Calgary police teams reach out to homeless
CALGARY - As experts say more needs to be done to keep homeless people out of jails, Calgary police have created a special unit to deal with the issue of homelessness.
Research out this week found prisoners returning to the community with inadequate discharge planning or temporary supports are at a higher risk of becoming homeless and re-entering the corrections system.
"Prisoners who are sentenced or who are awaiting trial often lose their jobs and housing, and without support, wind up in homeless shelters and drop-ins upon release," said the paper by Stephen Gaetz, associate dean in the faculty of education at York University.
"When prisoners become homeless, their chances of reoffending increase."
Officials with the Calgary Homeless Foundation agreed there needs to be a greater focus on the issue -- a fact the city and the province have recognized in recent years and have started to address.
The Calgary Police Service created a homeless unit in October made up of four officers.
Since then, the province has provided money through its Safe Communities initiative for a three-year pilot program to deal with chronic offenders.
Two officers are now part of police and crisis teams, which are made up of an officer and a mental health worker. The teams started responding last week to calls involving homeless Calgarians.
"We are actually reaching out to the homeless and mentally ill people," said Sgt. Kyle Grant.
"Let's say an officer comes across somebody who they just keep dealing with and they are at their wit's end and they don't know what else to do.
"The PAC team are the experts in that they have knowledge of a bunch of programs rather than just a couple."
Another three teams will be created by June, said Grant.
The province has also started to address the problem through its 10-year plan to end homelessness. In 2008, it started a three-year program that offers an alternative to sending people to jail or helping them when they are released.
Pathways to Housing, which includes about $7 million in provincial money, has been helping homeless Calgarians who have been in and out of the corrections system due to unpaid tickets for petty crimes.
cderworiz@theherald.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Being homeless is somewhat like being stuck in a loop, there's no immediate solution, the authorities can't really help you unless you're dying, seriously ill, or you've committed a crime. I've seen several apartments in Tucson squatted by homeless people and after only a few months, those people's lives improved considerably because of the feeling of safety that a home gives you.
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