2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations
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- 2023 Commercereports 2023 Hsd Hsp Workforce Trauma Final 0Ccc9740 298E 447E
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- 2023 Commercereports 2023 Hsd Hsp Workforce Trauma Final 0Ccc9740 298E 447E
Summary
A report to the Washington State Legislature from the Washington State Department of Commerce, transmitted by letter dated June 1, 2023, titled Supporting Homeless Service Provider Workers Experiencing Workplace Trauma in Washington State: Study & Recommendations. It was prepared by BDS Planning & Urban Design and D-Fine Concepts, LLC under ESSB 5092, the 2021-23 operating budget. The report describes a survey of homeless service provider workers that received 1,501 responses and four focus groups, and it states that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated workplace trauma. The transmittal letter says the study identifies nine recommendations, and the executive summary points to staffing structures and pay, professional development, mental health support, training and supervision, and systemic failures. The report closes with Appendix C, a list of participating organizations.
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“2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations.”
Original at app.leg.wa.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2023-commercereports-2023-hsd-hsp-workforce-trauma-final-0ccc9740-298e-447e/
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STATE OF WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
1011 Plum Street SE PO Box 42525 Olympia, Washington 98504-2525 360-725-4000
www.commerce.wa.gov
June 1, 2023
Ms. Sarah Bannister, Secretary of the Senate
312 Legislative Bldg.
PO Box 40482
Olympia, WA 98504-0482
Mr. Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives
338B Legislative Bldg.
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
Re: ESSB 5092 Section 126(67) (2021) Report on recommendations for supporting homeless service
provider workers
Dear Ms. Bannister and Mr. Dean,
Please find attached the report “Supporting homeless service provider workers experiencing workplace
trauma in Washington state: Study and recommendations.” This report was created for the Washington
State Department of Commerce by BDS Planning & Urban Design and D-Fine Concepts, LLC.
This report satisfies the legislative requirement in Chapter 223, Laws of 221, which required the
Washington State Department of Commerce to “Identify and develop effective interventions and
responses to primary and secondary workplace trauma experienced by direct service staff who work in
homeless shelters, homeless outreach, and permanent supportive housing.”
The study identifies nine recommendations to address the trauma homeless service workers experience
when performing workplace duties. The recommendations include a range of ideas that will take the
support of state and local leadership to ensure that workers delivering assistance to our most vulnerable
citizens can perform their job in an environment that supports their wellbeing.
The Department of Commerce Housing Division will carefully review the recommendations and identify
what role we can play in moving their ideas forward. This feedback is important to Commerce and we
appreciate the time invested in developing the recommendations.
Sincerely,
Kathy Kinard
Managing Director of Homelessness Assistance Unit
Washington State Department of Commerce
SUPPORTING HOMELESS SERVICE
PROVIDER WORKERS EXPERIENCING
WORKPLACE TRAUMA IN WASHINGTON
STATE: STUDY & RECOMMENDATIONS
Prepared for
The Washington State Department of Commerce
by
BDS PLANNING & URBAN DESIGN
D-FINE CONCEPTS, LLC
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 1
Acknowledgements
Advisory Committee
● Jason Cockburn, Second Chance Foundation
● Jhovona Duggins, Social and Human Services Advocate
● Jody Rauch, Coalition on Homelessness
● Lindsey Grad, SEIU 1199NW
● Lucia Ersfeld, South Snohomish County Emergency Cold Weather Shelter
● Lynn Marquez, Catholic Community Services
● Michael Eng, Low Income Housing Institute
● Sarah Baxter, Catholic Charities
● Stephanie Pacheco, DSHS
● Susan Tyler-Babkirk, Transitions
● Victor Loo, Behavioral Health Professional
Study Team
BDS Planning & Urban Design
● Andrés Mantilla
● David Garcia
● Dori Krupanics
● Ishmael Nuñez
● Melodie Garcia
● My-Le Tang
● Natalia Koss Vallejo
● Noel Frame
● Skylar Benson
D-Fine Concepts, LLC
● Jackie St. Louis
Washington Low Income Housing Alliance
● Rachael Myers
● Michele Thomas
● John Stovall
Pyramid Communications (Production Partner)
● Denise Rhiner
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 4
Legislative Mandate 5
Introduction and Context 5
Study Design 7
Key Findings 9
Areas for Further Study 17
Appendix A: Survey Detail 23
Appendix B: Focus Group Detail 29
Appendix C: Study Participants 34
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 3
Executive Summary
Homeless service provider (HSP) organizations, including those offering homeless shelters,
homeless outreach, and permanent supportive housing, contract with local governments and
Washington state to provide services.
Frontline workers at HSP organizations (HSP workers), who assist highly vulnerable populations
in homeless outreach, shelter, and permanent supportive housing programs, acutely experience
workplace trauma. The Washington State Legislature is interested in understanding the ongoing
challenges HSP workers face and identifying interventions that will support their wellbeing and
help to stabilize this critical workforce.
The Washington State Department of Commerce (Commerce) contracted with BDS Planning &
Urban Design and D-Fine Strategies, LLC, as well as the Washington Low Income Housing
Alliance, to lead a workplace trauma study and develop recommendations. Commerce
contracted with Pyramid Communication for production support (Study Team). The Study Team
recruited an advisory committee of frontline workers and other stakeholders to help steward the
engagement with homeless service providers, collect data, and review and shape
recommendations. With their assistance, the Study Team conducted surveys and focus groups
to understand the impact of trauma on the HSP workforce and learn their ideas for creating
healthier workplace environments.
HSP workers shared that feelings of isolation, overwhelming workloads, impacts of systemic
failures, racism, and discrimination have contributed to poor client outcomes and their own
experiences of secondary trauma. In addition, HSP workers reported a lack of housing and
financial resources to support their clients while also feeling underpaid and without adequate
benefits to address their own economic needs and mental health. Workers reported a lack of
stable funding for organizations across the sector, which can add to workplace stress about
inadequate resources for clients as well as their own job security. The COVID-19 pandemic
exacerbated this trauma. HSP workers experienced intensified stress to meet increased
demand for services, often within organizations without adequate funding and resources and in
an environment where they faced a high risk of infection.
Based on the findings of this study, we recommend that homeless service agency leadership,
Commerce, and the Washington State Legislature work together to revisit staffing structures
and pay, develop more professional development opportunities, offer specialized mental health
support, improve training and supervision, and address systemic failures.
