Office of Neighborhoods

Our philosophy is that the communities we serve come first. Last February, I created the Office of Neighborhoods to engage our residents outreach and events in a collaborative effort to make our neighborhoods safer.  The vision for this new unit was to expand on current crime prevention efforts (such as Neighborhood Watch and National Night Out), as well as create new programs and initiatives.

Under the leadership of Sgt. Ian Huri, Deputy Bud McCurry, and Deputy Adam Malaby, this unit has been busy working to identify, locate, and connect with homeless and vulnerable populations in our county. Their work is fostering long-term relationships and preventing future emergency calls. Similar to other programs in Santa Monica, Calif. and Madison, Wisc., the goal is to break the cycle of homelessness, mental health, and/or chemical dependency in our county.

The unit has also been busy with other initiatives, including:

• You Are Not Alone - The first new program implemented by the Office of Neighborhoods, YANA is a free service coordinated by Sheriff’s Office volunteers who make regular contact with our county’s elderly and/or shut-in communities through phone and home visits.
• Community Resource Guide - We partnered with Fire District 1, Snohomish County Human Services, and students from University of Washington Bothell to create a guide to local social services for first responders. The guide lists existing resources available in the community, including government, non-profit and faith-based programs. By providing police and emergency medical services this information, we can help people find the social services they need, rather than having them rely on emergency services for continued care.
• Law Enforcement Embedded Social Worker - The Sheriff’s Office and Human Services launched a one-year pilot program to provide an alternative to law enforcement response to communities who have frequent social service needs. Our new Law Enforcement Embedded Social Worker (LEESW), Jesse Calliham, assists frequent jail utilizers, the homeless, and the mentally ill to find services that will provide the help they need and lessen the likelihood of reoffending, law enforcement contact, or incarceration.