Encouraging HIV risk-reduction behaviors and testing with people experiencing homelessness

In keeping with the Cafés philosophy of reciprocal transformation, the students and guests both were effected and changed by the encounter. The guests actively participated in the intervention, discussed HIV risk-reduction behaviors, and shared their knowledge with others. Participation in the onsite HIV testing project increased, and the guests, Café staff, and the program coordinator of the agency providing HIV testing expressed gratitude for the student intervention. The students were effected as well. Although all of the students had seen people who were homeless, none had had a sustained encounter with this population. Most students entered the experience uneasy. Some were fearful or had negative stereotypical impressions. As the students spent time with the guests and shared stories, they grew more at ease, and a feeling of connection developed. The students began to know more about the guests in terms of place, family, and abilities, not just their 'homeless' label. The students commented: Having been raised in an upper middle class environment most of my life, spending time in this type of community is something that I had little experience with. [I have a] greater awareness of the [need] for serving as an advocate. Through interaction at the Café [my] stereotypes of the homeless were proven incorrect. I know I will not take my own life and my living situation for granted ever again. The intervention provided experiences [that] cannot be measured. ...relationships were formed and hearts touched. I don't want to leave. I want to come back. These comments suggest the students had their eyes opened in new ways and left with a deeper connection to and understanding of the guests and people living at the edges of society.