Grass Valley, Calif. (Oct. 30, 2020) – Grass Valley Police Department (GVPD) and Hospitality House are leading the charge in a newly developed task force that is geared to reduce homeless-related violence while increasing mental health services accessibility to those unsheltered.
The task force is made possible through the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) grant program offered by the Board of State and Community Corrections, an award in which Hospitality House and GVPD took first place statewide in the rural set aside. With this grant award, Hospitality House and GVPD will leverage the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), a collaborative of several local agencies* that work together to address homelessness, to lessen and/or prevent homeless-related violence through three evidence-informed program components, including:
- Community/Police Trust Building
- Intensive Case Management
- Street Outreach
The proposed strategies will identify homeless individuals who may have a propensity for violence and/or who are the victim of crimes, proactively connect with them, and offer services to help address their mental illness and substance abuse needs. This forward-thinking approach is designed to reduce the number of homeless-related 911 calls and incidents, build trust with homeless individuals, and connect them to the wraparound services they need, including food and emergency shelter. Read Press Release