People are unhoused for a variety of reasons that could include mental health challenges, lack of affordable housing, insufficient income, lack of affordable healthcare, domestic violence, lack of treatment services, and more. The homelessness continuum of care works best by building rapport and trust with unhoused community members to understand their unique challenges to getting back into stable housing. This work can take time and requires coordination among City staff and local non-profit and regional partners to meet the unique needs of every individual.
To facilitate this work, the City has established a Homelessness Assistance and Response Team, or HART, consisting of staff members from various departments to provide compassionate outreach and assistance to residents experiencing homelessness. HART also serves as a point of contact for community members seeking a response to homelessness.
City of Kirkland’s HART Team is modeled after and inspired by the successful HART Team created by the City of Vancouver, Washington.
HART’s first strategy is to transition individuals back into stable housing through outreach and case management services provided by HART members and partner agencies. HART utilizes various services in Kirkland and surrounding communities(PDF, 2MB) and refers unhoused community members to these services as needed. This approach is enormously successful, and, by focusing efforts on transitioning individuals back to stable housing, staff often eliminate the need to activate the second strategy.
However, in certain circumstances, particularly if there is a public health and/or safety concern for the unhoused individual or other members of the community, staff may need to deploy certain response policies and procedures as a second strategy. These next steps are determined on a case-by-case basis and are largely dictated by case law decriminalizing homelessness and the availability of shelter beds.
Meli Paulo Homeless Outreach Coordinator Parks and Community Services
Meli is in the field to meet unhoused residents and connect them with resources to find stable housing or meet other unique needs.
Homeless Outreach Program - aims to transition unhoused people to stable housing through relationship-building, trust and re-connecting to resources.
Tiffany Trombley & Paul ArnoldNeighborhood Resource Officer (NRO)Kirkland Police Department (KPD)
Tiffany and Paul assist with homeless outreach and resource referral when calls are placed to 911 or referred by Officers in the field. Focuses on problem-solving first, and is authorized to issue trespass and vacate notices or to cite or arrest individuals engaging in criminal activity, such as disorderly conduct.
KPD NRO Unit – Liaison between community and KPD to stop crime, solve neighborhood problems and provide public safety education.
Chris Meter, EMT-Firefighter & Taryn Robinson, Case Manager Kirkland Fire Department
Chris and Taryn assist with homeless outreach when calls to 911 reveal that housing, medical and/or other services may be an underlying need. Provides case management for vulnerable adults, resource referral, and follow-up.
Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) Unit of the Kirkland Fire Department - Serving frequent EMS 911 callers, non-emergent medical issues, and patients with complex social needs.
Renee Cox Crisis Responder Mental Health Professional Supervisor RCR Agency
Renee assists with homeless outreach when mental health crises are reported to 911. Provides assessments, crisis response, de-escalation, resource referral and follow-up.
RCR Agency - Regional Crisis Response (RCR) Agency, mobile first response by Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) to 911 calls with mental health issues in Bothell, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park and Shoreline.
Betty Fletcher Park Ranger Parks & Community Services
Betty helps with homeless outreach and referral in parks and responds to emergencies in parks. Educates, warns, enforces, and issues tickets for park rule violations.
Park Ranger Program – customer service to park visitors to ensure a safe, welcoming, and positive experience in Kirkland parks and open spaces.
Ryan Fowler Streets and Grounds Manager Public Works
Ryan assists with homeless outreach and referral on the CKC and other locations kept by Public Works. Supports debris removal and cleanup, as needed.
Streets and Grounds, Public Works - Maintains 648 lane miles of streets, 4 acres of City medians, 5.75 miles of the Cross Kirkland Corridor (CKC), and 30,000 trees.
Denise Russell Planning Supervisor Code Enforcement Team, Planning & Building
Denise’s team assists with homeless outreach on private property. Communicates with property owner, coordinates response with staff.
Code Enforcement Program - investigates violations of City and public health regulations. Aims to resolve issues through education, compliance, negotiation and/or engagement.
Travis Locking Community Coordinator Kirkland Municipal Court
Travis helps unhoused Community Court participants transition to stable housing. Develops service plans that may include a mental health assessment, completing a GED, and obtaining health insurance and stable housing.
Community Court Program – blends accountability and compassion by addressing underlying issues that contribute to criminal behavior leading to low level misdemeanor offenses.
King County Lake Swimming Beach Data Program