City, County Plan Homeless Outreach Around Lakeside Encampment

City, County Plan Homeless Outreach Around Lakeside Encampment

by Contributing Editor

Social workers, public safety personnel and others from Riverside County and city agencies will coordinate an outreach and cleanup effort at a homeless encampment next to Hole Lake in Riverside Wednesday, encouraging transients to take advantage of resources intended to get them off the street.

The public service campaign follows one in July, when city and county workers offered homeless campers free water, hygiene products, veterinary assistance for their pets and information on finding temporary housing.

Representatives from the county Department of Public Social Services, the Riverside Office of Homeless Solutions, Riverside Police Department, the county Department of Animal Services and other agencies will be on hand again Wednesday, officials said.

The effort will focus on mental health assistance, transitional housing offers and clearing away piles of refuse and debris around the lake, which is linked to the Santa Ana River, a quarter-mile due west of Riverside Municipal Airport, according to the city.

The encampment has existed for years. Many of those staying there are in their 20s and 30s, according to reports from the July campaign.

According to the most recent DPSS survey, there are nearly 3,000 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in the county. However, officials believe that number falls short of the actual figure because many homeless individuals could not be located when the survey was taken in January.

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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com