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of basic tife skitts. ldeas for addressing barriers included not thinking less of peopte who are not <br />ready for hetp, devetoping peer leaders or mentors who can provide assistance in accessing <br />services without judgment, trust buitding, and meeting peopte where they are at. <br />. "To address the barriers, you can offer to be there when they want to change. " <br />. "Trust-buitding has to be imptemented because either these peopte have been through <br />tough situations and have trauma, or they have tried to go through the system and there's <br />timited avaitabitity....Some peopte need to be taught basic life skitts because they don't <br />understand or have experience with them." <br />. "l think if we can incorporate that peer work more in what we do, that would be <br />beneficiat. We need to meet where they are, with non-judgment, approaching them as <br />individuals who are where they are. " <br />. "Meet peopte where they're at an in the trauma they brought with them." <br />Law EnforcementlLocal Government: Participants discussed a variety of ways to address these <br />barriers. One participant suggested using the behavioral heatth court as a model for getting <br />peopte to access services. Another participant expressed that sometimes it takes severa[ tries for <br />someone to be witting to access services. The muttipte steps peopte have to go through to access <br />services is a barrier as wett and there was a suggestion to have people avaitabte to watk people <br />through the process with them. <br />. "Maybe it's that fifth time they say they witt do it." <br />. "l think the [imited avaitabitity of services is a big obstacte." <br />Community l,iembers: Participant ideas for addressing barriers inctuded people having on ongoing <br />support system (a personal advocate to hetp them access services), increased avaitabitity and <br />accessibitity of menta[ heatth services for peopte who are unhoused, levets of support similar to <br />what peopte with devetopmentat disabitities receive, letting people know what resources are <br />avaitabte, and education about how the system works. <br />. "l feel tike the chatlenge is being abte to support them as they go along. You get them a <br />house, and they can't manage that on their own without support. So an ongoing support <br />system for people who have these chaltenges woutd be good." <br />. "l see less around mental heatth and mental ittness. That's a big barrier....it's traditional <br />in that you come into their office. Not everyone who is unhoused is avaitabte to do that or <br />they don't sit wett in a waiting room. So there is not a variety of approaches to make that <br />avaitabte to folks who are unhoused." <br />. "l strongty support the idea of some of these people having a personal advocate." <br />. "l don't think they know what's avaitabte." <br />Central Washington lJniversity: Some participants fett that there is an unwittingness to provide <br />services more than an unwitlingness to participate. Other barriers brought up included lack of <br />transportation, judgement and stigma, and lack of trust. ldeas to address barriers inctuded letting <br />peopte knowwhat is and isn't needed to access services (i.e. identification, social security <br />number), ensuring services are discrete and wetcoming, having someone to hetp guide peopte <br />through processes, and asking peopte what fheir priorities are and what their barriers are. <br />. "Not having a vehicle is a major, major issue...counting on the bus to come around the <br />area wasn't enough..." <br />. "They want to btame the victim. lt's easier. lt gets them off the hook." <br />9