A newly announced program through the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office calls on county residents to take in homeless individuals.
The initiative is in response to an uptick of homeless encampments within Omaha and Douglas County. It’s also meant to push uncomfortable conversations, said Sheriff Aaron Hanson.
“The end goal is to find larger-scale solutions to our growing tent camp population, and ultimately that’s going to be a discussion that branches off in many different directions,” Hanson said. “We need to have a serious conversation over whether we have enough acute mental health infrastructure in Nebraska. I believe we do not.”
Hanson announced the program in a Facebook video Wednesday. Coined the Sheltering Assistance Program, the initiative would require applicants to submit a form through the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office website.
There would be a strict vetting process, which Hanson said would include Omaha’s homelessness coordinator, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Douglas County Health Department.
The feasibility of that application process remains unclear. Neither the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services nor the Douglas County Health Department were informed of the program before Hanson made the announcement.
“I did not connect with them. No need to, really, because we don’t even know if we’ll have anyone apply,” Hanson said. “We don’t know what is possible until we see what the level of interest is. No reason to build a very comprehensive program on the front end if nobody applies or maybe one person applies and they’re not a realistic applicant.”
Douglas County Health Director Lindsay Huse confirmed the department had not been contacted.
“However, given that safe and affordable housing remains a top concern for Douglas County residents, we look forward to future conversations about how we can collectively find solutions,” Huse said.
The Sheriff’s Office form asks several yes or no questions: Would you be willing to house a family? A person with pets? A felon or repeat offender? A sex offender? A person with unaddressed addiction challenges?
“People in the community who believe it is inappropriate to remove public encampments from public spaces, I believe their intentions are pure, but they’re naive,” Hanson said. “People living in those conditions have advanced needs and challenges, and they should be in shelters or in enhanced behavioral health infrastructure – not living in tents.”
The number of people experiencing homelessness in the Omaha metro area has risen in recent years, but there’s context to those numbers, said Jason Feldhaus, executive director of Threshold Continuum of Care. The area nonprofit coordinates data and responses to housing needs for the Omaha metro, including the annual point-in-time count.
Generally, the homeless population has increased alongside an increase in Omaha’s overall population. In January, the Omaha metro’s point-in-time count went down for the first time in five years.
“I appreciate what Aaron Hanson is trying to convey,” Feldhaus said. “I think he shows the complexity and the difficulty that we’re facing as a community – that there is no quick fix unless you go to an unsustainable strategy with enormous liability, and nobody wants that.”
Threshold would be “very interested” in cross training with Hanson and his staff to increase the capacity of service for individuals who are homeless and help get them connected to services, Feldhaus said.
Hanson’s program announcement comes as the City of Omaha considers an ordinance that would prohibit unauthorized encampments on public property. The proposal, introduced by Councilman Brinker Harding and supported by Hanson, is intended to address a rise in homeless encampments.
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