The City of Fort Lauderdale is expanding its homeless outreach efforts by expanding its outreach team.
Fort Lauderdale police officer Brian Blount is on the front lines helping people who have no place to call home, and now he is getting reinforcements.
An estimated 615 people in Fort Lauderdale are experiencing homelessness, with about half of them unsheltered. This week, the city began boosting its response.
“We’re bringing in other city departments, city efforts together as a combined homelessness response team,” said Assistant City Manager Chris Cooper.
More positions and new case managers
Fort Lauderdale is expanding its outreach team from 13 positions to 20.
The group includes police, fire rescue, mental health experts, medical personnel and for the first time, two case workers who will oversee individual plans to help people off the street.
“A case manager is gonna be able to help them every step along the way; if there’s any bumps along the way, they’ll be able to jump over those hurdles and get them the help they need and get them to the finish line,” Officer Blount said.
A personal story of change
Bubba, who said he has lived on the streets for 30 years, shared that he is ready to take a different path. He told CBS News Miami he wants to enter rehabilitation.
“I’m tired. I’m tired of being out here. I’ve been doing this too long,” he said.
If Bubba follows through, a case worker would manage his program and coordinate with the outreach team to keep everyone informed.
Better communication and tracking
Officer Blount said the new approach will allow for better communication and monitoring of each client’s progress.
“Right now, it’s kind of a handoff, and you kind of don’t know what happens after the fact, and the information isn’t really shared. Now we’re sharing information. We’re able, for all of us, to be able to follow a client’s progress from the beginning to the end,” he said.
Role of Community Court
An important part of the city’s plan is Community Court. Every Wednesday, people living on the streets can attend to take care of low-level offenses while also being connected with services.