The HSP workforce is deeply caring and committed despite the many challenges they face on
the frontline. Given that too large a proportion of this sector’s workers are only one paycheck
away from needing housing services themselves, it is time to prioritize the people who stand
witness to suffering every day and work in service to care for the most vulnerable people in our
communities.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 4
Legislative Mandate
The underlying legislation that called for the writing of this report is Section 129 (67) of Chapter
223, Laws of 2021 (ESSB 5092, the 2021-23 operating budget), which required the Washington
State Department of Commerce to:
Identify and develop effective interventions and responses to primary and secondary
workplace trauma experienced by direct service staff who work in homeless shelters,
homeless outreach, and permanent supportive housing. The department must collect
data through methods such as surveys, interviews, and small group conversations, and
engage interested parties, including but not limited to direct service staff. The
department may contract with a third party to complete the work required in this
subsection. By June 1, 2023, the department shall submit a report identifying
interventions and providing recommendations to the appropriate committees of the
legislature.
Introduction and Context
Homeless service provider (HSP) organizations, including those offering homeless shelters,
homeless outreach, and permanent supportive housing, contract with local governments and
Washington state to provide services. Frontline workers at HSP organizations (HSP workers),
who assist highly vulnerable populations in homeless outreach, shelter, and permanent
supportive housing programs, acutely experience workplace trauma. The Washington State
Legislature is interested in understanding the ongoing challenges HSP workers face and
identifying interventions that will support their wellbeing and help to stabilize this critical
workforce.
The researchers of this study aimed to uncover the common sources and aggravating factors
that contribute to trauma, burnout, and turnover in HSP workplaces, and to identify potential
recommendations for improving workplace conditions and relieving trauma experienced by HSP
workers. Commerce is seeking to further understand the state’s HSP workforce and learn of
interventions and recommendations that will support the ability of HSP workers to manage and
address workplace stress and trauma.
HSP workers report working conditions that can be overwhelming, traumatic, and lack adequate
support for day-to-day strains on mental and emotional health that result from serving a
population in crisis. HSP workers with the lived experience of homelessness are uniquely
qualified for this work and are particularly vulnerable to workplace trauma. Furthermore, burnout
and high rates of turnover among the HSP workforce is common.
Surveys and focus groups explored the experiences of the people providing services to those
experiencing homelessness and gained insight as to which encounters, in addition to direct
client contact, are stressful, emotionally draining, and create a traumatizing environment.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 5
The lived experience of frontline HSP workers shaped the research and associated
recommendations of this study. These workers are experts in their own working conditions; this
study was community-led and community-informed. Because these workers do not necessarily
have policy, legislative and/or rule making experience, their recommendations are meant to
inform further discourse among policy experts, policy makers, state agencies and other
stakeholders who could support their development and eventual implementation.
Defining Trauma
In the context of this study, trauma at its broadest level is defined as the psychosocial and
emotional internalizations of stressful and adverse experiences of HSP workers while
performing their job-related duties.
More specifically, secondary trauma is the accruing effect of being exposed to someone else’s
trauma. In the field of human service delivery, HSP workers engage daily with people who are
typically in varied states of crisis and have previously or are currently experiencing trauma. HSP
workers also reported experiencing vicarious trauma, which is a form of secondary trauma. The
American Counseling Association defines vicarious trauma as the emotional “residue” of
hearing clients’ traumatic stories and becoming witness to the pain, fear, suffering and terror
that trauma survivors have endured or are enduring.
The HSP Workforce
HSP workers are defined as frontline workers who assist highly vulnerable populations in
homeless outreach, shelter, and permanent supportive housing programs. The study confirmed
that HSP workers are deeply committed to their profession, regularly go above and beyond their
duties and have a deep understanding of those they serve.
Accurate statewide data on employee wages in this sector is not available at the time of this
report’s publication. Some of survey respondents self-reported as low income based on their
own need for the same public services they deliver to clients.
The study showed that the HSP workforce includes many people with the lived experience of
homelessness or past behavioral health challenges. This allows workers to uniquely understand
the needs, barriers, and challenges of their clientele, which is a benefit for agencies and
organizations, as well as program and service participants. Workers with these past
experiences are also more vulnerable to secondary trauma and to having past primary traumas
retriggered. As such, considering these overlapping realities, it is especially important that HSP
workers have support to process and heal from these experiences.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 6
This Moment in Time
Working in the homeless service sector is, by nature, challenging and has historically been
underfunded and understaffed. The timeframe of this study added a new twist: the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic (often referred to as simply “COVID-19” or “COVID” throughout this study).
At the onset of the pandemic, the social service landscape changed, requiring a heavier lift from
HSP organizations as many shelters, state benefits offices and other necessary services shut
down or dramatically reduced capacity. Many providers mobilized staff and resources in
attempts to mitigate risks to the homeless population through strategies that included adding
shelter beds and distributing personal protective equipment to people experiencing
homelessness. The urgency and magnitude of the crisis and the risk to HSP workers in caring
for this vulnerable population exponentially increased the stress and traumatic conditions
inherent in the job.
Study Design
This study is community-led and community-informed. Throughout the process, a representative
advisory committee was actively engaged to inform the study’s process, marketing strategy,
questions, and recommendations. HSP workers also helped shape and craft the
recommendations. All content is meant to represent the voices and interests of the HSP worker
community.
The Advisory Committee
The Homeless Service Provider Trauma Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee) was
established in March 2022 with 11 members representing agencies, nonprofit organizations,
and municipalities across Washington state with varying levels of lived experience and
professional experience and a mix of frontline HSP workers and managers. Members of the
Advisory Committee were recruited through outreach conducted by the Study Team across the
state and from local homeless service organizations and coalitions. Recruitment was also done
online via LinkedIn and through social media. The Study Team was careful to consider
representatives from rural and urban counties and communities as well as from different sized
organizations.
The Advisory Committee was engaged 11 times over the course of the project (three initial
meetings in March 2022, and monthly thereafter through December 2022, except for the month
of August). Its role was to inform the study’s process, research questionnaires and
recommendations.
Members of the Advisory Committee were compensated $150 per meeting. This aligns with
Chapter 245, Laws of 2022, which creates stipends to compensate members of a community
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 7
with lived experience for their time and expertise. Advisory Committee members represented a
diverse set of backgrounds within the field, with members who had experience as frontline
workers, coalition members, policy advocates, and state agency workers.
Research Tools
The study consisted of two core research tools:
1. An online survey of HSP workers across Washington state.1
The survey received 1,501 responses. See Appendix A for a detail of the full survey.
