CHAPTER 6

Supporting People Experiencing Homelessness

6.1 Introduction

A growing number of transit agencies around the country have developed supportive services programs along with traditional emergency response services to respond to individuals experiencing homelessness and crisis events. Interviews with staff at nine transit agencies showed that specific outreach and supportive services programs emerged from an intersection of issues and concerns of transit agency staff and the riders of their systems. Rethinking approaches to managing the impacts of homelessness on the transit system can be due to the following reasons.

1. Increase in numbers: Some transit agencies reported increases in unsheltered homeless populations frequenting their transit systems, underscoring the need to find more effective responses and practices (Loukaitou-Sideris et al. 2020).
2. Concerns of transit riders: Housed transit riders expressed concerns to transit agencies about personal safety and the hygiene of fellow passengers whom they perceived as unsheltered. Declines in ridership in some locations have been attributed to these concerns (Loukaitou-Sideris et al. 2020).
3. Traditional approaches are not working: Transit agency staff members recognized that, in some cases, citing people experiencing homelessness for minor infractions was not prevent-
4. them from returning to the transit system. While these types of infractions, such as loitering, trespassing, fare evasion, and public urination, were often an outcome of the person’s housing status, removals, citations, and arrests did not connect people to the services they needed. The intent of deploying outreach staff instead of using security or enforcement officers is to provide a first contact with individuals to increase connections to resources, minimize arrest, and, ultimately, reduce repeat encounters with law enforcement. Hiring specific outreach staff can cost less than hiring additional security and enforcement officers and frees up resources to focus on public safety and serious infractions.

Transit agencies cannot solve homelessness, nor are they social service providers, but they can be active participants in connecting individuals in need to aid and resources. Community-based organizations, social service providers, and government agencies can collaborate with transit agencies to coordinate service provision, contribute to oversight of transit agency strategies, and identify and address barriers to solutions. Partnerships will be key in the implementation of many of the described practices and approaches. These partnerships can be in the form of contracted social service support, working with other city or county departments (e.g., police, public safety, and maintenance), and working with community-based social service organizations to support the provision of housing and shelter.

In crafting new and effective responses to people experiencing homelessness, transit agencies have sought to accomplish several goals: to connect people experiencing homelessness to helpful and supportive services; ensure the safety of people experiencing homelessness, other transit riders, and transit agency staff members; and address the negative impacts of homelessness on system assets and ridership. Outreach programs and emergency response are at the core of these responses.

This chapter describes specific supportive services and outreach and emergency response practices created by transit agencies to respond to people experiencing homelessness. It also outlines the staff roles, teams, and training activities that were utilized in setting them up.

6.2 Outreach Services and Emergency Response Approaches and Activities

Transit agency staff interviewed for this report identified the following activities and models of emergency response related to people experiencing homelessness: providing information, building relationships with people experiencing homelessness, connecting people to services, employing outreach services, providing services on-site, adopting alternative policing and emergency responses, and de-emphasizing minor infractions.

6.2.1 Providing Information

Transit agency staff members who regularly interact with the public can provide information to people experiencing homelessness about resources available to them. WMATA provides its customer service agents, police officers, and other frontline workers with a resource book that includes the names of local homelessness services organizations and contact information. The 75-page directory lists over 300 resources providing access to shelter, furniture, food, clothing, and employment services. WMATA agents can consult the resource book and share that information with people experiencing homelessness to help them connect with local service providers.

Transit agencies rely on local government, local homeless service providers, or advocacy organizations to provide online and print resource guides. For example, in some cities, nonprofit organizations create community resource guides. The Rose City Resource Guide (see Figure 3) is produced in print and online in Portland (Street Roots n.d.). It is updated regularly and distributed around the region. In Seattle, the Emerald City Resource Guide provides an interactive website to help people identify where to obtain specific kinds of services; the guide includes information on transit options. The National Resource Directory provides a database of many national, state, and local resources (National Resource Directory n.d.).

Another resource is 211, which was established in 2000 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and responds to more than 21 million requests for help every year. Dialing 211 will connect callers in all 50 states; Washington, DC; and Puerto Rico with information and referrals to thousands of local social services and other assistance. Most calls and contacts are from people looking for help meeting basic needs like housing, food, transportation, and health care. Calls are taken 24 hours a day by a team of trained community specialists. Transit agencies can provide the number to individuals or use 211 web or app services to connect riders to health, community, and social services. Portland Streetcar rider ambassadors in Oregon use the 211 app for general information and providing individuals connections to resources (see Figure 4).

