Outreach Story - January 2020

In early January 2020, Officer Hanes contacted an individual camping under the Oregon City Arch Bridge. During Officer Hanes' contact, he learned that the gentleman was down on his luck and was homeless. The gentleman admitted that he had a substance abuse problem, and this was one of the main reasons he was homeless. Officer Hanes asked the gentleman if he could contact a member of the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (L.E.A.D.) team to try and do an assessment on him and talk about options for treatment and the gentleman agreed.

Later in the month, Officer Hanes was approached by the gentleman and he stated that he had completed the assessment paperwork and was set up to get into treatment the gentleman thanked Officer Hanes for his help.

In early October, Officer Hanes located a large camp under the Oregon City Arch Bridge. Officer Hanes contacted a subject inside and to his surprise, it was the same gentleman. The man informed Officer Hanes that he had completed a 60-day substance abuse treatment and was assigned a case worker to help him get into a residence, however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic everything seemed to fall apart. The gentleman said his stress got the best of him and he relapsed. Knowing that the gentleman was dedicated to getting help and had the drive to succeed, Officer Hanes started the L.E.A.D. team assessment over. Officer Hanes called a member of the team and an appointment was made right there.

A month later, Officer Hanes contacted the gentleman outside of Father's Heart. Officer Hanes could tell the man was upset. Officer Hanes continued his outreach with the gentleman and learned that his phone was broken, and he was having a hard time staying connected to his case worker. Officer Hanes purchased a phone for the gentleman so he could stay connected with his case worker and continue working on getting resources.

In the middle of October, the gentleman's case worker informed him that the man was set up to get into an apartment and his move-in date was early November. That same day, Officer Hanes contacted the man in front of Father's Heart and congratulated him on the apartment. The man shook Officer Hanes' hand and said, "If it wasn't for you this wouldn't have happened. Thank you."