Everett considers coordinator, contract for homeless outreach
EVERETT — Last year Everett’s eight-person social worker and police officer unit contacted 918 people who were homeless.
The unit, called Community Outreach and Enforcement Team (COET), had more than 4,300 interactions in that span. It’s a vast workload that can have gaps as they try to navigate people through health care, housing and sometimes criminal justice.
“The need for follow-up outpaced the current staffing capacity,” Everett Community Development Director Julie Willie said during the Feb. 16 city council meeting.
Everett is proposing a two-year pilot program to help manage that work more effectively. The city would use $870,000 of its $20.7 million federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/everett-considers-coordinator-contract-for-homeless-outreach/