Transit agencies can partner with a local homelessness service organization to develop information sheets that contain information about local resources and how to appropriately interact with people experiencing homelessness. These sheets can be distributed to transit riders and merchants that are located close to transit facilities. Public transportation agencies can also post flyers, posters, and decals throughout transit facilities and vehicles with easy-to-remember information about local resources for people experiencing homelessness.

The h3 Project in Washington, DC, provides outreach services to people experiencing homelessness and human trafficking. The h3 Project partners with a range of local organizations, including the DC Metro Transit Police and Amtrak. It has physical offices in DC’s Union Station, one of the busiest transit stations in the country. Community members distribute information sheets that include tips about how station tenants, customers, and transit staff can identify resources for people experiencing homelessness (Figure 5).

6.2.2 Building Relationships with People Experiencing Homelessness

Public-facing transit agency employees—including, for example, bus operators, station attendants, and janitorial staff—are at the front line of the transit agency. These employees come in contact with people experiencing homelessness on a daily basis and can build relationships and make connections with these individuals. APTA’s first strategy recommended to transit agencies is to recognize this interaction:

Developing relationships with people experiencing homelessness and people working with homelessness service providers can help transit agency staff work more effectively to meet the needs of unhoused riders. In addition to operators and drivers, some transit agencies have rider ambassadors or customer service agents that engage directly with the public and riders.

GCRTA transit police agents talked about the importance of relationships in connecting people experiencing homelessness with services:

Interagency relationship building is also important. Another GCRTA staff member said:

GCRTA transit officers work closely with a local diversion center to help people experiencing mental health challenges avoid arrests or citations. Diversion centers work to move people away from the legal system and provide alternatives to arrests and prosecutions by linking them with appropriate support for substance use disorders and behavioral health. To deepen their relationships with the diversion center, GCRTA transit officers assist at the center’s facilities by helping with tasks such as assembling furniture, donating goods, and landscaping. This program provides a connection between transit agency staff and residents at the center and allows staff to give back to the community.

Transit agency public safety officers have participated in opportunities to meet riders and community members to provide an understanding of what the expectations of the transit agency are and also to have an appreciation of the struggles and needs of people experiencing homelessness. Creating a dialogue and an avenue for communication can build trust and a mechanism for people to reach out for help. An example is Coffee with a Cop, a national nonprofit that promotes

a community-oriented policing approach by bringing law enforcement officers and community members together outside of crisis situations (Coffee with a Cop n.d.). Transit agency public safety officers from Buffalo, NY; Dallas, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Philadelphia, PA; and Vancouver, WA, have participated in the Coffee with a Cop program.

6.2.3 Connecting People with Services

In addition to providing information about services to people experiencing homelessness, transit agency staff members can connect these people directly to services. For example, public safety officers can place phone calls to homeless service providers. As discussed in the Ambassadors section later, many transit agencies are placing staff on the transit system with the knowledge and information needed to connect people experiencing homelessness with resources and assistance.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, GCRTA transit police as well as bus and rail operators identified the transit stations experiencing the highest volume of people experiencing homelessness and the approximate length of time these people spent in the transit system. They notified a local homeless services organization that sent outreach workers to those locations to offer services to address their needs and assist them in accessing shelter and services. GCRTA reported identifying at least three people whom they were able to match with social workers and enroll in services during the early months of the pandemic.

“Warm handoffs” describes a transfer of care for an individual between two providers. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality states: “A warm handoff is a handoff that is conducted in person, between two members of the health care team, in front of the patient (and family if present)” (Agency for Healthcare Research n.d.). Building relationships with people experiencing homelessness and service providers may help transit agency staff make lasting connections:

6.2.4 Providing Outreach Services

The goal of providing outreach services to people experiencing homelessness is to help them connect with housing and homelessness services. Outreach services can be provided by individuals who work for the transit agency. Some transit agencies hire social workers, navigators, peer support specialists, and so forth to conduct outreach within the transit system or on transit agency property. For example, SEPTA employs approximately 50 social workers to provide services to people experiencing homelessness throughout the system.

