June 15, 2023 - San Bernardino County Sheriff Department officials report that on Friday, June 9, 2023, 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 a quality-of-life operation in city of Highland. The goal of the operation was to connect with unhoused residents and offer them services such as housing, medical and mental health treatment, and other social services. The H.O.P.E. Team located seventeen encampments and spoke with thirty-one individuals experiencing homelessness. Thirty were provided with referrals to programs for assistance and eleven were provided with direct assistance. The team contacted a senior that met a specific criteria for a homeless resouce provider. The senior was accepted into the providers program and is currently awaiting a job interview.

The team was able to provide this focused outreach due to Senate Bill 170, which provided funding to the Sheriff's Department to support ongoing operations of this nature. The H.O.P.E. team and other aligned resources will continue operations of this type throughout the county over the next several years.

If you know of persons experiencing homelessness who are in need of services, please contact the H.O.P.E. team at 909-387-0623 or hope@sbcsd.org.  

Source & photos: San Bernardino County Sheriff Department