NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — The New Smyrna Beach Police Department is working to address the homeless population in the city.

Police department officials hosted a community meeting Thursday to talk about the current programs they have available and their partnership with First Step Shelter. They also held a Q&A session to answer questions.

All of this to make sure residents know the city is working to provide homeless with the help they need — from mental help services to shelter.

“Our programs are driven by community input," New Smyrna Beach Police Chief Eric Feldman said. "So, this is a chance for us to meet with our residents and listen to the impact that they feel from homelessness and also collect any good ideas they might have that we can bring into these programs that we already have."

Feldman said in their most recent homeless count, officials have determined that approximately 100 people are experiencing homelessness in various parts of the city.

“I think it’s a problem everywhere, you know. We find that homelessness is, of course, attributed to mental health and other issues that people are suffering from, and they end up in a position where they’re not able to lead a normal life,” Feldman said.

At Thursday’s meeting, dozens of New Smyrna Beach residents learned more about the Community Outreach Unit program (COU), spearheaded by New Smyrna Beach Police Clinician Kimberly Jensen. The program, which is free of charge, is designed to assist people with mental health and substance abuse issues, with the goal of decreasing the chances of them becoming homeless. 

“We’ve got quite the community support,” said Jensen, who noted the mental health program has been widely praised by residents who have concerns about the growing homeless population in the area. “We’re doing a lot to collaborate with the community within New Smyrna.” 

While many who attended the Q&A session said they believe mental health is an important factor to consider when addressing the homeless community, some in attendance pleaded with the city to focus more on addressing the affordable housing crisis. 

“(We) need emergency shelters … we need to come up with some kind of plan to provide shelter," said Teresa Pope, executive director of the New Smyrna Beach Housing Authority. 

Hope argued before New Smyrna’s Beach Police Department that the homeless issue is a complex one, and one that requires deep thinking to address. 

“There are a lot of issues with our homeless population that’s not just being homeless,” Pope told Spectrum News. 

Resident Kevin Lemire and his wife have been living in New Smyrna Beach for six years. One of their hobbies is biking on the Holland Park trails, but they say they’ve recently seen a few homeless people in the surrounding woods.

“Further back that way, generally. And a little bit across the next road," Lemire said. "There’s some woods on the right. We’ve seen people there, but not crowds. You know, one or two or three."

He said they had an experience where a homeless person moved into the woods on their property a few months ago.

“And we were concerned with the potential for fire, potential for debris or drug paraphernalia," Lemire said. "So, we contacted the police. I posted the property, and they removed the people from the property."

Feldman says the New Smyrna Beach Police Department is the only one in Florida with an embedded mental health clinician. He said the department has also partnered with First Step Shelter in Daytona Beach to provide a place for people to stay, and have outreach members who work one-on-one with these individuals offer them help. 

“Our homeless population knows our community outreach members. They know that we are every day trying to get them to accept services beyond just food and shelter. So, our goal is to provide a better way of life,” Feldman said. “Now, if they choose not to accept that and they violate our ordinances, violate laws, and camp in city parks, we’re going to enforce those laws as well.”