“On any given day, a lot of members in our community are just one check away from homelessness,” said Spring Lake Park Police Chief Josh Antione. A few years ago, the department started keeping some supplies in patrol cars to give to someone in need. The supplies were put in bags dubbed interaction kits. In that kit could be a restaurant gift card, hat and gloves, hygiene items, and information on local food shelves or shelters. “We’ve had those bags for a few years now I’m one of our retired Sergeant’s daughters put those together through her College,” said Antoine. Recently, the supplies on hand were dwindling, so one city council member took it upon herself to fund the next round of kits, a donation that was formally accepted at a recent city council meeting. Councilmember Dircks donated $1,000 to the police department to buy supplies, and she is hoping to work with local service groups and churches to assemble them. “As a human being, our primary goal is to help other human beings, period,” said Dircks. Dircks said that this is the single largest donation she has made to any organization, and it was important to her to help meet the needs in the community. “I think when you hand somebody a bag with resources in it it turns into a positive interaction,” said Chief Antoine. Sometimes, the patrol officers have been able to go a step further and find a shelter with a bed for someone in need, but that doesn’t happen as often as they’d like, and shelter availability is out of their control. With a lack of shelter options, especially outside of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the police department is choosing to focus on what they can control. “We can work on the local level here at our side of things. We can do the small local things. This is a state and a national issue at this point,” said Antoine. So, for now, the department will work with the resources that it does have, using donations and volunteers to make these kits. The chief hopes that this effort brings hope and help to individuals and to the community as a whole. “What it does for our communities is they see that our officers care,” said Chief Antoine. “This is a good first step,” said Councilmember Dircks. “Creating a positive relationship with the people who are going to be encountering them is a good way to help people get help.” The Spring Lake Park city administrator told us that he can’t remember any city councilmembers making donations to the city before Lisa Dircks.
DONATION ALLOWS FOR MORE HOMELESSNESS OUTREACH WITH SPRING LAKE PARK POLICE
SPRING LAKE PARK – (Feb. 3, 2023) – The police officers in Spring Lake Park come in contact with people experiencing homelessness as a regular part of their job. And, they also work with people who might be just on the cusp of homelessness.
