Category: Neighborhood Watch

De Blasio pleads to Trump for help with homeless crisis

Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded with President Trump on Sunday for help with the burgeoning homeless situation wreaking havoc throughout the city.

Seattle Firefighters Need Your Help!

Seattle Fire Foundation, community support help firefighters get new bulletproof vests

SEATTLE — Seattle firefighters need more bulletproof vests because of growing dangers on the job. The department has gotten a few, but still needed more than 200 vests and there’s no more money from the city to pay for them.

But, with help from the Seattle Fire Foundation, more than $55,000 has been raised in community and corporate donations.

“With that, we will immediately be purchasing 40 sets of ballistic gear to help protect our firefighters,” said Lindsey Pflugrath, the chair of Seattle Fire Foundation.

The Seattle Fire Department says each bulletproof vest, along with accessories, costs about $1,300. The city supplied the department 25 of them at $1,300 each, coming out to $32,500.

But, the department wants a total of 250 of them. The total bill would be about $325,000. Many of them will have to be paid for with the help of community donations.

“We have 215 firefighters on duty every day,” said Chief Harold Scoggins with Seattle Fire Department.

Firefighters are doing more than putting out fires.

Seattle Fire Department Facebook

SFD CPR Training (Medic II)

The Seattle Fire Department provides training classes in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and choking techniques.

Since the CPR Program (Medic II) started in 1971, more than 850,000 Seattle and King County residents have been trained and retrained in the lifesaving technique of CPR. Studies have shown that prompt bystander CPR more than doubles a patient’s chances of becoming a long-term survivor.

Medic II Program
Phone:(206) 684-7274
Email:medic2@seattle.gov

HUD: Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) Deadline Reminder

Round 3 Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) Deadline Reminder

There are only 2 days remaining until the application submission deadline for the Round 3 Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) is due. All applications must be submitted by Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 11:59:59 PM EDT.

Applications shall be submitted to Grants.gov unless a waiver has been issued allowing you to submit your application in paper form. Instructions for submitting your paper application will be contained in the waiver of electronic submission. As a reminder, “Received by Grants.gov” means the applicant received a confirmation of receipt and an application tracking number from Grants.gov. Then Grants.gov assigns an application tracking number and date-and time-stamps each application upon successful receipt by the Grants.gov system. A submission attempt not resulting in confirmation of receipt and an application tracking number is not considered received by Grants.gov. For more information, please see Section IV.D. of the Round 3 YHDP NOFA.

HUD strongly recommends applications be submitted as soon as possible and during regular business hours to allow enough time to correct errors or overcome other problems.

If you have questions pertaining to Round 3 YHDP NOFA, please submit your questions to the Ask A Question (AAQ) portal on the HUD Exchange website and select “CoC” from the “My question is related to” drop down list on Step 2 of the question submission process.

The AAQ portal accepts question submissions 24/7. However, responses are usually provided between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except for weekends and federal holidays. Additionally, starting 2 days prior to the application deadline, the AAQ will respond only to emergency technical support questions. To ensure you receive a response to your question, please submit your question via the AAQ no later than 12:00 PM EDT on May 13, 2019. If you have questions related to grants.gov please visit Grants.gov Support for assistance.

Officials: Call 2-1-1 to help people find shelter from cold and ice

Severe Weather Winter Shelters List Here

Outreach teams from King County and the City of Seattle are on patrol around downtown and parts of Capitol Hill to help people on the streets get out of the cold. You can help by dialing 2-1-1.

The King County Emergency Services Patrol, funded by the county and the city, is “operating 24/7 during the weekend to help people who are living on the streets in downtown Seattle” and “out meeting with people who are experiencing homelessness to encourage them to come inside during the winter storm.”

But you can also help out by calling 2-1-1 to let the outreach teams know about somebody who may need help.

You can also call 9-1-1 but reports from some callers say that the emergency dispatchers haven’t treated the shelter shuttle calls as priorities.

The county and the city have increased available shelters and warming facilities through the recent storms and into next week. A roster of severe weather shelters is here.

Seattle Police Department: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD)

Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a pre-booking diversion pilot program developed with the community to address low-level drug and prostitution crimes in the Belltown neighborhood in Seattle and the Skyway area of unincorporated King County. The program allows law enforcement officers to redirect low-level offenders engaged in drug or prostitution activity to community-based services, instead of jail and prosecution. By diverting eligible individuals to services, LEAD is committed to improving public safety and public order, and reducing the criminal behavior of people who participate in the program.

About LEAD
Frequently Asked Questions
LEAD Policy Coordinating Group

Funders
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a new innovative pilot program that was developed with the community to address low-level drug and prostitution crimes in the Belltown neighborhood in Seattle and the Skyway area of unincorporated King County. LEAD will divert low-level drug and prostitution offenders into community-based treatment and support services – including housing, healthcare, job training, treatment and mental health support — instead of processing them through traditional criminal justice system avenues.

A unique coalition of law enforcement agencies, public officials, and community groups collaborated to create this pilot program. These groups make up LEAD’s Policy Coordinating Group, which governs the program.

