These individuals have multiple responsibilities along with the expectation to provide outreach services. Consequently, they may not be able to effectively counsel and refer the homeless who come to their agency. In the clinical expert and consultant role, one could assist community leaders and agency' staff to write competitive grant proposals to seek outside funds. As mentioned earlier, even the smallest community has some resources to care for the needy among them. Care givers especially if they are recruited from outside the local community, often are not aware of them.
Technology holds potential for addressing the information gap.
For example, in the roles of partner or collaborator, one could work with a civic organization or graduate student to compile a database of local, regional, state and federal agencies along with local informal resources. IF the information was kept current. For the information to be used, the availability and how to access the data base must be widely disseminated among health care providers of all types. Community-focused partnerships hold promise to develop initiatives to prevent and respond to the rural homeless. With the trend to 'right-size' the federal government, greater responsibility is placed on state and local governments.