COUNTY HOMELESS OUTREACH TEAM LAUNCHED IN EAST COUNTY

County News Service

December 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--The family of three—a couple approximately in their 40s, and their 17-year-old son and pet dog—slept in sleeping bags and blankets behind a Santee gas station last week. They were dressed in layers and were huddled or lying down on the concrete ground close to the building with their belongings in a few small carts. The family has been homeless since last December. Because the father works there five days a week, the gas station owner allows them to sleep on the property on occasion.

One recent, chilly morning, a community-policing Sheriff’s deputy and a member of the County Health and Human Services Agency headed out on a tip to reach out to the family. Three months ago, the Sheriff’s station in Santee launched the East Regional Homeless Outreach Team, or HOT,  to do this sort of work in Santee, Lakeside and El Cajon. The goal of the program is to connect homeless people in the area with programs, services and resources that will help them find permanent shelter, work and treatment, if needed.

Deputy Kristin Billieux, one of seven deputies assigned to the unit, says, “I definitely think we’re making an impact, and I think we will see even more in a year.”

In East County, many of those contacted by the team have been connected with a variety of social services. One was even hired as a result of a job placement service referral.

Cristina Hernandez, one of two health and human services specialists assigned to the East team, said her office can link people to health coverage, CalFresh and cash assistance programs. Hernandez said she can also usually suggest other state and federal programs for which they could apply, and other available community services.

The Health and Human Services Agency has partnered with the San Diego Police Department, which has had a HOT program for more than a decade and has helped connect homeless people in that city with shelter, services and treatment.  

As the East team pulled up to the side of the gas station in Santee that recent morning, Hernandez and Deputy Billieux discussed this homeless family’s case. Billieux said patrol deputies had come across the family and told the HOT unit where they might be able to find them, County News Service reports.

Then she and Hernandez approached the family and asked the father if they could talk to him about services available for the homeless. The father, son and dog were waiting for the mother, who stays awake all night to keep watch over them, as she slept. The father was at first a little concerned that they were being asked to leave, but he was quickly assured that the deputy and Hernandez were interested only in helping the family.

Hernandez introduced herself and then she and Billieux began gathering information that included the family’s circumstances, their income, what services or programs they were currently enrolled in, and what their biggest needs were in the immediate future.

Ultimately, Hernandez was able to check on the family’s current social services file from the field with help from her partner in the office. They used the father’s case number on his EBT card and his wife’s social security number. Hernandez told the father that the family may be eligible for further federal benefits, a cellphone, and possibly a one-time payment that would help them get off the streets.

After offering to come back and give them a lift later that day to the office where they could submit the paperwork, Billieux and Hernandez set off to try to find others in the area.

In Lakeside, the team contacted a man sitting at the far end of a parking lot across from Lindo Lake Park. They found one man, whom they recognized as a chronic drinker, who always stands by a tree in a nearby industrial complex. At another park, they found two more men, including one in his late teens. In each case, the pair gathered information and assessed what services or benefits might be available.

One man they found lying down in an alley chatted amiably with the team but told them he was happy just being outside. Hernandez said that in the past this man has politely taken their paperwork to apply for benefits but never followed through and turned it in.

“Homelessness is not an easy issue,” Billieux said. “The people you contact have to want help. Not everyone wants help, but you just have to work with those you can.”

Since the program started in East County, Hernandez said those assigned to this effort have contacted hundreds of homeless people. Most of the contacts involve individuals or families who have had or currently receive benefits. Hernandez follows up on cases, checks on the status of applications and gets back with person if there’s an issue like missing paperwork. The most common interaction involves helping with renewals since contact information like a mailing address is difficult for the homeless population without this type of outreach. She said when she started this assignment three months ago she was impressed at how the deputies knew many of the homeless in their area already. The Santee Sheriff’s Department is always looking for more resources to help the homeless they contact, she said.

The Regional Task Force on the Homeless found an estimated 750 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in the East County in its 2015 count. The Sheriff’s Department estimates that about 10 percent of all calls for service in Santee relate to homeless people, who often are victims of crimes themselves. The team does not arrest someone just to get them off the streets, though if deputies determine that the person has committed a crime, they will then arrest him or her, Billieux added. Once incarcerated, however, they will often be offered many of the same services the HOT program offers as well with in-house detoxification and treatment services, she added.

In the event that someone is experiencing a mental health problem, the team can request a Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT), which consists of a deputy and a licensed clinician. Many chronically homeless people suffer from substance abuse, mental illness or other physical or cognitive disabilities.