‘The challenge is to get them off the streets.’ Inside Fort Worth’s homeless outreach team
A small tent inhabited by two men is pitched near an Oncor power station, surrounded by a wheelchair and other items, with trash strewn around the property.
When Fort Worth police Officer Mike Kuzenka takes to the streets to meet with people experiencing homelessness, he said he approaches them with empathy and compassion.
He is a member of the 3-year-old HOPE Team (Homeless Outreach Program Enforcement). He visits the areas where people congregate, and offers them resources. That includes help to get critical documents, bus tickets, drug rehabilitation services, and housing assessments to help them get housing.
He takes along a team lead from DRC, formerly the Day Resource Center, which provides resources for people who are experiencing homelessness.
Diana Salazar, a mobile assessor from DRC and HOPE Team lead, interviews people to see what resources they need. Kuzenka backs off while Salazar conducts the interview. He said people are more willing to be honest when they are answering questions from her rather than a police officer, especially questions about drug addiction.
“The challenge is to get them off the streets,” Kuzenka said. “They’ve gotten used to it, but they’ve got to want to do it.”
He doesn’t go out looking for people living in encampments or on the streets. He only responds to complaints.
Some parents have complained about people camping or loitering around parks and playgrounds. Kuzenka said people are removed for their own safety. If they’re camped too close to a roadway or in the middle of a traffic circle, they can be in danger of being hit by a car.
Recently the city moved some people who were living under a bridge. Authorities said they were burning fires against the embankments, which was damaging the integrity of the structure. A man was also digging a trench around one of the pillars. Dust and debris sprinkled down among the people living there when heavy trucks drove over the bridge.
The Texas Department of Transportation owns the bridge and asked the police for help to move the people.
Police notified them that they would have to leave two days before the cleanup, and provided shuttle buses to help them move, Kuzenka said. Police provided security while the cleanup crew worked, Kuzenka said.
On a recent sweep, when Kuzenka and Salazar talked with the two men camped on the Oncor property, he explained to them that they were on private property.
“Usually, I’ll ask the property owner to give them some time,” Kuzenka said. “We’re not trying to be ugly to them. We just want to give them the chance to get help.”
One man who identified himself as Jeno was living in the tent with his brother when Kuzanka approached them. Jeno said he and his brother recently lost their mother, grandmother and grandfather, leaving them without a home.
Kuzenka explained that they were on private property and he could not control when the company decides to come and force them out. He told them they needed to move on. But instead of giving them a trespassing ticket, he gave them a warning, and let them talk to Salazar.
“We never force someone to use our services,” she said.
Kuzenka said his job can be a little frustrating when people won’t accept the help. He said they make excuses for not coming to the shelter. Some say they are afraid of bed bugs, others say they don’t like the fact that they can’t do drugs in the shelter.
He said one woman told him she didn’t want any responsibility.
But he said his job can be rewarding, too. He recently helped a man get permanent housing.
He said he saw the man often on the streets. The man had severe health issues, and was barely surviving, but still refused help.
“I told him, “One day, I’ll find you dead on the street,’” Kuzena said. “That was a wake-up call for him.”
The man went to the hospital and got treatment for a severe heart condition. Now he gets disability and subsidized housing and is living a better life, Kuzenka said.
This story was originally published January 23, 2023 at 7:00 AM.