Mayor Evans addresses public safety, homelessness Friday

ROCHESTER, N.Y. Rochester mayor Malik Evans gave an update today on the state of public safety in the city.

The mayor says homelessness is growing here and contributing to the violence. Evans says a number of people come to Rochester to buy drugs and live on the streets with tragic outcomes.

The mayor believes there’s a connection between the heroin opioid epidemic, mental health problems and homelessness. So he’s working with local groups and the county to provide shelter and services.

“We are working and will continue to work with our county,” Evans said. “The city doesn’t run social services. We don’t run social services. But the challenges we are seeing affect the city more than it affects anywhere else. It’s not fair to the residents and the people who are on those streets.”

Evans says the city has started tracking the homeless population. He says it’s impossible to address the problem until you know the magnitude of it.