LEAD’s goal is to improve public safety and public order, and to reduce the criminal behavior of people who participate in the program. The program will be thoroughly evaluated to determine whether it has been successful or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are frequently asked questions about LEAD. If you have further questions about the program, please contact us.

What is LEAD?

LEAD is a pre-booking diversion program that allows officers to redirect low-level offenders engaged in drugs or prostitution activity to community-based services instead of jail and prosecution. LEAD participants begin working immediately with case managers to access services. LEAD’s goals are to reduce the harm a drug offender causes him or herself, as well as the harm that the individual is causing the surrounding community. This public safety program has the potential to reduce recidivism rates for low-level offenders and preserve expensive criminal justice system resources for more serious or violent offenders.

How does LEAD differ from other drug programs?

First, LEAD is the result of a commitment from law enforcement agencies, public officials, and community organizations to work together in implementing a new approach to addressing drug and prostitution activity. Second, the diversion in LEAD is made at the pre-booking stage, in the hopes of bypassing the costs and time entailed in booking, charging, and requiring court appearances of an individual. Finally, LEAD provides participants with immediate case management services, and access to additional resources not available through existing public programs.

Who is eligible for diversion into LEAD?

Individuals who are arrested for eligible offenses within specified boundaries for Belltown or Skyway may be diverted into LEAD. Eligible offenses include low-level drug offenses, and engaging in prostitution. Individuals who have certain violent offenses in their criminal history are ineligible for diversion.

Who designed LEAD?

LEAD is the result of an unusual collaboration among diverse stakeholders. Collaborators include the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, the Seattle Police Department, the King County Sheriff’s Office, the King County Executive, the Mayor’s Office, The Washington State Department of Corrections, The Defender Association, the ACLU of Washington, and community members. The collaboration of these stakeholders was motivated by a shared dissatisfaction with the outcomes and costs of traditional drug law enforcement.

Who runs LEAD?

As noted, LEAD is the result of a collaboration among a number of stakeholders. All stakeholders are represented on LEAD’s Policy Coordinating Group, and the group makes decisions by consensus via a memorandum of understanding. LEAD is entirely voluntary, and any stakeholder may choose to withdraw from LEAD at any time.

Who will provide services to LEAD participants?

LEAD stakeholders have contracted with Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS) to provide services to LEAD participants. ETS has provided addiction treatment services in Washington for over 30 years, and has been actively involved in federally-funded research projects. ETS’ REACH Program has been a key provider in the delivery of street outreach services to chronically homeless and chemically addicted adults in Seattle for 15 years. ETS will follow harm reduction principles and will attempt to provide immediate access to services.

How will we know if LEAD works?

All LEAD stakeholders are committed to evaluating the program rigorously. The evaluation will consider, among other factors, whether LEAD has resulted in reductions in drug use and recidivism, whether LEAD is more cost-effective than traditional criminal justice processing, and whether LEAD has had a positive impact on a community’s quality of life.

How much will LEAD cost the City of Seattle and King County?

Nothing. LEAD stakeholders obtained funding from private foundations to implement the program. Its funders include the Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Vital Projects Fund, RiverStyx Foundation, Massena Foundation, and the Social Justice Fund Northwest.

Do community members support LEAD?

Community members strongly support LEAD. LEAD will be piloted first in Belltown, and then in Skyway (in partnership with the King County Sheriff’s Office). Members of both communities have participated in the program’s design, and will continue to provide feedback about the program. For example, the LEAD Community Advisory Board in Belltown includes representatives from the Belltown Community Council, Belltown Business Association, Downtown Seattle Association/Metropolitan Improvement District, Recovery Café, YWCA, Plymouth Housing Group, and Millionair Club Charity. The LEAD Community Advisory Board in Skyway includes representatives from Skyway United Methodist Church, Westhill Community Council, and Skyway Solutions.

For how long will LEAD be implemented?

LEAD formally began on October 1, 2011. The program is anticipated to run for two years before an evaluation is begun, and to continue with foundation funding for an additional two years while the evaluation is conducted and analyzed. If LEAD is found to be effective, an ongoing source of funding will be sought.

Have programs like LEAD been implemented elsewhere?

LEAD was inspired by “arrest-referral” programs in the United Kingdom. Those programs have recently been implemented in virtually every police department in the United Kingdom because pilot projects proved to be so effective.

Policy Coordinating Group
LEAD is governed by a Policy Coordinating Group. The group makes decisions by consensus via a memorandum of understanding. LEAD is entirely voluntary, and any stakeholder may choose to withdraw from LEAD at any time. The members include:

Seattle Office of the Mayor
King County Executive Office
Seattle City Council
King County Council
Seattle City Attorney’s Office
King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Seattle Police Department
King County Sheriff’s Office
Washington Department of Corrections
Belltown LEAD Community Advisory Board
Skyway LEAD Community Advisory Board
The Defender Association, Racial Disparity Project
ACLU of Washington, Drug Policy Project

Funders
LEAD is currently operating as a pilot program and is being funded by private foundations. It is hoped that LEAD will eventually find permanent funding from public sources. The cost-effectiveness of the program will be studied in detail as part of the evaluation for LEAD.

