Consent-first intake for street outreach

I’ve been using a one-page, plain-language intake on Tuesday nights that starts with informed consent, a pronouns line, and a simple check-in (“What do you need today to feel safe?”), and I only offer prayer if it’s requested. It’s reduced retraumatization at our shelter doors, but I’d love to see the forms or scripts you use to center dignity and shift power toward our neighbors on the margins.

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One tweak that’s worked for us is reading this aloud before anything else: “You can pass on any question, use a nickname, and we won’t save info unless you say yes.” We also moved pronouns to the end because a few neighbors felt tested at the door; trust went up when we started with “what name do you want me to use tonight?” first. Would you try that consent line verbatim for a month and see if declines drop?

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