Making homeless connections

They’re sprinkled throughout Monroe, tucked away, barely noticeable until you glimpse a fuchsia pink tent or blue plastic tarp through the trees. Monroe’s homeless community is not a monolithic group of people suffering similar circumstances, but rather a collection of men and women — young and old — who have ended up there for one reason or another.

In order to help address the multifaceted needs of the homeless population, the Monroe Police Department is in the early stages of developing a part-time community support specialist position, to perform regular outreach with officers.

The program will follow the embedded social worker model that has been successfully implemented in Snohomish County, where a social worker accompanies law enforcement as they address people camping illegally in parks and other areas. The goal is to tackle homelessness on a holistic level, by addressing the root of the issue, whether drug or alcohol addiction or mental health issues. 

Police Sgt. Ryan Irving serves as the primary point of contact for issues related to homelessness in the city. When a resident calls in a complaint about illegal camping, Irving takes the report. Last year, the department facilitated a large-scale sweep of local parks and other public areas, but the tents and temporary campsites are gradually cropping back up.

In March, the department began participating with the Monroe Homeless Resource Group, a volunteer-led effort initiated by Pastor Michael Hanford that brings multiple agencies to the table to talk about how to address homelessness in the city. 

It takes a coordinated effort and large degree of consistency, Irving said, because people experiencing homelessness often struggle with compounding issues, including drug and alcohol addiction and mental illness. He said it’s not enough to go out and hand somebody a flyer with a few resource-provider phone numbers. 

“It doesn’t work,” Irving said. “You’re dealing with heroin addicts that have a tough time functioning without their drugs, and the follow through is very difficult.”

The embedded social worker model would allow them to perform persistent outreach with the ultimate goal of guiding individuals to services that will alleviate homelessness in the long run. The city does not have the capacity to add a full-time staff, so it is seeking to partner with an outside organization or another municipality for cost sharing. 

The proposal is still in its infancy, and logistics are still being coordinated and organized. So far, they’ve contacted two separate agencies in search of a social worker that would be a good fit for Monroe. 

“We’ve started those conversations,” said Monroe Police Department Deputy Chief Ken Ginnard.  “We haven’t firmed anything up at this point but we’re clearly headed in that direction.”

According to the department, the community support specialist would collaborate with police department staff, engage with the Monroe Homeless Resource group and serve as a liaison to other city departments. They would establish a robust network of relationships with other agencies, including the county triage center, volunteer outreach teams and local nonprofits, the Snohomish County Jail, detox facilities, emergency housing programs and other social service resource providers.

The community support specialist would regularly perform follow-up to ensure members of the homeless population that want help are moving in the right direction, by coordinating outreach and giving referrals for other services.  

Monroe Police Chief Tim Quenzer recently introduced the idea to members of the Monroe City Council, who are tasked with making decisions regarding budgetary appropriations. The position is expected to cost roughly $50,000-$60,000 and would be a contract position, not an additional city staff. Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas, who is currently in the process of crafting a budget amendment for council review, said funding for the position would likely come from the city’s general fund.

The goal is to have the position implemented sometime in 2017.

“It’s an exciting time because it seems like the city’s really on board,” Irving said.

Hitting the streets

Irving currently engages in outreach with the assistance of partner organizations that include Catholic Community Services, Take the Next Step and the Hand Up Project (See Page 9). The outreach efforts are completely contingent on the availability of the partnering organizations, which is something the department is hoping to remedy by employing the embedded social worker model. 

Irving teamed up with Catholic Community Services behavioral health navigator Irene Slagle and Hand Up Project founder Robert Smiley last week, to contact people illegally camping in Monroe and get them inserted into Coordinated Entry, which is the county’s primary conduit for housing and other services.   

Coordinated Entry is a central intake point that feeds out to all the different housing providers in the county. It was created to streamline the process and eliminate multiple waiting lists scattered from agency to agency. Being centralized allows individuals and families to be funneled into the system by calling the Volunteers of America 2-1-1 resource line and mobilized outreach coordinators like Slagle.

As housing becomes available, individuals and families are selected based on need.

“It’s not first come, first serve,” Slagle said. “They sort people by vulnerability, so the people with the highest need are always going to come to the top.”

Last week, outreach efforts were focused on Washington State Department of Transportation property north of Walmart off Chain Lake Road, a wooded area north of Blueberry Lane, private property north of U.S. 2 on the east side of the city and in Al Borlin Park. They also visited multiple camps set up south of the Lewis Street bridge, an area of unincorporated Snohomish County that is outside Monroe city limits.

Irving and Slagle chatted with individuals living in tents and under tarps, asking if they were interested in engaging with the Coordinated Entry system. Smiley simultaneously offered basic needs items; socks, clothing, food, single-use cell phone chargers, first aid kits, umbrellas and personal hygiene items like shampoo, soap, razors and more. 

A young woman living on WSDOT property stood in tattered shoes as she spoke with Slagle about getting plugged into the Coordinated Entry system. She was a familiar face to Irving, and was friendly and smiling as she engaged with the group. She’s been homeless for many years, she said, due to unstable family circumstances and other factors. 

“I’ve been homeless off and on since I was 13 years old,” she said. “My mom kicked me out at 11, so I’ve been on the streets ever since. I have lived a long life, a hard life, and I’m getting a little tired of it.”

She and her male companion both willingly started the entry process with Slagle and made a follow-up appointment. Smiley encouraged her to join the Hand Up Project, which incorporates a model of service in which individuals in recovery are given the opportunity to serve as organization volunteers. In addition to community service and volunteerism, the Hand Up Project focuses on sobriety through 12-step program engagement and mental health.

The woman said she loves helping people, and younger members of homeless community often come to her for guidance. 

“If I could help all the homeless people, I would,” she said. “I would in a heartbeat, because I know exactly what they’re going through and how they feel.”

On the east side of Monroe, 51-year-old Steven Brokofsky said he wasn’t interested in services because he enjoys living in the woods. Slagle established rapport, passing along her contact information in case he ever changed his mind. Brokofsky’s campsite north of U.S. 2 is elaborate, with motion sensors, a generator and a bed. His companion is a bearded dragon named Spike.

He’s been homeless for around 22 years, he said; maybe longer.

“I’ve been here all my life. Fifty-one years I’ve lived here in the valley,” Brokofsky said. “I love it here. This is home.”

Another man camping near Brokofsky was found under a tarp, sick and unable to walk. Smiley offered shelter and made arrangements to pick him up at a later time.

In the course of about five hours, the outreach team wound through Monroe speaking with different members of the homeless community. At each location, Smiley invited people to a free Thanksgiving dinner served at Take the Next Step on Monday, Nov. 21, and offered help obtaining identifications, rides to assessments and other appointments. He told each camper to get all their garbage consolidated in one spot, so he could come back later and haul it away for them.

From the removal of garbage to clearing out campsites, the homelessness problem is significant, and the need for housing far outweighs available resources. A designated social worker would dramatically enhance outreach consistency, Irving said, which is key.

“The goal is to obviously impact our homeless population and make a positive difference in their lives, but also alleviate some of the calls that we’re getting regarding the camps in the city,” he said.