The following story from a book on Homelessness illustrates the importance and impact that audience feedback and recommendations can have on selecting effective behavior change strategies.

An example in Tracy Kidder’s book Rough Sleepers illustrates the need for outreach workers approaching the unhoused to be aware of successful, as well as unsuccessful, engagement tactics.  One story is about the Board of a program branded Street Team that had heard about how one “rough sleeper” had been approached by a medical outreach worker who had shined a flashlight on him in his encampment. He then asked the outreach worker “how he would feel if his doctor came to his bedroom in the middle of the night and woke him up by shining a flashlight in his face.” [Kidder, T., Rough Sleepers (Random House 2024) p.5.] 

 The program’s board then convened a meeting of about thirty “rough sleepers” and, based on their advice, asked the Street Team to ensure when they approach a “rough sleeper” they “should first shine their flashlights on their own faces so as not to startle the patients.” [Kidder, T., Rough Sleepers (Random House 2024) p.5.] 

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