No one wants to yell at you.
When I ran the shelter, I was yelled at…A LOT… Sometimes first thing in the morning (before I was even awake). Sometimes in front of an audience (residents and my staff). Sometimes by people twice my size (and scary!). Next time someone is yelling at you, I want you to remember one thing. No one […]
How do I handle repeat offenders?
Dear Ryan, I work at a coffee shop. There is a guy who lives in the woods nearby. Most days he will come in and buy a small coffee and sit around for a while. That is cool. What is not cool is that he keeps asking other customers for money. When we ask him […]
I never understood the term “neurodivergent.”
Next week I am doing a live interview with an expert on autism. Carly Danesh-Jones is a British autism advocate (who is on the spectrum herself). She even received an “MBE” for her work on autism advocacy. It is one of those cool things that the British Royal Family does like making people Knights and Dames […]
The problem is not what you think it is.
I am doing a training tomorrow for McDonald’s national security team. By the way, I’ve been working with McDonald’s for about a year, and I have been REALLY impressed with how committed they are to a compassionate approach to homelessness. In preparation for training their team, I was reviewing our old training on “How to […]
Billy the Kid was mad at me.
It was too cold to be this foggy. Maybe the weather was different in Salt Lake City. I didn’t know. I had only been there for a dozen hours. The motel had promised a “full breakfast,” but the waffle maker was broken, and the eggs were greener than even Theodor Guisel would eat. I settled […]
De-escalating conflict is like typing without looking at your hands.
Can you type without looking at your hands? If not, this newsletter won’t be very helpful. Do you remember learning how to touch type? It was REALLY hard. First, someone had to teach you where to put your fingers. Then, you had to think about every single key very carefully (“’J’ is my right index […]
Damage is fast. Healing is slow.
I had two hip surgeries during peak Covid. (I don’t recommend it). I followed all of the surgeon’s instructions: I did physical therapy. I stretched daily (and still do). I stopped running and playing Pickleball (giving up running wasn’t as hard as I expected, but I’m still bitter about Pickleball because I was pretty dang […]
Someone who is “Level 3 Drunk”
In this week’s training, I teach how to de-escalate conflict (and enforce the rules) with someone who is drunk or high. The are four levels of people who are under the influence: Here is a 1-minute video from that training teaching the core tool for individuals who are a “Level 3.” If the link above […]
Gerry was high on crack.
Gerry caught me in the hallway of the shelter. He wanted to talk. He was obviously high on crack. The conversation went something like this (read Gerry’s lines as fast as you can to simulate how he talked): Gerry: My boss won’t pay me the money he owes me. I don’t even like the job. […]
“An addict will do anything to not be dope sick.”
“I am scared sh*tless of being dope sick. I will do anything, anything I have to do to make sure I’m not dope sick… An addict will do anything to not be dope sick. It is our biggest fear.” Sherri If you work with the public, there are two things you need to know about […]