● 80% of survey participants provide direct services to people experiencing homelessness
● 76% identified as White (approximately representative)
● 11% identified as African American or Black (overrepresented)
● 5% identified as American Indian or Alaska Native (overrepresented)
● 70% identified as women (overrepresented)
● 25% identified as LGBTQ2S+ (overrepresented)
● 47% represent Pierce, King, and Snohomish counties (Puget Sound region). The
remainder were from the following areas of Washington state:
o 14% from Northeast region: Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane
counties
o 12% Southwest region: Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Clark, Skamania, Thurston, Lewis
counties
o 8% Peninsula/Coastal region: Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason, Grays Harbor,
Pacific counties
o 6% North Central region: Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Grant counties
o 4.9% South Central region: Kittitas, Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, Walla
Walla counties
o 1.3% from Southeast region: Garfield, Asotin, Columbia, Whitman, Adams
counties
2. Four focus groups
To supplement the survey results and to hear more nuanced opinions of the impact of
workplace stress and trauma, the Study Team convened four focus groups over Zoom. This
approach elicited more specific feedback from workers who might experience disparate impacts
and therefore require more targeted solutions. See Appendix B for focus group detail.
The Study Team conducted a focus group with HSP administrators to better understand how
organizations were equipped to address some of the emerging challenges and what other
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 8
factors should be considered. Each focus group was asked about their experience with trauma
and stress in the workplace.
Focus groups ranged in size from eight to 20 participants. Groups met once, virtually.
Participants were recruited through multiple avenues including working with our Advisory
Committee members as trusted advocates, and through partner organizations. Focus group
participants were compensated $150 for their participation.
The four focus groups included:
• HSP workers (those working directly with clients)
• BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) and LGBTQ2S+ (Lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning, Two Spirit, intersex, asexual, and
more) HSP workers
• HSP workers with lived experience of homelessness
• HSP administrators (not frontline workers)
Recommendations Development
Recommendations emerged from two core sources and were then synthesized and further
refined.
● The focus groups where participants shared their experiences and contributed
recommended solutions to the challenges they identified as part of their job.
● The Advisory Committee, which reviewed emerging themes from the research, survey
results and focus groups. Using these data sources, the Advisory Committee refined
recommendations and identified areas for further study.
Key Findings
The survey and focus group results reinforced one another, with focus groups often revealing
additional details and nuances about the survey results. The core themes and findings from
each are summarized together below. Each of these would benefit from further research to
expand these findings. See Appendices A and B for survey and focus group details,
respectively.
HSP workers feel overwhelmed — by the amount of work, the incredible barriers to
helping their clients, and an unending amount of need.
● About half of all HSP workers surveyed responded that they frequently or very frequently
feel overwhelmed in their position and its demands.
● In focus groups, HSP workers shared the overwhelming challenges of their jobs more
specifically: a lack of sector funding, a lack of housing, the emotional challenge of
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 9
“fighting the same battle every day,” an overwhelming case load, difficulty getting staff,
and a lack of support, professional development, and pay.
Survey Q16: How often do you experience the following in the regular course of your work?
VERY FREQUENTLY OCCASIONALLY RARELY/ UNSURE TOTAL
FREQUENTLY NEVER
Vicarious trauma as a 10.17% 20.75% 37.69% 29.29% 2.10% 1,475
result of your work with
clients 150 306 556 432 31
Feelings of 11.92% 23.37% 40.04% 23.85% 0.81% 1,476
hopelessness related
to client outcomes 176 345 591 352 12
Feeling overwhelmed 19.78% 26.87% 34.01% 18.43% 0.81% 1,481
in your position and its
demands 293 398 505 273 12
Worry over financial 25.39% 25.39% 26.74% 21.20% 1.28% 1,481
security and/or
compensation 376 376 396 314 19
Difficulty separating 9.47% 17.79% 33.83% 37.35% 1.56% 1.478
work and personal life
140 263 500 552 23
Frequent concerns 43.18% 29.49% 18.22% 7.89% 1.21% 1,482
about the lack of
recourses and 640 437 270 117 18
services to support
clients
System barriers make doing their job and helping program and service participants an
uphill battle for HSP workers.
● HSP workers consistently named several critical challenges in focus groups:
○ Client difficulty in finding landlords who will take housing vouchers.
○ Landlord racism, discrimination, and bias against people experiencing
homelessness.
○ The incredible amount of paperwork required to get housing and services.
○ Difficulty in accessing mental health services when they’re needed most. The
average timeline to schedule an initial intake appointment is 60 days.
○ Lack of staffing capacity for outreach to help program and service participants
stay housed.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 10
“[A landlord company] said they will not renew leases for any of the people who have been
using rental assistance for the last two years. I’m worried that an enormous amount of people
will be unhoused when this happens. People are stressed, angry and afraid right now. I don’t
know where any of these people will go, or what to do. [It’s a state of] hopelessness.”
– Focus Group Participant
The lack of funding for the sector is a critical factor in the stress felt by HSP workers.
● A large majority (73%) of HSP workers surveyed indicate they frequently or very
frequently have concerns about the lack of resources and services to support their
clients.
● In focus groups, HSP workers’ biggest concerns about the sector more broadly revolved
around funding: a lack of funding to keep people on staff, which impacts caseloads; the
lack of funding for housing and services needed by their clients; and funding instability
created by “difficult and unpredictable” grants.
Relative to the often-long hours and emotionally draining work, most HSP workers don’t
feel adequately compensated.
● A majority of HSP workers surveyed do not feel adequately compensated for their work,
and frequently or very frequently worry over financial security and/or compensation.
● Their number one recommendation for how organizations can do better as it relates to
recruiting and retaining staff is to increase compensation.
● Several HSP workers in focus groups described needing second jobs or experiencing
housing instability because of low wages. Others described struggling to pay for gas and
car maintenance, which is necessary for their roles doing outreach across spread out
and rural communities.
“I work to help. I have learned that [the] social service field is not a comfortable position that
will create wealth, and sometimes not even stability for us workers. We are a half a paycheck
from being the servant to being the individual that needs help.” – Survey Participant
“I finally secured a raise for myself but was then hit with a rent increase on my home that
same month. I’m feeling the same pressure as my clients, and that’s a drain on my emotional
capacity.” – Focus Group Participant
A majority of HSP workers surveyed indicate that client outcomes and interaction
negatively affect their mood and mental state a moderate amount or more.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 11
● Approximately 25% of HSP workers surveyed said they are negatively affected by these
outcomes and interactions “a lot” or “a great deal.”
● HSP workers shared in focus groups that they experience a range of emotions — stress,
anger, fear — because of client interactions and witnessing difficult outcomes.
“People are very escalated now because of COVID. The job can be nerve-wracking. [I’m]
sensing heightened emotions and anger from clients.” – Focus Group Participant
HSP workers report experiencing secondary trauma over the course of their jobs and
may not get the support they need to process it.
