Hi Seal Beach,
We were recently asked on Nextdoor.com if the Seal Beach Police Department (SBPD) transports homeless persons to Long Beach for the purpose of connecting them to social services.
Before we answer this question, I want to briefly touch on the use of the Nextdoor platform. Nextdoor.com is a website and mobile phone application in which users can post information about their neighborhood online.
You may notice that the SBPD is NOT active on the Nextdoor.com platform and this is intentional.
It seems like every week we are forwarded screen shots from the community about things that are posted on this site. Very often, what is posted on Nextdoor.com is third or fourth hand, sometimes politically slanted, or even worse completely untrue. A large amount of these posts consists of rumors, unverified facts, and pure speculation based on very little actual information. Posts are sometimes rude or belittling and detract from actual information sharing.
It is inevitable that these episodes of miscommunication begin with a seemingly endless game of telephone, which in turn causes so much misinformation posted on Nextdoor.com.
Here is our response:
By necessity, we have strong working relationship with the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) as we are within their sphere of influence, and they are within ours. The San Gabriel River and the Los Cerritos Wetlands border our cities and are areas of concern where homeless congregate.
The SBPD and the LBPD have collaborated for more than 10 years on homeless outreach along our shared border. We attend a bi-weekly meeting in Long Beach with their Homeless Outreach team and communicate regularly.
We have three Quality of Life Officers who are tasked with homeless outreach and response. They are trained in proper procedures as it relates to connecting a homeless person with appropriate social services. In the past year we have partnered with Long Beach on four homeless outreach efforts: two along the San Gabriel River and two in the area of DWP. These outreach efforts include representatives from the Seal Beach Police Department, Long Beach Police Department, County of Los Angeles, Cal-Trans and SCE. We are often accompanied by social service workers and all homeless persons affected are offered a variety of social service programs to assist them. If we encounter a homeless Veteran, we will call the V.A. hospital, and they will send a representative to engage with the homeless person and transport them if necessary.
Finally, if we do encounter homeless person in Seal Beach who is requesting services that are in Long Beach, we will call the homeless service provider and liaison with them. Sometimes they will send someone to transport the homeless person and sometimes we will provide a bus pass for the homeless person to use. We do not transport homeless persons to Long Beach for the purpose of connecting them with services.
The Seal Beach Police Department does a large amount of work, both with the homeless community, and to address our quality-of-life issues here in town. Our Quality-of-Life Officers are specifically trained to help facilitate homeless outreach. We regularly have specially trained clinicians who work for the Orange County Health Care Agency ride with our officers to conduct similar efforts. These clinicians also help with mental health-related calls. Particularly as they conduct risk assessments, initiate involuntary hospitalizations, and most importantly, provide resources and education to those who are both in need and request the help.
If we encounter a homeless person in the city of Seal Beach, who is requesting shelter, our homeless shelter provider is the Orange County Heath Care Agency – Yale Navigation Center in Santa Ana. For us to transport a homeless person to Yale House we must call before transporting, to determine if there is a shelter bed available for use. If there is a bed available, then Yale House will accept them.
This is when we will transport a homeless person to a shelter and connect them with social services.
According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, there are over 161,500 people experiencing homelessness in California. It is a complex social issue that municipalities across the state are working to address. The city of Seal Beach and the Seal Beach Police Department are committed to working collaboratively with our neighboring cities to find solutions.
Keep your questions coming Seal Beach! Email us at askacop@sealbeachca.gov today!
