People who experience homelessness often have frequent—and sometimes repeated—interactions with law enforcement. Police-Mental Health Collaborations are well-situated to intervene in these situations and provide vital connections to housing and supportive services, which can help break the cycle of homelessness and justice involvement that is especially common for people with behavioral health needs.
This event will explore practical strategies communities across the U.S. are implementing to build and strengthen Police-Mental Health Collaborations to respond to homelessness. The event will feature a live demonstration of the newly revamped Bureau of Justice Assistance Police-Mental Health Collaboration (PMHC) Toolkit, which includes several new modules specifically focused on responding to homelessness. It will also feature keynote remarks from top federal agency leaders, people with lived experience with homelessness and the justice system, as well as a panel of practitioners from Sarasota, Florida and Wichita, Kansas who will share their experiences using collaborative, cross-system approaches to address homelessness in their communities. Finally, the event will conclude with an invitation to continue the conversation by joining a new virtual discussion forum on the topic for law enforcement practitioners and partners.