Hope for Sonoma County’s homeless crime victims

Out of the District Attorney’s Office comes a program that provides services for victims of assault and other crimes.|

Lela Jones didn’t seem interested in help when she was addicted to drugs and living on Santa Rosa’s Homeless Hill.

Things changed when her best friend died of an overdose.

Because Jones had been the victim of a crime, she was eligible for special services through the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office. Outreach workers took her to a local hospital for detoxification and enrolled her in a residential treatment program.

Four months later, Jones is gainfully employed and off the streets, looking forward to finding permanent housing.

“She’s excited because she got a promotion at her job that makes her eligible for a 401(k)” retirement savings plan, said Michelle Carstensen, director of victim services. “It’s really looking toward the future.”

Jones is one of more than 100 homeless crime victims to benefit from the program, started by District Attorney Jill Ravitch in March.

Like Jones, many are victims of assault and theft, but the vast number are women who have suffered abuse at the hands of ex-spouses or domestic partners.

Members of the Homeless Outreach Team program go into encampments or meet the victims through referrals from social services agencies. They’ve handed out more than 300 vouchers for crucial needs such as food, temporary lodging in motels, new clothes or bus and cab fare.

A $905,000 grant from the state Department of Emergency Services pays for it all, along with a full-time staff member in the D.A.’s office and one each at three partner charities - Catholic Charities, the Verity nonprofit and the YWCA. The grant runs through 2019.

“I’m really proud of the work the team is doing,” Ravitch said. “For every person who finds their way back to the community, it is a complete success.”

Homeless advocates hail the program as a much-needed offering. About 23 percent of the county’s 2,800 homeless people reported being victims of domestic violence and six percent said it was the primary cause of their homelessness, said Jennielynn Holmes, senior director of shelter and housing at Catholic Charities in Santa Rosa.

“People who experience homelessness are much more likely to be victims of crime,” Holmes said. “Oftentimes the crimes go unreported because of trust issues. Or they may have gone through the criminal justice system themselves.”

To qualify to take part in the program, people must have a physical or emotional disability or drug or alcohol addiction, in addition to being a crime victim.

Statistics show 89 percent of the participants are women, despite being 30 percent of the homeless population, and nearly 30 percent are between the ages of 31 and 40.

Almost 70 percent are white. Domestic violence and physical and sexual assault are the most prevalent crimes.

“These are people who are driven to homelessness by the crimes against them,” Ravitch said.

The program is run out of the Family Justice Center on Mendocino Avenue, which is a clearing house for services for victims of domestic and dating violence, sex assault, elder abuse and stalking. Since opening in 2011, it has served more than 6,000 people, Ravitch said.

“Hopefully, when they leave here, they will have a whole lot more resources and hope,” said Ravitch.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.

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