Larger transit agencies, such as BART, MARTA, SEPTA, and WMATA, also partner with a variety of local government agencies and homelessness service organizations from throughout their service areas whose staff provide outreach services to people experiencing homelessness within the transit system or on transit agency property. SEPTA coordinates across a five-county area with state and local governments and a cross-sector stakeholder group of community-based organizations. MARTA’s HOPE is a partnership between HOPE Atlanta and MARTA that operates an outreach staff out of the Five Points MARTA station. HOPE Atlanta staff are at the location daily to offer assistance and hygiene/snack bags.

In Washington, DC, Amtrak has contracted with a homeless service provider, The h3 Project, to conduct outreach at Union Station. The h3 Project makes connections with people experiencing

homelessness as well as businesses and other station users. While WMATA does not currently contract with The h3 Project, its staff acknowledges the group’s work in Union Station, where a WMATA Metro line and buses connect.

As part of the Transit Homeless Action Plan, LA Metro has worked with People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), a local nonprofit homeless outreach provider, since 2017 to offer services and housing resources for those experiencing homelessness using its system (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority 2022). This partnership led to the creation of homeless outreach teams, which are deployed across the system to help connect unsheltered individuals with temporary or permanent housing solutions. Figure 6 shows the integration of program elements in LA Metro’s Transit Homeless Action Plan as it was first envisioned; since then, some of the initiatives have shifted due to changes in priorities and needs.

6.2.5 Providing Services On-Site

In 2018, SEPTA worked with Project HOME and the City of Philadelphia to construct a homeless engagement center, the Hub of Hope, on city property adjacent to SEPTA’s transit services. The Hub of Hope, independently operated, is an 11,000-square-foot facility that operates year-round to provide case management and health services, including dental care, a pharmacy, and medical and behavioral health care. The services provided at the center are intended to begin the process of finding a permanent home for individuals experiencing homelessness. Hub of Hope also provides meals, coffee, laundry services, and hygiene access. Each day, 350 to 400 people find comfort, care, and dignity through the showers, loads of laundry, food, and health services available at the Hub of Hope. The Hub of Hope plays a critical role as a warming center and serves as a link to services to begin the process of finding permanent homes for individuals.

6.2.6 Adopting Alternative Policing and Emergency Responses

The process of shifting from enforcement to outreach and emergency response strategies that serve people experiencing homelessness can include re-imagining the role of transit public safety and police officers in responding to people experiencing homelessness. Adopting an outreach response allows law enforcement to focus on serious infractions, and, with training, to develop relationships with people experiencing homelessness. Similarly, providing training for public safety officers and other frontline employees on how to best respond to mental health or other health-related crises can help riders, housed and unhoused, receive the assistance they need.

Across the country, local and state governments are investing in different models to more effectively support people in crisis. In these scenarios, teams trained to respond to people experiencing serious mental or behavioral health crises are dispatched by 911 operators in noncriminal situations. These programs may be based in police departments, fire departments, or nonprofit organizations, and may partner with transit agencies.

Eugene, Oregon, is home to CAHOOTS, which is one of the oldest alternative-response programs. CAHOOTS is staffed by the White Bird Clinic and employs a mobile crisis intervention van. The CAHOOTS team is dispatched through the police-fire-ambulance communications centers in Lane and Springfield counties. A medic, such as a nurse or EMT, and a crisis worker

respond to calls and provide the person with stabilization, assessment, information, referral, advocacy, and transportation to treatment. CAHOOTS has partnered with the City of Eugene and Lane Transit District to provide service on the system and in areas around transit stops.

GCRTA works with the Cuyahoga County Diversion Center, which is managed by the ADAMHS board of Cuyahoga County. The center is a first-of-its kind facility in Ohio that works with law enforcement to help individuals who are exhibiting signs and symptoms of mental illness or addiction. Individuals receive assistance, care, and connections to community resources in a treatment environment rather than going to the county jail. The center can shelter up to 50 people and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

As of August 1, 2023, the diversion center had admitted 26 individuals referred by the GCRTA police. Twenty-four were experiencing homelessness at time of admittance; 21 were new admits, and five were returning clients. Of those 26 admitted, 15 completed the program successfully, and 10 were discharged to permanent or temporary living situations, four to residential treatment, and one to the hospital. Data on the current housing status of these individuals are not available, but one recipient expressed his gratitude for the experience to a reporter in Cleveland:

The diversion center provides a flowchart to area law enforcement that helps them identify where to take someone in distress and describes what will happen with the person in need (Figure 7).

