Two, recent examples of the work of the Mayor's Advisory Commission on Homelessness:
?˜The Tarrant County District Attorney?’s Office has promulgated a revised protocol for law enforcement personnel on criminal trespassing (CT). Under the new system a property owner may give a neighboring owner or an incorporated neighborhood association written permission to act as agent and, further, neither the property owner nor the agent need be present for an officer to make an arrest. FWPD Captain Read and PD Legal Advisor Karen Anderson along with the Neighborhood Impact and Public Safety Workgroup will be publicizing the final form of this protocol to officers and the public in the coming weeks.
?˜This week, City legislative personnel are working to introduce a bill (hopefully today with the sponsorship of Representative Marc Veasey) that would prohibit the sale of alcohol in a 1,000?’ zone around homeless shelters. In conjunction with the revised CT protocol and liquor license protest, Fort Worth can become a less desirable place to be an addict?—and a safe place to get sober and back into the community.
This said, I will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Chief Mendoza and insist that law enforcement is neither responsible for nor best suited to address the manifold causes and consequences of homelessness. While we are fortunate to have a PD that works with the community and takes order maintenance seriously we will not arrest our way out of homelessness. (Remember, 30% of Tarrant County ?’s homeless are children.) Thus, the Mayor's Advisory Commission on Homelessness is also working to develop services and housing that link accountability with opportunity to facilitate transitions out of homelessness. Here?’s how you can help:
Nationally, it costs more to leave homeless people on the street or in emergency shelters than it does to put them in housing and give them a case manager. (I highly recommend a review of the Denver study referenced in the pdf attachment: they achieved tax-payer savings working with individuals who were chronically homeless, on average, nearly 8 years.) Let the City?’s Taskforce on Quality, Affordable Housing know that Supportive and Transitional Housing saves tax dollars and gets folks off the streets; advocate for the City?’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund generally and the development of permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless in particular.
We are working to develop a compendium of evidenced-based Prevention and Supportive Services so that we can best leverage programs that work. You can participate here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=580623067855 Support agencies that help keep folks OUT of homelessness in the first place with your money and time like Guardianship Services (http://www.guardianshipservices.org/) the Northside Inter-Church Agency (http://www.nicaagency.org/) or Big Brothers/ Big Sisters (http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.esJQK5PFJnH/b.1621293/k.BE24/Home.htm).
Although modest, Tarrant County has recorded the first decrease in our homeless population in the more than fifteen years data has been collected. The Fort Worth / Arlington / Tarrant Area Continuum of Care (the entity through which Federal funding flows to our community) continues its successful development of sorely needed supportive and transitional housing.
By Otis Thornton M.A.C.H.
?˜The Tarrant County District Attorney?’s Office has promulgated a revised protocol for law enforcement personnel on criminal trespassing (CT). Under the new system a property owner may give a neighboring owner or an incorporated neighborhood association written permission to act as agent and, further, neither the property owner nor the agent need be present for an officer to make an arrest. FWPD Captain Read and PD Legal Advisor Karen Anderson along with the Neighborhood Impact and Public Safety Workgroup will be publicizing the final form of this protocol to officers and the public in the coming weeks.
?˜This week, City legislative personnel are working to introduce a bill (hopefully today with the sponsorship of Representative Marc Veasey) that would prohibit the sale of alcohol in a 1,000?’ zone around homeless shelters. In conjunction with the revised CT protocol and liquor license protest, Fort Worth can become a less desirable place to be an addict?—and a safe place to get sober and back into the community.
This said, I will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Chief Mendoza and insist that law enforcement is neither responsible for nor best suited to address the manifold causes and consequences of homelessness. While we are fortunate to have a PD that works with the community and takes order maintenance seriously we will not arrest our way out of homelessness. (Remember, 30% of Tarrant County ?’s homeless are children.) Thus, the Mayor's Advisory Commission on Homelessness is also working to develop services and housing that link accountability with opportunity to facilitate transitions out of homelessness. Here?’s how you can help:
Nationally, it costs more to leave homeless people on the street or in emergency shelters than it does to put them in housing and give them a case manager. (I highly recommend a review of the Denver study referenced in the pdf attachment: they achieved tax-payer savings working with individuals who were chronically homeless, on average, nearly 8 years.) Let the City?’s Taskforce on Quality, Affordable Housing know that Supportive and Transitional Housing saves tax dollars and gets folks off the streets; advocate for the City?’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund generally and the development of permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless in particular.
We are working to develop a compendium of evidenced-based Prevention and Supportive Services so that we can best leverage programs that work. You can participate here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=580623067855 Support agencies that help keep folks OUT of homelessness in the first place with your money and time like Guardianship Services (http://www.guardianshipservices.org/) the Northside Inter-Church Agency (http://www.nicaagency.org/) or Big Brothers/ Big Sisters (http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.esJQK5PFJnH/b.1621293/k.BE24/Home.htm).
Although modest, Tarrant County has recorded the first decrease in our homeless population in the more than fifteen years data has been collected. The Fort Worth / Arlington / Tarrant Area Continuum of Care (the entity through which Federal funding flows to our community) continues its successful development of sorely needed supportive and transitional housing.
By Otis Thornton M.A.C.H.
