Seaside police try a different approach to help homeless

A Central Coast city is taking action to help get homeless people back on their feet. Seaside police are working in teams reaching out to the homeless about available services such as shelters, counseling and rehab.

Near Robert’s Lake in Seaside, a homeless man named William is greeted by two police officers, but they aren’t here to arrest him.

“Our mission is to educate the homeless on the services in Monterey County that are available to them,” said Cmdr. Judy Veloz, with the Seaside Police Department.

William said he has called this camp home for quite some time. He said he likes it but he also appreciates that the officers are trying to help him.

“That’s good because some people don’t know about it (services) so that’s good,” said William.

The officers tell William that his camp is illegal but they aren’t looking to pack everything up and kick him out right away. They give him two days. They get to know him. They tell him about shelters and other available services, and then they move on.

When he was asked if he would go to one of the services, Williams said, “Yeah, I will try.”

Police say this type of compassionate communication is all part of a new program funded by the state in which teams of Seaside police officers build relationships in order to address the needs of the homeless.

“Right now, we can allot some resources, put some teams out here that will be working several days a week and we are going to do our best,” said Veloz.

According to police, many homeless people in Seaside are struggling with mental illnesses that often can lead to drug and alcohol problems. Others say they choose to stay outside because they enjoy the freedom, but if a homeless person doesn’t take the services and stays put, officers have no choice but to write tickets.

“Obviously, there may be some people who don’t want that kind of assistance so we will have to cite them and enforce the laws in our area,” said Veloz.

The overall goal, however, isn’t to cite homeless people but rather to encourage them to get help even though officers know it’s going to be a challenge.

“It’s just something that we have to keep communicating, keep trying to convince them to accept services and hopefully they don’t end up with citations and warrants that they don’t want to deal with.”