Transit Center’s Safety for All report shows how agencies like BART, SEPTA, and TriMet are addressing safety concerns by hiring unarmed personnel, developing high-profile anti-harassment campaigns, and providing riders support and connections to housing and mental health services (Transit Center 2021). The intent of these new approaches is to allow transit police and security staff to focus more attention on deterring violence and providing a safe environment for all riders and transit agency employees. The report provides examples of alternative approaches to enforcement of code of conduct policies and fare compliance and provides a framework for considering equitable safety programs.

6.2.7 Decriminalizing or De-emphasizing Minor Infractions

People experiencing homelessness are more likely to interact with the justice system prior to and while living outside. The homelessness–jail cycle does not reduce the incidence of homelessness. It can be expensive for taxpayers and can often be disastrous for individuals caught up in it (Fontaine et al. 2012). There has been a growing movement by some cities to reconsider issuing citations for minor infractions such as loitering, trespassing, fare evasion, and public urination (Goodman 2017; American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon 2017; Frankel et al. 2016). There are some examples of this in the case studies and with other transit agencies, particularly with fare evasion (Wolfgram et al. 2022). While some transit agencies are reducing penalties for certain infractions, other transit agencies and their riders are seeking to deter unsafe and unhygienic behaviors since they negatively affect transit systems and ridership.

Some transit agencies, like New York MTA, are updating their code of conduct to address issues related to sheltering, sleeping, storing belongings, or panhandling that were not explicitly defined in the regulations or policies (New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority n.d.b; City of New York 2022b). The MTA Code of Conduct, Section 1050.7, states that “No person on or in any facility or conveyance shall sleep or doze where such activity may be hazardous to such person or to others or may interfere with the operation of the Authority’s transit system or the comfort of its passengers.” The intent of these policies is to make it clear to the public and transit

agency staff what is and not allowed on the transit system. With a different approach to these issues, King County Metro’s Safety, Security, and Fare Enforcement (SaFE) Reform initiative has developed a set of recommendations so that “transit passengers [can] enjoy a safe, secure, comfortable, and inviting atmosphere, and the overall efficiency of the transportation system improves” (King County Metro n.d.). One of the recommendations to achieve the SaFE vision is that King County Metro should make the expectations of its code of conduct clear and should ensure that minor transgressions are not a pathway into the criminal legal system (King County Metro 2022).

Transit agencies adopt different policies regarding the amount of discretion given (ranging from zero tolerance to lenience) to fare enforcement personnel regarding whether they should cite an individual or issue a formal or informal warning. More lenient policies give transit officers more flexibility in assessing a situation and determining how best to handle it. It is important to consider the impact of enforcement on people who are experiencing homelessness, especially the impact of criminal penalties. Citing people experiencing homelessness for minor infractions does not prevent them from returning to the transit system and, ultimately, does not effectively address the issue of homelessness (Batko et al. 2020b). BART, LA Metro, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), RTD, Sound Transit, and SFMTA are experimenting with approaches to minimize the impact of fare evasion citations. More on this topic is discussed in the Fare Compliance section of Chapter 5.

6.3 Transit Agency Staff Roles

Rethinking how to best support people experiencing homelessness, serve housed riders, and protect transit property includes identifying what skills are needed, what skills staff currently possess, and how to bridge gaps. This section describes the roles that transit police, crisis management staff, outreach and case workers, ambassadors, and other frontline transit staff can play in responding to homelessness. In some places, transit agencies may contract with external organizations to fulfill specific outreach activities, particularly for outreach or case management. Working with local service providers can help a transit agency determine whether external contracting with an organization or developing internal positions is most effective. This section discusses the roles of ambassadors, crisis management staff, and transit police.

6.3.1 Ambassadors

In the last few years, transit agencies have begun to develop rider or transit ambassador programs to introduce unarmed safety personnel with social services backgrounds into their systems to provide a non-carceral approach and direct assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness. Unlike traditional customer service agents who help passengers buy tickets and passes; answer questions about using the transit system; provide real-time travel information; and provide assistance during special events, system outages, and service disruptions, ambassadors mitigate the need for armed police responses in non-emergency situations. Ambassadors are trained to assist people experiencing homelessness and individuals in crisis. They also help determine when a situation should be handed over to cleaning crews, social workers, or public safety officers. Some transit programs recruit ambassadors through existing relationships with community groups, resulting in a diverse, multilingual workforce with lived experience taking transit, and, in some cases, lived experience being homeless.

