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

don.snider@micaonline.org

Helen Benker

helen.benker@micaonline.org

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