IEV Staff |
Earlier this month, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Community Service and Reentry Division, Homelessness Outreach Proactive Enforcement Team (HOPE) conducted a quality-of-life initiative in the city of Highland.
The goal was to connect with unhoused residents and offer them services such as housing, medical and mental health treatment, and other essential social services.
During the operation, the HOPE Team located 30 encampments. In the process they spoke to 38 homeless individuals, 27 of whom were found to be chronically homeless. In addition, the HOPE team’s interactions included six seniors and one veteran were also contacted during the operation.
According to officials, 37 of the individuals the HOPE team contacted were referred to assistance programs, 13 of whom received direct assistance.
There were also two individuals who met the criteria for the county’s Project Room Key program. As a result, they were placed at a local motel where they will work with service providers to end their homelessness.
California Senate Bill 170, which provides funding to the Sheriff’s Department to support ongoing operations of this nature, funded this outreach effort.
County officials stated the HOPE team and other aligned resources will continue operations of this type throughout the county over the next several years.
HOPE’s goal is to balance proactive outreach with enforcement of the law, while also connecting members of the homeless population with resources that may help them transition from homelessness.
The HOPE team has created the publicly available Homeless Activity Reporter survey to allow citizens in San Bernardino County to report homeless activity within the county.
Reported homeless activities are monitored by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s HOPE team and various San Bernardino County Agencies to help improve quality of life within the county. The survey can be accessed here.