Tigard Police Homelessness Community Service Officer

The City of Tigard, Oregon, proposes to establish a full-time Community Service Officer to further advance the City’s houselessness outreach in the Tigard Police Homelessness Community Service Officer program.  The purpose of the program is to provide an unarmed, uniformed officer that will serve full-time to build relationships with houseless community members, connect community members with services in partnership with our local providers, and participate in community meetings.  The primary activities associated with this program are to monitor city encampments, engage houseless people on an individual basis, and provide specific and targeted support and resources to all concerned community members. 

The expected outcomes include a better understanding of the houseless issues and opportunities in real time, a reduction in the number of houseless persons, and both short-term and long-term solutions.  In addition, the city expects to reduce the number of calls for police officers providing first-line responses to houselessness persons and shift to an unarmed, uniformed community officer who can bridge the gap related to services needed by the houseless population. 

The service area includes the entire city of Tigard, covering zip codes 97007, 97035, 97140, 97219, 97223 and 97224.  The direct beneficiaries of this program are individuals experiencing houselessness, community members who have expressed concern, and city officials who are challenged with an increased houseless population.