Two times a week, Victoria Hensley of Hopeline and a Middletown police officer team up to reach out to those needing help, whether in a homeless camp or through referrals from patrol officers and paramedics. The challenges could be mental health issues, alcohol and drug abuse, or homelessness, or all of the above, according to Henley.
“Our primary goal is to get people in a safe environment so they can heal and I always tell people you can’t heal in the same environment you are being hurt in,” Hensley said. “Hopeline is a linkage program. So I connect people to resources. Eliminate barriers for them, if they need a ride, if they need a birth certificate, clothes, hygiene items, treatment, that is what the Hopeline does.”
Hensley who lost her sister in 2014 to an overdose, has been hitting the “streets” with an officer for about four years talking to those in homeless camps and looking for folks with needs based on officer referrals.
While most are reluctant at first, success in many cases eventually happens when people are ready, she said.
A couple years ago, the Outreach Team, which started as a heroin rapid response team, began focusing not only people with drug addiction but those living in the homeless camps near downtown and along the Great Miami River. The all-terrain vehicle owned by the department got a workout, Hensley said, noting it now has no heat or air conditioning and the windows don’t go all the way up.
“I am with the police two times a week going to homeless camps, to abandoned buildings, where ever it is possible someone would be and we offer them resources,” she said. “It tell them we are here to get you out.”
It one time, 17 people were living in a Middletown camp near the river, one with a whole apartment set up in an abandoned building, she said. It is gone now, thanks to resources offered and some who moved on to other areas.
The effort has been largely successful. But Hensley said, vigilance is the key. The outreach team will increase to three days a week in 2025 and the two new vehicles will help with the effort and transport.
Middletown Police Chief Earl Nelson said in 2024 there have been 375 calls for service for homeless individuals and the outreach team has connected 96 people with treatment and house and initiated six-long term encampment cleanups.
“It has been very successful getting people connected with the help they need,” the chief said.
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