● Around 33% of HSP workers surveyed responded that they frequently or very frequently
experience secondary trauma because of their work with program and service
participants and experience feelings of hopelessness related to client outcomes.
● Only 50% of HSP workers surveyed said they feel supported by their organization when
traumatic events do occur.
● The employers of most HSP workers rely on Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to
outsource support for employees who experience trauma. EAPs are services for
employees (and sometimes family members) to help address work and personal
concerns including mental health needs. EAP program design and service availability
varies. Yet securing counseling and appointments through an EAP can take significant
time. A majority (61%) of HSP workers surveyed have access to an EAP through their
employer, but very few have individual or group therapy partially (11%) or fully (9%) paid
for.
● Only 36% of HSP workers are supported with space and time during the workday for
their teams to process trauma. Twenty six percent are offered extra time off or granted
leaves of absence.
“After the death of a client in nefarious circumstances, my supervisor yelled at me for being
‘too intense.’ I was not offered any support or resources, only chastised, and then belittled for
being behind in my paperwork.” – Survey Participant
“While we have the EAP program, it can take up to six months for any assistance.” – Survey
Participant
Every day, HSP workers are in the position of being unable to meet the needs of clients
who are desperate and traumatized — or must watch them fail — which creates its own
trauma.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 12
● HSP workers in the focus groups describe regular heartbreak because of being unable
to do more for clients because of system barriers or a lack of funding. They report
experiencing daily frustration with system barriers such as paperwork, wait times, client
qualifications, lack of agency coordination, etc.
● Struggling with guilt was a common theme, often for being in the position of having to
gatekeep who gets housing and who does not.
● Racism and discrimination faced by clients trying to get housing is also a common
concern.
“Much of the time our clients are desperate and scared, and it’s so incredibly disheartening
that the resources they are depending on us [to provide] are simply tapped out. It hurts my
heart.” – Focus Group Participant
Despite being negatively affected by client outcomes and interaction, “safety” is not
perceived as a significant problem.
● A large majority (70%) of HSP workers surveyed feel safe (emotionally, physically, and
ethically) at work. Although the survey defined safety as emotional, physical, and ethical,
it’s a term that is most often defined as and associated with physical safety, which could
have contributed to the large percentage of HSP workers who feel safe yet also report
emotional stress and trauma.
● Some HSP workers shared in focus groups that their clients are more stressed and
angrier since COVID-19, which at times makes them have general safety concerns.
“It’s difficult to feel like a gatekeeper and the person who picks and chooses who ‘wins’
housing. It’s difficult to be fair and equitable when you’re in this role, feeling like you’re
always going to let someone down.” – Focus Group Participant
HSP workers with lived experience of homelessness report experiencing secondary
trauma through engagement with their service population.
● Many HSP workers have lived experience of homelessness, even those not in the
specifically “lived experience” focus group. Many shared their financial stress and
struggles, and they may be in the same eligibility brackets as their clients for certain
services.
● Many witness the suffering and trauma of their clients, and some expressed intense
emotions resulting from it. For HSP workers with lived experience, their clients’ trauma is
more likely to trigger a trauma memory related to their own experience with
homelessness.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 13
● As low-income individuals themselves due to self-reported HSP workforce wages, HSP
workers may be in a position where they haven’t completely exited the instability of
homelessness or poverty or the related stress and trauma they evoke. They may be
processing both their own ongoing trauma and that of their clients.
“The brain doesn’t shut off after the shift because we aren’t paid to care for clients; that care
doesn’t stop at 5 p.m. I still have to see my clients sleep outside next door to me.” – Focus
Group Participant
HSP workers want more training and ongoing professional development opportunities.
● The HSP workers surveyed wished they had more training in a variety of areas prior to
starting their positions and ongoing to support their ability to do their jobs. The areas of
greatest interest include mental health, first aid, crisis intervention and de-escalation.
● In open-ended survey responses, the most common training desired included the
following:
○ The services and benefits available to clients.
○ Guidance in grant writing and funder reporting.
○ Addressing personal and client trauma and trauma-informed care.
○ Addressing crisis and mental health issues.
○ Holding boundaries.
○ Racial equity and working with diverse populations.
○ Naloxone administration and CPR
● HSP workers in each focus group raised the issue of a lack of professional development
training. Participants emphasized the need for crisis response and mental health
training.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 14
“It cannot be understated how our clients need substantial continual support to access the
services available, and we are not always trained or capable to navigate this dynamic
situation. It can be very stressful and mentally depleting doing this type of work full-time.” –
Focus Group Participant
Survey Q18: In what areas, if any, do you wish you had more training with prior to starting
your position or ongoing to support your ability to do your job?
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES
None: I feel fully competent 7.99% 118
Mental Health First Aid 43.70% 645
Substance Use Disorder 35.50% 524
Crisis Intervention 43.83% 647
De-escalation 41.73% 616
Self defense 28.46% 420
Supervision Training 25.27% 373
Trauma-informed care 34.01% 502
Boundary setting with clients 30.89% 456
Working with law enforcement/legal system 40.11% 592
Understanding Medicaid or other systems 40.24% 594
Contract/Grant process 37.80% 558
Medical First Aid 15.72% 232
Other (please specify) 11.11% 164
TOTAL 1,476
“I've worked several positions at this agency and received very basic onboarding for all of
them, largely to do with the physical operations and very little regarding the actual practice of
providing therapeutic services. We work with a very specific population that requires a lot of
skills, and inadequate training is frequently cited by resigning coworkers as a deciding
factor.” – Focus Group Participant
HSP workers with lived experience of homelessness feel they do not have clear paths for
advancement.
● Survey results indicate that HSP workers with lived experience of homelessness are less
likely to have higher educational attainment, which is often a requirement for leadership
positions.
● HSP workers with lived experience of homelessness shared in focus groups that the lack
of training and professional development opportunities coupled with the weight of
educational attainment for leadership positions limited their professional mobility.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 15
HSP workers report feeling isolated and lacked support from a professional community
of peers.
● In focus groups, HSP workers reported having little debrief and processing time in their
day-to-day work with their colleagues and indicated few to no opportunities to connect
with peers in their field. Some expressed a sense of isolation.
● Focus group conversations indicated a heavy interest in virtual or in-person meeting
spaces with other HSP workers, especially for those with marginalized identities such as
LGBTQ2S+ and BIPOC, to do some of this processing and build community.
● Several focus group participants commented that participation in the focus group itself
was a healing and supportive experience that allowed them to connect with their peers in
a way that they were unable to prior.
Despite the challenges they face, most HSP workers are committed to continuing work in
the sector.
● HSP workers are incredibly dedicated and compassionate. Despite workplace
challenges and low pay, they are committed to the field.
