News Flash

I. QUARTERLY NARRATIVE 

1/2.  For our 2021/2022 grant year the Eureka Police Departments Community Safety Engagement Team (CSET) holds two Measure Z funded positions: The Parks/Waterfront Ranger and MIST Officer.  We are happy to announce that beginning January 01, 2022, we have filled the Parks/Waterfront Ranger position.  Brian Ross, who was the Old Town Officer, has been hired to fill this position.  Ranger Ross has been a member of CSET for several years and can fill this role without any training and have immediate positive impacts.  Ranger Ross, along with Measure Z funded MIST Officer Ryan Swanson, coordinated operations which ultimately removed more than 65,000 lbs of trash from the waterfront trail, nearby greenbelts, and along the waterfront during this grant year.  Furthermore, 70 illegal encampments were tagged for removal, and 15 camps were fully removed this quarter. In conjunction with these results, services were offered to individuals at encampments in an attempt to improve their overall lives and the overall health of the community. 

Sergeant Leonard La France oversees the CSET team which includes our Measure Z positions.  Officer Ryan Swanson is our MIST Officer.   Despite overwhelming and department wide staffing deficiencies, CSET continues to fill the roles of both Measure Z funded positions which have been earmarked as essential by the City of Eureka.  Additionally, CSET is providing support to Patrol Operations as EPD has seen a 38% increase in mental-health related calls-for-service over the past 12 months.

As this Quarter comes to an end we are excited to announce that Officer Jayme Clark has been selected to fill the MIST officer role.  Officer Clark has worked extensively with CSET over the past year and has training in crisis intervention and negotiations, which will allow her to fill this role with a limited learning curve.  We will introduce Officer Clark more in our next report.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank Officer Swanson for his years of dedicated work as the MIST officer and his commitment to helping our most desperate community members to improve their lives.  Officer Swanson has returned to patrol operations as a Field Training Officer and will be able to further share his knowledge and skillset with our patrol officers.  Thanks again Officer Swanson!

Other exciting news is we hired a non-sworn Parks and Waterfront Ranger to work with CSET in addressing issues in these vital areas of our city.  Ranger Victoria Graham comes to us with a background in law enforcement as well as in the mental health field.  Welcome Ranger Graham.

Additionally, our 2022/2023 Measure Z Grant included funds for a Licensed Supervising Mental Health clinician.  This position is required by law to have other clinicians working in the field.  This was the first big step to implementing the ART (Alternative Response Team) program that we hope to have up and running by the end of 2022. I will introduce this new member of our team as well as a status update on the ART program in our 1^st quarter 22/23 report.

Measure Z funds are also used to fund positions within UPLIFT Eureka that work in conjunction with our CSET team.  We share a common vision of providing services where needed and getting some of our most desperate populations into programs to get them back on their feet, help them find housing, and to also find their way back into the job market.  These positions include a fulltime Homeless Outreach Worker, a part-time Homeless Outreach Worker, a fulltime Homeless Services Coordinator, and a part-time Diversion Program coordinator.  

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II. FINAL SUMMARY REPORT (please attach a maximum of 2 pages, exclusive of attachments)

Besides addressing issues in the parks and along the waterfront trail, CSET continues responding to individuals in crisis.  During the 4^th Quarter, CSET, primarily MIST Officer Swanson and Sgt. La France, responded to more than 50 mental health related calls-for-service, which was 30% of the calls of this nature responded to by the Eureka Police Department.  In total, as St. Joseph Hospital ER and the mental health system is currently overtaxed and overburdened, CSET detained approximately 7 individuals on WI 5150 mental health holds.  This meant CSET was able to either de-escalate or divert approximately 86% of these individuals towards other resources, including to their assigned DHHS Behavioral Health team.   

Besides responding to mental health related calls-for-service, CSET is also requested by community partners, primarily DHHS Behavioral Health and St. Joseph ER to assist them with individuals in crisis.  We continue to aid our partner agencies such as St. Joseph Hospital, DHHS Behavioral Health, St. Vincent DePaul, CWS, Betty Chinn as well as many others.  Within the City of Eureka, CSET and UPLIFT Eureka co-responded to various calls throughout the city in regards to individuals in crisis and/or looking for housing and support.  

