Alexandria officials raise concerns about encampments and 'patient brokering,' propose coordinated 'no‑wrong‑door' approach

At a June 25 mayoral briefing, Chief Pat and Mayor Roy framed homelessness as a cross‑cutting public‑health, public‑safety and quality‑of‑life issue, describing recent encampment cleanups and urging a coordinated service response rather than a solely enforcement‑led approach.

Chief Pat read a social media statement asserting the city faces drug use, human trafficking and what he described as "patient brokering" of addiction‑challenged individuals being brought into Alexandria. “The challenges surrounding our homeless population are not merely housing issues. They have become public safety issues, public health issues, and quality of life issues,” Chief Pat said, and added that while most unhoused people are not criminals, criminal conduct should not be excused.

Officials said crews removed a small encampment on Cassin Street after prior notifications; Chief Pat described finding five camps on visual inspection and reported crews collected multiple truckloads of trash and repaired stolen electrical wiring and voltage boxes. He said these conditions create risk (exposed wiring, needles and human waste) and raise public‑health concerns.

Mayor Roy urged a balanced approach and said the administration plans to pursue a "no‑wrong‑door" (sometimes called "single front door") model that routes people to the right services regardless of where they present. He described two complementary practices the city wants to adopt: cross‑training service providers so anyone signed into the system can route a client to the proper resources, and by‑name data tracking to coordinate follow‑up, acknowledging that privacy and HIPAA issues will need careful handling.

Both officials warned against simplistic solutions. The mayor said arresting people en masse is neither feasible nor effective and pointed to the need for mitigation plans and partnerships with non‑profits and hospitals. He also raised concerns about groups or providers bringing people into the city (the so‑called "Florida shuffle" or patient brokering), saying the city has seen people arrive from other jurisdictions and that hospitals sometimes pay to transport clients home; one hospital partner was reported to be spending roughly $20,000 a month on such transport.

Officials said they will continue selective enforcement to "interdict" criminal elements tied to encampments while building data‑sharing, service referral and governance structures to manage long‑term care pathways. The administration invited stakeholders to further meetings to develop a unified policy and implementation plan; no formal council votes or new ordinances were presented at the briefing.

“This is not just an Alexandria Police Department issue…This is a societal issue that we must attack together,” Chief Pat said.