● Almost half (45%) of HSP workers surveyed indicated they plan to stay in their field
indefinitely or if they have funding, and another 16% plan to stay in the field for at least a
year or more.
Survey Q20: What are your plans for the future as they relate to your current field?
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES
I plan to stay in this field indefinitely 38.50% 569
I plan to stay in this field for at least a year or more 15.90% 235
I plan to stay in this field for as long as I have funding 7.10% 105
Unsure 16.58% 245
I plan to stay in this field until I can make my next career move 14.41% 213
I plan to stay in this field until I can finish an educational opportunity 3.38% 50
I do not plan to stay in this field 4.13% 61
TOTAL 1,478
● These are employees who care. While the most important factor in considering whether
to stay in their field is base pay, the next most important factors are all mission related.
After base pay (53%), the most important factors include a sense of purpose (46%),
making an impact on an individual (46%) and making an impact on a system (42%).
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 16
Survey Q21: In making your considerations for how long you intend to stay in this field, what are
the top three most important factors? Check up to 3.
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES
Base Pay 52.66% 783
Benefits 28.45% 423
Ability to take time off 28.72% 427
Ability to make an impact on an individual 46.27% 688
Ability to make an impact on a system 42.17% 627
Team morale & ability to relate to co-workers 28.18% 419
Ease of job 6.12% 91
Job aligns with interests 22.60% 336
Sense of purpose 47.55% 707
Career advancement opportunities 26.03% 387
Other (please specify) 5.92% 88
TOTAL 1,487
● HSP workers in the focus groups reinforced this theme, with nearly everyone sharing a
mission-related reason for being in their line of work. Reasons ranged from “a desire to
give back” to “wanting to be part of the solution” when it comes to supporting
marginalized populations.
Areas for Further Study
The HSP workers engaged in this community-driven and community-informed study are experts
in their own working conditions. Their potential solutions and recommendations were reviewed
and refined by members of the Advisory Committee to facilitate consideration by people with
state policy, legislative and/or rule-making experience.
Implementation
The following recommendations could be initiated and implemented at several levels: by HSP
workers themselves, by the HSP organizations they work for, and at the state level through
policy change or by restructuring current program and grants. Each recommendation indicates
at what level implementation could take place: worker, organization, city, county, state, and, in
some cases, with a contracted partner.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 17
Potential Cost
Each of the following recommendations could be implemented in a variety of ways with a variety
of stakeholders at varying scales. A cost analysis and estimate are not feasible without more
detailed clarity regarding these factors.
Recommendations
1. Improve efficiency across systems to reduce the burden on HSP workers.
The burden of determining benefits eligibility, filling out applications, and navigating general
systemic bureaucracy is overwhelming to both clients and HSP workers. This could be
addressed by eliminating redundancies faced by clients and workers alike when applying for
similar resources across multiple agencies and organizations and going through similar
application processes repeatedly. Recommend increasing connections across public benefits
and social services programs to reduce the burden on individuals applying for benefits and
services. This would require cooperation across social services sectors and individual
organizations that provide homeless services, food assistance, health care, childcare and other
support services sought by homeless and/or low-income individuals.
One example of a legislative approach to this recommendation is Chapter 216, Laws of 2022
(ESB 1866). Passed in 2022 and paired with health services, the bill creates the Office of Apple
Health & Homes (AHAH), which will increase and streamline permanent supportive housing.
HSP workers expressed a need for similar ongoing legislative efforts that would streamline and
improve access to multiple services in the future. Efforts throughout the state to streamline
intake models, such as with coordinated entry, have had mixed results.
HSP workers recommend improving communication and developing systems that utilize
standardized client intake forms or surveys for use across organizations. These forms would
encompass the full spectrum of a client’s potential needs even if those needs extended outside
of the services provided by one individual agency or organization. This would include a system
for automatic referral to the appropriate agencies, programs and organizations based on the
client’s needs.
Critical to the successful implementation of this recommendation is the nurturing and support by
sector leaders of a culture that embraces collaboration and cooperation across HSP
organizations.
Implementation levels: organization, city, county, region, state.
2. Justly compensate HSP workers by increasing wages.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 18
HSP workers repeatedly brought up increasing compensation throughout the study, particularly
in response to the problem of being overwhelmed in the workplace.
HSP workers who struggle to afford their own living expenses such as food, rent, and other
necessities expressed a feeling of exhaustion when they are doing the same advocacy tasks for
clients that they must do for themselves on their own time. Researching and navigating
assistance programs can be demanding, redundant, and frustrating, especially when they must
duplicate these efforts at home for themselves or their own family members.
Increasing compensation for HSP workers to a wage that will alleviate their reliance on
assistance programs and mitigate the need for them to perform their work both inside and
outside of the job would meet these concerns. To accomplish this, organizations also need
more funding and more predictable funding so they can reliably plan for worker compensation.
Implementation level: organization, city, county, state.
3. Standardize pay rates and working hours across the HSP sector to moderate
workloads and create equitable living wages.
HSP workers are generally burdened by overwhelming workloads, and these already large
workloads increased during COVID-19. HSP workers in larger and more well-resourced
organizations are sometimes able to organize for better pay, hours and expectations that reflect
the increased demands of their jobs. However, HSP workers in small agencies, especially those
who are isolated in regions with fewer and smaller independent HSP organizations, risk being
left behind if they are not included in a coordinated sector-wide organizing effort.
HSP workers suggest establishing improved baseline wages, pay increases, overtime
standards, standard working hours and consistent expectations in the workplace. This effort
could come in the form of union membership and collective bargaining and include joining
Service Employees International Union 1199NW, which already represents some HSP workers.
Or it may include establishing a rate-setting program like that for independent provider
homecare workers whose rates are established through the Consumer Directed Employer
Project under the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).
Implementation levels: worker, organization, state.
4. Adopt and incentivize hiring, compensation, and promotion structures that
acknowledge lived experience.
HSP workers with lived experience of homelessness or behavioral health challenges contribute
invaluable expertise to this work and provide a lens that some HSP workers lack. Their
experience is a benefit for agencies, organizations, and the clients themselves, yet HSP
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 19
workers with lived experience of homelessness are less likely to have attained degrees in higher
education and thus experience a lack of mobility in the homeless services sector.
HSP workers recommend creating hiring guidelines, annual review metrics, and raise and
bonus schedules that value lived experience alongside academic experience. Commerce can
incentivize these recommendations through grant and contracting requirements by prioritizing
HSP organizations with management-level staff or higher who have lived experience of
homelessness.
Implementation levels: organization, state.
