While the overall crime rate in Healdsburg is going down, 2021 did see a steep increase in cases related to individuals experiencing homelessness, according to a new report from the Healdsburg Police Department.
“We’ve seen — not just in Healdsburg, but across the region and the state — an increased number of homeless individuals during and after the pandemic,” Healdsburg Police Chief Matt Jenkins said during the most recent city council meeting.
While only a percentage of police activity results in a police report being generated, 4 to 9% of Healdsburg police reports in 2021 were related to people experiencing homelessness. The department had a total of 1,396 police reports for that year, according to department data.
The police department’s Community Oriented and Equity Policing Team (CORE), which launched on Oct. 26, 2021, responded to 156 calls for service through Dec. 31, 2021, and a majority of the calls were regarding homelessness, welfare checks and family and civil issues.
The intent of the team, which comprises a sworn Healdsburg officer and a licensed marriage family therapist, is to respond to calls related to homelessness, mental health and neighbor disputes and to improve community outreach, specifically within marginalized communities, and to create a police culture centered around equity and fairness.
One particular area in Healdsburg that’s been seeing an increase in homeless individuals and related camping, is the park and ride at Healdsburg Avenue and Grant Avenue.
“In the last 90 days, we have been to the park and ride on 61 occasions for a mixture of reasons — including for reports of abandoned vehicles, suspicious persons, and suspicious vehicles; for verbal arguments; and for security checks. In addition, officers have made one arrest for a drug related charge,” Jenkins told SoCoNews.
Suspicious persons or circumstances could include a person loitering near a business after hours or a vehicle parked at a construction site after normal work hours.
Of the calls for service in 2021, a little less than 400 calls were related to suspicious persons or circumstances. Weekly Healdsburg police logs show that the department typically receives several calls from businesses related to unwanted subjects, people who may be sleeping in a doorway or on a sidewalk near a business.
Jenkins said the CORE team has been to the park and ride location on multiple occasions and are liaising with partner agencies and nonprofits on addressing issues regarding homelessness.
“Since the park and ride is/was a Sonoma County Transit-run location, the county has been spearheading the abatement of RVs and persons camping at the location. The efforts are being led by the County’s Community Development Commission and are supported by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, but the CORE Team has been responding to calls for service and offering social services as appropriate,” Jenkins said.
Under the Martin v. Boise ruling, police cannot enforce laws that prohibit camping on public property unless there is adequate shelter space available.
“If there are enough beds available in a shelter that is accessible to the homeless individual and the individual refuses to accept the shelter bed, then a police department would be able to take enforcement action,” Jenkins explained.
Since Healdsburg currently doesn’t have any shelters that operate at night, Healdsburg police are limited in their ability to take enforcement actions.
In east, west, central and southern parts of the county, the average rate of those sheltered is 31%, according to Healdsburg Housing Administrator Stephen Sotomayor. In north county, that number drops to 1.9% and in Healdsburg, 0% of its homeless population are sheltered.
During an October city council meeting, Sotomayor said while the city does have various affordable housing projects and has recently worked with Burbank Housing to purchase 10 supportive housing units, the city does not have a temporary housing site where individuals can immediately go for shelter and case management services.
“There’s been a long standing need for interim housing in Healdsburg. This has been evidenced by Sonoma County point in time counts,” Sotomayor had said.
The recently approved L&M Motel/Reach for Home interim housing site should help in filling the city’s gap in temporary shelter and case management care for the homeless.
On Jan. 18, the Healdsburg City Council unanimously approved the purchase/sale agreement for the 22-unit L&M Motel and accepted the $7 million-plus Project Homekey grant for the project.
The purpose of the housing site will be to get people off of the streets and on a path toward permanent supportive housing.
The site will house individuals rather than families for up to 30 days with the opportunity for extending the stay for another 30 days.
During the Feb. 22 council meeting when Jenkins gave the police department yearly report, Mayor Ozzy Jimenez asked whether the CORE team would work with the L&M Motel and Reach for Home.
Jenkins said the team engages in weekly meetings with Reach for Home. He envisions continuing that engagement in the future as the L&M project gets off the ground.
