How often do homeless service professionals in the U.S. get the opportunity to travel to a foreign country to learn about best practices?
Until recently, the answer to that question was “almost never.” Now, thanks to a partnership between the Alliance, Homeless Link, and the Oak Foundation, five motivated mid-level homeless assistance professionals will get the chance to learn about a practice area in the United Kingdom.
Participants will spend up to two weeks with a homeless assistance organization in the UK, learning about their area of interest, and then share what they learned through social media, conference presentations, and by submitting their learnings to a written report. They’ll also work to put what they’ve learned into practice in their own organization and community.
In a few weeks we’ll release an application, but if this sounds like something you’re interested in, there are steps you can take now to get prepared:
- Think about areas of practice you want to study. We will suggest some ideas in the application, but you can also propose your own. Explore organizations and practices in the UK that will help your professional development and improve practice here in the US. I recommend starting with Homeless Link’s website.
- Check out the 2014 Exchange report. Not only will it help you learn about homelessness in the UK, but this will help you avoid proposing to study the same topic area as a previous participant.
- Get support from your supervisor and organizational leadership. Participants will need a letter of reference from their supervisor supporting their participation in the exchange. Talk to your supervisor about what you want to study and how you will implement what you’ve learned in your organization.
Stay tuned for more information and an application! In the meantime, you can email me at ablasco@naeh.org with questions.