HAWTHORNE POLICE GUIDE TO HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS
OUR APPROACH
The Hawthorne Police Department’s strategy in addressing homeless encampments is guided by the City’s five-year plan outlined in Resolution 8015 (January 2017). Our approach in how we address homeless encampments is founded on the three key values of Compassion, Collaboration, and Inclusion.
COMPASSION
Being homeless is not a crime.
We approach people living in encampments with welfare and health issues first and not as a criminal violation. There have been no criminal prosecutions through citations and arrests strictly for being homeless at encampments in Hawthorne’s jurisdiction.
We treat each person with respect and dignity.
We do not judge anyone or treat them any differently because they are homeless.
We treat and interact with the homeless as individuals.
Although there are different categories of being homeless (Chronic, Transitional, or Episodic homelessness), we understand that each person’s story is different. We try and offer services based on each person’s circumstance and need.
We often hear the narrative that homeless encampments are the source of increased crime in the neighborhood. While there are instances where there is an increase in crimes, our philosophy is to not stigmatize encampments as an area housing criminals.
COLLABORATION
We are part of a larger team that provides services to help people that are homeless. Having key relationships with over 15 organizations allows us access and the ability to provide key services to homeless individuals based on their situations. Being a member of the team allows us to focus on public health and welfare.
INCLUSION
We understand homeless encampments affect many segments of our community. It is important that all of our stakeholders have a voice in how we address and interact with homeless individuals living in encampments.
This includes not only our business owners/employees, churches, schools, neighborhood associations, and homeless advocates, but also with our neighboring cities and homeless support groups.
Our goal is to provide a safe environment for our community with the eventual goal of ending homelessness in Hawthorne.
STRATEGY
As stated, this is a national issue and most police departments are facing the similar challenges in addressing homelessness and public safety.
Take a problem-solving approach to homelessness
Create a dedicated Homeless Outreach Team.
Select the right personnel to staff the Homeless Outreach Team.
Provide staff with training to work effectively with persons experiencing homelessness.
Take a multi-disciplinary approach to the problem.
Collect, analyze and share data to better understand the community of homeless individuals and their service needs, and to track progress
Form regional partnerships to address the problem in a coordinated fashion.
Pursue a variety of funding sources.
Create or expand homeless courts.
Work to identify and eliminate unnecessary, counterproductive barriers that prevent homeless persons from improving their lives.
Evaluate what you are doing.
Homeless Encampments
What are Homeless Encampments?
An unsheltered homeless person lives in “a place not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks, abandoned buildings, or on the street. About 44 percent of homeless people are unsheltered. Unsheltered homeless are usually single men, who, unlike homeless families, are less likely to live in emergency shelter, transitional housing, or permanent supportive housing.
Another categorization of homelessness is whether the status is temporary (due to an eviction, prolonged unemployment, job layoff, or domestic violence) or chronic. The federal definition of chronically homeless is an “unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or more or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years”
Impact on the Homeless Population
Conditions in homeless encampments can be dangerous to health. Garbage attracts rodents and other vermin. Food cannot be stored, and dishes cannot be washed properly, facilitating the spread of food-borne diseases. Depending on a camp’s location, some residents might use portable toilets or public facilities, but most are likely to use an outdoor location. Poor hygiene contributes to dental and skin problems. Other environmental hazards, such as batteries and fuels, are used for heating and cooking.
Homeless as Victims
Most people who live in homeless encampments lack health insurance, but they frequently have chronic physical and mental health conditions that require ongoing medical attention. Barriers to seeking routine medical care lead many to the emergency room for non-emergency care. There is some indication that tuberculosis and sexually-transmitted diseases are of special concern. Many transients living in encampments report addiction to drugs or alcohol.
Despite the notion that homeless encampments are safe havens for those living an otherwise rough or unconventional life, these camps can be venues for serious violent crime.
Impact on the Environment
In addition to concerns about the hazardous materials mentioned above, which potentially harm both the transients and the surrounding environment, inadequate human waste disposal at large encampments along rivers can pose a hazard to the water supply of nearby communities.
Another hazard linked to homeless encampments is fire.
Residents of homeless encampments turn to wood stoves and camp fires for heat and cooking. If left unattended (typically by intoxicated transients), these fires can become out of control and burn down camp structures and injure people. Larger fires can spread to more populated areas and damage buildings and infrastructure.
Impact on the Larger Community
Criminal activity by the chronically homeless.
