HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07181995 - SD3 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
HS.01 Contra
FOM: Costa
FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE <
County
DATE: res' iu+tr�
June 26, 1995
SUBJECT:
RESULTS OF MEETING WITH HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. ACCEPT this report from the Family and Human Services Committee on the results
of a meeting held with homeless individuals from the Mountain View House to
discuss the manner in which Section 8 housing vouchers should be issued.
2. RATIFY the decisions'made by our Committee and staff for the issuance of Section
8 vouchers on June 28, 1995.
BACKGROUND:
On June 6, 1995, the Board approved a report from our Committee on the status of
programs for the homeless. On June 27, 1995, the Board also approved a report from our
Committee resulting from a meeting we held with the Homeless Advisory Committee.
On June 26, 1995, our Committee met with the residents of the Mountain View House. We
were attempting to find an equitable manner of including individuals in the drawing for
Section 8 vouchers which took into account the fact that no vouchers had been distributed
for several months, without extending the maximum period for individuals to reside in the
Mountain View House.
At our June 26, 1995 meeting, we discussed the process that was being used to distribute
Section 8 vouchers at Mountain View House and how the distribution should be done in
the future. It was decided that the four individuals who did not receive a voucher in the
first drawing would be included in a special drawing to be held on June 28, 1995. The two
women who had been brought to our attention by homeless advocate Susan Prather were
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD M TT E
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE (S):: eSAULNIER F MITH
ACTIGN OF BOARD ON u I + APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT 2 —-) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: Smith ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
ATTESTED July 18, 1995
Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR.CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
cc: See Page 2 SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
By PUTY
HS.01
k
included in this special drawing. This means that all individuals received at least two
opportunities to receive a Section 8 voucher. This drawing would, however, be the last
opportunity for these two women. In the future, Section 8 drawings will be held as
proposed by the Health Services Department.
It is important to emphasize that Section 8 vouchers should only be seen as a back-up
plan. Section 8 should never be viewed as the only mechanism by which an individual can
overcome being homeless. A separate housing plan that does not include Section 8
should be the focus for women at Mountain View House.
In response to questions raised by our Committee about what the most serious hurdles are
that women have to overcome in order to get employment, there was general agreement
that a lack of skills and the shortage of subsidized child care were major problems. It was
suggested that in the future the County look into the possibility of using some of the
proceeds from the Child Care Affordability Fund for programs to assist families in the
shelters obtain child care. We will certainly keep this suggestion in mind.
cc: County Administrator
Health Services Director
Public Health Director
Brenda Blasingame, Homeless Program Administrator
Homeless Advisory Committee (Via CAO)
-2-