Specially-trained officer handles homeless calls in Biloxi

News 25 spoke with Biloxi Police about how they interact with the homeless and how they try to help.

Officer Samuel Gaffney is the homeless liaison officer for the Biloxi Police Department. Five days a week, he handles calls involving the homeless, whether it’s a mental health matter or someone just needs assistance.

Gaffney says there are always people living on the street who are fine with that, but there are those who aren’t.

News 25 asked how he walks the line between treating people with empathy and still enforcing the law. “They’re people. So, it’s a case-by-case basis obviously. You have those who are homeless in the community — they don’t want help; they don’t want help from police officers or any of these non-profit organizations. For those people, it’s a little bit more difficult to give them the help you want to give them. But on the other hand, there are people in our community who do want help, and try to get housing.”

Those who wish to aid the homeless community may do so by volunteering at any of our local shelters or soup kitchens.