Briefing Room

Homeless Gateway

Community Support Division

Fort Lauderdale police program to help the homeless may become permanent

FORT LAUDERDALE -- A year-old program in the city's Police Department that cajoles the homeless to leave the streets may become a permanent social-action campaign. The possibility of continuing the homeless outreach program was announced days after Officer Scott Russell received a statewide award for his work in scouring the streets in search of homeless people and persuading them to get help. "It's quite an honor, especially being on the police end of things," beamed Russell, 40. "Traditionally we've always been in enforcement mode as opposed to problem-solving." Officer Scott Russell talks to a homeless person Russell is the primary officer in a group of about six who team up with a formerly homeless man to persuade homeless people that they shouldn't remain on the street. Those who agree are driven to one of several shelter programs, including the Homeless Assistance Center in Fort Lauderdale and the Salvation Army. When homeless people complain that they won't be allowed to have a beer at a shelter, Russell appeals to their sense of humanity, saying the rule is really meant to prevent others seeking help from being tempted to drink. When they bemoan rent being too expensive to leave the streets, Russell tells them to get two jobs. The conversation can go on for nearly an hour. Russell calls it "debating." "It's like hostage negotiations, and the person they're holding hostage is themselves," he said. Since the program began in November 1999, police have approached more than 1,000 homeless men and women and persuaded about 680 to get shelter with family or social service agencies. In the second annual statewide conference on homelessness last month, Russell was one of three winners of Florida Coalition for the Homeless awards for outstanding service to the homeless. Officer Scott Russell jokes with a homeless person The other two awards went to Arnold Abbott, a Fort Lauderdale man who feeds the homeless weekly despite city regulations that hamper the practice, and a formerly homeless Lee County woman who is dedicating her career in public housing to helping the homeless. Russell "was favorably reviewed by the awards committee for his hands-on commitment to help the homeless people, to take steps that law enforcement doesn't traditionally take in dealing with homeless people," said Greg Mellowe, the executive director of the Florida Coalition for the Homeless based in Orlando. "In the history of the state, I don't know if we've had any law enforcement officers take leadership in this role." Although the $50,000 federal grant for the program expired in September, it's still going. "The program is running because we feel it's such a useful program we are continuing to support it while we look for alternate funding sources," said Assistant Police Chief Bob Pusins. The program is a clear success, he said. "By referring a homeless person to an appropriate social service agency, they have the chance of turning their lives around." Pusins also said he's encouraged that homeless advocates have acknowledged the value of working with police departments; traditionally they have been at odds. In Broward County last summer, for example, homelessness advocates briefly considered a plan to videotape confrontations secretly between the police and homeless people in public parks after allegations that they were being mistreated. That plan was scratched after Pusins complained. "We had seen a lot of progress on their part," said Laura Carey, executive director of the Broward Coalition for the Homeless, citing a relatively new city program that allows county social workers to go to the city jail to try to coax the homeless into shelters. She also said she was pleased with the department's work to get street patrol officers trained in homeless sensitivity courses, which Russell helps teach. Officials at the Homeless Assistance Center in Fort Lauderdale said about 50 percent of their clients come from police referrals, many of those from Russell. Officer Scott Russell listens to a homeless person "Historically, the police used to do sweeps to get them off the streets," said David Freedman, chief operating officer. Now the city's police have the mentality that "they're not problem people, they're people with problems." Since details of the outreach program appeared in the Sun-Sentinel and a national magazine for police chiefs this year, Pusins has been asked how to start a similar program by Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, and cities in Alabama and Michigan. Russell, a devout Baptist, said he's motivated by his religious beliefs to help the disadvantaged. He's also driven because Fort Lauderdale is his hometown. Born and raised here, he's a 1979 graduate of Fort Lauderdale High. Since joining the Fort Lauderdale Police Department in 1982, Russell has worked in many positions, including road patrol, the street-level narcotics unit and as a resource officer at Fort Lauderdale's Sunrise Middle School. Now, in addition to the homeless outreach, he works bike patrol in the downtown district and teaches courses to new recruits. Russell, a father of four young children, won't go away. "If (a homeless person) doesn't want to go today, I'll be back tomorrow," he said. Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4557.

Briefing Room