Numerous studies have pointed to a strong relationship between homelessness and criminal activity. Even if transients are not hard-core violent offenders, evidence from police case studies shows areas adjacent to transient encampments have higher levels of petty and serious crime unrelated to “routine behaviors,” such as drug dealing and usage, disturbance, theft, prowling, burglary, panhandling, fighting, vandalism, armed robbery, rape, and aggravated assault. Stolen property, weapons, and wanted felons have been found in homeless encampments.
Threats to business viability.
Urban homeless encampments have a more immediate impact on the nearby community because of proximity. Many chronically homeless behaviors, such as sleeping on the streets, panhandling, public excretion or urination, and public intoxication, are threatening or undesirable. In some urban settings, police rate transients and their behaviors as a bigger problem than drugs, car burglaries, public fighting, cruising, or noise. Entertainment districts are particularly vulnerable to transient behavior because of the availability of people with disposable income, park benches, unattended public restrooms, and lax enforcement of laws governing street behavior. The presence of transients creates an environment of lawlessness. During the day, transients sitting in front of businesses can scare away customers.
SOURCE: US DOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Encampments
Hawthorne Police Response to Homelessness
The purpose of the Homeless Encampment Action protocol is to develop a standard process for municipalities and special districts to identify, respond to, and remove homeless encampments within the City of Hawthorne. The procedures set forth in this document are intended to facilitate the removal of encampments while supporting the relocation of the encampment inhabitants into shelters.
Identify the needs of people at unsheltered sites
Most successful plans include these elements, generally in this order:
Visit the encampment to determine 1) how many people live there and if they have any special needs. This may include assistance medical treatment, substance abuse assistance, mental health, and other treatments as identified by the advocacy groups; 2) if there are any environmental hazards that need to be handled by trained personnel, that include fires, bio-hazards, loose electrical wires, or any other hazards to the unsheltered people or other assisting personnel; and 3) the proper deployment of police officers, advocacy groups, and others to adequately identify the needed resources to assist the homeless population.
Enlisting community support to address the problem
Aside from Promoting the “Housing First” model. This strategy for housing chronically homeless people puts them into their own permanent housing units first instead of first treating the underlying problems to make them “housing ready Because of the intense public debate in many cities about how to deal with homelessness, it is a very good idea to involve homeless advocacy groups early in your planning process. Other stakeholders, particularly those who may be making demands for police action, such as residents, business owners, politicians, and city officials should be involved in negotiating what is acceptable in public spaces. These groups include Los Angeles Homeless Services Association (LAHSA), LAHOP.org, St. Margaret’s Homeless Center, Hawthorne Homeless Services Coordinator, the Hawthorne Homeless Task Force, Gardena / Hawthorne Mental Evaluation Team (GHMET), and many others.
PROCEDURES
Any entity responding to a report of, or discovering a homeless encampment, will identify any immediate hazard to be addressed. Document with photographs whenever possible. An “immediate hazard” is an imminent threat to the health or safety of the homeless or the community, e.g. a fire, and its removal is exempted from the 72-hour time requirement.
Each homeless encampment will be treated as a separate investigation and an SOB Operations Plan shall be authored by the SOB Commander.
The SOB Commander will notify the County’s Health, Housing and Homeless Services outreach teams via e-mail (GHMET, LAHSA, St. Margaret’s, Homeless Services Coordinator, and any other outreach programs as needed). Immediately upon becoming aware of any encampment. The SOB Commander will send the resource team to the identified site as soon as practical to find and offer alternative housing and services to any inhabitants. It is desirable that individuals either move into services or vacate the area on their own and remove their own belongings.
After the CORE Team has visited the site, the team will contact the notifying jurisdiction of the situation and provide any relevant information (Public Works, Code Enforcement, Republic, HPD Metro).
The responsible jurisdiction will arrange to have the encampment posted with the vacate demand. It is encouraged that the posting provides a minimum of 72 hours’ notice for inhabitants to relocate, be printed in multiple languages as appropriate for the area, and includes the date, time and location of posting. Any “immediate hazard” to health and safety identified is exempted from the 72-hour posting time recommendation.
After posting, and up to two hours prior to the time expiration, the CORE Teams will continue to go out to assist individuals to find housing and other services.
After expiration of the notice, the City or jurisdiction may proceed to remove the encampment after the following is completed:
Conduct a quick field review of the encampment (i.e., look around at the items which are in plain view).
Take sufficient photographs, notes, or otherwise document the condition and extent of area covered by the encampment.
