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Enterprise council hears briefing that links homelessness to mental health and substance use; law enforcement, courts highlighted
Summary
City staff and police briefed the council on an estimated 24–36 people experiencing homelessness in Enterprise, saying many have untreated mental illness or substance use disorders and urging coordination with courts, county community corrections and service providers.
City Administrator John Thomas told the Enterprise City Council on a work-session night that multiple stakeholder meetings with local law enforcement, the sheriff’s office, the district attorney and social-service providers found roughly two dozen to three dozen people living without shelter in the city at any given time.
Thomas said those meetings — which included Christian Mission, HandUp Enterprise, area churches and the Veterans Administration — showed recurring causes: untreated mental illness and addiction. “If we built 36 new homes tomorrow and gave them to the people that are homeless right now in the city of Enterprise, they would still be homeless in days or weeks ahead,” Thomas said, adding that many people are “suffering from mental illness or drug problems, or both.”
The nut graf: city officials framed the issue as a mix of public-safety, public-health…
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