Transit Agency Practices in Interacting with People Who Are Homeless (2016)

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CONTENTS 1 SUMMARY 3 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Project Background and Objectives, 3 Technical Approach, 3 Organization of This Report, 4 5 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction, 5 Older Studies, 5 2000 and Beyond, 6 Social Exclusion Studies, 7 Libraries, 8 Summary, 9 10 CHAPTER THREE SURVEY RESULTS: TRANSIT AGENCY INTERACTIONS WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS Introduction, 10 Is This an Issue for Transit Agencies?, 10 Agency Policies and Procedures, 11 Actions Taken, 11 Responsibilities and Resources, 12 Partnerships and Community Education, 13 “Coffee with a Cop,” 15 Challenges in Agency Interactions, 15 Challenges in Customer Reactions, 16 Summary, 17 20 CHAPTER FOUR SURVEY RESULTS: ASSESSMENT OF TRANSIT AGENCY INTERACTIONS WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS Introduction, 20 Agency Assessment of Efforts to Interact with People Who Are Homeless, 20 Lessons Learned, 23 Summary, 24 26 CHAPTER FIVE CASE EXAMPLES Introduction, 26 Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T, Fort Worth, Texas), 26 Metro Transit System (Metro, Madison, Wisconsin), 27 Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART, Oakland/San Francisco, California), 29 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 30 Valley Metro (Phoenix, Arizona), 31 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (METRO, Washington, D.C.), 33 Case Example Summary, 34 35 CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSIONS Introduction, 35 Findings from the Survey and Literature Review, 35 Agency Assessments, 37

Lessons Learned: Survey Respondents, 37 Lessons Learned: Case Examples, 37 Conclusions and Areas for Future Study, 38 40 ACRONYMS 41 REFERENCES 43 APPENDIX A PARTICIPATING TRANSIT AGENCIES 46 APPENDIX B SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 60 APPENDIX C SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTS Note: Many of the photographs, figures, and tables in this report have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions.

SUMMARY TRANSIT AGENCY PRACTICES IN INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS People who are homeless often use public transit vehicles or facilities as shelters to stay out of the weather and to be safe. For various reasons, many transit passengers do not feel comfortable around people who are homeless. Transit agencies attempt to manage this population and its impacts to preserve the quality of the transit environment. A trajectory of responses and activity can be seen in how transit agencies interact over time with people who are homeless (shown in Figure 1): FIGURE 1 Trajectory of transit agency responses and activity with respect to interactions with people who are homeless. • The initial reaction is a reluctance to expend resources on a problem that clearly goes beyond the transit agency. • Next is a realization that customers are unhappy and something needs to be done. • The most obvious action is enforcement. • When enforcement alone does not solve the problem, agencies move toward partner- ships with social service and nonprofit agencies. The purpose of this synthesis is to report on effective practices, approaches, and out- comes within the transit industry regarding interactions with people who are homeless. A literature review summarizes reports that span the time frame from the early days, when homelessness emerged as an issue for transit agencies, to the present. Because public librar- ies are similar to public transportation in offering services to all members of the general public and in being viewed as a safe haven for people who are homeless, the literature review also examines library policies and procedures related to people who are homeless.

2 A web-based survey on agency interactions with people who are homeless resulted in 55 completed surveys from the 65 agencies in the sample, a response rate of 85%. Six detailed case examples based on interviews with key personnel at selected agencies describe innova- tive and successful practices. Results of the survey of transit agencies in North America document current issues and practices regarding transit agency interactions with people who are homeless. The survey included transit agency assessments of factors contributing to the success or failure of vari- ous strategies. This synthesis describes lessons learned and offers guidance for communi- ties and transit agencies, especially general managers; law enforcement chiefs; directors of safety, security, and operations departments; and board members. Case examples provide additional details on challenges, solutions, partnerships, and les- sons learned at six agencies: • Fort Worth, Texas: Fort Worth Transportation Authority • Madison, Wisconsin: Metro Transit • Oakland, California: Bay Area Rapid Transit • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority • Phoenix, Arizona: Valley Metro • Washington, D.C.: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Findings suggest that people who are homeless are an issue for transit agencies regardless of size, although larger agencies are more likely to characterize homelessness as a major issue. Successful policies target behavior rather than groups or individuals. Codes of con- duct and consistent enforcement clarify agency expectations. Findings also suggest that partnerships are essential and that enforcement is necessary but not sufficient. People who are homeless are often incorrectly viewed as a homogeneous group. Case workers and others at social service and nonprofit agencies have a much greater understanding of people who are homeless and they can persuade these individuals, who may initially be service-resistant, to accept services. Among survey respondents, law enforcement personnel from transit police or security departments consistently emphasized the need for partnerships and the options these partnerships offered to their police officers. Transit agencies reported that partnerships result in enhanced customer security and perceptions, provision of help for those who need it, and increased sensitivity to the people and issues involved. Leadership and a willingness to be proactive are important. If you do not know where to begin to establish partnerships, start with the local (city or county) human services agency. Staff will direct you to agencies that work with people who are homeless and will provide contacts within those agencies. Transit agencies and their social service and nonprofit partners are experimenting with new approaches to interactions with people who are homeless. One promising practice is to set up drop-in centers staffed by social workers in transit facilities and stations. Initial results suggest that the ability to do client intake onsite at the transit station or center is very effec- tive in persuading people who are homeless to seek and accept help. Transit agencies will never solve the problem of homelessness alone or even in partner- ship with others. This is important to remember when frustration sets in as issues related to homelessness remain challenging. Actions taken by transit agencies have resulted in enhanced safety and comfort for all customers. In addition, many respondents and nearly all case examples reported successful outcomes for specific individuals who are homeless, along with improved customer satisfaction. In the absence of a broader societal fix for home- lessness, agencies can (and deserve to) acknowledge their role in these success stories.

