City environmental compliance director details WE CAN outreach, encampment cleanup and limitations

Amber Thompson, the City of Garland environmental compliance director, told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board that the city’s WE CAN (Wayward Encampment and Community Assistance Network) outreach works with police liaisons and regional nonprofit partners to offer services, clean encampments and attempt diversion from the criminal justice system.

Thompson said her team—two homeless liaisons (Garland Police Department officers Polk and Wilson) and herself—investigates reports of people living outdoors, offers assistance and coordinates weekly outreach with partners such as Metro Relief and Housing Forward. She said Metro Relief’s case managers often spend months or years helping people obtain identification, shelter placement and addiction counseling and that “getting someone off the streets almost…