In 2020, the San Francisco Bay Area’s BART police began to pilot the agency’s transit ambassador program, using uniformed but unarmed personnel to respond to riders facing mental health emergencies, drug overdoses, and other crises. During the pilot period, ambassadors called police to resolve less than 1% of more than 14,000 rider interactions (Pan 2022).

In 2022, the LA Metro board established its transit ambassador program with two contracts for up to $122 million for 5 years. Approximately 300 ambassadors will direct passengers to elevators, turnstiles, and bus stops and assist customers in using fare-vending machines, TAP cards, and various transit apps, but will also be an unarmed patrol team equipped with radios to call in homeless social workers or other support teams. These ambassadors will be placed at Union Station, LA Metro’s main transit hub in downtown Los Angeles, and throughout the system.

In another example, in 2022 GCRTA launched a pilot program that uses civilian transit ambassadors instead of armed police to check fares and hopefully deter fare evasion. Due to a 2017 judgment that GCRTA’s fare enforcement practices by GCRTA police were unconstitutional, the agency is looking at an alternative approach to deter fare evasion while also providing general information/assistance to riders and members of the public (Schmitt 2017).

Other transit agencies are developing and piloting rider ambassador programs focused primarily on people experiencing homelessness. In Portland, Oregon, the Portland Streetcar launched a rider ambassador program in 2022. The rider ambassadors—a team of six who work in pairs—carry backpacks containing bottled water, snack bars, dry socks, hygiene products, first-aid kits, naloxone, and other useful gear, depending on weather and conditions. The ambassadors are trained in first aid, mental health first aid, and de-escalation, and provide a non-security presence to help keep the system safe, supportive, and comfortable. The ambassadors wear purple vests and have different responsibilities than those of customer service agents, who also ride the transit system. The Portland Streetcar program is funded by an FTA demonstration and research grant for 1 year and is being evaluated for ongoing funding and potential expansion (Portland Streetcar 2022).

6.3.2 Crisis Management Staff

Some transit agencies are hiring crisis management staff to supplement public safety officers and respond to behavioral health emergencies. These staff members can include EMTs, nurses, or mental health practitioners who are specifically trained to support people in acute psychiatric need.

RTD’s police department has contracted with the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD) to provide clinicians or certified psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners. This joint effort provides support to riders who may not have access to, or knowledge of, available mental health services within the city and county of Denver. The practitioners ride with either transit police or Denver police officers and respond to situations involving individuals in need of assistance.

MHCD and RTD developed their partnership after recognizing that providing mental health care and homelessness-supportive activities might be more effective than repeatedly citing people for low-level infractions. This effort first started in 2018 and was jointly funded by RTD and MHCD. (A single position costs about $110,000 for salary and overhead.) Over 10 months between 2019 and 2020, the practitioner made 182 contacts. In 2021, RTD welcomed three additional mental health care clinicians. These health care providers may travel with RTD transit officers, respond to situations needing de-escalation, or develop relationships with people experiencing homelessness. The team also provides training to RTD staff on how to support someone having a mental health crisis. As of 2021, the mental health providers worked Monday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

6.3.3 Transit Police

Transit agencies have security officers and transit police to provide security, a sense of safety, and when needed, enforcement. At most transit agencies, they also respond to emergency calls,

including those about people experiencing mental distress. As described in Chapter 3, these situations put transit police in contact with people experiencing homelessness. As transit agencies develop programs and procedures that create alternative police responses to behavioral and mental health calls and use outreach programs instead of citations for minor infractions, transit police can focus on more serious infractions. These actions align with the core principles and recommendations of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing initiative to promote effective crime reduction while building public trust and safeguarding officer well-being (International Association of Chiefs of Police n.d.; Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 2015).

Public safety officers may come in contact with the same homeless individuals often and know them by name. New Jersey Transit employs two crisis-intervention outreach police officers. They receive special training and work exclusively with people experiencing homelessness and an array of local homelessness services organizations and other types of service providers.

