October 14, 2023 – San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials report that on Friday, October 13, 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 "Operation Shelter Me" in Rancho Cucamonga and surrounding areas impacting the city.
Operation Shelter Me aims to connect staff with unhoused residents and offer them housing, medical and mental health treatment services. During this operation, the team focused on those with the most significant mental illness to get those individuals linked to restorative mental health pathways.
The H.O.P.E. Team located 38 individuals experiencing homelessness. The team provided 26 individuals with referrals to programs for assistance, linked 14 to direct aid, and one individual was provided transportation to a San Bernardino area Crisis Stabilization Unit for voluntary mental health crisis intervention services.
Deputies leveraged relationships with community partners and located temporary housing for a mother and her two small children experiencing homelessness. Seventy-seven percent of the individuals contacted were open to accepting services, including shelter, treatment, housing, and other services. While service capacity is limited, the teams will continue to work with this population to get them into services as they become available.
In June of 2023, San Bernardino County opted into Laura’s Law, also called Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT). Laura’s Law provides opportunities for court-ordered community treatment pathways for individuals with histories of hospitalization or incarceration, and histories of violence to themselves or others. During this operation, deputies initiated three Laura’s Law investigations. At the conclusion of these investigations, individuals determined to meet AOT criteria will be referred to appropriate county resources for possible placement into treatment pathways.
The team provided this focused outreach due to Senate Bill 170, which provided funding to the 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 need services, please get in touch with the H.O.P.E. team at 909-387-0623 or hope@sbcsd.org.
DATE/TIME: October 13, 2023
INCIDENT: OPERATION SHELTER ME
LOCATION: The City of Rancho Cucamonga and Surrounding Areas
Source & photos: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