Each agency with jurisdiction is encouraged to keep a record of the date, time and location of the removal of a homeless encampment.
During removal of the encampment, if any of the following types of items are apparent, reasonably safe and not a sanitary hazard, they should be held by the appropriate maintenance yard for a minimum of 30 days prior to disposal. Items stored may include but are not limited to the following:
Watches, Medication, Eyeglasses, Jewelry, Personal photographs, Personal records
A receipt and the location where the above belongings are stored shall be issued to its proper owner.
Anything stored from a location can be kept in one box/container that is marked with the date, time and location of the removal. Possessions are to be released to persons who can identify them in accordance with each agency’s policy.
Persons illegally trespassing or lodging may be arrested immediately. However, normally law enforcement personnel will only make arrests if someone refuses to leave or is suspected of committing a criminal offense.
The property owner is responsible for cleaning up and making safe the area of the encampment. This will include cleaning any hazardous waste found in the area and repairing or replacing items such as fencing.
Individuals assigned to remove the encampment should take appropriate safety precautions in the course of the work, including the proper use of PPE.
If necessary, request the County Health Department’s Environmental Health Services to inspect and report on issues involving the protections of the homeless and workers during encampment removal, including hazardous waste.
It is the goal not to permit the re-establishment of encampments once they have been removed through this procedure. This will include the following activities:
After encampment removal, the area will be posted with signs saying “No Camping” or “No Trespassing” and include the telephone number of the CE information and referral hotline
The agency with jurisdiction will provide routine patrol of the areas to prevent the formation of an encampment.
Any citizen who would like to report an encampment should be directed to contact the City of Hawthorne Code Enforcement Unit or the Hawthorne Police Department non-emergency number.
SUMMARY
No unsheltered people have been criminalized in the City of Hawthorne for being homeless. After intensive outreach and wrap-around services have been provided, an encampment will be scheduled for clean-up to mitigate any hazards to unsheltered people. The following protocol is followed:
A minimum of 72-hour notice is given to vacate
Unsheltered people will be provided with additional literature and resources and care-packets.
Unsheltered people are allowed to take any items of personal value
The Hawthorne Police Department will secure and store any items of value for 90 days
All remaining trash, biohazard / contaminated items, debris and any shrubs will be removed
Graffiti will be removed, any damaged structures such as fences, gates, electrical panels will be repaired
Homeless advocates are invited to be present before, during and after any scheduled clean-up.
Our Partners
· Behavioral Health Services – Family Health Services
· Behavioral Health Services – Patterns
· Behavioral Health Services – South Bay Outpatient
· City of Hawthorne
· LA County Department of Mental Health - South Bay Mental Health Center
· Harbor Interfaith Services
· Hawthorne New Star Family Justice Center
· Hawthorne Police Department
· Hawthorne Recreation and Community Services
· LA Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)
· Mental Health of America
· People Assisting the Homeless (PATH)
· South Bay Cities Council of Governments
· South Bay Coalition to End Homelessness
· St. Margaret’s Center
City of Hawthorne – Department of Recreation and Community Services
The City of Hawthorne’s Department of Recreation and Community Services coordinates the city’s homeless taskforce and partnerships with all of the groups.
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)
In December of 1993, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles mayor and City Council created the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) as an independent, joint powers authority. LAHSA is the lead agency in the Los Angeles Continuum of Care, which is the regional planning body that coordinates housing and services for homeless families and individuals in Los Angeles County. LAHSA coordinates and manages over $400 million annually in federal, state, county, and city funds for programs that provide shelter, housing, and services to people experiencing homelessness.
Harbor Interfaith Services
The mission of Harbor Interfaith Services is to empower the homeless and working poor to achieve self-sufficiency by providing support services including shelter, transitional housing, food, job placement, advocacy, childcare, education, and life-skills training.
People Assisting the Homeless (PATH LOS ANGELES)
Across the state, we help people find permanent housing and provide case management, medical and mental healthcare, benefits advocacy, employment training, and other services to help them maintain their homes stably. Since 2013, we have connected more than 9,000 people to permanent homes.
