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TRANSCRIPT
Should I Stay
or Should I Go?
0516
Personal Safety for
Weatherization
Professionals
Ice Breaker
1. Name
2. Agency/Position
3. How long have you been working
with weatherization?
4. What is one concern you have
about working in homes?
Why are we here?
The Three R’s
RESPECT
RELATIONSHIP
REASON
Potential Sources of Danger
• People who feel threatened
• Others in the home or who
come in during the visit
• High crime neighborhoods
• People involved in serious
illegal activity
Times of Greatest Danger
• First meeting – office or in home
• Someone under the influence of
alcohol or drugs
• History of violence
• When you are far away from a
source of help
First Contact Protocol
The first goal of your initial contact with the family
is to help them understand the goals of the
program. Keep in mind – first impressions count!
1. Introduce yourself.
2. Confirm name and address of the family.
3. Explain the process, step by step.
4. Explain the rules of the program.
5. Encourage questions.
First Contact Protocol,
continued
The second goal of your initial contact with the
family is to gain as much information as you can
from the family prior to the visit. This will help to
prepare you for any possible issues you may face
in the home.
What kind of questions would you ask?
• Examine case history
• Discuss potential dangers
• Formulate a plan to reduce risk
• Keep your agency informed of
your schedule
• Carry agency identification
Planning for Safety
• Be observant of your environment
• Be calm and confident
• Carry a cell phone
• Plan your escape route
• Trust your instincts
• Use appropriate humor
• Watch for weapons
Personal Safety in Homes
What to do about weapons . . .
Should I Stay or
Should I Go?
• Lessen the fear factor
• Give options and choices
• Environmental awareness
• Be alert for signals
Reduce Your Risk
Reduce Your Risk
• When someone gets agitated or angry
your goal is to reduce the level of
agitation or anger.
• Our natural response to a stressful
situation is fight or flight.
• To reduce the tension, you must
remain calm, in control, and attentive.
You must be in charge of how you
react.
Reduce Your Risk
• Appear calm and confident.
• Limit your hand and arm movements
and keep your hands in sight.
• Maintain limited eye contact.
• Really listen, but don’t take things
personally.
• Remain at eye level, at a comfortable
distance away from the person.
Reduce Your Risk
• Listen respectfully and allow them to
express feelings.
• Let them know you are listening by
using encouraging responses “I see,”
“Go on,” “Uh-huh.”
• Hands off!
• Remain calm and confident.
• Keep an even tone of voice.
What can the agency do to help
protect their workers?
• Develop agency policies.
• Set security measures within the agency.
• File criminal charges.
• Provide counseling.
Personal Safety Do’s and Don’ts
DO:
• Appear confident and in control.
• Leave the environment if your instincts
tell you to do so.
• Wait to enter the home until an adult grants
you permission.
• Ask who else is in the home.
• Treat the family with respect and dignity.
Personal Safety Do’s and Don’t’s
DON’T:
• Turn your back.
• Appear fearful.
• Complete a home visit with someone under
the influence.
• Complete a home visit with someone
inappropriately dressed.
• Commit listening errors.
Workplace Violence
Armed robberies make up 85% of
workplace violence that occurs.
What do you think makes up
the other 15%?
When do we become a threat?
Key Points about Violence
Violence is the product of an interaction of
three factors:
1. The individual who takes violent action;
2. A setting that facilitates or permits violence
OR does not discourage it; and
3. Triggering conditions that lead the subject to
see violence as an option.
Triggering Events
• Loss (real, perceived, or anticipated)
o job or income
o status
o significant other
• Perceived rejection
• Perceived injustice
• Ostracized by others
• Health problems
Evaluating Threats
Threats may increase, decrease or have no
relationship to violence.
• Some subjects who make threats ultimately act
on them.
• Most subjects never act on threats (68-90%
false positive rate)
• Many subjects who commit acts of violence
never make threats.
Dealing with Threats
Take threats seriously, but be careful not to
overreact.
• Investigate and follow up on credible threats.
• Consider threats in the appropriate context.
• Document your findings and actions.
• Notify police/security/supervisor of concerns.
How to Cope With
Creepy Crawling Things,
Mean Dogs and Sitting in
Something Wet . . .
Creepy Crawlies Cockroaches
Bed Bugs
Fleas
Head Lice
Creepy Crawlies
Should I Stay or
Should I Go?
Wild Things
Mice/Rats/Bats
Snakes
Raccoons
Possums
Exotic Pets
Wild Things
Should I Stay or
Should I Go?