3 people who are homeless. Fifty-five completed surveys were received from the 65 agencies in the sample, a response rate of 85% (55/65). This synthesis offers guid- ance for transit agencies and communities based on these survey responses. The literature review summarizes reports that span the time frame from the early days, when homelessness emerged as an issue for transit agencies, to the present. The review includes recent studies that approach the issues from the per- spective of people who are homeless, including examples of an emerging field of study focused on social exclusion. The literature review also examines library policies and proce- dures related to people who are homeless. Detailed case examples based on interviews with key personnel at selected agencies are an important element of this synthesis. The case examples profile innovative and successful practices. The concluding chapter reports lessons learned, identifies gaps in information and knowledge, and summarizes emerging research needs. TECHNICAL APPROACH The approach to this synthesis included the following: 1. A literature review. A Transportation Research Infor- mation Database (TRID) search using “homeless” as a keyword was conducted to aid the literature review. 2. A survey of 65 transit agencies, described in the fol- lowing paragraphs. 3. Telephone interviews with six agencies selected as case examples. The survey on agency interactions with people who are homeless was designed to solicit information on the extent to which these people are a challenge for transit agencies, as well as on agency policies and procedures, actions implemented and their effects, responsibilities and resources, partnerships, community education, challenges, and lessons learned. Once finalized by the panel, the survey was posted on the Survey Monkey website and pretested. The pretest resulted in minor changes to survey structure, logic, and flow. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION PROJECT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES People who are struggling with homelessness often use public transit vehicles or facilities as shelters to stay warm or cool, depending on weather conditions, and to stay safe. However, owing to various issues, many transit passengers do not feel comfortable around people who are homeless, which can discourage them from using transit and damage the image of public transit. This situation is a very real prob- lem and challenge for all transit systems. To preserve the quality of the transit environment, transit agencies attempt to manage the homeless popu- lation and its impacts. Some agencies have developed partnerships with law enforcement, social service agen- cies, and others to approach this issue in a more positive way. FHWA has taken some encouraging steps in work- ing with people who live in transient communities in the public rights-of-way. This synthesis focuses on the tran- sit perspective, policies, and procedures, and identifies effective practices, approaches, and outcomes within the transit industry. This synthesis explores: 1. Agency policies and their effectiveness 2. Measures implemented 3. Results and outcomes 4. Identification of various populations—families, vet- erans, young people, etc. 5. Resource requirements—funding, staffing, train- ing, etc. 6. Collaborative efforts and multidisciplinary approaches 7. Challenges—vocal and silent presence 8. Community education and awareness. Results of an online survey of a cross-section of tran- sit agencies in North America document current issues and practices regarding transit agency interactions with

4 three (the first of two chapters that present the results of the survey) examines the extent to which people who are home- less are a challenge for transit agencies, as well as agency policies and procedures, actions implemented and their effects, responsibilities and resources, partnerships, com- munity education, and specific challenges. Chapter four discusses the responding agencies’ assess- ment of actions taken. This chapter describes agencies’ assessment of the success of their efforts to interact with people who are homeless, benefits and drawbacks, potential improvements, and lessons learned. Chapter five provides detailed findings from each of the six case examples. The selection process for case examples used several criteria for inclusion, including (1) transit agen- cies of various sizes in different parts of North America, (2) agencies that have taken innovative steps in their interactions with people who are homeless, and (3) agencies that provided detailed survey responses and interesting observations. Chapter six summarizes the findings, presents conclu- sions from this synthesis project, and suggests areas for pos- sible future study. Fifty-five completed surveys were received from the 65 transit agencies in the sample, a response rate of 85%. Table 1 shows the distribution of the 55 responding agencies by the size of their operations; 60% operate fewer than 250 vehicles at peak service. TABLE 1 TRANSIT AGENCIES BY SIZE No. Vehicles Operated in Maximum Service No. Agencies Responding % Agencies Responding Fewer than 250 33 60 250 to 999 14 25 1,000 or more 8 15 Total Agencies Responding 55 100 Source: Survey results. Figure 2 shows the distribution of survey respondents and case examples across the United States and Canada. Appen- dix A includes a complete list of survey respondents. ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT Subsequent chapters are organized as follows. Chapter two summarizes the findings of the literature review. Chapter FIGURE 2 Survey respondents and case examples.