visiting some people under a highway bypass, keeping out of sight. Sometimes they manage to make themselves fairly comfortable. It can be worrisome as it starts to get cold outside and people don’t feel an incentive to change or leave the cold. Some may not be able to feel the cold due to some of the substances available on the street and so we worry about them and encourage them to get inside, even if it’s just to an ER, library, or fast food place. Of course, we’re doing our best to connect them with resources and helpful shelters and centers, but it’s ultimately up to them. While we ultimately want to help them connect with further support and opportunities, our goal in the Winter is for their survival.”
On the other hand: “Our greatest inspirations occur when we have success stories. When we connect with someone at the right time, then through the education process, their life really can rebuild. It is both humbling and rewarding to see.”
Call to Action
I’m sure that most of us have walked down city streets, seen people hopeless or homeless, and felt powerless to help. We’ve handed out a dollar now and then, but as we walk away we know that nothing really changed. But what if there is a way to make a change?
Dianne’s heartfelt dedication to the homeless, and her wonderful achievements should inspire us to act. We can all be part of the FOTH network and/or help in these or other ways.
Gain understanding with helpful articles and a video series on YouTube.
Contact FOTH and stay in touch through the mailing list.
Share the RESOURCE CARDS and, if appropriate, help a client take the next step by calling “211” or “311” to find shelters or other assistance centers and contact caseworkers.
Download the Resource Guide and share it with clients or other supporters.
Donate at this link.