OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — Oceanside is shifting how it serves its homeless population by replacing police officers with social workers in a new program called the Homeless Evaluation, Assistance & Response Team, or HEART.
Oceanside's Chief of Police, Taurino Valdovinos, told me back in May that the change makes sense from both a practical and professional standpoint.
"To me, it didn't make sense that we were paying a police officer or police officers to do that work when a professional, an expert, a social worker could do that work for the city and probably do it better than we could," said Valdovinos.
In May, he also said Oceanside police officers have been helping homeless residents with tasks like trips to the DMV, picking up medication, and navigating Social Security — duties the new program is designed to take over.
Tameka Tates, Oceanside's homeless services manager, said the approach requires building trust.
"I think that people assume that you're just going to offer someone a house and they're going to say, OK, I'll take the house, but that's not necessarily what it is," Tates said.
Tates said HEART workers will focus on relationships and meeting unhoused people where they are, literally.
"If you're starting early in the morning, that's when they're usually moving around trying to figure out what their next step is of the day. Usually, if they're in front of businesses, they know they have to get up, they have to move in those areas, so the HEART team will be there to greet those individuals," Tates said.
HEART is partially funded by Measure X, and the city will be hiring for the program soon.
A hotline will also be created for people to request services for themselves. Tates emphasized that participation must be voluntary.
"So even if you're in the community and you say, Hey, I see this woman every single day. Unfortunately, that woman has to be the one to say, OK, I do want to go into our navigation center. I do want to complete a referral," Tates said.
Tates said if all goes well, she hopes to have the full HEART program up and running by October.
