Posted on May 08th, 2008 in
homelessness
May 15th is Peace Officers’ Memorial Day and May 10-17 is National Police Week. A number of community events during the week will honor the lives and memories of the 10 members of the Greensboro Police Department who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, as well as recognize the achievements of the dedicated officers who protect and serve us every day.
Members of the Center City Resource Team (the “bike cops”) will be recognized at the Police and Citizens Appreciation Dinner and Memorial Ceremony on Thursday evening for their efforts to assist the homeless in downtown Greensboro. These officers contact me and local homeless service providers about homeless people who need housing, medical care, mental health and substance abuse treatment. Some officers provide blankets for homeless people who sleep outside. They participate in the annual homeless count. Some carry printed lists of services available to homeless people to hand out to those who need them. An officer went with us after his shift ended to deliver furniture to a chronically homeless man who had received a housing voucher and moved into an apartment. The man cried as he talked about how the officer had taken care of him while he lived on the street downtown. These are just some of the many things these officers have done to show kindness and compassion to our homeless friends.
There are definitely times when enforcement is unavoidable in dealing with homeless people (substance abuse and mental illness can produce some pretty uncool behavior at times, and these officers understand where the behavior comes from), but I cannot say enough about how much I appreciate and how grateful I am for the concern, the wisdom, the common sense and the compassion of the downtown bike cops. (And Sgt. Blaylock, too!) They deserve commendation. God bless ‘em all.
A list of all the GPD awards is below. Read more on Bike cops’ efforts with the homeless to be recognized during National Police Week…