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South Miami officials credit outreach for 'functional zero' in homelessness; officer honored
Summary
Police and commissioners said South Miami has reached a 'functional zero' benchmark in homelessness through outreach partnerships and a housing-first approach; Officer Marcus Prather was honored for helping a woman move into the Camillus House.
Chief Hatfield told the City Commission that South Miami has “achieved that here in South Miami” the milestone known as functional zero, meaning inflow into homelessness is at or below the community’s capacity to house people. He credited city funding, police community-resource officers and partnerships with the Salvation Army, New Hope Corps, Camillus House and the Miami Recovery Project.
“Officer Prather approached with patience, compassion, and consistency,” Hatfield said as he introduced Officer Marcus Prather as the Police Department's Officer of the Month for July 2025, noting that Prather’s outreach persuaded a chronically homeless woman, identified in the presentation as Miss Kim Coffey, to accept housing and supportive services. Chief Hatfield said the department’s community resource officers provide same-day outreach and connection to wraparound services.
Vice Mayor Corey and other commissioners praised the work and traced the progress to a commission-funded strategic plan and sustained outreach. Vice Mayor Corey noted the commission’s earlier goal and the drop in biannual census counts — from reported counts in the teens several years ago to three in the most recent count — as evidence of the initiative’s impact.
The recognition of Officer Prather included personal remarks from the officer, who described the patience required to build trust and to coordinate with partner agencies. Commissioners asked that the city continue funding outreach and consider the model’s potential replication elsewhere.
