LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock’s locally-led continuum of care marked its first full year of service Thursday, bringing together dozens of organizations to address what officials describe as a chronic community-wide crisis.
Organizations helping on the front lines have identified housing as one of the biggest resources lacking in the community for several years.
“It’s not just police. It’s not just the city. It’s all the organizations that utilize their efforts and funding for that,” said Sgt. Steven Bergen, who has served with Lubbock Police’s Homeless Outreach Team for a decade.
Sgt. Bergen has seen firsthand why housing assistance is critical. He says one of the first people he helped as part of Homeless Outreach was a veteran who lived in a wooden box under the Marsha Sharp Freeway.
“It’s just one of those things I would say, just as us as individuals, we take for granted of having a roof over our heads, right? And it isn’t until you have that severe weather of it being, 0 degrees and snow on the ground, you stand out there, you realize, hey, this is literally life or death,” Sgt. Bergen said.
Officers can only offer help, they cannot force a person to accept it. Sgt. Bergen said that’s where community education comes in and the Lubbock Continuum of Care helps with that.
Echo West Texas leads the umbrella of agencies under the COC.
“Echo has a collaboration portal with 14 other agencies and they all can start to make referrals, not just housing agencies, but supportive services,” Valeria Longoria, the Executive Director for Echo West Texas said. “So, we can see where people are going in their journey and walk alongside a track to see what happened afterwards. Do they still need more support? What other things are we missing? Where are the gaps in our community?” s
More than a dozen organizations provide monthly community days that assist people on or below the poverty line as well as those experiencing homelessness.
“They’re not just handing out pamphlets, but they’re connecting them with direct care. Like UMC, we have a nurse there who’s also providing direct care, wound care,” Longoria said.
Services range from housing and medical assistance to clothing and haircuts, all meant to help people take the next step.
“They just feel like they fit in with everyone else when they’re going to work because it’s really hard on their side when they do secure a job and they want to fit in. They want to maintain that job, and they don’t want to be treated any difficult just because of homeless. When, they feel this expectation of becoming independent, but it’s really hard if they’re being judged based on their current situation,” Longoria said.
Longoria says the Lubbock COC is working on entering into a second phase, which would expand services and help more people have access to a warm, safe place to sleep.
Echo West Texas hosts a community day every first Thursday of the month at Kingdom Co-Op at 2025 Avenue T.
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