POTD: Trying to figure it out
Metro Wire Staff
Stevens Police Police Officer Mike Radsek (left), talks with Mayor Mike Wiza about some of the city’s homeless population on Nov. 14.
The two were working to secure housing for one person who’d been living on the streets for several months. Radsek and Wiza discussed numerous tactics to assist the person, but Radsek said he was having trouble getting the individual to cooperate.
Radsek, the SPPD’s liaison for the local homeless population, keeps regular tabs on the city’s unhoused. He steers them toward services to help with housing, family issues, mental health and/or substance abuse, job placement, obtaining disability or veterans benefits, and other resources. He’s even fetched job applications for some.
The city is coming off a warm season that saw high numbers of homeless people in the downtown area, which Wiza attributed, in part, to the temporary closure of The Monroe House, which had been a staple shelter for some.