5. Increase worker retention by offering bonuses to those who stay.
Turnover in the HSP workforce is hard on both organizations and clients. HSP workers likely
switch organizations with regular frequency because of finding better pay and pathways for
promotion outside of their organization — or they switch fields due to burnout. Many
organizations lost staff during COVID-19.
Organizations could offer retention bonuses for staff and organizational contractors to decrease
attrition. Retention could be incentivized by Commerce through small grants, particularly to
small organizations, which often have more difficulty obtaining funding.
Implementation levels: organization, state.
6. Support standardized training for the HSP workforce and its delivery through a
centralized online platform.
HSP workers expressed a variety of consistent training needs that would improve the services
provided, lessen stress, and help HSP workers with lived experience to move up in
organizational administration without the expectation that they enroll in time-consuming and
costly higher education programs. A centralized online platform with a standardized set of topics
and trainings for workers in the sector would ensure quality professional development.
Implementation levels: contract partners, state (including partnerships with state funded
universities and community colleges), private sector.
7. Require training for HSP workers on self-care and trauma processing to be delivered
during paid work hours.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 20
HSP workers identified the need for training related to trauma in both the survey and focus
groups. Some workplaces offer training resources to address traumatic experiences on the job,
but not all set aside time during work hours to participate in them.
HSP workers recommend that all HSP workers be required and compensated to participate in
training offered during work hours that includes guidance on “self-care” in the face of the
frequent workplace trauma that occurs in the sector. While self-care can mean many things, for
the purposes of this report, workers described self-care as methods for decompression,
stabilization, relaxation, and trauma processing that have been recommended and validated by
professionals in the mental health field. Standardized training for the HSP workforce would allow
for more regular and predictable skill building. The state should consider incentivizing this kind
of training through its grants and contracts with sector organizations.
Implementation levels: organization, state.
8. Provide paid time off from work for HSP workers to process grief and traumatic
experiences and the mental health resources to support their time away.
HSP workers are regularly in the position of experiencing the deaths of clients or other traumatic
incidents during their job. Without having time to process these intensely emotional impacts, the
trauma compounds.
Paid time off from work for processing grief and trauma — which does not draw on vacation or
sick time — will help workers heal from the challenges of their jobs. Mental health resources
such as an EAP or insurance coverage for mental health counseling are also important benefits.
Bereavement policies should also be expanded. The state should consider incentivizing funding
for organizations that provide this type of support.
Offering these resources will help create a workplace culture where HSP workers know that
their own mental health and self-care is prioritized and taken seriously and is not something that
should be put on pause when they enter the workplace.
Implementation levels: organization, state.
9. Establish a statewide coalition for HSP workers that can host regional HSP worker
“affinity teams” to create a support network and share best practices, training, and
resources.
The need for relationship building and peer-to-peer support outside of one’s individual
workplace emerged in almost every focus group. Professional isolation is more acutely
experienced by HSP workers who embody more than one marginalized identity and who may
not have peers in their workplace or region who can provide a sense of community and
belonging.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 21
Establishing an HSP worker coalition to serve as convener of regionally based “affinity teams”
would provide HSP workers with a community of support and shared learning. These teams
could include all HSP workers or be organized by population served, services provided, or
racial, gender or other identities. HSP workers recommend using the convenings of these
groups for storytelling, debriefing traumatic experiences, and social activities. They also
recommend creating affinity groups for people of color and LGBTQ2S+ to help build additional
sources of support for people with specific identities.
Impacts to BIPOC HSP workers were specifically identified by the Advisory Committee and
stressed during the focus groups and in the open-ended questions in the survey. The impacts of
primary and secondary workplace trauma on BIPOC workers should be placed within the
context of broader systemic inequities, racism, and stigmas around mental health.
To formally establish these groups and ensure their sustainability, the state could fund the
establishment of a statewide coalition or professional organization of HSP workers to serve as
the home and convener of these groups.
Implementation: worker, organization, state.
10. Require training for supervisors and managers on trauma-informed supervision of
employees with lived experience.
HSP workers with lived experience of homelessness may have compounded trauma, and their
jobs can create additional stress and trauma. Having direct supervisors who are sensitive to
these challenges and trained in effective management techniques can help. Some HSP workers
expressed an over-emphasis on self-care, which places the responsibility on the individual
worker to maintain a cheerful outlook and stable mental health, while not always considering
that management-level staff are responsible for creating a workplace environment that is
suitable for people experiencing ongoing trauma.
HSP workers recommend requiring training for supervisors and managers on trauma-informed
supervision of employees with lived experience of homelessness, behavioral health challenges,
and marginalized identities. The state can incentivize this recommendation through grant and
contracting requirements and by prioritizing organizations who make this training mandatory.
Implementation: organization, state.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 22
Appendix A: Survey Instrument
Q1: Please indicate your gender.
● Man
● Woman
● Trans
● Nonbinary
● Decline to answer
● Other (please specify)
Q2: Please indicate your race/ethnicity. Check all that apply.
● American Indian or Alaska Native
● Asian
● Black or African American
● Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
● Hispanic or Latino
● White or Caucasian
● Other (please specify)
Q3: Please indicate your age.
● Under 18
● 18-24
● 25-40
● 41-60
● 61+
Q4: Please indicate your highest level of formal education.
● Some primary school
● Some secondary school
● Finished high school or GED
● AA or BA degree
● Graduate degree
● Trade
● None/other
Q5: Please indicate if you identify as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit (LGBTQI+)
individual.
● Yes
● No
● Unsure
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 23
● Decline to answer
Q6: Please indicate the length of time in the field of homeless services.
● 6 months or less
● 7 months – 2 years
● 2 – 4 years
● 5+ years
● 10+ years
Q7: Please indicate the length of time in your current organization/role.
● 6 months or less
● 7 months – 2 years
● 2 – 4 years
● 5+ years
● 10+ years
Q8: How would you describe your current role?
● I provide direct services to clients
● I do not provide direct services to clients
Q9: Where does your work primarily take place (by region/county)
● Puget Sound: Pierce, King, Snohomish
● Northwest: Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, Island
● South Central: Kittitas, Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla
● North Central: Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Grant
● Peninsula/Coastal: Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason, Grays Harbor, Pacific
● Southwest: Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Clark, Skamania, Thurston, Lewis
● Northeast: Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane
● Southeast: Garfield, Asotin, Columbia, Whitman, Adams
Q10: How would you describe your experience as it relates to your current role?
● I am new to homeless service provision
● I have some prior experience in homeless service provision prior to this role
● I have worked in homeless services previously and consider myself experienced
● I have worked in homeless services for 10+ years and consider myself an expert
● I have not worked in homeless services or social services before this role
● I have experienced homelessness or have been a recipient of social services before this
role
● I have academic experience with related specialty (Behavioral health, Counseling, social
work, etc.)
