E-LEARNING RESOURCE
Salt Lake City Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) Program Overview
Salt Lake City Police Department, Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) Program Overview, an interactive publication, provides a summary of the three primary components of the HOST program–donations to homeless service providers, the homeless support group, and collaborative street outreach. Designed with the purpose of sharing program information and materials to help create a better model to end homelessness across the nation, this publication serves as a valuable resource for anyone interested in homeless outreach efforts.
Resource Overview
The Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) program was originally developed to bring Salt Lake City (Utah) police officers and community outreach workers together to identify homeless individuals who panhandle or engage in other types of public nuisance activities in the city and connect them to community resources. The main objectives were to encourage police to make referrals to services rather than issue citations and to decrease the prevalence of panhandling by encouraging the public to give money to service providers rather than directly to panhandlers.
In 2012, the Salt Lake City Police Department expanded the program to include a public awareness campaign, coordinate strategic planning efforts, and recruit and train formerly homeless individuals as volunteers to assist with outreach efforts.
Target Audience
Community stakeholders interested in homeless outreach efforts.
Cooperative Partners
This interactive report is based on the 2016 written publication of the same name, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). This online version was developed by the National Center for Policing Innovation (NCPI), formerly known as the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation, and was supported by cooperative agreement number 2018-CK-WXK-001 by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
National Center for Policing Innovation
The National Center for Policing Innovation (NCPI), formerly known as the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation, is a nonprofit organization that provides innovative community policing training, technical assistance, and program management services to law enforcement organizations and the communities they serve throughout the United States.
Original Publication
October 5, 2016