The NLNA has been receiving an increase in complaints about encampments and homelessness. In many cases the police have been engaged, and the NLNA has been advocating on a higher level in the police district for increased support.

However, there are additional resources beyond 911. If you see a person you think is experiencing homelessness but who is not an immediate threat, call 215-232-1984. This is a 24 hour dispatch line for outreach workers. As much information as you can give is helpful, but a location is enough.

Homelessness is a complicated social issue, and each individual's experience of it is different. Philadelphia has a number of services available, but people have to be ready to accept them. There's a lot of information available at the website for Philadelphia's Office of Homeless Services including a flier listing locations for free meals and daytime services and a list of services – this is information you can print out and provide to people who don't have internet access.

The outreach professionals are best equipped to get lasting help for people. They don't force people to accept services, but they can and do build a relationship with people through multiple interactions – and once a person does accept services, the history of interactions with outreach helps them get the most appropriate ones. Calling the hotline number – 215-232-1984 – is always helpful, and is important even for someone who is currently refusing services. The hotline has a dispatcher who will send the same outreach team each time if they can, so if you can provide the dispatcher with details like a name or that the person has been in the same location for previous calls, do. The dispatcher can also keep track of whether multiple calls have already come in about an individual, so unless you're sure someone else has just made the same report, call.

Philadelphia recently established the Police-Assisted Diversion program, which is a special team of officers working directly with service providers and the community to work with low-level non-violent offenders to reduce incarceration and increase quality of life for all the residents of the City. The program is based in three police districts in North Philadelphia, and the officers regularly address issues of homelessness in the Kensington area. Their help is also available to other districts upon request. The police can and will respond to 911 calls about illegal behavior [using or dealing drugs; public urination/defecation; threatening or dangerous actions] by a homeless person, and calling 911 is appropriate if you see illegal behavior. It is not illegal to be homeless. If the police receive a call about a homeless person who is not presenting an immediate threat, they will turn the report over to the outreach hotline or to the Police-Assisted Diversion officers.

Providing direct assistance to individuals (with food or money) is a matter of personal preference, but it shouldn't be a substitute for connecting the individual with the outreach system that can ultimately provide more lasting support.