● I was a Peer or Peer-certified before this role
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 24
● Other (please specify)
Q11: What type of organization do you currently do this work for?
● Small nonprofit, non-medical (1-10 employees)
● Medium nonprofit, non-medical (11-49 employees)
● Large nonprofit, non-medical (50 or more employees)
● Federal Qualified Health Center/Behavioral
● Volunteer/Mutual Aid/Self-employed
● Municipal/City government
● County government
● Housing Authority
● State agency (Dept. of Social & Health Svcs., Dpt. Children Youth & Families, etc.)
● Medical services provider or community health clinic (nonprofit or otherwise)
● Labor Union
● Advocacy Organization
● For-profit/Corporation
● Other (please specify)
Q12: What are your motivations for working in this field?
● [Written answer field]
Q13: Do you feel you are adequately compensated for your work (adequately compensated
means earning a living wage relative to geographic location, access to medical benefits, ability
to take family leave, etc.)?
● Yes
● No
● Unsure
Q14: How often do client outcomes/client interaction negatively affect your mood and mental
state as it relates to the performance of your job duties?
● A great deal
● A lot
● A moderate amount
● A little
● None at all
Q 15: On a scale of 1-5, how safe do you feel at work (safety encompasses emotional, physical,
and ethical safety) in the regular performance of your duties?
● Generally very safe
● Pretty safe most of the time
● Somewhat safe
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 25
● Not very safe most of the time
● Generally unsafe all of the time
Q16: How often do you experience the following in the regular course of your work?
● Vicarious trauma as a result of your work with clients
● Feelings of hopelessness related to client outcomes
● Feeling overwhelmed in your position and its demands
● Worry over financial security and/or compensation
● Difficulty separating work and personal life
● Frequent concerns about the lack of resources and services to support clients
Q17: Do you feel supported by your organization when traumatic events occur?
● Yes
● No
● Sometimes
● Unsure
● N/A
Q18: What areas, if any, do you wish you had more training with prior to starting your position or
ongoing to support your ability to do your job? Check all that apply.
● None: I feel fully competent
● Mental Health First Aid
● Substance Use Disorder
● Crisis Intervention
● De-escalation
● Self defense
● Supervision training
● Trauma-informed care
● Boundary setting with clients
● Working with law enforcement/legal system
● Understanding Medicaid or other systems
● Contract/Grant process
● Medical first aid
● Other (please specify)
Q19: Does your employer provide support and resources to assist with trauma, burnout, and
wellness? Check all that apply.
● Employee assistance programs (EAP)
● Fully paid for individual and/or group therapy
● Partially paid for individual and/or group therapy
● Space for team to process
● Increased hazard pay
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 26
● Provide adequate staff support and resources to meet client and personal needs
● Offered extra time off or granted leave of absence
● No, none
● My organization does not have the capacity to assist with trauma, burnout, and wellness
● Other (please specify)
Q20: What are your plans for the future as it relates to your current field?
● I plan to stay in this field indefinitely
● I plan to stay in this field for at least a year or more
● I plan to stay in this field for as long as I have funding
● Unsure
● I plan to stay in this field until I can make my next career move
● I plan to stay in this field until I can finish an educational opportunity
● I do not plan to stay in this field
Q21: In making your considerations for how long you intend to stay in this field, what are the top
three most important factors? Check up to 3.
● Base Pay
● Benefits
● Ability to take time off
● Ability to make an impact on an individual
● Ability to make an impact on a system
● Team morale and ability to relate to co-workers
● Ease of job
● Job aligns with interests
● Sense of purpose
● Career advancement opportunities
● Other (please specify)
Q22: How would you recommend your organization do better as it relates to recruiting and
retaining staff? Check all that apply.
● Increase compensation
● Better train supervisors
● Increase opportunities for career advancement
● Decrease caseloads/workload
● Stabilize their funding sources to keep programs operating
● Increase job training opportunities
● Recognition of my individual contributions to the work
● Create a better relationship with the public (i.e., improve the organization’s reputation)
● Increase their ability to streamline internal operations (i.e. payroll, reimbursements,
communications)
● Other (please specify)
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 27
Q23: What issues do your target population (i.e., clients) have with navigating your services? To
what degree is your mood and mental state affected by your clients’ ability to navigate your
services?
● [Written answer field]
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 28
Appendix B: Focus Group Detail
Background
An initial focus group comprised of HSP workers (separated into three separate breakout
rooms) was conducted on September 22, 2022. After receiving feedback from focus group
participants and Advisory Committee members, the decision was made to supplement with
three additional focus groups. These supplemental groups consisted of administrative-level
staff, BIPOC/LGBTQ2S+ workers and workers who themselves had lived experience of
homelessness.
Structure
Each group was given a background primer on the underlying legislation, the premise of the
study, and their role as topical experts adding their first-hand experience to our qualitative data
collection. They were also presented with some of the emerging themes that had been identified
through the course of the study to date. Lastly, they participated in a group discussion where
notes were taken in real time either in writing or using a note taking visualization tool called
Mural, and sometimes mixing both methods of note taking. Below we have included the
questions that were asked as well as visualizations of themes.
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 29
Focus Group #1 HSP Workers
# of Attendees: 24
1. Why are you in this line of work? What motivates you?
2. Do you have personal experience with homelessness that informs your work?
3. What are your biggest concerns about your job?
4. What are your biggest concerns/worries about the sector?
5. What other outside forces hinder your work?
6. What would most improve your job and make this line of work something you’d feel is
possible for you to sustain?
7. What specific ways are homeless service provider workers undervalued compared to other
work that requires similar skill sets?
8. Is there training you wish you had that you feel would help improve your ability to perform
your job?
9. What do you wish that lawmakers, funders, and the public knew about your work?
Recommendations
(preliminary)
What policies,
programs, or
processes
How can How can system
How can the could the state
Organizations partners
state respond? enact to require
respond? respond?
the response
from
organizations?
System partners
Retention Ombudsman for Incentive boosts for
need to meet more
programs: bonuses clients small programs
frequently
Write retention
Strategies to Centralized Requiring agency
Free access to bonuses into
remove Better tools for training, skill- to provide debrief
trauma, conflict/res contracts & grants
administrative communicating building opportunities after
resources for homeless
barriers platform traumatic incidents
services
Robust The state has at-
interdisciplinary More support
Designate wellness cost or free
Licenses & renewal teams to help solve for small orgs
days (aside from resources to help
cost waiver issues across the
PTO & sick time) with traumatic
board
events
Reporting
Set success metrics
Allow for crisis time structures drive
to require client
(not against PTO) services (instead of
input (re: outcome)
vice versa)
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 30
Focus Group #2 HSP Workers with Lived Experience
# of Attendees: 11
1. Why are you in this line of work? What motivates you?
2. What are your biggest concerns about your job?
3. What other outside forces hinder your work?
4. What would most improve your job and make this line of work something you’d feel is
possible for you to sustain?
