I wanted to share a story that was in the news recently about Constable Jodyne Keller who works as the Vancouver Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Co-ordinator. Constable Keller’s job is to connect and form relationships with homeless people in Vancouver. This is not an easy feat as many homeless people do not respond well to people in positions of authority - especially the police.
I think it is great that the VPD is using a relationship building approach along with traditional policing methods to better reach and work with Vancouver’s homeless population. Relationship building is something we believe strongly in at Covenant House Vancouver and we know that it can take a long time to build trusting relationships with youth. But we also know when those relationships are in place, positive change can really start to happen.
Feel free to learn more about this story by clicking here or by watching the video below.