Ten years ago, Laurien experienced homelessness for the first time, when he had to live in a tent many nights in below-freezing temperatures. Now, finally, in a shelter, he often thinks about the ones who are still stuck outside.

“There's homeless that live in the parking garages. They live in the woods in tents. They live on the sidewalks,” Laurien shared.

“Our goal as community police officers is to build a connection with them, to kind of break down that barrier. And they can come from all walks of life. There's not one specific reason they may be homeless. If you talk to everybody, you'll get a different story from everyone,” said Officer Zachary Ferris of the Saratoga Police Department.

Ferris also shared that when it’s cold, the police direct the unhoused population to many resources and warm places to stay.

A local shelter run by RISE Housing and Support Service says that just in the beginning of this winter, they are already at capacity and have at least 50 people on the waiting list.

“So I do have folks that sleep in ATM vestibules. They sleep on the heated pavement around the city outside of places with heated pavement or heated steps,” said Victoria Furfaro, outreach and advocacy director of the shelter by RISE.

“You know, I’m no different than anybody else who holds down a job or has a family or anything else. I just had a pretty hard deal of cards in my life,” said Laurien.