Impacts of a Multi-Agency Approach to Addressing Homelessness on Clients

• In Event: Lightning Talk: New Frontiers of Research on Housing Instability, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Systems

Abstract

For the last decade, the Indio Police Department has utilized an Unsheltered Assistance Unit made up of officers and a mental health clinician focused on outreach and responses to calls involving individuals experiencing homelessness. Officers use a variety of approaches to connect clients to services and use law enforcement as a last resort. These officers also identify clients for a multi-agency program that brings together police, prosecutors, public defenders, probation, and service providers. The Community Outreach Resource Program operates similarly to a homelessness court and removes fines and fees and pending charges for individuals who complete programming at a participating service provider. This lighting talk first briefly reviews the program and key components of this multi-partner approach to homelessness in the Coachella Valley before summarizing impacts of the program on clients drawing from pre and post program surveys, post-program interviews, and official data on police contacts. The talk will conclude by noting the overall promise for this innovative approach, while recognizing gaps and challenges in serving clients with prior convictions for serious crimes or a history of chronic homelessness.

Author

• Cody Telep, Arizona State University