CARE court in San Mateo County: Not a day too soon

More than a few people have been mentioning the arrival of EssEff-like people with obvious mental health issues in town.  The north B'gamers have a couple in and around El Camino, especially on the narrow westside sidewalk around Sanchez.  Us south B'gamers have a couple as well, but not the same from what I am hearing.  Just in the last month, my neighbors have been talking about one guy who wanders down the street peering under cars and "hiding" behind street trees that are six inches in diameter.  I recently called in a wellness check on a different guy who stood perfectly still on an ECR corner for at least eight hours straight.  If he were in a North Korean prison being made to do that, it would be called torture.  There's nothing compassionate about letting this go on.

The news that the County is moving more quickly than required to implement CARE court is welcome news.  The Merc has a piece as well as the DJ:

The program, Community Assistance, Recover and Empowerment Court, is to be implemented by every county within the state by the end of the year. San Mateo County will begin piloting the program July 1, County Executive Officer Mike Callagy announced Tuesday, as one of the eight counties to implement the pilot program early.

The BPD follow-up to my wellness call was prompt and clear about what can and cannot be done...currently.  If someone is on public property and not creating a disturbance, they can decline assistance and that is the end of it.  One neighbor noted that a person was on private property, but moved before anything could be logged.  BPD suggests people continue to call in checks since sometimes the second or third offer is the one that gets accepted.  Per the Merc article

CARE court allows family members, close friends, first responders (my emphasis), behavioral health providers and others to refer someone to the court.  A judge can then order participants--who receive a public defender and a "CARE supporter" to help them through the process-to enroll in tailored treatment plans, which could include placement in a mental health facility or permanent supportive housing.

The whole thing is going to be A Process and it won't be cheap, but it's not like we have much choice.  Once someone has seen two or three of these incidents in a two-week span, it's hard to disagree.  I'm not sure what the least gratifying part of being a local cop is, but this has to be on the list.

Comments

[Just Sayin']

I know who I would suggest as the first referral to court. Nobody has wasted more cop time than her. Just sayin'

[Joe]

I drove through the Tenderloin and Hayes Valley last night. Saw something I've never seen before. A homeless guy was walking down the street with a pair of skis over his shoulder. No boots or poles, just the skis.

Now Squaw Valley closes this Monday, Memorial Day, as the last Tahoe area open, so it's possible....but unlikely, he was headed for the slopes.

[Joe]

Holly Rusch at the Daily Journal took a shot at relaying how convoluted the homeless problem has become in an article this week. Here are a few snippets--don't be confused by the use of "client" to describe a homeless person:

The client is accompanied by a dog, who doesn’t have the required vaccination and registration paperwork required for the pair to enter the shelter system. The client doesn’t have a working cellphone, making it more challenging for him to complete the Coordinated Entry System assessment required for obtaining temporary housing in San Mateo County.

And the client has, in the past, had negative experiences with communal shelters — his property has been stolen by others, he said.

Police and residents may want an immediate relocation of a homeless person, particularly if they’re in a populated or residential area, like this case. And those desires might not always align with the realities of how quickly services can be provided or individual impediments can be addressed, (Lifemoves case worker) Valencia said.

Even so, Valencia said, a lack of readily available shelter beds can often be an issue when transitioning unsheltered individuals to temporary shelter. The residency requirements for receiving homelessness services in San Mateo have gone down over time — from 90 days to 30 to now, only 24 hours — and bed capacity doesn’t always keep up with the fluctuation.

Putting vouchers to use, even if an individual gets off potentially yearslong waitlists, is another issue. One client Valencia assists has been unable to successfully use a housing voucher because of a criminal record, which services providers need to help him expunge.

Other times, prior marks on a background check like the previous evictions that unhoused an individual to begin with can work against them.

“The public has a hard time understanding that if you offer services, or offer housing, offer shelter, offer vouchers, someone could say no to that. And people say no all the time,” he said. “Usually, it’s usually some sort of a mental health component. There’s often what’s called self-medication for drugs and alcohol, but it’s usually stemming from some sort of a mental health component.”

“The tools on the typical police tool belt is, while we want to get them to a shelter or maybe get them into a detox program, if they’re not cooperating, maybe it ends up being a citation for drinking in public or arrest for public intoxication,” he said. “The next day, they’re back in the same place, doing the same thing. [We] used to call this like the movie ‘Groundhog Day,’ over and over, the same thing.”

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/care-for-homeless-can-be-a-long-road-for-some-in-san-mateo-county/article_894dfcd0-1979-11ef-ba1b-a387ae9d89f1.html
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There are numerous problems here. The article skips over the public health issues of living on the street and all that comes with it. Santa Clara County just banned encampments along rivers due to the....well, you know.

This where the CARE court comes into play. Fingers-crossed.

[Mom]

I'm reading the police report and there is a guy with two arrests in a week for "Disorderly conduct:lodge without owners consent". Does anyone know what that is? Is he squatting and if he is how is he out to do it again in a couple of days?

[Phinancier]

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/mayor-breed-police-spending-19484747.php

There's nothing like a tough reelection to get a politician to do the right thing.

[Joe]

From the Merc:

Supreme Court allows cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court decided on Friday that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors, even in West Coast areas where shelter space is lacking.

The case is the most significant to come before the high court in decades on the issue and comes as a rising number of people in the U.S. are without a permanent place to live.

In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the high court reversed a ruling by a San Francisco-based appeals court that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

“Cities across the West report that the 9th Circuit’s involuntary test has created intolerable uncertainty for them,” Gorsuch wrote.

[Paloma Ave]

Is Holly Rusch an admirer of Emily Beach?

[Gavinius Caesar]

I, Gavinius Caesar, do hereby declare

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: 1) Agencies and departments subject to my authority shall adopt policies, generally consistent with California Department of transportation’s Maintenance Policy Directive 1001-R1, to address encampments on state property, including through partnerships with other state and local agencies, and shall prioritize efforts to address encampments consistent with such policy.