Retrak Outreach Standard Operating Procedures

Summary

Retrak believes that no child should be forced to live on the streets. While children have the right to choose a life on the streets, and for many it is a preferable option to staying home, every child should be able to choose a positive alternative. No child should be forced to stay on the streets because that alternative does not exist, or because they don’t know how to access it.

This means that outreach work is essential to ensuring children have a choice. Getting out onto the streets, seeking out children and building positive relationships with them can make all the difference. Effective outreach begins with relationships built on a basis of respect, trust and flexibility.

Retrak has brought together insights from our experienced outreach workers to fill a gap in guidance on outreach work. Drawing on evidence from the global youth work discipline, Retrak has defined principles and an approach for our outreach work, and now we are launching our standard operating procedures.

These procedures place the child at the centre and acknowledge that positive relationships, built on a deep understanding of each child’s situation, are the key to helping a child see a way off the streets and into a brighter future.

We hope that these procedures will guide and raise the quality our work in this area. And we hope it will encourage and support more outreach workers to get out onto the streets and work alongside the children they meet in order to create greater choices for their futures.