As for CSET’s outreach efforts in regards to connecting individuals with substance abuse treatment facilities, 4 connections were made during this quarter. 

Besides St. Joseph Hospital and DHHS, the following are some of the additional organizations CSET has also assisted:

• Assist with the Perilous Plunge Event
• Assisted with a large-scale clean-up behind Applebee’s with UPLIFT Eureka.
• Assisted with a clean-up to the rear of the Mr. Fish building on Broadway.
• Completed daily warn handoffs and coordination with our Homeless Outreach Worker 
• Assisted with security at regular events such as Art’s Alive and Summer Concert Series  

During this quarter, with the assistance of Measure Z funds, CSET was able to connect an individual back to his family in North Dakota.  The individual had been in Eureka for several years, had come into contact with EPD almost 100 times each year, and was often involved in disturbances in Old Town.  To connect the individual back to his family, CSET began actively engaging the individual’s family who wanted him back home.  CSET, the family, and a social worker, confirmed the individual had an address where he would live, and CSET gained the individual’s desire to be reconnected back home with family.  In the end, after various levels of confirmation was completed, CSET secured transportation for the individual and confirmed when he arrived home in North Dakota where he has a support system.  This is just one example of how collaborative work can result in the betterment of lives.

Having time, resources, training and experience makes great strides in order to achieve desired outcomes for peaceful resolutions that work towards long-term stabilization and result in improving the overall health of the community. Since these calls-for-service and situations are time consuming, delicate, and can be escalated quickly, CSET often have and/or have access to background information on the individual in crisis, are able to slow situations down, and can streamline resources to achieve the desired outcomes of voluntary compliance and providing individuals with help.  

Uplift Eureka Outreach and Housing

Uplift Eureka’s Outreach Team continues to utilize a strong collaborative community service network to connect vulnerable community members with vital services, resources and opportunities. Outreach Workers have been imperative at Saint Vincent de Paul’s during meal service, not only to connect people with resources, but also to provide a calming presence and de-escalate situations if need be. Outreach services are provided with an end goal of securing housing.

During the month of April, May and June Uplift Eureka’s Housing Assistance program was able to assist 10 adults and 3 children who were experiencing homelessness to obtain safe and stable housing.  Elders are one group who suffer much with the experience of homelessness and 2 of the 10 adults that Uplift was able to assist with housing are senior citizens.  During that same period Uplift provided supportive services to 27 additional individuals, enabling them to maintain safe and stable housing.

Safe and stable housing is crucial for the health and well-being of all people but most especially for children.  Homelessness is traumatic for all people and most especially for children.  Studies have shown that traumas such as those experienced by children who experience homelessness have a serious long-term impact on their health and wellbeing.  Connecting children with safe and stable housing improves their lives in both the short term and long term. For these reasons housing children is crucially important to the health of our community as a whole.

Uplift is proud of these accomplishments in assisting both adults and children to access housing.  Seeing the pride and hope on the faces of those we serve is reward enough for all the dedicated people who work hard to make this program work. We remain dedicated to our mission of assisting the homeless community to access safe and stable housing and improve their lives.

Job Skills Training Program

Uplift Eureka Continues to operate the Job Skills Training Program and the Pathway to Payday job workshop series. Below are the results from this quarter’s Pathway to Payday:

In reference to social media, due to the sensitive and confidential nature of certain CSET/MIST activities, some of the efforts put forth by the Eureka Police Department’s CSET/MIST team cannot be released on social media. However, the Eureka Police Department has been not only utilizing social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.), but also press releases to more formal media outlets, for the purpose of educating the public of our Measure Z funded activities and successes. These press releases have highlighted Measure Z funds and their part in these successes.  Here are several additional posts that outlined activities and community involvement of our Measure Z funded positions, or the partnerships of the CSET team and UPLIFT. 

All these posts were well received by our followers and helped promote our efforts with the assistance of Measure Z funds.

The following was posted to both Facebook and Instagram:

https://www.facebook.com/eurekapd/posts/pfbid02zwGgoXwtqHrmr4YNpuEX7g7VmHfu59dDchs1iy2LKSAHxhV4Uh8xRKiy48zBcG6fl