Homeless services in the area, specifically regarding an individual living in Samuell Farm Park North, was a topic of discussion at the April 10 Sunnyvale Town Council meeting.
The Council was provided an update by Melissa Finch Carr, LMSW, the Behavioral Health Program Manager for the Southeast Alliance Community Care Team, an initiative of Dallas County and the cities of Mesquite, Balch Springs, Seagoville, and the Town of Sunnyvale. The initiative began in August of 2021 and is funded by Dallas County’s New Direction Public Safety Grant with the goals of:
- Reducing the number of behavioral health and homeless calls addressed by police and fire
- Providing proactive and reactive behavioral health care
- Ensuring continuity of care following stabilization on the scene, hospital transport, or emergency detention
- Providing prevention and/or intervention services for high utilizers of 911 services
Since the program’s inception in late 2021, the Community Care Team has made 2009 contacts with individuals living within the four-city area, including making 41 contacts in Sunnyvale during this same period.
Most recently, the Team responded to calls about an individual found to be living in a heavily wooded area of Samuell Farm Park North. This person was contacted by Sunnyvale Police and a staff member of the Southeast Alliance Community Care Team. The individual living in the park admitted she has no home and had been living there for many months. She agreed to move out of the park and accept services offered by Southeast Alliance partner (nonprofit) agencies and is now living in temporary housing.
The Town of Sunnyvale staff completed clean-up of the area where the homeless person was living by the end of the week of April 3. The cleanup efforts also included the removal of more than 65 used vehicle tires that had been illegally dumped on park property, unrelated to the person living in the wooded area.
The Town of Sunnyvale has also taken immediate measures to cut off vehicular access to areas of the park where the illegal dumping has occurred and is taking additional security measures and ongoing monitoring to prevent future occurrences at the park.
Samuell Farm Park North is a City of Dallas Park which is maintained by agreement by the Town of Sunnyvale and is in the extraterritorial limits of the City of Mesquite. As such, the Town of Sunnyvale is working with the various public entities to ensure the park remains a safe and family friendly outdoor amenity the residents of Sunnyvale can enjoy for years to come.