HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02231988 - 2.6 *� BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
MOM: Phil Batchelor Contra
itra
County Administrator
Costa
DATE: February 19, 1988 Com*
SUBJECT: Implementation of Winter Relief v
Program for the Homeless
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND.JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:.
1. Acknowledge outstanding efforts of the community, the City
of San Ramon, and the Board of Supervisors in raising funds
for the homeless.
2 . Reaffirm the commitment of the Board of Supervisors to match
the community donations in the amount of $106,844.
3 . Acknowledge the allocation of funds that have been raised
according to the disposition consistent with the Board' s
December 29 , 1987 Order with funds in excess of those needed
for the National Guard Armory shelter to be allocated to the
Housing Crisis Hotline.
4 . Authorize S.H.E.L.T.E.R. , Inc. to release donated funds in
areas as specified by the Board of Supervisors.
5 . Authorize execution of a contract between the County
Administrator' s Office and S.H.E.L.T.E.R. , • Inc. for homeless
services to allow for proper accounting and audit controls.
6 . Endorse homeless programs and services being provided and
planned to increase. aid to the homeless.
7 . Approve Appropriation Adjustments and appropriate journal
entries in the amount of $106,884 from various budget units
and funds to provide the County' s match to community
donations to the Winter Relief Program.
BACKGROUND:
At a workshop with the Task Force on Homelessness on November 10,
1987, the Board of Supervisors took certain actions to alleviate
the plight of. the homeless in Contra Costa County, including a
goal to provide -emergency winter shelter in East, Central and
West County. They declared the week of December 13-19, 1987 as
Homeless Awareness Week to encourage the community' s involvement
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
X APPROVE 1 OTHER
S 1 GNATURE(S 1: p p
ACTION OF BOARD ON _._February 23, 1988 P•?ROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT' AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
cc: Listed on Page 3. ATTESTED - February 23 , 1988
PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SU ERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY `
M382/7-83 -,DEPUTY
Page 2
in homeless efforts. The community was quick to respond with
many churches taking special offerings for the homeless; special
projects to raise funds were greeted enthusiastically, and the
community and County agencies came together under the aegis of
the Homeless Management Team. The City of San Ramon donated
$10, 000 to the Board-created Winter Relief Program and community
donations raised an additional $106 , 844 through efforts of the
religious community, Supervisors ' fund-raising, Veteran' s
Resources fund raising, a Tommy T' s Comedy Benefit, which was
broadcast locally, and through the generosity of the citizens of
the County.
The Board of Supervisors encouraged community support by pledging
to match their donations and have identified $106,844 for this
purpose.
The Winter Relief Program funds are to be allocated consistent
with the Board' s December 29 , 1987 Order and a breakdown of those
allocations is provided as Attachment 1. While the Order stated
500 of the donated funds would go to the operation of the Concord
National Guard Armory for winter shelter, we recommend that funds
in excess of those needed for the Armory Shelter be allocated to
the Contra Costa Crisis and Suicide Intervention Service for
operation of the newly created Housing Crisis Hotline. This
Hotline provides referral services to the homeless during the
evening and on weekends when many referral agencies are closed.
S.H.E.L.T.E.R. , Inc. is the fiscal agent for the Office on
Homelessness and has played the major role in accepting and
accounting for all donations. It opened a special post office
box and hired fiscal staff to assure all donations were accounted
for and safeguarded. Release of funds was withheld pending the
close of the County match period and the accounting for all
donations. We recommend that the Board now authorize
S.H.E.L.T.E.R. , Inc. to release those funds as specified by the
Board.
We recommend that the County Administrator' s Office be authorized
to enter into a contract with S.H.E.L.T.E.R. , Inc. to provide for
specific homeless programs and services as designated by the
Board, including administration of the Winter Relief Program.
This contract would assure proper auditing and accounting control
over the County match.
Since the Board of Supervisors directed that action be taken to
alleviate homelessness in Contra Costa County, significant steps
have been taken. At the Board' s direction, a Homeless Management
Team was created to coordinate services countywide. All County
agencies serving the homeless, ministerial alliances, and other
organizations with an interest in the plight of the homeless, as
well as community agencies providing homeless services, have been
invited to regularly scheduled weekly meetings. These meetings
have been attended since November by key County staff and major
service providers who coordinate and implement homeless services.
The Concord National Guard Armory was opened as a drop-in shelter
for the homeless on December 25 , 1987. Upon its closing the
Contra Costa Crisis and Suicide Intervention Service has handled
after-hours referrals to services and continues to do so under an
agreement first with the Social Services Department and,
subsequently, the Office on Homelessness.
The Office on Homelessness ' housing crisis fund provides first
and last month' s rent on a loan basis for those homeless who are
in a position to support themselves, but are unable to accumulate
the funds necessary to move into an apartment. This program has
placed more than 550 families and individuals in homes since its
I
Page 3
inception. Furthermore, this highly successful program is seeing
repayment being made on its loans either through cash repayment
or in-kind services.
The Office on Homelessness has completed negotiations for the
purchase of an apartment complex in Pittsburg for transitional
housing and services for the homeless. Through the cooperation
of the Board of Supervisors, City of Pittsburg, County
Development Block Grant Advisory Committee, Housing Authority of
Contra Costa, blended funding and interim funding arrangements
have made this endeavor possible. Additional such facilities are
being sought in other areas of the County.
In West County, the Richmond Rescue Mission increased the
capacity of its shelter by nearly 90 beds and the Volunteers of
America opened a drop-in center for the homeless adjacent to its
Souper Center.
The Local Board of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
determined that shelter was its highest priority and allocated
$131,560 from the 1988-89 Emergency Food and Shelter Program to
fund all the requests for shelter from 15 agencies countywide.
The balance of the $311, 448 grant was awarded to food providers.
The Local Board also participated in the Winter Relief Program by
recommending recipient agencies for those funds.
The Community Services Department is allocating its $48,000
McKinley Homeless Assistance Act grant to needed services in the
community, including subsidizing rental payment for low-income
residents.
The community agencies believe that tremendous strides have been
made since November, 1987 in assisting the homeless, especially
if we were to look at where we were a year ago. It is understood
that more needs to be done and the representatives of the
Homeless Management Team, and other agencies, are working on a
daily basis to improve our services.
We ask the Board to endorse these homeless services and programs
being provided and in the planning stages.
Finally, in order to match the generous contributions made by the
community in response to the Board' s appeal, we request that the
Board approve the necessary appropriation adjustments and journal
entries from various funds to provide the County' s match to
community donations and the Winter Relief Program from the period
December 1, 1987 through January 30 , 1988 .
cc: County Administrator
Auditor-Controller
Community Development Director
Community Services Director
.Director, Health Services Dept.
Social Services Director
Veterans Resources Center Officer
Director, Housing Authority
Homeless Management Team
Office on Homelessness