These people are desperate and have no where to go. What can we do to help them. Remember that saying: "there but for the grace of god, go I"? thank goodness there is still good weather. when the rains come, there will be more problems. could someone ask social services for a hand? where should they be refered? people don't live under such conditions if they have options.

We actually have pretty good homeless outreach in Oakland. They do go out to the encampments and offer services but cannot force occupants to go to shelters. Some may be drug addicted and not want to go where they cannot do drugs. Others may have mental health issues or it may be both.

http://www.bonitahouse.org/services/host

http://www.bayareacs.org/sr_homeless.html

http://operationdignity.org/services-2/mobile-outreach/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0zxTGIsOvY

of course some are mentally ill and do not make pudent decisions, but others are new to this world and might need these referrals. do cops give them handouts with the info above? i'm betting most are not online and need a print out listing these alternatives. is there a way we can see to it they receive the info? i'd be willing to chip in for the printing.

Did you have a chance to watch the video I linked where Project Dignity is out in their mobile van?

I encourage you to contact the organizations I linked above and ask them how they get the word out and what outreach they do. They know homeless people will not be on the internet and know how to get the word out to them. Yes, police officers do give info about resources.

Here's an excerpt from BACS website:

The programs are outreached based, which means our staff hit the streets to locate hard-to-reach people. Many of our participants were connected with a variety of other programs in the past, but failed out of those programs because of their complexities. We constantly talk about how unique and different our services are and provide unique ways to connect with potential participants. We may bring toiletries, food, and clothes to a homeless camp and visit for a matter of months to build trust with someone before they agree to join services.