Homelessness affects every community, from large urban metros to small rural towns and everything in between. Many factors can lead to individuals living on the streets, including but not limited to mental health challenges and substance abuse. What we’ve learned over years of working on this issue is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to addressing homelessness. In Snohomish County, the partnership between the SCOUT Program and the Sheriff’s Office of Neighborhoods is showing real promise.
The SCOUT (Snohomish County Outreach) Team is a group of Human Services social workers who partner with local law enforcement to meet people where they are and help them find pathways to address underlying mental health and substance abuse issues. The Office of Neighborhoods (part of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office) focuses on engaging residents throughout the county and connecting with homeless individuals to help break the cycle that keeps them on the street. This partnership also ensures that accountability remains a key component of our approach. Individuals are encouraged to take ownership of their actions and commit to making lasting changes. Through this partnership, we’re seeing individuals connect with potentially life-saving opportunities.
When social workers partner with law enforcement, we call them embedded social workers (ESWs) because they work side by side with officers to reach out to homeless individuals. Law enforcement, who are already active in the community, are often the first to identify where the greatest needs exist. Their daily patrols put them in regular contact with homeless individuals, giving them the opportunity to intervene with the assistance of embedded social workers. This close collaboration allows law enforcement to address criminal activity swiftly and fairly, while social workers ensure that individuals are also offered the services and treatment options they need to change course.
When the SCOUT Team engages with homeless individuals, they work to build relationships and trust. Once that trust is established, social workers offer a range of services, including shelter assistance through the Diversion Center, access to substance use and mental health assessments, medical care coordination, and supportive housing placement after treatment.
This approach is delivering results. Over the course of just two months (August and September 2025), SCOUT and the Office of Neighborhoods made initial contact with 121 individuals. Of those, 50 completed substance use disorder assessments and 27 completed inpatient treatment. These are not just numbers. They are lives saved and a renewed belief in the power of compassion and connection.
In addition to individuals who completed inpatient treatment, 55 individuals were able to secure housing during that same time period, thanks to the outreach and support provided by the SCOUT Team and Office of Neighborhoods.
The partnership between social workers and law enforcement is a testament to the power of balancing compassion with accountability. We know that we will never arrest our way out of the homelessness crisis. We also know that we cannot enable destructive behaviors that often lead to further suffering for individuals grappling with addiction, trauma, and untreated mental illness. By pairing outreach with enforcement, we create a pathway that supports those willing to change while ensuring our neighborhoods remain safe for everyone.
Finding the right balance isn’t easy, but it’s necessary and it’s working. In Snohomish County, we’ve found that balance and we should continue to invest in programs that not only offer hope but also demand responsibility. Programs that lead with compassion, backed by accountability to build safer communities for all.
Councilmember Nate Nehring serves as the Chair of the Snohomish County Council and is a lifelong resident of Snohomish County. He and his wife currently live in Arlington, where they are raising their four children. Councilmember Nehring can be reached by email at Nate.Nehring@snoco.org.
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
