Ryan Dowd is redesigning the core homelessness training and needs your help! His next interactive session will be on March 10, 2022. During this session (the third and final in this feedback series), a section of the current core training will be shown.
 
The session will also include:

 
A few things you need to know:

 
BONUS: To make these trainings more immersive and interactive, Ryan has created a private Facebook Group for members who would like to be REALLY involved in helping us with the redesign.
 
The purpose of the group will be to ask questions and have discussions about the Core Training. It’s a temporary group and is completely voluntary. After you register for a session, you’ll be sent instructions for joining the group.
Here's the schedule (and registration links).
 March 10, 2022 2 PM EST 90 minutes
De-escalation Skills:  Practical tools and techniques
 
Now is the chance to provide important feedback on the training redesign! They are looking forward to hearing your feedback and teaming with you on this important redesign.
 
A former director of a Chicago homeless shelter, Ryan Dowd is the author of The Librarians Guide to Homelessness: An Empathy-Driven Approach to Solving Problems, Preventing Conflict, and Serving Everyone.  He travels all over the United States speaking to libraries about how to best help homeless patrons using empathy and respect.  He also provides training to police departments, nonprofits and other organizations on how to compassionately manage problematic behavior from troubled individuals.
 
To access The Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness core training on Niche Academy, go to the State Library of Ohio’s Training and Professional Development page and click the homelessness training link.  Once in Niche Academy, you will be prompted to login or create an account. Certificates will be issued within Niche Academy after the completion of the core training or webinar.
 
If you have trouble accessing the training or upcoming webinar, email Erin Kelsey, Library Consultant at the State Library of Ohio at: ekelsey@library.ohio.gov. 
 
The Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness core training purchased by the State Library in 2019 and has been renewed through August 2022. The online training, authored by Ryan Dowd, is available for all Ohio public and academic library staff.  The four-part training is an empathy-driven approach that provides best practices for library staff on how to understand the homeless population and serve them better. There are also practical tips on how to deal with and de-escalate common situations and issues, and make staff feel empowered and safe.  Archived webinars are available as separate modules in Niche Academy. 

The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce registration is now open for an in-person Reimaging School Readiness training on April 12.
 
Do you wonder what research really says about how to support school readiness? This is a suite of research-backed resources created for library staff to help families prepare children ages birth to 8 years for success in school and in life.
 
Through a live in-person interactive presentation with hands-on activities, this training will introduce library staff to the research, practical implications, and resources offered in the toolkit.
 The workshop topics include:

 This training is for library staff who work with children from ages 0 to 8 and their families.
 
Registration and more information can be found the State Library of Ohio’s website.
 
The in-person workshop will be held at the State Library.
April 12
10 am - 3 pm (Registration now open!)
 
Contact Penelope Shumaker at pshumaker@library.ohio.gov with any questions.

Ohio Summer Food Service Program Virtual Summit            
Friday, March 11, 8:30 am – 2:30 pm
 The Ohio Department of Education invites meal program providers, community partners and summer food service program stakeholders to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Summit. This is a free event, but registration is required. Learn more and register:
https://education.ohio.gov/Media/Ed-Connection/Feb-28-2022/Register-for-March-11-Summer-Food-Service-Program
 
I’ve attended the SFSP Summit several times pre-COVID, when it was a day-long in-person conference. I found it very helpful for networking, learning technical details and tips & tricks about summer meals, and bringing awareness of library participation in SFSP to the many other fields & entities represented. If your library is a summer meal site, is interested in becoming a site, supports local meal sites with library programming/outreach, or would like to do so, I encourage you to attend the SFSP Summit.
 
I’ll post more about SFSP in coming weeks; we are all waiting to learn whether any of the USDA waivers that increased eligibility and flexibility during the pandemic (currently set to expire June 30) will be extended for summer 2022. For a basic introduction to SFSP for libraries, see the State Library’s SFSP page, and for a more detailed how-to, see the CSLP’s Libraries and Summer Food guide.