FirstStep Street Outreach Program offers life saving alternatives to living on the streets for homeless men and women, particularly those affected by substance abuse, mental illness, and medical complications associated with life on the streets. 

Through a combination of foot teams and mobile teams in vans, FirstStep staff seeks out homeless individuals where they are, building relationships and trust necessary for clients to accept a referral to a safer location.

FirstStep staff travel to known Cambridge and Somerville homeless hangouts—to major squares, subway stations, parks, meal programs, building doorways, and drop-in centers—linking unsheltered homeless men and women with emergency medical and psychiatric care, meal programs, shelters, substance abuse treatment, and daytime drop-in and social service centers.

FirstStep staff also responds to calls for service when members of the public, service providers, business owners, and the police encounter homeless individuals who appear to be in need of assistance.  The goal of FirstStep, like other CASPAR front line services, is to save a life today, so that an individual has the opportunity to take the necessary steps to end homelessness in the future.