PATH was founded on the Westside of Los Angeles by a group of concerned community members looking to support their neighbors on the streets. What started as community members providing food and clothing to those living in the streets, has grown into one of largest homeless service providers in California. In Los Angeles we provide a variety of services for our neighbors experiencing homelessness that include employment, outreach, homelessness prevention, housing navigation, interim housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES (BHS)
Behavioral Health Services is a not-for-profit community-based healthcare organization providing medical services, substance abuse, mental health, drug-free transitional living, housing for women with HIV, and prevention services for the local community
DMH SPA 8 HOME OUTREACH PROGRAM
Homeless outreach services to gravely disabled individuals who have a co-occurring or severe mental health disorder
FULL-SERVICE PARTNERSHIP FOR ADULTS (AGES 26-59)
Adult Full-Service Partnership (FSP) programs are designed for adults ages 26-59 who have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness and would benefit from an intensive service program.
DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM (DMH) – SOUTH BAY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
Address: 2311 WEST EL SEGUNDO BLVD. HAWTHORNE CA 90250
Operation Hours: MON - FRI 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Phones: (323) 241-6730
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE RESOURCES
Retrieved from South Bay Coalition to End Homelessness
Rainbow Services Hotline #: 310-547-9343
Center for the Pacific Asian Family Hotline #: 800-339-3940
1736 Family Crisis Center Hotline #: 213-745-6434
WomenShelter of Long Beach Hotline #: 567-4663
LA County DPH DV Council and County DV Hotline: 1-800-978-3600
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles: Its courthouse-based domestic violence clinics (Downtown LA, Long Beach, Santa Monica) are providing assistance with restraining orders on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-3 p.m. Call 800-399-4529 extension 8097 for help.
NEW JUSTICE FAMILY CENTER
Our agency is committed to never allowing any Intimate Partner violence/domestic violence victims to become homeless. We achieve this through our connection with shelters that provide temporary housing as well as programs that provide emergency relief such as hotel vouchers, etc. However, we can only achieve this if First Responders direct DV victims to our agency.
DMH – MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION TEAM
Hawthorne Police Department has a police-mental health co-responder program to supplement mental evaluation activities. This program, which is co-supported by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), helps uniformed officers effectively respond to and link people in crisis to appropriate mental health services.
MENTAL HEALTH OF AMERICA
If you would like to have a location/encampment in SPA 8 with people experiencing homelessness added to the list for COVID testing you can email Kerri Thomas at kthomas@mhala.org
SOUTH BAY CITIES COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS
We work on issues of mutual interest to our constituents such as water/energy efficiency via our Environmental Services Center; transit services, transportation issues and specifically our South Bay Measure R Highway Program; Livable Communities including our new initiative on homelessness; Climate Action Planning; our advocacy of fleet conversion to electric vehicles for improved air quality and more.
USC STREET MEDICINE TEAM
Homelessness has grown to epidemic proportions in California. In Los Angeles County alone, more than 52,000 people are homeless. The vast majority of homeless people are not living in shelters and have little to no medical care available to them. Street Medicine serves the homeless community by providing direct care on the streets and under bridges to the unsheltered and hardest to reach populations. All care is provided free of charge and delivered onsite, including dispensing medications and drawing blood for testing. The Street Medicine movement has grown exponentially in recent years and is now active in more than 60 American cities. Not only does Street Medicine offer care –often lifesaving care– but it also reduces costs for communities by addressing many health concerns before they intensify.
USC has named homelessness as a priority in need of unique and innovative solutions. Research has shown that among people who are homeless:
· Average life expectancy is 42-52 years; it is 78 for housed individuals 1
· 38 percent have two or more major medical illnesses 2
· 25 percent have a severe mental illness 3
· At least 30 percent have a current drug-use disorder 3
The Keck School of Medicine of USC Street Medicine is an emerging collaboration of interdisciplinary healthcare professionals that aims to improve care for the homeless while advocating for healthcare justice in Los Angeles through medical and social service outreach and research. The city’s homeless encounter numerous barriers to primary healthcare despite experiencing a disproportionate burden of acute and chronic health issues. Under the direction of Brett Feldman, MSPAS, PA-C — an internationally recognized expert on Street Medicine– our program offers services that address the circumstances that undermine the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of our city’s homeless.
City of Hawthorne – Department of Recreation and Community Services
The City of Hawthorne’s Department of Recreation and Community Services coordinates the city’s homeless taskforce and partnerships with all of the groups.
St. Margaret’s Center
Provides food programs, including: groceries, sack lunches, and senior food distribution; utility assistance; immigration processing; counseling services; adult education classes ( ESL, Citizenship, GED); tutoring for adults and youth; CalFresh and MediCal application assistance; homeless programs; mobile showers; health screening; workshops; and holiday programs.