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support framework with the relevant professional.
Sometimes, though, there is no such specialised service or
professional. This is where street work can pioneer the support
that is needed. A street education programme could, for
example, set up a pilot project in response to strong demand.
The local authority may later take this project on.
Street workers can thus set up many things such as toy
libraries, sanitary care services, youth services, or information
centres. We may temporarily invade other educational sectors
in order to respond to  and then institutionalise  demands. In
this way, your intervention as a street worker will have a big
impact on the community.
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Encourage the most vulnerable people to participate
Street workers try to give a voice to the people on the street, so
that the authorities hear them. In this way, people on the street
can influence policies. This is not an easy task. But you must
not forget this political dimension of your work. It has an
enormous effect on individuals and communities.
Broadening people s perspectives
Street work helps people to leave the neighbourhood, to
experience new services, structures or places. This  opening
up helps them to become autonomous and to realise what they
are capable of.
Carrying out actions with natural groups
For individuals, especially in southern countries, their group is
everything. Strengthening its ties is the best method of
prevention. Street workers propose activities, and from these,
the group questions itself and then consolidates.
Supporting others in the community
You should take the time to talk to and listen to others in the
community. Waiters, shop-owners, police officers, mechanics,
sales people, leaders etc; these people naturally shape
community life. You can provide them with support, too.
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Being part of community life
Street work takes place in the community. You must recognise
the community context, in order to make it your accomplice.
There is no point making changes to a person s situation
without more profound and collective change. When you help
those you work with participate in the community s activities,
you help boost trust and bring people together.
Act as a mediator in this community
As a street worker, you can act as a mediator when residents,
traders, young people and adults live near each other. You can
help dissolve tensions and even improve solidarity among
people who would otherwise continue to be in conflict.
A mediation service between traders and people of
the street contributes to smoother co-existence and
even integration.
Street workers workshop in Québec
The owner-chef rejected street children who
surrounded her restaurant and bothered her
customers. A street worker then invited them to have
a meal with her. As a result, she no longer sees them
simply as barriers to her business, but as needy
young people. Now, she offers them the food that her
customers have left. This also saves the young
people from the disdaining looks they used to get as
they went through the bins to get to the food.
Street workers workshop in Senegal
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Conclusion
Street work has no ultimate job description. This is because, in
street work, success hinges on your ability to develop and
sustain trust-based relationships with those you are working
with - those who need your support.
As a street worker, your aim is to help them recognise their
value as individuals, the power they have to influence their
situation and their future.
You also help others recognise and respect the fundamental
rights of those on the street. You do this by offering an
alternative to the view of people on the street as  problems ;
they are, first and foremost, people.
If you follow the guidelines outlined in this handbook, you can
make a difference.
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