Rome to Establish Homelessness Task Force

Rome Mayor Craig McDaniel is pressing for the city to create a task force to address what he described as a growing homelessness problem that is leaving business owners frustrated and citizens concerned for their safety.

Meanwhile, the Floyd County Commission is looking at a new way for law enforcement to respond to mental health calls. The two issues are related, officials said.

During last week’s joint session between county and city commissioners, McDaniel stated that they need to come together and figure out how to address the homeless population in Rome and Floyd County.

“Obviously I’m sympathetic to them but the situation seems to have gotten slightly out of hand,” McDaniel said. “And at some point it becomes inhumane to allow people to live under some of these conditions.”

McDaniel noted that during a recent cold snap, he was involved with a local church that was open during the day as a warming shelter and agreed to help move some of the people to an overnight shelter as temperatures continued to drop.

He said he bundled five people into his truck as the afternoon started to get dark, and brought them to the shelter where they could stay the night.

“What struck me was that they seemed like normal people who happened to be homeless,” McDaniel said. “And none of them were actually from Rome.”

Rome and Floyd County’s homeless problem is certainly not exclusive to our region, in fact it’s one of the biggest issues for county managers statewide according to Floyd County Manager Jamie McCord.

“Every county and municipality in Georgia is affected by homelessness,” McCord said recently. “And there doesn’t seem to be any easy solutions.”

During a Rome City Commission retreat Friday, McDaniel said the city is going to put together a task force to address the problem.

“We heard from code and law enforcement on Friday,” McDaniel said. “And there are large homeless camps in West Rome that we need to address.”

People are also afraid to go to the post office and Walmart in West Rome because of the homeless, McDaniel said.

However, he stated that city officials are aware that there is a large component of the homeless that has mental illness, and they are sympathetic to that.

Floyd County Commission Chair Allison Watters stated that the board is working with County Public Safety Director John Blalock on a protocol for how law enforcement deals with mental illness when responding to calls.

The protocol would help divert patients with mental health problems into facilities that specialize in mental health, rather than the jail. Licensed professional counselors could respond with police as needed.

The cost associated with hiring counselors was discussed, with estimates as high as $300,000 for staffing, vehicles and equipment in the first year.

In return for that investment, the hope is to reduce the number of people with mental health issues in the jail, which has a large population of mentally ill.

The city’s task force would work with all parties in order to develop a solution to address the homelessness problem, including the owners of private land where the homeless tend to congregate.

“I have members of my family that might have become homeless if not for the fact that we have a strong support network,” McDaniel said. “But we need to start to try something different.”