NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Kevin Beverly has been living on the streets for 17 years.
“I'm just out here homeless and trying to get by, trying to make it work,” he said while sitting on a bicycle on Main Street in New Port Richey.
He spends most days looking for a safe place to sleep, whether if it's the sidewalk or other concrete platforms. He is also among dozens of homeless people in New Port Richey on the LIFT Unit's radar.
LIFT, which stands for Life Improvement Facilitation Team, is a program run by the New Port Richey Police Department to assist with homelessness.
Sgt. Matthew Patsch said the unit makes face-to-face contact with as many people as possible.
“Whether that person is suffering from homelessness, mental illness, drug addiction, overdose, or all of the above, we are going to help,” Patsch said.
This summer, LIFT added Sandra Smith Serrano, a case manager from BayCare who can work with people in ways the police often can’t.
“It’s been put in my heart to help people," Serrano said. "That’s my purpose.”
Serrano guides troubled people to identify what is preventing them from getting on their feet and then connects them with treatment centers.
“It feels really awesome to see someone succeed," she said. "There’s a lot of people that still struggle, or maybe they do good, and then they fall again."
Patsch hopes to grow this LIFT Unit. He is now certified in mental health first aid and can teach it to others.
“That really allows the officers to notice the difference between someone who is in crisis and somebody who is having a mental health episode,” Patsch said.
BayCare also has two caseworkers who go out with detectives at the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.
The American Psychological Association estimates about 20% of police calls involve a mental health crisis or substance abuse.
One goal is to keep people out of jail when what they really need is treatment.
“When I see those people that are succeeding, I really take that in because it makes it all worth it,” Serrano said.
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