ZINE: Collaboration in a Time of Scarcity
This zine describes the challenges that service providers with insufficient resources face in working together to meet client needs
In Peterborough, calls for local social service agencies to collaborate with one another are frequent. Sometimes, the challenges our community faces supporting people experiencing homelessness are blamed on a lack of coordination and collaboration among agencies.
However, during the Research for Social Change Lab’s review of the local homeless-serving sector, we encountered plenty of willingness to work together. “That’s the first thing that I realized,” said Kendra, who works in the social service sector locally. “People working within the system want to collaborate.”
But we also heard about significant barriers to effective collaboration. The main one was a lack of resources. Workers said their agencies are drastically under-resourced and made to operate well above their capacity in order to meet the increasingly complex needs of clients. In that context, it can be hard to collaborate effectively. The resources (like staff and funding) and structures (like good communication and decision-making) needed to facilitate effective collaboration do not exist, study participants told us.
Participants further described a social service system that is “overflowing” with clients whose needs go unmet. In this context, clients drift between agencies and shelters that are not equipped to provide the support they need.
Printed copies of Collaboration in a Time of Scarcity. We have lots of these. Get in touch if you want a copy!
Meanwhile, people experiencing homelessness described their frustrations with a system lacking coordination. These frustrations included having to re-tell their stories to various agencies and having to adapt to the shifting expectations of different service workers.
All these dynamics are explored in the RSCL’s latest zine, Collaboration in a Time of Scarcity. The zine was written by our post-doctoral researcher Mary Anne Martin, with support from the Building From Experience team. You can read it by clicking the link below. Or, if you prefer a print copy, get in touch!