SaraWorks provided Sara on a pro bono basis to St Vincent de Paul’s homeless shelter in North Idaho in 2018.
Within four months, the average shelter stay was cut in half.
Perhaps in an even more powerful statistic, the system has been so persistent that everyone in the emergency shelter this year has found work, Conroy, the shelter’s director, says.
“For the first time in the 10 years I’ve been here, everyone in the emergency shelter has a job,” Conroy says. “It’s that accountability piece, that constant: ‘Have you got a job yet, have you got a job yet, have you got a job yet?'”
One of the most promising services Sara will offer the shelter, in the long run, is the chance to collect long-form data, Conroy says. She’ll be following up with clients a month after they leave the shelter, then again at the six-month and one-year marks to see where things stand.
“I think the piece we’re missing, and it’s for all social work, is what are they like after you leave?” Conroy says. “I need to see those numbers. It’s great we’re able to house somebody and get them food and a job. But did it stick?”