6.4 Transit Agency Teams

The transit agency staff described previously may work within their own departments and specializations or work across skill areas. Most transit agencies develop staff teams focused on homeless outreach and response or crisis response to benefit from a broader range of skill sets and responsibilities. These teams may also include externally contracted staff. The crisis response and homeless outreach/response teams are described in the following sections.

6.4.1 Crisis Response Teams

One model commonly used by transit agencies is the use of a crisis response team. These teams are focused on people in crisis due to behavioral or mental health or substance abuse issues or events. Officers can be paired with clinicians, caseworkers, peer support, or other types of providers. External providers can offer different types or levels of support and services. These can vary significantly in cost.

SEPTA’s SAVE (Serving a Vulnerable Entity) co-responder program partners social service professionals with SEPTA transit police officers to treat individuals on the system who are struggling with poverty, addiction, or mental health crises. These co-responder teams provide safety for riders and employees while leading the vulnerable community away from the SEPTA system and into needed services. SEPTA is also partnering with the Drexel University College of Medicine to provide internship opportunities for first-year medical students to participate in its Health Navigators outreach program. BART employs a similar model with its crisis intervention teams, which pair transit police with outreach and social workers who are crisis intervention specialists.

6.4.2 Homeless Outreach/Response Teams

Homeless outreach and response teams respond to people experiencing homelessness and connect them with social services and shelters. These teams often pair public safety officers with social workers and outreach specialists. They may also include behavioral/mental health specialists and individuals trained in crisis response and management.

SEPTA’s SCOPE program employs close to 50 social workers and outreach specialists to provide services at specific locations, including seven stations. The SEPTA outreach teams focus on connecting individuals with shelter or service providers or other agencies, while other SEPTA teams respond to people in crisis.

Similarly, MARTA’s HOPE teams pair experienced case managers and uniformed field protective specialists to work in the transit system. The HOPE teams engage individuals to help with their respective needs, such as for shelter, clothing, drug and alcohol counseling, mental health treatment, supplemental benefit programs, job opportunities, and family reunification. The HOPE teams’ field specialists are trained in de-escalation tactics, crisis intervention, interpersonal communication, and cultural diversity. In the first quarter of 2022, the HOPE teams reported 1,248 engagements, of which 99 individuals were sheltered, 305 were referred to services, and eight were reunited with family.

Some public transportation agencies, such as CapMetro, RTD, TriMet, and WMATA, have developed homeless outreach programs, with dedicated staff members, under the public safety office or transit police department. Hiring dedicated transit staff to perform outreach can be effective in helping integrate and align homeless outreach efforts with those of public safety. Other transit agencies, such as BART, MARTA, and SEPTA, have chosen to locate the program

outside of the public safety office to ensure that other departments or operational units are part of the efforts. Separating outreach programs from policing can help promote trusting relationships and allow homeless-serving staff and organizations the space to engage with people in nonconfrontational ways.

6.5 Training

Transit public safety officers, rider ambassadors, and outreach teams may receive training on a variety of aspects related to crisis intervention, mental and substance use disorders, homelessness resources, and service delivery contacts. For example, training topics for the Minneapolis Metro Transit Police Department’s Homeless Action Team include crisis intervention and de-escalation, outreach worker certification, Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) assessor training, trauma-informed interviewing, understanding addiction, and building community trust. This section discusses cross-agency, crisis intervention, de-escalation, and general awareness training.

Cross-agency training for public transportation employees can provide important staff capacity building and can support mutual understanding. BART includes a ride-along experience with transit police as part of its 30-day orientation for case management staff who are partnered with transit officers to promote cross-discipline understanding.

6.5.1 Crisis Intervention Training

CIT training is a specialized public safety curriculum that aims to reduce the risk of serious injury or death during an emergency interaction between persons with mental illness and public safety officers. The 40-hour training focuses on providing public safety officers and frontline public transportation personnel, such as clinicians, with the skills and techniques they need to respond to and communicate and engage effectively with individuals experiencing a mental health or drug-related crisis to enable successful response and recovery. Studies have generally shown that CIT training has beneficial officer-level outcomes, such as job satisfaction and self-perception from a reduction in the use of force, and may lead to diversion from jails to mental health supportive services (Rogers et al. 2019). Providing this training can give public safety officers the confidence and skills to approach a variety of situations, including those involving people experiencing homelessness, and help them feel that they can not only protect themselves but can provide aid to those in need.

