ORLANDO, Fla. – After a new state law went into effect last month criminalizing sleeping on public streets, some law enforcement agencies found themselves in a tough spot: When they enforce the law and make the homeless move along, typically the homeless just move somewhere else.
The Orlando Police Department has been dealing with the dilemma every since the City Beautiful with its warm sunshine and plentiful resources began attracting transients from across the country.
Long before the bill was signed into law, OPD was trying a different approach aimed at moving the homeless into shelters, instead of to another street corner or underpass.
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In January, the Orlando Police Department formed the beginnings of its Homeless Intervention Unit (HIU).
OPD Captain Drew Thomas is the HIU’s commander.
“Well before the law came into effect, we’ve been gearing towards a more focused approach, working with our community partners, getting services online for homeless people, people going through mental health crisis, substance abuse and other homeless issues,” Capt. Thomas said. “We make contact with them, we try to find out, get to know them a little bit, find out what the issue is so that maybe we can point them in the right direction for service.”
Thomas said more than 20 officers applied for the HIU and 10 were hand-picked.
They pull together code enforcement, counselors, shelters and food banks across Orlando and make the homeless aware of the resources during each encounter.
HIU Officer Leonard greeted a mother and daughter with compassion camped out under the North John Young Parkway overpass next to Lake Fairview Park.
“So we got a couple things going on, we can’t have you guys camping here, we can’t have the belongings on the sidewalk blocking people’s movement,” Leonard told the homeless family. “But we’re also here to check on your well-being. We brought Allied Universal, they’re going to talk to you and offer you some resources. I know you need a wheelchair.”
Often, city of Orlando code enforcement officers follow an HIU visit, as does a cleaning crew.
“We’ll give you a reasonable amount of time to pack up everything,” Leonard told the family. “If you guys need anything, need water, let us know.”
OPD said the HIU, on average, makes contact with more than 2,000 homeless every month, many of them the same people who choose not to take advantage of HIU’s services.
“Some do and some don’t,” Thomas said. “We do see some positive results. We do see some people less, and then there are some people that you see again.”
From January through October, OPD said its HIU interacted with more than 18,000 homeless people, some repeatedly, throughout the city. Less than 2% were arrested.
“And the answer is not to just arrest anybody, it’s just to help them out, get them services, but also be in compliance,” Thomas said. “We have to get them out of the area that they’re in.”
Capt. Thomas acknowledged the HIU is a work in progress.
“We’re trying to find out what’s going on right now, we’re not at the end, we’re still very much learning how we can help more and adjust as we go along,” Thomas said. “And that’s something we can look into and figure out and address later.”
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