DATE/TIME: August 9, 2024 / 6:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
INCIDENT: Outreach Operation - Operation Shelter Me
LOCATION: High Desert Communities serviced by the Victor Valley Sheriff's Station
SUMMARY: On Friday, August 9, 2024, from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the Community Service & Reentry Division, Homeless Outreach Proactive Enforcement Team (H.O.P.E.) conducted "Operation Shelter Me" in the extremely isolated unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County, in the High Desert. During this operation, the H.O.P.E. team utilized specialized vehicles to reach people miles from the closest communities with no access to services. Operation Shelter Me aims to connect staff with unhoused residents and offer them housing, medical and mental health treatment services. During this operation, the team focused on those with the most significant mental illness to get those individuals linked to restorative mental health pathways.
The H.O.P.E. Team located 32 individuals experiencing homelessness. The team provided 20 individuals with referrals to programs for assistance. Ten individuals were linked with follow-up professional services. The team contacted two families and a veteran experiencing homelessness and linked all six individuals to housing. One of the families was also assisted with family reunification.
In June of 2023, San Bernardino County opted into Laura’s Law, also called Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT). Laura’s Law provides opportunities for court-ordered community treatment pathways for individuals with histories of hospitalization or incarceration, and histories of violence to themselves or others. During this operation, no subjects were contacted who appeared to be candidates for assisted outpatient treatment.
The H.O.P.E. Team and other aligned resources will continue operations of this type throughout the County over the next year thanks to "Community Concerns" funding. This special funding, approved by the County Board of Supervisors, allows the Sheriff's Department to direct resources towards addressing topics of concern, like homelessness and mental illness, to county residents.
If you know of persons experiencing homelessness who need services, please get in touch with the H.O.P.E. Team at 909-387-0623 or [email protected].
Refer: H.O.P.E. Team
Station: Community Service & Reentry Division
Phone No. (909) 387-0623
SHANNON D. DICUS, Sheriff-Coroner
San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department
