Meeting Notes: General Membership – October 28, 2024

Attendees: See sign in sheet

Minutes:

Call to order: 7:01 PM

Andrew Epps welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order.

Officer Updates:

• Neighborhood Police Officer (NPO):
  • Jenny Bell is in attendance
  • Update on discussion from last meeting – the tenth floor does not intervene if this is
  • Got a felony theft charge on him last week and he is in custody
  • Third theft conviction is a felony in Texas – doesn’t matter if it’s a stick of gum or lighter or whatever
  • 3 felony charges and in custody now
• Code Compliance:
  • Officer Olivera is in attendance – temp helper
  • Last month: 14 code violations
  • High grass, illegal dumping in ROW (only illegal dumping if in ROW), 2 STR being addressed now – by senior officers only, and a tagged vehicle
• Note of thanks to the city for working to fix the RR crossing
• Deputy Constable:
  • Not in attendance
• Fort Worth City Council District 9 Representative:
  • Not in attendance

Proposed FNA 2025 Budget Vote

• FNA does not want to keep too much money in savings and would rather put it back into the community.
• FNA will communicate to membership if we begin getting into a danger zone with the
• Proposed budget was sent out earlier in the month to members via email.
• School Engagement/ Special Projects: Dagget MS, ES, Montessori, De Zavala and broadening to include other schools and single mothers groups in the neighborhood, etc.
• Andrew Epps motioned to approve the budget as proposed.
• Kathryn McCarthy seconded the motion.
• The motion is approved unanimously via voice vote.

Tarrant County Diversion Center Speaker:

