HOMELESS OUTREACH PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
APRIL 21, 2010
A meeting of the Homeless Outreach Program Advisory Committee was held on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 10:00 am at 120 Washington Street, Salem, MA. Present were Officer Dennis King of the Salem Police Department, Mark Cote of Lifebridge, Ben Bouchard of the Salem Chamber of Commerce and Jane Guy of the City of Salem Department of Planning and Community Development.
Mr. Cote noted that the Carlton Beaver, the Street Outreach Worker had emergency knee surgery and will be out for a couple weeks. He stated that Mr. Beaver has been introducing himself to the downtown businesses and recently went to a Salem Rotary meeting. He does outreach approximately 20 hours per week, including morning, evening and weekend blocks of time. Mr. Cote stated that the Journey to Hope program recently opened in Lynn for 17-23 year olds.
Officer King stated that it would be good to have Mr. Beaver outreach occasionally between 5:00-7:00 am. He noted that Officer Robert Phelan is new to the Community Impact Unit.
Mr. Bouchard stated that he believed the restrooms in the mall may have recently been closed due to use by youth and homeless individuals, noting that it is one of the first public restrooms open in the city.
Mr. Cote noted that the bed overflow at Lifebridge goes from November 15th to April 15th and that the overflow stopped last week.
Officer King stated that there have been individuals sleeping in the dumpster at the wax museum and that a no trespass order has been issued.
Mr. Bouchard stated that the area between HMA and the MBTA is an area that individuals have tents and are camping out.
Officer King noted that part of the area is privately owned. He provided a log search report for 2009 of incidents with persons with no permanent residence. There were 321 total incidents with 31% being in the downtown area. He stated that the job Mr. Beaver is doing is clearly needed and useful. He suggested that Mr. Beaver check the St. Joseph’s complex property in the early morning. He added that it is important for Mr. Beaver to change up his hours so as to be unpredictable.
Mr. Bouchard stated that he will send out a e-newsletter alerting businesses that the overflow has ended.
Officer King stated that this could be the time when incidents start to occur and therefore the time for businesses to be vigilant.
Mr. Cote stated that businesses should feel free to contact Mr. Beaver.
Ms. Guy stated that the next meeting will be July 21, 2010
Respectfully submitted,
Jane A. Guy
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