City of Folsom’ s Faith & Homelessness Initiative
By: Lt. Eric Heichlinger, Folsom Police Department
Like many areas in the state, the Sacramento region has seen a notable uptick in the visibility of homelessness. Record snow and rainfall have caused flooding, often displacing people who typically reside alongside remote creeks and riverbanks and driving them into more populated areas. This has been true in Folsom, a community of approximately 78,500 in the northeastern corner of Sacramento County, and adjacent to the American River Parkway. In addition to the close proximity to the American River, Folsom is the last stop for eastbound Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail trains.
The Folsom Police Department’ s efforts at addressing the public health and law enforcement issues pertaining to homelessness is spearheaded by the department’ s Community Crime Suppression Unit( C. C. S. U.). Working in partnership with local non-profits, Folsom C. C. S. U. officers seek to both address the issues surrounding
20 California Police Chief | www. californiapolicechiefs. org homelessness while simultaneously trying to guide those willing onto the pathway to stable housing. For those seeking permanent housing, Folsom officers steer the individuals to a Navigator, an employee of a nonprofit organization. The Navigator is charged with creating a personalized action plan for each client, with the goal of the client working towards getting off the street. Depending on the needs of the client, the Navigator may assist with obtaining necessary documentation, securing Social Security SSI, disability insurance or veteran’ s benefits, reuniting the client with family, making mental health referrals, and obtaining substance abuse treatment. In short, the Navigators job is to develop a relationship with the client and assist in clearing all existing barriers to housing.
The Navigation process is highly labor intensive. Just getting the client‘ document ready’ can be a challenge and require multiple visits to a variety of governmental agencies. Further,
Folsom has a single Navigator who works part time. As a result the process of preparing a client for housing can be lengthy, and often longer than a person experiencing homelessness is willing or able to wait.
FORCE MULTIPLIERS Folsom is blessed with a strong sense of civic pride and a high level of volunteerism. This is readily apparent among our faith-based community and many of our congregations have voiced and demonstrated a strong desire to assist homeless members of our community. The challenge with these efforts is ensuring the volunteer energies are directed towards solutions and do not enable or exacerbate the problems associated with homelessness in Folsom. Under the leadership of Folsom Fire Chief Dan Haverty and Folsom police Corporal Peter Boelman, the C. C. S. U. supervisor, the concept of Folsom Faith and Homelessness Initiative( FHI) was developed.
The FHI draws upon the experience, resources, and desire