This small, yet amazing group of city employees, 4 employees plus 2 police officers, work tirelessly to try to help homeless folks in Garland.
Amber Thompson, Director of Garland Environmental Compliance, heads her group, while the officers are from the Garland Police Department Homeless Taskforce.
They collaborate with homeless service providers to connect homeless individuals with essential resources and programs, diverting them from the criminal justice system and guiding them toward necessary services or shelters. In addition, they respond to calls involving homeless individuals and camping on public property.
Recently, they worked in our Preserve to remove bags and bags of debris left behind by several homeless people camping in the forest. First, signs were posted at each site, alerting the homeless that they had one week to remove any items they wanted to keep. Then the team arrived on a hot, sultry north-Texas day. They already knew that the Preserve is a delicate habitat, so instead of using heavy equipment and destructive vehicles that are available to them, they did the whole job by hand, leaving a clean, un-ravaged space that can quickly recover from the campers.
Folks from the Society, plus the new Garland Parks Director, Kari Pacheco, met them recently in the city hall lobby, to thank them for taking such good care of the forest, and to chat for a while over donuts.
