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In early March of 2022, city officials in White Plains learned of a woman living on the streets, leading to the city's mental health outreach team meeting with her in an attempt to help her, according to White Plains Public Safety.
Through repeated meetings with her to gain her trust and assist her, city officials learned that she already had negative experiences with shelters and the Westchester Guidance Center in Mount Vernon, which made it hard to find housing that she would accept, officials said.
Despite this, officials did not give up on trying to help and would keep meeting with her throughout the year and offer services while collaborating with other organizations to "set a game plan to get her the proper housing she deserved," according to city officials.
Eventually, the woman started settling in one of the city's bus stops, where she would hoard belongings, city officials said.
Finally, as the weather started turning colder in late October, officials knew that she would not survive winter while still living at the bus stop, and were able to convince her to accept a housing option during a daily meetup, according to officials.
Within a week, officials found an apartment that she would accept, and helped her relocate her belongings and move in. After this, the bus stop was reopened to the public, officials said.
Ultimately, officials ended up meeting with the woman almost 30 times in a seven-month period, according to the city.
"We were finally able to get her off the streets and into a safe warm apartment. The persistence and interagency cooperation made this case a success," officials said.
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