Davisville, July 1, 2019: Many homeless people in Davis are finding homes, but more people are becoming homeless

Ryan Collins started working for the city of Davis as homeless outreach services coordinator in August 2017. He has contacted approximately 300 homeless people in Davis since then, he says, and has helped about a third of them find permanent shelter. This would have reduced the homeless population of Davis … except that a greater number has fallen into homelessness. On today’s Davisville we talk with Ryan and with Paul Doroshov, deputy police chief for Davis, about Ryan’s job working one-to-one with the homeless, how his work fits into the larger set of services and strategies that respond to homelessness, the city’s plan to hire another person whose job will be similar to Ryan’s, and how the role of the police has evolved since Paul joined the Davis Police as a patrol officer 30 years ago.