Anchorage partners police officers with social workers to assist city’s homeless

Lt. Brian Fuchs pinch nan Anchorage Police Department oversees nan city’s Homeless Outreach Prevention and Engagement team. (Wesley Early/Alaska Public Media)

Anchorage metropolis leaders are hopeful that a caller squad successful nan Anchorage Police Department will thief support bum residents safe while connecting them pinch nan resources they need.

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance touted nan caller aviator program, which is called nan Homeless Outreach Prevention and Engagement team, astatine a property convention Wednesday.

“People experiencing homelessness are acold much apt to go victims of crime,” LaFrance said. “The HOPE squad consists of a sworn situation intervention-trained serviceman and a societal activity navigator who activity together to link group experiencing homelessness to services and lodging while improving organization information for all.”

Typically, nan Anchorage Health Department has conducted bum services and outreach. However, Police Chief Sean Case said his section operates astir nan clock, extracurricular of accustomed wellness section hours. That puts nan HOPE squad successful a bully position to thief support nan activity successful addressing homelessness, he said.

“If we tin woody pinch victimization and crime that’s happening wrong this population, while besides connecting to resources, because we are nan agency that often comes into interaction pinch this population, we’re now conscionable adding to nan wide scheme nan Municipality has,” Case said.

The HOPE squad has been moving since nan commencement of July and is headed by Lt. Brian Fuchs, who said a awesome extremity is to person nan squad engaging pinch residents surviving successful nan city’s bum camps.

“We want affirmative constabulary contacts,” Fuchs said. “We want group to understand that nan constabulary are location to assist, nan constabulary are location to help. And successful immoderate cases, that’s connecting group to resources. In different cases, it whitethorn beryllium taking a unfortunate successful and getting a amended knowing of what they’re a unfortunate of.”

The squad is akin successful conception to nan Mobile Intervention Team, a programme wherever officers are collaborated pinch intelligence wellness clinicians to respond to intelligence wellness crises, Fuchs said. While that squad responds to a assortment of calls, Fuchs said nan HOPE squad is specifically aimed astatine helping residents successful bum camps. 

“It’s a caller conception arsenic acold arsenic a mission, but nan conception of nan co-response exemplary has been thing that we’ve been doing for rather immoderate time,” Fuchs said.

Farina Brown, typical adjunct to nan politician connected homelessness and health, said having an serviceman pinch nan societal activity navigator helps support some providers and nan group they’re servicing safe and helps build relationships.

“Sometimes it takes aggregate contacts pinch personification earlier they moreover show you their name,” Brown said. “And nan HOPE squad allows for that bandwidth to spell successful and create relationships and commencement to nexus group to services erstwhile they’re ready.”

If nan aviator programme goes well, metropolis leaders said a 2nd HOPE squad could beryllium retired moving connected nan streets adjacent year.