Cameron Ellis provides direct security services at city parks, helps connect the area’s homeless with services, and reports concerns to city departments for follow-up.

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA (February 26, 2021) – Through its  Housing and Community Development Department (HCD), the City of West Palm Beach works to enhance the quality of life for its residents through the development of housing, social and economic opportunities.

To help the city’s on-street homeless population during the month of January, HCD met weekly with established partners including St. Ann Place, Gulfstream Goodwill, PSC Security, CJE Security, West Palm Beach Parks & Recreation Department, and the West Palm Beach Division of Sanitation.

Additionally, under the direction of HCD’s full-time Homeless Services Coordinator Marcus Laws, HCD provided daily, on-street engagement and interventions to those experiencing homelessness with staff from the Vickers House, Mental Health America, and Gulfstream Goodwill.

Together, in the month of January, the City and its partners helped:

• 88 individuals by offering services within city parks, neighborhoods, or other locations,
• 25 individuals in need of referrals and access to mental health and substance abuse treatment services,
• 13 chronically homeless individuals, who were successfully housed and/or sheltered through partnerships with Palm Beach County’s Coordinated Entry System, Gulfstream Goodwill, and Vickers House, and
• 3 chronically homeless individuals, who utilized the city’s Homeward Bound program.

The Homeless Activity Reporter, a web-based application, is one way the public can report when non-emergency city assistance or community resources are needed by the city’s homeless population. To make a report, please visit: wpb.org/har.

If you would like to speak with someone regarding an ongoing homelessness concern, contact Marcus Laws, Homeless Services Coordinator, at (561) 517-3328 (TTY: 800-955-8771).