GCRTA reported that CIT training is a valuable tool for equipping transit police officers with skills and training to navigate interactions with people experiencing homelessness as well as mental health or drug addiction crises. BART created a CIT and community outreach coordinator liaison position and has hired 20 crisis intervention specialists. The Amtrak Police Department at Union Station in Washington, DC, has a homeless outreach officer with specialized response training. The Port of Portland’s police department has a CIT leader/trainer who provides training to other agencies in the state. WMATA transit security pays for transit security to attend local university courses, including those on CIT.

National organizations such as CIT International, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and the National Transit Institute offer resources and training, as do state and local training organizations. Training resources can be found locally through community-based social services or local universities.

6.5.2 De-escalation Training

De-escalation training teaches reflective listening, how to create nonthreatening situations, and communication techniques to defuse a potentially dangerous situation. This training can

equip transit police, safety officers, ambassadors, and clinicians with the tools needed to de-escalate conflicts and respond to incidents involving substance use disorders or mental illness. This training may include topics related to preventing and interrupting harassment—including sexual harassment, street harassment, and hateful actions and language—and cultural humility, which supports non-English-speaking riders. To reduce assaults, some public transportation agencies expand de-escalation training to include other transit employees such as bus operators.

De-escalation training can help in a range of situations related to people who are housed or unhoused. Many transit agencies’ outreach programs (such as those of BART, LA Metro, and TriMet) that include rider ambassadors or homelessness outreach teams provide de-escalating training along with first-aid and Narcan training.

All transit police can be supported with training that encourages respectful and positive interactions with riders and community members. DART provides training to all police, fare enforcement, and security officers on how to respond to people experiencing homelessness using de-escalation tactics.

6.5.3 General Awareness Training

All transit agency employees can benefit from a basic understanding of homelessness to better inform their work with housed and unhoused riders. Providing general homelessness awareness training for all staff can raise awareness and appreciation of the issues of homelessness in the community. General awareness training to employees can teach universal outreach techniques to users of the system while also providing an overview of homelessness in the local region: its magnitude, causes, and solutions. Training all public transportation staff on the basics of understanding homelessness can be effective in building successful programs and in encouraging buy-in among employees of initiatives to support people experiencing homelessness. Training should also focus on ways to eliminate bias and stereotypes related to homelessness; this training can also be beneficial in other situations such as when responding to an individual experiencing a mental health crisis or drug overdose. Understanding and working to eliminate biases associated with homelessness helps to humanize those individuals and promotes effective change through empathy.

Specialized training focuses on skill development for staff actively engaging with the public in general and specifically with individuals experiencing homelessness. More specific awareness training is especially beneficial for frontline workers, such as vehicle operators, station managers, supervisors, janitorial staff, security and public safety staff, and other public-facing public transportation employees who may come in contact with unhoused riders and other people in crisis. For example, WMATA provides training and resources to its frontline workers, including janitorial and facility maintenance staff, on how to engage with people experiencing homelessness.

As part of their training, GCRTA transit officers engage in discussions about the problems they face on a day-to-day basis. Through these interactive discussions, transit security officers developed an understanding of transit agency programs and training content, which enabled them to do their jobs more effectively. TriMet holds learning sessions over lunch on communicating with people in crisis, which provide an overview of mental health issues, suggested internal response procedures, and guidelines on when to request public safety and officer support.

6.6 Summary

The activities within each response category are summarized in the following subsections in three ways—first by stakeholders, then by staff implementers, and then by how difficult an activity would be to implement.

6.6.1 Addressing Stakeholder Needs and Concerns

Core stakeholder groups affected by implementation strategies include people experiencing homelessness, housed transit riders, and transit agency staff. Each group has needs related to and concerns about homelessness, and each group may benefit from different responses. In Table 11, the activities are identified as responding to needs and concerns.

6.6.2 Key Implementing Staff

Effective implementation depends on identifying the right staff members to make the activities work. Table 12 identifies the staff type that would be best positioned to implement the given activities.

6.6.3 Ease of Implementation

Policies, programs, and strategies have varying levels of ease of implementation. Table 13 shows the approximate levels of difficulty of implementing activities, from easy to difficult.

Table 11. Addresses stakeholder needs and concerns by response category.

Table 12. Key implementing staff by response activities.

Table 13. Ease of implementation by response activity.