Mobile’s Homeless Outreach Team could soon get a boost. On Tuesday, city council members will decide whether to authorize Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis to apply for up to $200,000 through the U.S. Justice Department’s Community Policing Development Microgrants Program.
According to Dr. Kendell Young, the city’s Homeless Outreach Coordinator, if awarded, the money would help expand his team that pairs Mobile police officers with behavioral health and outreach specialists.
“What we have come to realize is that if we can have a larger team, it would take a load off of our police officers,” Dr. Young said. “They won’t have to deal with these squatting problems, the vagrant issues that exist in our city. We can respond to those and be able to connect those individuals to the services that they need very quickly.”…