METRO Police Department's Crisis, Assessment, Response and Engagement unit launched its first team two months ago, according to an update on the unit provided by MPD Chief Vera Bumpers at the METRO safety committee meeting July 21 with plans to add a second team in August.
Bumpers explained that people struggling with homelessness often shelter in METRO transit vehicles or facilities for safety and protection from the elements. Before the introduction of the C.A.R.E team, MPD officers would respond to these situations.
“We wanted to explore ways to respectfully support unhoused individuals and minimize impacts on transit employees and the traveling public,” Bumpers said in an emailed statement.
This effort joins plans by Houston City Council to address homelessness in the city. The council recently approved an ordinance allocating $7 million of federal coronavirus relief funds for homeless encampment cleanups. The number of people in Houston experiencing homelessness totals over 3,200 per the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County’s 2022 Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey.
An MPD officer and a mental health clinician comprise a team. The team’s clinician, Moriah Ojo, previously worked for METRO as a bus operator and now serves alongside MPD officer Omar Franklin. MPD's transit marshals provide security to the team in the event of an encounter with a person who becomes combative.
“We’ve seen such an impact since we stood that team up, in such a short time,” Bumpers said during the committee meeting.
MPD plans to add a second C.A.R.E. team in August and desires to expand the program further in future years, METRO CEO Tom Lambert added at the meeting.
The unit responds to concerns and complaints regarding unhoused persons residing anywhere along the METRO system, including bus shelters, transit stations and park and rides, and connects individuals to shelters, medical care and other vital services.
“I think they're doing a great job, and I appreciate their efforts and their commitment to be empathetic and sensitive to somebody’s plight,” Bumpers said.
MPD partners with social services organizations to provide care, including Harris Health, The Salvation Army, The Harris Center and Houston’s Coalition for the Homeless, as well as other law enforcement agencies such as Harris County’s and Houston’s Homeless Outreach Teams.
The C.A.R.E unit also has a system to keep track of the people it encounters. Since its introduction, the team has made contact with more than 60 individuals and placed over a third of them in shelters, Bumpers said.
“That’s quite a bit, considering we have not been up and running long with this unit,” Bumpers said.
During the committee meeting, Bumpers highlighted a situation in which a displaced mother and her young son had been sheltering on light rail trains for safety. The C.A.R.E unit connected the family to social services, which reunited them with relatives. Later, the mother emailed the clinician expressing gratitude for their help.
Citizens, bus operators and other METRO employees can report an individual in need of assistance. To connect a displaced individual with a C.A.R.E team, customers can call the MPD nonemergency line at 713-224-2677 or dial #673.