Current funders include:

Ford Foundation
Open Society Foundations
Vital Projects Fund
RiverStyx Foundation
Massena Foundation
The Social Justice Fund Northwest

Sign Up: National-SPD Night Out is Tuesday, August 7, 2018.

Night Out

Night Out is a national event promoted in Seattle by Seattle Police Department Crime Prevention. It is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite our communities.

Night Out is Tuesday, August 7, 2018.
Registration is now open, and will close August 6th, at 5:00PM.

Night Out is August 7, 2018
Get Ready for Night Out!
Register for the event
To participate in Night Out and to have your street closed for the event, you must officially register your Night Out event with the City of Seattle.

Registration is open until 5:00PM Monday August 6, 2018

UW Health Fair – Opioid Overdose Prevention Education & Naloxone Distribution

UW Health Fair – Opioid Overdose Prevention Education & Naloxone Distribution
May 22, 2018, 11am-3pm
UW Red Square, 4063 Spokane Ln, Seattle

DCHS and the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute/Center for Opioid Safety Education will provide information on opioid overdose prevention education, provide training to reverse overdose using Naloxone, and distribute 50 Naloxone nasal sprays to (Naloxone-trained) UW Health Fair participants.

(Supplies of Naloxone are limited, and have been provided through a grant awarded to King County DCHS through Adapt Pharma, to support community-based, opioid overdose prevention awareness events.)

Visit the Website

NARCAN Webiste

Flashback – Naloxone: Seattle Police Officers Revive Drug Overdose Victim

Original Published on May 23, 2017

Police responded to a report of a man down in the 1500 block of 9th Avenue just before midnight and were quickly flagged down by a woman. The woman pointed officers to a man lying on the sidewalk, and said he had recently used heroin.

Officer Jared Levitt and Sergeant Dave Hockett saw the 40-year-old man was struggling to breathe and gave him a dose of nasal naloxone and began CPR a short time later.

SFD medics arrived and took over treatment of the man, who regained consciousness and was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment.

This incident marks the 16th time officers have used Naloxone since Seattle police began carrying it in mid-March. The case will become part of the ongoing study conducted by the University of Washington into SPD’s use of Naloxone for a possible department-wide deployment.

As a reminder, Washington law provides immunity from criminal drug possession charges for anyone seeking medical aid for themselves or someone else experiencing an overdose.

See the Video

What is Neighborhood Watch?

The National Neighborhood Watch – A Division of the National Sheriffs’ Association Official Statement
National Neighborhood Watch (formerly USAonWatch) does not advocate watch members taking any action when observing suspicious activity in their neighborhood. Community members only serve as the extra “eyes and ears” and should report their observations of suspicious activities to their local law enforcement. Trained law enforcement should be the only ones ever to take action; citizens should never try to take action on those observations. National Neighborhood Watch (formerly USAonWatch) encourages all watch groups to register with our national database where multiple resources are made available to assist in the training and maintaining of Neighborhood Watch groups and its members.

For more information on how and when to report suspicious activity please refer to the Neighborhood Watch Manual

What is Neighborhood Watch?
In essence, Neighborhood Watch is a crime prevention program that stresses education and common sense (Stegenga 2000). It teaches citizens how to help themselves by identifying and reporting suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. In addition, it provides citizens with the opportunity to make their neighborhoods safer and improve the quality of life. Neighborhood Watch groups typically focus on observation and awareness as a means of preventing crime and employ strategies that range from simply promoting social interaction and “watching out for each other” to active patrols by groups of citizens (Yin, et al., 1976).

Most neighborhood crime prevention groups are organized around a block or a neighborhood and are started with assistance from a law enforcement agency. Volunteers who donate their time and resources are typically at the center of such programs, since many do not have a formal budget or source of funding. One study (Garofalo and McLeod, 1988) found that most Neighborhood Watches were located in areas that contained high percentages of single-family homes, little or no commercial establishments, and residents who had lived at their current address for more than five years. This study also found that most of the programs used street signs to show the presence of the program to potentially deter any would-be criminals.

All Neighborhood Watches share one foundational idea: that bringing community members together to reestablish control of their neighborhoods promotes an increased quality of life and reduces the crime rate in that area. As Rosenbaum (1988) put it “. . . if social disorganization is the problem and if traditional agents of social control no longer are performing adequately, we need to find alternative ways to strengthen informal social control and to restore a ‘sense of neighborhood'”. That’s precisely what Neighborhood Watch strives to do. In fact, from the earliest attempts to deal with the neighborhood structure as it relates to crime (through the Chicago Area Project of the early 1900s), to modern attempts at neighborhood crime prevention, collective action by residents has proved one of the most effective strategies.

The reason for this effectiveness is rather simple: Involving community members in watch programs decreases opportunities for criminals to commit crime rather than attempting to change their behavior or motivation.

Today’s Neighborhood Watch Program is an effective means of crime control and neighborhood cohesiveness. While not all of the programs in place today go by the same name, they all accomplish the same goal: to bring community members together to fight crime. As Minor aptly wrote, “Neighborhood is the key to maintaining successful relationships.”