Navigating Security and Privacy Threats in Homeless Service Provision

People experiencing homelessness interact with service providers to access essential services. As clients, homeless individuals are expected to reveal sensitive information about themselves to service providers, while personal security and privacy (S&P) preferences fall by the wayside. Simultaneously, providers take on S&P-adjacent responsibilities: helping clients fill out applications, safekeeping clients' personal documents, monitoring clients' online safety, undergoing workplace S&P training, etc. We created five storyboards to represent S&P challenges that clients can face when they interact with providers. In interviews with homeless individuals and service providers in the Northeastern United States, we use these storyboards to explore the S&P challenges in client-provider relationships within homeless services. We find a set of mismatches in S&P priorities between clients and providers, leading to mistrust between the two parties. We provide design recommendations, envisioned by both parties, for providers to bridge these mismatches.