City needs to pool resources to aid homeless

It is rare when a day passes that the dispatch center does not receive a call in regard to a disheveled individual acting abnormal, panhandling, looking cold or camping behind a building or in a ditch. Homelessness is working its way into our community in larger numbers and it might be beneficial for us to begin the process of working with regional and local planning bodies to develop a coordinated housing and services program for people experiencing chronic homelessness.

Many of the individuals we make contact with are migrating from the shelters in Las Vegas and will not accept the offer to provide travel to those same shelters for further assistance. All too often, at the point at which law enforcement gets involved, it is to take action such as arresting people or forcing movement to other areas, which is costly both in terms of the financial expense to the community as well as increasing distrust and conflict.

One of the purposes of building a coordinated system is to ensure that people with the most severe service needs and levels of vulnerability are prioritized for housing and homeless assistance in a timely manner. For law enforcement officers, working with some of the most vulnerable individuals in the community, this is good news.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and its partners on the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness are vital in coordinating housing and services for people experiencing homelessness by integrating efforts of local police departments, health care agencies, homeless service providers, and other public and private partners. While law enforcement will need to be a part of the solution, we will need assistance from various groups in the city to provide critical community input into a long-range solution that addresses the needs of the individuals as well as the community as a whole.

If you are a planning partner with any of the local civic groups in our little town, this would be a huge help, especially as more and more traffic will be passing around the city proper and bus service is a low-cost and viable option for those looking for areas with larger land areas and fewer enforcement officers to detect their movements.

Thank you, in advance, for caring about Boulder City.

Dec. 28. Suspicious: The caller reports a man repeatedly banging on the front door and making attempts to enter the location at 12:42 a.m. in the 200 block of Lorryn Lane.

Welfare check: The caller states there is a subject in the restroom yelling at himself and is always acting intoxicated at 9:26 p.m. in the 1000 block of Nevada Way.

Thought for the day: It’s best to make sure you know where you live before going out for a night on the town, otherwise, you may just end up with a totally unexpected pair of bracelets and lodging for the night.

Dec. 29. Welfare: The caller believes the subjects may be on drugs because they have been raking leaves for over an hour at 5:07 p.m. in the 1200 block of Cheyenne Court.

Civil: The caller thinks it might have been unwise to allow someone to live in the backyard as they are now causing a disturbance at 9:42 p.m. in the 1000 block of Fifth Street.

Thought for the day: Things have slipped pretty far when kids doing chores are mistaken for drug abuse.

Dec. 30. Disturbance: The subject outside is yelling and screaming and refuses to leave because numbness is preventing him from walking at 11:21 a.m. in the 700 block of Canyon Road.

Assist: The motor home may be convenient for sleeping but off-road through the median is evidently a no-no at 4:16 p.m. in the area of mile marker 50 on U.S. Highway 95.

Thought for the day: Officers were able to witness a miracle. They arrived in time to see the man previously causing the disturbance walk again.

Dec. 31. Reckless: Several vehicles were racing up and down the street at high speeds at 5:26 p.m. in the 1900 block of Buchanan Boulevard.

Fireworks: Several subjects decide they would rather surrender their illegal fireworks than face steep fines at 9:59 p.m. in the 1100 block of Fifth Street.

Thought for the day: New Year’s Eve was relatively slow and uneventful.

Jan. 1. Family disturbance: The “rolling” domestic was settled when one party chose to accept a ride to a nearby hotel at 3:25 p.m. in the area of Katzenbach Drive and U.S. Highway 93.

Petty theft: A safety cable was cut and a bike was taken at 7:14 p.m.

Thought for the day: Nothing starts the year right like a family issue involving the police.

Jan. 2. Suspicious: The caller believes it suspicious that two men are walking around wearing safety vests at 8:34 a.m. in the area of Birch Street and Nevada Way.

Suspicious: There is a man walking back and forth in the area wearing a jacket and not acting right at 11:35 a.m. in the area of Utah and Wyoming streets.

Thought for the day: We are encountering an unusual amount of homelessness compounded by mental illness and other social issues.

Jan. 3. Accident: Officers are called to an unoccupied vehicle off the roadway that has air-bag deployment and indication of injuries at 4:20 a.m. in the area of mile marker 41 on U.S. 95.

Soliciting: The caller reports an aggressive woman is soliciting money and berating anyone refusing her request at 2:46 p.m. in the 800 block of Arizona Street.

Thought for the day: The traffic crash is handled by another jurisdiction and we are hoping the occupants are located safely.

Call(s) of the week: Suspicious: The caller wants to report a suspiciously young-looking boy walking down the roadway wearing a cape and gray pants. The 5-year-old was located and advised he was a little young to be out alone fighting crime and was transported to the station to await the arrival of his very worried parent at 11:43 a.m. Jan. 2 in the area of Wyoming Street and California Avenue.

Tina Ransom is a dispatcher with Boulder City Police Department. She is coordinator of the Boulder City Citizen’s Academy.