ABSTRACT
People need survival skills to stay alive. They don’t need communications skills if they’re starving to death, or freezing from the cold. Having appropriate clothing, being free from rats and insects, and having wires properly insulated are higher priorities than assertiveness training or parenting skills. We call services aimed at helping clients learn to meet their basic needs “concrete services” because they are not abstract processes. Concrete services might include helping make the beds, washing the sweaters and the diapers, or helping a family move.