Mean Dogs
• On a leash or behind a fence?
• Aggressive breeds
• Mistreated/abused dogs
• Warning signs
• Calling card
Children
• Exploration
• Setting limits
• Keeping them safe
Limited Housing Stock
+
Limited Resources
=
Less Than Stellar Housekeeping (some of the time)
Uh Oh! Messy Accidents
Watch where you step
Watch where you sit
Leave the “dry clean only”
clothes at home
Be respectful
Methamphetamines
• Meth is an extremely addictive stimulant
drug, chemically similar to amphetamine.
• It takes the form of a white, odorless, bitter
tasting crystalline powder.
• Also known as crystal, chalk and ice.
• Can be smoked, snorted, injected or taken
orally.
Physical Effects of Meth
• Increased wakefulness
• Increased physical activity
• Decreased appetite
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Mood disturbances
• Paranoia, hallucinations and delusions
Meth in Iowa
• Significant drop in meth labs since
pseudoephedrine control laws passed in 2005.
• Meth labs seizures have plummeted from 1,550
in 2004 to 174 in 2014.
• However, meth abuse has not fallen.
• New methods (one pot, “shake ‘n bake”) use
less pseudoephedrine and produce smaller
quantities, but are still dangerous.
• Out-of-state (out of country) supply is increasing.
Telltale Signs of Meth Production
Appearance of Structure
• unusual odors
• covered windows
• strange ventilation
• elaborate security
• dead vegetation
• excessive or unusual trash
Telltale Signs of Meth Production
Behavior of Occupants
• Paranoid behavior
• Staying inside
• Smoking outside
• Frequent visitors
• Mobile garbage
Methamphetamine Dangers
for Home Visitors
Protective Services Training Institute www.utexas.edu/research/cswr/psti/index.php?lm=training&m=distance
Funding provided by the Texas Department of
Family and Protective Services
What are the risks of being in
or near a meth lab?
• The fumes and byproducts are EXTREMELY TOXIC.
• The fumes are likely to be FLAMMABLE and could
result in an explosion.
• The fumes can irritate and damage your respiratory
passages and eyes.
• Residue from the fumes and from the cooking process
can stick to your skin, clothing and shoes.
If you think you are in a meth lab --
• Don’t touch anything.
• Don’t threaten to call the police.
• Get to safety without raising alarm.
• You can help any children once you are
safe.
Do you have any
questions?
Is there anything else you
would like to talk about?
Contact Information
Mid-Iowa Community Action
1001 S. 18th Avenue, Marshalltown
641-752-7162
Don Snider
Helen Benker
Originally created by
Janet Gartin (Horras) & the FaDSS Team at
Iowa Department of Human Rights
Division of Community Action Agencies
Revised by IDPH/MIECHV Team
January 2015
Adapted for Weatherization Professionals by
Helen Benker, Mid-Iowa Community Action
May 2016
Additional Resources
• Drug Activity Hotline – Iowa: 1-800-532-0052 maintained by the
Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. Respond to calls of
suspected drug and meth activity 24/7.
Bedbug Resources
• www.linncounty.org/650/Bed-Bugs
• http://www.idph.state.ia.us/eh/common/pdf/board_of_health_assista
nce/factsheet_bed_bugs.pdf
Sources:
Safety Training for Human Services Professional. D. Irwin, CSW
Protecting Children, Volume 12, Number 4, pages 8 – 11.
Be Careful Out There. C. Horejsi, MSW, PhD and C. Garthwait, MSSW
Protecting Children, Volume 12, Number 4, pages 12 – 14.
Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers. Chapter 3.
Take Charge of Your Personal Safety. Alberta R.N., February 2002.
Worker Safety. University of California, School of Social Welfare, 2001.
Drug Facts – Methamphetamine. National Institute on Drug Abuse,
www.drugabuse.gov
RESULTS IOWA - Accountability for Iowa.
http://www.resultsiowa.org/drugctrl.html#measure_1
Sources:
Meth still grips Iowa, even if it’s become less visible, Tony Leys, The Des
Moines Register, 10-13-15, http://dmreg.co/1LsREtj
Drug Facts, National Institute on Drug Abuse, www.drugabuse.gov
How to Recognize a Structure Containing a Meth Lab from the Outside, Illinois
Attorney General Lisa Madigan,
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/methnet/recognizingmeth.html
Meth Basics and Worker Safety. Protective Services Institute of Texas
(Funding provided by the Texas Department of Family and Protective
Services), 2006.
http://www.quantumunitsed.com/materials/1429_Meth_Basics.pdf