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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03211989 - 2.4 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS I; James A. Rydingsword, Director 1. Y Contra FROM: Social Service Department Costa March 16, 1989 County DATE: 4sp--couK SUBJECT: Spring 1989 Homeless Shelter Plan SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION Accept the plan prepared by the County Homeless Management Team to shelter homeless adults in Contra Costa County during the Spring of 1989. FINANCIAL IMPACT Estimates of costs are: Total $36,646 + balance of Winter Relief Fund. Funds are derived from $24,146 from the 1987-88 Winter Relief Program; $12,500 is from the Housing Bond Trust Funds; the balance of the CHART 1988-89 Winter Relief Fund Raising Drive not already spent or encumbered. If this plan is not implemented, homeless adults will have no resources for emergency shelter when the armory shelters close. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION/BACKGROUND The County Homeless Management Team consists of staff from seven County departments. These Departments are: Social Services, Community Development, Community Services, Health Services, Housing Authority, County Administrator and Veteran's Resources. This group has been meeting on a regular basis as requested by the Board to coordinate county services to the homeless and also to interact with the Community Homeless Action and Resource Team (CHART). CHART is the advisory group composed of public and private agencies charged with making recommendations to the Board regarding programs for the homeless in Contra Costa County. CHART endorsed this report at their February 15, 1989 meeting. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: ✓ YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATI OF BOAR COMMI*,EE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURES): ACTION OF BOARD ON March 21, 1989 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I 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. o ATTESTED �J c: County Administrator PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Social Services Director SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CHART BY -�G /t..(��a/ ,DEPUTY M382 (10/88) 61 -7- The report focuses on the homeless population currently being sheltered at the National Guard Armories in Concord and in Richmond and contains the following recommendations: 1. That an intensive support services program .be provided for the armory residents during the months of March and April which will assist them to find independent housing _by the time the shelters close. . 2. That the County provide for the establishment of three small shelters to provide for those armory residents who are still homeless when the shelters close and for those who become-homeless later. The Management Team further recommends that these shelters be funded with unused funds left over from the Winter Shelter Program of 1987-88 and from unexpended funds from the CHART 1988-89 Winter Relief fund-raising drive which is still ongoing. The Social Services Department is prepared to pay $8.00 per night per person (with some restrictions) to the operators of the shelters to support operating costs. TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS March 7, 1989 FROM COUNTY HOMELESS MANAGEMENT TEAM SUBJECT: SPRING 1989 SHELTER PLAN The National Guard Ar•mor•y Shelter, program will terminate on or about April 30, 1989. At the present time, over 200 adults ar,e being sheltered in the two Armories each night. (Concord appears to have levelled off at about 90 and Richmond fluctuates between 100 and 132) . Changes in weather• and air• temperatures do not appear to significantly affect the numbers of persons seeking shelter at the Armories each night. It appears that as long as the facilities are available, they will be fully utilized. In the. long term, relief of the Homeless crisis seems promising. The federal Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act is expected to be refunded. Also, as the result of recent approval by voters of two state propositions, funds will be coming to the County within a year• or two for shel tees, tr•ansi ti onal facilities and also for• construction/renovations of SR----'s and low rent units. The Salvation Army plans to construct an 80 to 120-bed single men's shelter in Central County. The expected opening date of this facility is approximately June of 1990. In the short run, plans need to be put in place to shelter homeless adults when the Armories close at the end of April , 1989. The homeless crisis includes families as well as single adults. The AFDC Homeless Assistance Program which has been providing tempor,ar•y and permanent housing payments to families since February, 1988, has significantly relieved homeless problems for women and children. Some family transitional housing facilities exist and more are being planned. The focus of this report is on the Armory residents for whom no alternate housing resources exist when the Armories close. Most ar,e single individuals. About 86% are men and 14% ar•e women. During the month prior, to the time the Ar•mor•ies opened (November, 1988) , the DSS "Homeless Hotline" was placing an average of 40 persons per, night in motels. With the Armory population averaging 200 per night, it is not feasible to r•etur,n to the motel pr,ogr,am when the Armories close because of the costs and lack of facilities. It is therefore incumbent upon County government and the members of CHART to put into place a plan to shelter the Homeless when the Armories close. We do not believe that we can take the cur,r•ent Homeless r,esi dent population of the two Ar•mor,ies (200) and simply shift them into permanent shelters on May 1 . The County could not erect facilities that quickly and the cost would be substantial . In order• to estimate the costs of a full ser•vi ce shelter,, we looked at a 62-bed shel ter• in 3acr,amento, operated by Vol unteer•s of Amer,i ca. It is operated 24 hours a day with a staff of 13. It serves 3 full meals per day and has an operating budget of $283,000. To accommodate our, Armory population, we would need three such facilities at an estimated operating cost of $849,000. Even if funds could be found for• such a large scale project, site location and preparation problems would make it impossible to put this program into place by May 1 . Having determined that a large scale shelter plan of this sort is not feasible in the short r,un, the County Management Team recommends the following plan of action: 1 . That an intensive support services program be initiated immediately which will have as its objective helping Armory residents move into independent housing by April 30. 