5. What specific ways are homeless service provider workers undervalued compared to other
work that requires similar skill sets?
6. Is there training you wish you had that you feel would help improve your ability to perform
your job?
7. What do you wish that lawmakers, funders, and the general public knew about your work?
8. What would be fair compensation for this work?
9. How do you strike the balance between wanting to do the work, and how to afford living on
the meager pay?
Lived Experience Group Reflections
Need more time More time in Incentivize Much of the work Orgs should
to serve prevention is Union workers collection of data is off clock but celebrate &
underhoused needed should stand for participants NOT supported reward lived
(shift away from up for HSPs
by orgs experience
paperwork)
Leadership
don’t have
Lived experience Changing
Regular direct service Outcomes are Clients are set
compensation expectations for
wellness days or lived interconnected up for failure
doesn’t reflect leadership to
off (aside from experience but serviced when outcomes
their value ad to include direct
the weekend) (disconnected separately pushed
the work service
from
directives)
Outcomes
Mandatory
based on #s There’s an
Lack of language- training &
serviced inability to share
specific refining of craft
instead of resources across
resources (MI training,
quality of care jurisdictions
etc.)
(#s tied to $)
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 31
Focus Group #3 Administrators, Employers, and Labor Unions
# of Attendees: 5
1. Discuss and prioritize the following 8 recommendations that we have gathered directly
from frontline HSP workers.
2. Discuss implementation of the recommendations. What would it take to implement?
What policy or administrative changes need to happen?
3. Create a rough understanding of cost burden for each intervention.
How likely
Policy Change Who Cost to
Who regulates? to make an
required? implements? scale?
impact?
Increase total Classification as
Requires pay
compensation emergency
Proposed Address leveling
(regular raises responses Highly
interventions overtime across
& livelihood (dangerous,
jurisdictions
compensation) medical, etc.)
Connected
Requires
Retention Centralized Supervisors increased paid
Ombudsmen
bonusses training, skill need recourses training &
for clients of Highly
into contracts building to support POC partner
services
& grants platform staff specific cross
training
Leads to…
Additional
Create paths support for lived
Highly
for lived experience
experience to (coaching, etc.)
move up
Free access Consider inter- Contractors to
to trauma & Grief/ system write in access to
conflict bereavement communications wellness Highly
resolution to be trauma recourses for
resources informed frontline workers
Designated Required
wellness debrief after Need space to decompress as
Highly
days (not traumatic service providers
against PTO) events
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 32
Focus Group #4 BIPOC/LGBTQ+ HSP Workers
# of Attendees: 9
1. Why are you in this line of work? What motivates you?
2. What are your biggest concerns as it relates to your job?
3. How does your identity impact your ability to thrive in the work? Think organizationally,
interpersonally, and systematically.
Increase total Create Free
Designated
compensation paths for Centralized access to
wellness
(regular raises lived training, skill trauma &
days (not
& livelihood experience building conflict
PTO)
compensation) to move up platform resolution
resources
We need
more
meetings
Incorporate Lived
Proposed Priority in order
lived experience to
like this More diversity in
Grief days
Interventions to retain staff
experience fuel training
(focus hiring
group,
processing
grief)
Currently
lack of Processing
Small
support in time to
More space for organizations
leadership commiserate
shared stories disproportionately
for with
impacted by PTO
marginalized colleagues
identities
Multiculturalism Not enough
in training & staff to
service actually take
provision PTO
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 33
Appendix C: Study Participants
Homeless Services Provider Trauma
Study Advisory Committee
● Jason Cockburn, Second Chance ● Lynn Marquez, Catholic Community
Foundation Services
• Jhovona Duggins, Social and ● Michael Eng, Low Income Housing
Human Services Advocate Institute
● Jody Rauch, Coalition on ● Sarah Baxter, Catholic Charities
Homelessness ● Stephanie Pacheco, DSHS
● Lindsey Grad, SEIU 1199NW ● Susan Tyler-Babkirk, Transitions
● Lucia Ersfeld, South Snohomish ● Victor Loo, Behavioral Health
County Emergency Cold Weather Professional
Shelter
Survey Responses and Focus Group
Participants from the following
Organizations ● Janus Youth Services
● Asian Counseling & Referral Service ● King County Regional
Behavioral Health Resources Homelessness Authority (KCRHA)
● Bellwether Housing ● Kitsap Community Resources
● Blue Mountain Action Council ● Kitsap Rescue Mission
● Blue Mountain Heart to Heart ● Lake City Partners
● Building Changes ● LASA
● Catholic Community Services ● Lifelong
● Chaplains on the Harbor ● Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI)
● Chelan-Douglas Community Action ● Mary’s Place
Council ● Mercy Housing
● Chief Seattle Club ● Metropolitan Development Council
● Christian Aid Center ● Multi-Service Center
● Coastal Community Action Program ● New Beginnings
● Compass Housing Alliance ● New Horizon Care Center Spokane
● Council for the Homeless ● Okanogan Housing
● Cowlitz Indian Tribe ● OlyCAP
● Downtown Emergency Service ● Opportunities Industrialization
Center (DESC) Center
● Elizabeth Gregory Home ● Opportunity Council
● Family Crisis Network ● Outsiders Inn
● Frontier Behavioral Health ● Partners in Prevention Education
● Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare ● Peer Spokane
● IW Shelter ● Pierce County Housing Authority
● Plymouth Housing
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 34
● Public Defender Association ● U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
● REACH ● Urban League
● Refugee Women’s Alliance ● Valley Cities
● REST ● Volunteers of America
● Road2Home ● Washington Department of Children,
● Rod’s House Youth & Families
● SeaMar Community Health Clinic ● West Sound Treatment Center
● Sean Humphrey House ● Women’s Resource Center
● Seattle YMCA ● Yakama Nation
● Serenity House Clallam ● Yakima Union Gospel Mission
● Skagit Family Promise ● YFA Connections
● Solid Ground ● YouthCare
● Sophia Way ● Youth Connection WA
● Sound Pathways ● YWCA Clark County
● The Coffee Oasis ● YWCA King County
● The R.I.S.E. Center ● YWCA Kitsap
● The Salvation Army ● YWCA Spokane
● Transitions Women’s Shelter
● Tulalip Tribes
● Turning Pointe
2023 Workplace Trauma Study and Recommendations 35
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