NORWICH — Since January 1 of this year, Norwich Police Chief Rodney Marsh said the Norwich Police Department has arrested 24 people who are considered homeless a total of 104 times. He also said the NPD has received 309 complaints pertaining to homeless individuals.

"Those type of complaints, homeless people, it just seems like a lot now," said Marsh. "It's actually kind of scary, how many people are homeless right now."

The reasons for arrest vary. Marsh explained that oftentimes they are arrested for trespassing at local businesses, or due to outstanding warrants.

“Some of them were new complaints where they were trespassing at a local business where, you know, the business said we don’t want you here, you’re not allowed to be here anymore,” he said. “Some of them are arrest warrants and bench warrants because they’re not appearing when they’re supposed to be in court.”

Marsh was invited to the Health and Human Services Committee meeting on July 26, where he met with Chairwoman Grace Nucero-Alger and also got some feedback from Chenango County Behavioral Health Director Ruth Roberts.

"Every couple days, I was just kind of surprised at how many individuals are homeless," said Marsh, adding that many of them have "pretty much burned their bridges with social services."

Roberts and Marsh remain in contact when dealing with calls pertaining to homeless individuals. Marsh said he would often email Roberts when officers went on a call regarding a homeless individual, but they didn't quite meet the criteria for mental health-related services and transport.

"If the officers went on a complaint, maybe it wasn’t enough to take somebody into custody for a mental health, 941, and transport them to Binghamton CPEP (Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program),” Marsh explained. “They didn’t quite meet the criteria. And none of it ever gets reported, and mental health doesn’t know anything about that.”

"We sent in an email explaining some of the cases we've gone on, because I’d email her every day, every couple of days, and I started really realizing like, look at how many people the officers are dealing with that are considered homeless. And I started really sending her a lot of information on that, too," he added.

Another hindrance to providing assistance to the homeless is bail reform, according to Marsh. He said it has become harder to arrest and hold these individuals and get them the help they need.

"I'm not saying these people need to be in jail because they're homeless; that's not what I'm saying. But what I'm saying is one of the unintended, I think, consequences of bail reform is, some of these people - you look at the ones we've arrested 18 times, 12 times, this year. Normally, they would be in jail," he said. "If they were in jail, they would have shelter. They would have meals. They would have medical. They'd have substance abuse counseling. They'd have all those services available right there."

Homelessness can be caused by many factors, but Marsh said one of the most common is drug addiction.

"A lot of these people do have addiction problems, and they maybe finally get to the point where they’re, you know, they’re bringing stuff into the home. They don’t want stuff around other family members, children," said Marsh. "And they give them an ultimatum: either stop or leave. And a lot of times unfortunately, people take the addiction. You know, that’s more important to them, and then they’ll leave."

From there, homeless individuals either couch surf, set up encampments, or even sleep on residents’ lawns, according to Marsh.

"In the morning, people will come out and call and say ‘there’s somebody sleeping on my lawn,’” he said. "Once winter comes and it's really cold, they try to find maybe a friend, you know, 'can I just stay one night with you?' And they couch surf."

Just a few weeks ago, Marsh said officers responded to a call at a local park regarding two homeless individuals. He said it was pouring rain, and the couple had nowhere to go. Even worse, officers had no help they could offer.

"When the officers got there, it was two people that we know are homeless, and they're out in the torrential downpour. They had nowhere to go, nobody to help them. They admitted they pretty much burned their bridges with any kind of social services," Marsh explained. "And the officers had to be like, well try to find somewhere to get out of the rain. You know what I mean? It was just kind of surprising that there was nothing that the officers could even offer them."

Marsh said he is looking for resources available in Chenango County for those struggling with homelessness. When he attended the Chenango County Health and Human Services committee meeting this week, Chairman Grace Nucero-Alger made plans to meet again at the end of August, this time inviting Catholic Charities and Greater Opportunities.

"We do have, I think, some programs out there. I don't know if everything’s going to help you, but I think it will. If everyone in the room at least understood what is available, we can just go from there," said Nucero-Alger. "I'll have Catholic Charities here, and then Kelly Robertson from Greater Opportunities said that she could call."

Roberts also spoke at the meeting and explained that even with resources available, it can be hard for some to find and utilize the services.

"It's really difficult for some of those individuals to connect with some of those available resources and supports. But again, I think being able to take a more in-depth look at what the situation is here in Chenango County and what their needs are is the first step in understanding," said Roberts.