2. That the County will establish three small shelters to provide for those Ar,mor•y residents who ar•e still homeless on May 1 and for those who become homeless later on. Two of these shelters will be located in the West County area and the other will be located in Central/East. The three shelters will house a total of approximately 136 persons. INTENSIVE SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM Ar•mor•y staff conducted a needs survey during the third week of February. Each resident was asked to complete a confidential questionaire. This questionaire gathered information concerning the nature of the residents' problems and the kinds of services they would need in order to achieve the goal of independent living by the April 30 deadline. A support services pr•ogr,am is being designed based upon the needs identified in this confidential survey. During the months of March and April , each resident who stays at the Ar•mor•y more than 3 nights will be asked to par�ti ci pate in a plan for• independent living. Additional case managers will be added to the Ar•mor•y support staff. Interviews with the case manager• and other• r•esour•ce persons will be scheduled in the daytime at an off site location. The case manager will coordinate with other• public and private r•esour,ces to resolve the client's problem, including County Department of Social Services, Drug and Alcohol treatment programs, the Homeless Health Team, the Homeless Employment Project (Richmond) , Veterans Services and the County Private Industry Council . 2 The case managers will work closely with DSS staff to make sure residents receive the full extent of public assistance benefits available to them. Other case activities may include: 1 . Referrals to Mental Health Services for those seeking treatment for, MH problems or, who are appropriate mandatory r•eferr•al s. 2. Referrals to Alcohol and Drug rehab those persons who will commit to sobriety and are seeking treatment for, substance problems. 3. Referrals of employment-ready people to employment services. 4. Arranging return to residence for those stranded in this county. 5. SSI Advocacy - helping clients follow through on SSI applications. 6. Referrals to money management services in situations where such referrals can help stabilize a person's living situation. 7. Referrals to low cost housing resources. 8. Arranging shared housing for, those persons who have the capacity to be compatible roommates. 9. Referrals to Veteran's Services. 10. Referrals to Legal Services 11 . Referrals to Domestic Violence Counselors In suggesting the above services program, the County Management Team acknowledges that some of these resources are in short supply, particularly drug and alcohol treatment facilities and low cost housing resources. However, we feel that case directed services will result in at least some of these persons being linked to resources which will help them return to the mainstream. An estimated 3.5% of the Richmond Armory population and 7% of the Concord Armory residents are employed. Those people can be moved out of the Armory immediately with some support service_ during their~ first weeks of employment. A fund of $8,000. has been made available by the Community Services Department for the purpose of paying rental deposits for any Armory resident who becomes employed. Some of the local churches have expressed interest in providing additional benefits to Homeless persons who get jobs. This includes such things as: gift order's for, clothes, shoe=, haircuts/styles, cosmetic kits, work transportation, uniforms and tools. Also, it may be- possible to develop dental resources through this source, again giving priority on these services to those who accept employment. A recent survey of the Richmond Armory population indicated that approximately 2/3 are high school graduates. The survey also showed that the residents have a wide variety of work skills. Support services of the sort mentioned -above may help people make the transition between homelessness/dependence on shelters and jobs/self-sufficiency and independent living. PROPOSED SPRING SHELTER PROGRAM: 1 . blest County: 86 beds Volunteers of America has received $50,000.in FEMA funds toward their• proposal to lease two "Emergency Mobile 1•helters." for use in the Test County area. These shelters accommodate 18 persons apiece, have kitchens and bathroom facilities, and they are completely self-contained in terms of sewage, water, and electricity. Another shelter of approximately 50 beds is needed in the Test County area. The Richmond Rescue Mission has abandoned plans to establish a shelter at the Joe's Market site at the corned of First and MacDonald Streets in Richmond. 2. East/Central County 50 beds A shelter, which will accommodate 50 adults should be established in the East/Central region of the county. A site for this shelter• and sources of funding need to be identified as soon as possible. 3. Funding for the Shelters The County committed $24, 146. to the Richmond Rescue Mission (RRM) left over from the 1987/88 Winter, Shelter Program. An additional $12,500. grant was awarded to RRM through the Community Development Department. This is a total of $36,646. RRM could utilize this money only on the condition that they establish a secular facility completely separate from their Mission shelter, at 200 MacDonald Street, Richmond. Since -RRM decided against establishing the secular• shelter, these funds can be used by another• agency to establish the shelter•. The County Management Team suggests that unused funds from the CHART Winter Relief fund-raising drive (which is still ongoing) be used to establish the East/Central County shelter. The County Management Team further• recommends that Request for, Qualification announcements be issued as soon as possible to facilitate the establishment_ of these shelters by May 1 . 4 DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES SUPPLEMENTATION After, the Armories close, the Department of Social -ervices will continue to pay the operators of the shelters $8.00 per night per, person for anyone referred by the Social Service Department. Payment for "Walk-ins" will be restricted to three nights. After, the third night, the person would need to contact DSS for, a formal referral back to the shelter for the $8. per night payment to continue. DSS HOMELESS HOTLINE OPERATIONS DSS will continue to operate the after, hours emergency shelter, hotline. Hotline personnel will direct single adult callers to the shelters until they are filled and will direct families/disabled persons to motels. With respect to single adults, the Hotline will resume its general policy of limiting motel referrals to a maximum of 3 within a 90 day period and referring homeless people to daytime. Social Services programs for ongoing services. The Hotline will not refer, anyone to a motel or, shelter who has a history of violence, carrying we.anons, or damaging motel/ shelter property. CONCLUSION: The foregoing summarizes the County Management Team's recommendations for the Spring Shelter Program. This program may be expanded if other departm�e nts or, community groups come forth with additional funding resources. We anticipate that the National Guard Armories will probably be needed for one more winter to provide emergency shelter, for Contra Costa County's Homeless. Thereafter, state/federal funding hopefully will arrive to put into place some more permanent solutions. As mentioned previously, the Salvation Army shelter, mai/ become a reality by summer of 1990. In addition to the emergency shelters, transitional housing is being developed for, families in the East and Central regions. Innovative Housing, Inc. is looking into funding for, transitional housing for, single adults. The Spring Shelter Pr•agr•am being proposed here will help bridge the gap until more permanent solutions to the County's homeless crisis can be put into place. 5