• Mark Tittle, Network Director Diversion Program, is in attendance along with Ramey Higgins and Tiffany Devine (program administrator)
• About the diversion center:
  • An alternative to jail
  • For nonviolent misdemeanor violences for which police do not want to arrest the individual as they think they would be better served at the Diversion Center.
  • The center works with police to determine who could be sent to the center.
    • Some type of mental health related event,
    • person needs to WANT to come to the center,
    • Adult (18 plus),
    • don’t need emergency medical attention (the center does a check and will send to hospital if necessary)
    • Not violent or suicidal
    • Some misdemeanors cannot be admitted (DWI or violent)
  • It is up to the police officer’s discretion whether to send an individual to the Center or not.
  • Goal is to have the police back on patrol within 5 mins
  • The Center offers a therapist, benefits coordinator, peer specialists, nurse who can prescribe medication, case management staff (linking people to services – family across the country), interpreters, etc. – who help the individual figure out what the next best step would be for them.
  • There has been a KERA article about the diversion center, highlighting a success story
• Questions/ Answers:
  • Early on, FNA has been told by Elizabeth Beck that there would be an advisory board with FNA members included on a regular basis. What is the status on this? FNA has not been invited to be involved with this.
    • There is an advisory board, but they have not met recently.
    • Center staff will note to the county that FNA wants to be involved in these meetings.
    • According to Center staff, there is a Fairmount resident on the advisory board, but FNA is not aware of who this individual is or how close they live to the Center.
    • FNA would like to have the FNA Public Safety officer and 2 close neighbors on the advisory board so that there is a direct line of communication between the Center activities and the FNA. Center staff will make the proposal to the county.
  • How many people have exited the Center and refused transport?
    • Roughly 15% refuse services
    • Part of the Center’s process is that the individual can be transported anywhere they want, except for where they were picked up. This is due to the assumption that if they were to be sent back, they would continue to engage in illegal activity in that same environment.
    • Efforts to engage the individual start as soon as they exit the car.
      • Meet the peer specialist first and ease into
      • Transportation offered anywhere except where they were picked up.
      • If refused, offer a bus pass or two
      • Physically walk them to the property and point to JPS – instead of the neighborhood.
      • Through this process, fewer people take this
    • Who is responsible for when they do walk into the neighborhood from the Center?
      • Rob Stewart (FW PD central division commander)
        • It is not against the law to walk down the street or into the neighborhood.
        • Call in when you see suspicious activity
      • Can we get a process in place to keep people from leaving the center?
        • FNA was promised that layer of security when this center was introduced that we are not seeing the follow through.
        • Per the Center, most people are staying at the Center – not leaving.
        • There are no follow up services at the Center – people do not come back here once they have left.
        • Most people come to the Center from within a 2-5 mile vicinity.
        • Won’t take them back to where they were detained from
      • Success rates? Where are these reported/ tracked?
        • Numbers that come through are being tracked by the Center, but it is difficult to measure success as there are many factors.
        • Numbers are reported to the county, but not necessarily shared publicly.
      • How will the center be funded in the future?
        • The County is working on this
        • At least another year of funding is expected but there are no final decisions.
        • A variety of funds contribute to this.
      • Open questions:
        • Kim Worly: Has reduced funding at JPS contribute to an increase in homelessness in the area? Perceptually, there has been an increase in homelessness.
          • CIT and HOPE unit (homeless outreach unit)
          • Population of unhoused has drastically increased here and across the country
          • FW PD does strategic planning for where the homeless presence can be felt the most – for example, the bike cops on Magnolia
          • 5 bike cops will be in Fairmount on Halloween working until 10 or 11 PM
          • CoFW has funded a program targeting chronically homeless. Funded for the next fiscal year. Diversion center keeps a list of people who come in.
        • Kristen Klade: How many beds?
          • 42 beds
          • Rarely over 20 people
          • Average stay between 46 – 50 hours (shoot for 48 hours per advisory board)
          • Location: By Canne Rosso
          • Building owned by the county and managed by MHR.
        • Kathryn McCarthy: Why not transport people back if they refuse care?
          • 95% of people are criminal trespass
          • When police bring them to the county, there is no criminal case filed
          • Individual’s choice: jail or diversion center
            • Up to officer discretion on if they charge the person or offer the center as an option
            • Some options are Monday – Friday only
          • Fairmount neighbor: This is putting a burden on the neighborhood. An unhoused lady keeps coming up asked for pants, soap, a coat, etc. on multiple occasions. Has asked multiple people for the same. How can we as neighbors help to get these people in contact with resources without going through the police?
            • This area of the city is a corridor of hospitals, so it is the nature of the city to have these kinds of people come into the neighborhood on occasion.
            • Per PD, connect these people with the police and their resources rather than taking this on as a neighborhood burden.
          • Neighbor living 3 doors down from the center:
            • Seeing a police car by the Center every day makes him feel safer
            • Mark gave this neighbor a tour of the center and encourages other neighbors to take a tour of this center also.
            • It takes an officer a minimum of 2 hours off the street to get someone booked into jail – especially if they have a lot of property with them – but taking an individual to the Center is faster and the police can get back on the street faster.
          • Francis Look: Was at the original meetings between FNA and the County before the Center was established. FNA was offered extra patrols, but these have been focused on Magnolia and Hemphill, not the neighborhood.
            • Rob Stewart: Not sure what was promised, but patrols can be moved around as needed to tackle specific issues if they are communicated.
            • Neighbors can join in the patrol efforts via Code Blue and Citizens on Patrol program
          • How can we as citizens offer services? We cannot take them to the diversion center
            • Officer Bell is the resource for Fairmount
            • Even if they don’t want to speak to a cop, this could be through you as a neighbor if you want
          • Note: It is not against the law to be homeless or to have a mental health episode
        • Reach out to FNA via email to get in direct contact with these officials. Kim Worly is the FNA Public Safety officer.

Additional Items to Note:

• This meeting is the last FNA General Meeting for 2024
• FNA Holiday Party Details:
  • Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 7 PM
  • At Arts Fifth Avenue
• Keep an eye out on your email for Festivus dates
  • If you do not get FNA emails, sign up on our website at the bottom of the page, fill in the info under “Join Our Email List” https://historicfairmount.com/
• You can reach any of the FNA Board members during the holidays via email. All board emails can be found here: https://historicfairmount.com/contact-us/

Adjourn: 8:05 PM