The following programs and agencies work together to help individuals bypass prosecution and jail time and instead get the help they need: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), Co-LEAD, Burien Crime Reduction Officers, Public Defenders Office, King County Prosecutor’s Office, Burien Human Services, Burien Community Court, Navos, Trueblood, and South Correctional Facility (SCORE)’s medication-assisted treatment (MAT) re‐entry program. Our local law enforcement, human services, and prosecution work together to divert individuals engaged in low-level drug crime, prostitution, and crimes of poverty away from the criminal legal system and instead connect them with intensive case managers who can provide crisis response, immediate psychosocial assessment, and long‐term wraparound services including substance use disorder treatment and housing. Addressing Root Causes of Crimes of Poverty Catholic Community Services CReW had contact with 82 unique individuals, and Salvation Army had contact with 20 unique individuals and families living in vehicles, and successfully connected 14 to housing.īurien also advocates at the sub-regional, county, state, and federal level for more resources and policies that address the multi-faceted issue of homelessness. In 2019, the Evergreen Treatment Services REACH program had 959 face-to-face contacts with 169 unique individuals. Burien also partners with mobile public health services, Transform Burien, and Ideal Option to provide health, employment, food, shelter or housing, transportation, addiction treatment, and support accessing state and federal benefits. This street-based case management team includes representatives from Burien Police Crime Reduction Unit, Burien Human Services, Evergreen Treatment Services REACH, Sound Health, YMCA Social Impact Center/Nexus, faith-based organizations, Catholic Community Services, and Salvation Army. Their efforts focus on transforming the lives of adults living outside by providing street‐based case management and outreach services to adults. Police and human services employ a harm reduction model for reducing homelessness in Burien. Value‐aligned partnerships that focus on common goals and complementary strengths are key to ensuring successful outcomes for all.”Ī more robust approach grew from that early collaboration. “Creating internal partnerships between colleagues and departments and establishing bigger partnerships between agencies and systems, generates the kind of energy that fuels growth, innovation, and creativity. “We believe two heads are better than one,” says Brandt-Schluter. To make everyone feel welcome and safe in Burien parks, City staff and Burien Police took a compassionate collaborative, and legal approach to preventing camping and encampments on public property that complies with the Martin v Boise decision. On May 6, 2019, the City of Burien announced a new approach to addressing unauthorized uses of Burien parks and facilities. Reducing Homelessness through Harm Reduction “Our goal is to ensure that our approach is grounded in science, responsive to community needs, and is capable of achieving tangible and positive outcomes,” said Chief Ted Boe, Burien Police Department. Their efforts have focused on addressing homelessness and crimes of poverty, developing a shared services model, and enhancing services for youth, following the Council-adopted Framework for Strengthening Families. Starting with the hiring of Burien’s first human services manager and the selection of a new police chief in 2018, both departments began a partnership to help more people connect to the support and services they needed to avoid further interactions with the criminal justice system. Their “leading with services” approach to addressing the root causes of criminal activity relies on partnerships, relationship-building, and a recognition that complex problems require solutions from many sectors and disciplines. Human services and police work together to address these major challenges. “Substance use, child welfare, intimate partner violence, suicide, juvenile justice, mass violence, homelessness, crimes of poverty-these are not only some of the most prominent societal challenges we face today, but also require involvement from both police and human services.” “When it comes to serving communities and responding to individuals in crisis, law enforcement agencies and human service systems each play a role in maintaining the safety and stability of our community,” said Colleen Brandt-Schluter, Human Services Manager. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Burien is starting to see results from the investments and hard work of human services, police, and collaborating community organizations and agencies. Burien has a unique approach to addressing critical issues in our community.
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