DATE: November 6, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Jean M. Rousseau, County Administrative Officer
Preston Prince, CEO/Executive Director, Fresno Housing Authority
SUBJECT: A Framework for Action and Street2Home Planning Committee
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Receive presentation from the Fresno Housing Authority regarding report entitled A Framework for Action authored by Barbara Poppe and Associates, which provides strategic recommendations to end homelessness in Fresno County;
2. Direct the County Administrative Officer to participate as a member of the Street2Home Fresno County Planning Committee toward the development of a comprehensive plan to address homelessness; and,
3. Designate a member of the Board of Supervisors to participate as a member of the Street2Home Fresno County Planning Committee toward the development of a comprehensive plan to address homelessness.
REPORT
Approval of the first recommended action will result in receipt of the report authored by Barbara Poppe and Associates in which she recommends proven strategies to reduce homelessness that includes the launch of a new collective impact initiative, Street2Home Fresno County (S2H). Approval of the second and third recommended actions will appoint the County Administrative Officer (CAO) and designate a member of your Board to participate on the S2H Planning Committee. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose not to appoint or designate members to the S2H Planning Committee; however, it would hinder a collaborative approach to address homelessness in the County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The participation by the CAO and designated Board Member would be funded with existing appropriations in the County Administrative Office Org 0120 and Board of Supervisors Org 0110 FY 2018-19 Adopted Budgets.
DISCUSSION:
The Fresno Housing Authority (FHA) contracted Barbara Poppe and Associates in September 2017 to conduct a review of homelessness services, identify homelessness service gaps in the Fresno community (City and County), and recommend proven strategies to reduce homelessness. Over the past year, a steering committee consisting of representatives from FHA, the City of Fresno, Fresno Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC), and the County worked with Ms. Poppe to identify strategies. The report contains four pillars with 13 recommendations, see Attachment A, which were introduced by the Mayor of the City of Fresno at the State of the City Luncheon on June 20, 2018 and addressed by his Director of Strategic Initiatives during the August 7, 2018 Board Meeting.
Both the FMCoC and FHA Boards reviewed the report. The Mayor of the City of Fresno, members of the Fresno City Council, and your Board received the report informally from FHA the week of October 22, 2018.
The County through the Departments of Behavioral Health, Public Health, and Social Services already provides direct services to individuals, including those experiencing homelessness. Those services include, but are not limited to:
• access points to services and support,
• personal service coordination,
• linkage to community based resources,
• communicable disease screening,
• short-term and/or emergency shelter housing,
• rapid re-housing through rental assistance,
• housing support,
• bridge housing for those awaiting other permanent housing, and
• permanent supportive housing with case management.
In the report, Ms. Poppe endorses the increase and/or improvement of access points to services and support, rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing, crisis response, non-traditional permanent housing options, and introduces added strategies including, but not limited to, those summarized below:
• adoption of a collective impact initiative,
• community engagement,
• shared metrics and measurement built on the FMCoC’s Homeless Management Information System and the Point-in-Time Count,
• diversion by identifying immediate alternative housing arrangements to help individuals return to permanent housing,
• preservation of existing affordable housing and domestic violence crisis shelter beds,
• increased funding for diversion expansion, crisis, and permanent housing,
• landlord recruitment and the creation of a risk mitigation fund, and
• design and fund a frequent user initiative to break the costly cycle of homelessness.
The steering committee traveled to San Jose, California, and met with Destination: Home, a public-private partnership that uses collective impact strategies to accomplish its mission of ending homelessness in Santa Clara County. Similarly, S2H will serve as a collective impact initiative for Fresno County with an established common agenda, shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and the presence of a backbone organization. Approval of the second and third recommended actions would appoint the CAO and designate a member of your Board to participate on the S2H Planning Committee in partnership with the Mayor of the City of Fresno and FHA. The goal of the planning committee is to establish the structure of the S2H Board. Ms. Poppe’s report identifies the potential initiative members as representatives of philanthropy, business sector, ecumenical faith community, experts on affordable housing and homelessness, the executive director of the FHA, key homeless assistance providers, and human services experts, including victim services, mental health care, substance use disorders, and workforce development providers. The CAO recommends the inclusion of members from rural cities to ensure their interests are represented. It is anticipated that the S2H Board will be operational in 2019.
Senate Bill (SB) 850 (Chapter 48, Statutes of 2018) was signed into law by Governor Brown on June 27, 2018, as an urgency bill. The bill authorized the California Emergency Solutions and Housing (CESH) Program and Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP). CESH is funded with a portion of SB 2, Building Homes and Jobs Act (Chapter 364, Statutes of 2017), homeless revenue and approximately $25,000,000 in unallocated California Emergency Solutions Grant funds. HEAP is a $500 million block grant program designed to provide direct assistance to cities, counties, and Continuums of Care to address the homelessness crisis throughout California.
The FMCoC is utilizing Ms. Poppe’s recommendations to develop a plan for CESH Program and HEAP funding applications made available by the California Department of Housing and Community Development and California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, respectively. A resolution allowing the Department of Social Services to serve as the Administrative Entity on behalf of the FMCoC for the CESH Program funds is pending your Board’s approval on November 6, 2018 in a separate item. A resolution related to the HEAP application will be brought before your Board on a later date.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #55, November 6, 2018
BAI #5, August 7, 2018
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Attachment A
On file with Clerk - A Framework for Action
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa