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| Sheriff Bellotti's Office Joins Fight Against Homelessness |
| By Norfolk County Sheriff Office |
| Published: 10/04/2011 |
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DEDHAM, MA, Oct. 4, 2011 -- Recognizing that homelessness is a significant factor in the crime rate, Norfolk County Sheriff Michael G. Bellotti has agreed to share statistical data with researchers in an effort to decrease homelessness and its drain on public resources. “In many cases, there appear to be links between habitual criminality and habitual homelessness,” Sheriff Bellotti said. The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA) in order to track the correlation between homelessness and the commission of crime. MHSA is working with research evidence showing that helping a homeless person find permanent housing actually saves taxpayer money. For instance, annual Medicaid costs for homeless people plummeted by 67 percent when they found permanent housing. The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office gathers detailed information about inmates upon their intake at the Norfolk County Correctional Center in Dedham. MHSA and its partner, the Case Strategy Group, have found certain statistics from this information to be extremely valuable in determining how best to attack the problem of homelessness. Sheriff Bellotti recently met with MHSA Executive Director Joe Finn and Case Strategy Group founder James Quinn to discuss how best to coordinate the transfer of data. “The fight against crime requires us to constantly think outside the box and to recognize that so many of these societal problems are inter-related,” Sheriff Bellotti said. “The smart approach is a comprehensive approach, and that is the approach we are taking.” |
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