HOT Teams Help Homeless Find Path to Housing

Shelter, food, water. Arguably the most important, most attainable things in life. Basic psychology—Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs specifically—says so. That five-stage model identifies different levels of needs each one of us has. The lowest level includes the most basic and necessary, the biological requirements for human survival—think food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sleep.

This level is something many of us take for granted. Yet there is a distinct population here in Sarasota County fighting for pieces of those basic comforts every day, with shelter being the hardest to come by and maintain. Struggling just to stay safe and dry, many chronically homeless adults have little hope of solving more complex problems that contribute to them living on the streets.

That’s why the City of Sarasota’s Homeless Outreach Team, or “HOT team,” works day in and day out to offer assistance to this population. First by helping them to meet basic needs, so they might progress toward stabilization and even self-sufficiency.

Staffed by Sarasota Police Department law-enforcement officers and civilian case workers, the City’s HOT team meets individuals in need of housing where they are—geographically, psychologically, and emotionally. “Our main goal is to help you get off the street, get yourself back in a stable environment, and hopefully move past that road block,” says Jaymi Delcos, sergeant of the Homeless Outreach Team.

Making Progress

Homelessness is unlikely to ever be eradicated. But since our community began working together to transform Sarasota’s homeless crisis response system, we have remained focused on making the experience of homelessness here rare, brief, and nonrecurring.

The City’s HOT team came together in 2014. Since it formed, the number of homeless in the city has decreased—including many long-term, chronically homeless individuals who have moved into permanent housing. (The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office also formalized a HOT team to assist the chronically homeless throughout the rest of the county.)

“Gulf Coast Community Foundation was there at the beginning,” says Kevin Stiff, Homeless Response Coordinator for the City. “They saw that success and progress can be made. A lot of times that’s the most important part of a relationship. Without Gulf Coast, we would have not been able to accomplish what we have today.”

A Bridge to Housing 

Through outreach, case management, and close partnerships with other agencies, the City’s HOT team connects homeless adults to a variety of services that can tend to their specific needs. The HOT team gets to know the homeless individuals they meet as just that—individuals. They work to earn their trust and then provide a bridge to the system of services and housing opportunities coordinated by our region’s Continuum of Care. 

“Partnering with community organizations and having the positive relationships and positive communication with homeless individuals has been the key here,” says case manager Krystal Frazier. 

Many chronically homeless adults have underlying issues, such as mental health disorders or drug and alcohol addictions, that prevent them from maintaining a home. While there are local organizations poised to help, until a person is stably housed, solving those other issues might not be realistic.

“It’s difficult to say to someone, ‘I need you to work on your alcohol abuse, or your unemployment,’ when their first thought in the morning is, How do I get breakfast? Where am I sleeping tonight?” says Stiff. “The other things I might deal with in a week, but I need these things today.”

According to Maslow’s theory, people progress to needs higher up on the pyramid once a lower level has been attained. After meeting basic physiological needs, it’s safety next, then love and belonging, followed by esteem needs, and, finally, “self-actualization” (i.e., reaching one’s full potential). A system of collaboration and care is in place for helping homeless individuals in Sarasota eventually meet those as well. But for many, it starts with survival—and that starts with a path to housing accessed through the HOT teams.