The Fall River Addiction, Support, and Treatment (FAST) response team recently completed its yearly Point in Time Count of the city’s homeless population.
FAST team coordinator Niki Fontaine says this year’s count was the most extensive, lasting ten days from the end of January through early February. She says the count of those homeless this year is 145 individuals, up from 104 last year.
Ms. Fontaine says over the past year, the FAST response team placed approximately 100 individuals into housing or drug or mental health treatment facilities. Along with a more detailed count, the team also employs the use of a software program called Julota which tracks those who are homeless and allows for easier follow-up.
The city is still looking to reduce the number of homeless encampments. The larger encampments remain at the Quequechan River Rail Trail, at the bottom of Middle Street at Bay Street and Brayton Avenue.
Those currently in shelters may soon need to find alternative arrangements. At the end of the month, the number of beds will be reduced from 50 to 30 at the First Step Inn at Steppingstone, Inc., and from 30 to zero at the Timao Center on Bay Street.
The biggest obstacle for the FAST response team remains the unwillingness of those who are homeless to seek help. But Ms Fontaine says persistence often pays off.
Although the number of homeless in Fall River is higher than a year ago, the FAST response team is making an impact on reducing the number of overdoses in Fall River in the past year. In 2016 the city ranked 3rd in the state for having the most overdose deaths, behind only Boston and Worcester. Those numbers have been on the decline.
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