Collaboration on Homelessness Issues Takes Center Stage

Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Office of Public Health Practice recently hosted the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s first annual Proven Practices: Taking it to the Next Level Conference, on its campus in Loma Linda. Approximately 400 attendees filled the Centennial Complex auditorium to hear John McMahon, Sheriff-Coroner of the County of San Bernardino; San Bernardino County Supervisors James Ramos and Josie Gonzalez; Richard Hart, President of Loma Linda University Health; Joe Colletti, PhD, CEO of the Institute of Urban Initiatives and co-founder/CEO of the Episcopal Housing Alliance and Economic Development; Philip Mangano, President and CEO of the American Roundtable to Abolish Homelessness (and former Director of the White House United States Interagency Council on Homelessness under President George W. Bush); and Tod Lipka, President and CEO of Step Up. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department developed its Homeless Outreach and Proactive Enforcement Program (H.O.P.E.) team to balance proactive outreach with enforcement of the law, while connecting members of the homeless population with resources that may help them transition from homelessness. The ultimate goal of H.O.P.E. and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is to reduce the rate of recidivism, incarceration, and reduce the current costs associated to homeless-related crime. Since the Beginning of March, H.O.P.E. has directly contacted 800 homeless individuals, has assisted well over 400 of these with county services, has found 110 homeless people permanent housing and has caught the attention of over 250 service providers who have joined the program. In a report prepared by Colletti and Sophia Herrera, PhD, from the Institute for Urban Initiatives, 2,140 people were identified as being homeless in San Bernardino County on Jan. 22 (when the census was taken). The previous census, taken in January 2013, identified 2,321 homeless people. A comparison of the last two census reveals that there was a decrease of 8% in the number of homeless individuals identified in 2015. The study conducted by Colletti and Herrera also analyzed subpopulations, providing critical data to law enforcement and community groups that provide resources to homeless populations in the county. Representatives for a number of community agencies shared their proven practices for housing and employment within the areas of their expertise in subpopulations such as veterans (Joel Roberts, CEO of PATH); women (Molly Moen, COO of the Downtown Women’s Center); the mentally ill (Tod Lipka); as well as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (William Snow, Sr. Program Specialist, HUD Continuum of Care); and the City of Long Beach (Susan Price, Bureau Manager of Community Health, Long Beach Health and Human Services). Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Office of Public Health Practice, also participated with a geographic information science (GIS) mapping of the homeless population areas in San Bernardino County. The conference concluded with questions and answers, comments, and next steps that will help plan programs and program implementation for progress in the quest to end homelessness in San Bernardino County.