The Structure of First Contact

Greeting - 1 l i. my name is...

Introduction - I work lor the NAN Foundation, we help children

who live on the street... And what is your name?

You might ask if the kid is hungry and oiler to buy him some food.

If the child feels like talking to you, don't rush him with your questions,

ask them one at a time so that it doesn't sound like a police

interrogation. Communication has to be comfortable.
Sometimes the child may speak out to you asking to spare some

change and then you can use the opportunity to talk to him.

— What do you need the money for?

— To buy food (the answer will always be plausible but normally

having nothing to do with reality).

— I'm not going to give you money but we could drop into a

fast food outlet, buy some food and talk. I work for the NAN

Foundation, we help children in difficult situations. Maybe we

t ould help you as well.

• Newer give money to the children. Even if they say they need it to

buy food, they will use on drugs. You could buy some food in a

nearby kiosk, drop into a Macdonald's or another cheap cafe. In

addition, children know how and when they can get food from

Mosc(>w -base<I charity orga11 izations.

'7 know you waste money to buy drugs. I'm sure drugs are

death and I don 7 want to help you kill yourself. I hope eery

much that one day you will understand that you are ill and

need medical treatment".

Locations where free food is handed out present another opportunity

to make contact with the children and cany your message across.

• Sometimes when you see a loitering teenager, you can introduce

yourself (explaining the purpose of your job) and ask if he needs

any help. You could get an answer that he's just waiting for a friend

or taking a stroll. However, if you see the same kid at the railway

station the next day, you can feel free to ask if he's taking loo long

a stroll or if the friend he's waiting for got lost.

• Never interfere into clashes between the children or between children

and other people. What a street worker could do is provide

medical assistance, il needed, call lor an ambulance, etc.

• If the children already know one of you, making the first contact

would be easier. They often approach the person they know, then

you can ask for any news, look lor any changes, etc.
• Asking the police to help is a had idea. Children are terrified of

being sent back, besides, their way of life - many of them make a

living by stealing and pan handling - precludes contacts with the

police.

• "Relax, have a smoke!" Don't be too insisting. If the child is clearly

indisposed, don't rim after him. don't ask every passer-by if he

saw any homeless children around, etc. The fact that we don't see

the children on the street doesn't mean they don't see us. What

you could do is stand for a while in a visible location and the children

who know you will most probably come out of their hiding.

What We Can Tell the Kid

Surely you could tell something about yourself, often some briel

statements like saying that you prefer orange juice just like him will

help you make contact.

What Message We Have to Carry Across

We spoke about the assistance the children could get from the

NAN Foundation, namely at the Rath to Home shelter (lor children

under It) years old) and the Kvartal rehabilitation center. We also

spoke about the MSF daytime center.

I'.ven if the children are already aware of these opportunities, it's

well worth reminding them because instead of going to an abstract

place, teenagers would be more interested to come see a specific person.

If they feel like continuing a dialog with you, they will come to the

center looking for you. If you see that the child is interested, you can

tell him yon can be found at Kvartal. MSI" and so on.

What You Learn

You won't always find out everything you want right away, you will

often be told lies. The same kid could use three different names and

tell three different life stories to different street workers. That you have

to remember.

We try to find out the child's personal data for his file - age. where

he comes from, whether he has any relatives, uses psychoactive substances,

has any health problems and so on (see the questionnaire).
Wrapping Up

Friendly goodbye and invitation to visit the center...