Item 17 - Approve Street Outreach and Engagement Agreement with City Net

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Approve Street Outreach and Engagement Agreement with City Net December 6, 2022 Page 2 400 unhoused individuals in and around the Civic Center on a limited hours contract. City Net provides subject matter experts who are highly trained in crisis intervention, mental health, addiction, and medical services as they work cooperatively with the City to assist homeless individuals out of homelessness. In 2019 to increase outreach and engagement services, the City expanded City Net's contract to five (5) days per week from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and teamed up with Santa Ana Police Department to respond to calls together two (2) days per week. The City wanted to provide an effective response to those experiencing homelessness by contracting with a homeless service provider to transition calls for service to subject matter experts trained in crisis intervention, mental health, addiction, and medical services. Following a competitive bid process via Request for Proposals No. 21-061 (RFP), the City Council approved Agreement No. A-2021-196 with City Net to commence a street outreach and engagement pilot program. In 2021, the City of Santa Ana engaged City Net as a non -law enforcement led, homeless outreach and engagement resource. City Net has provided responsive outreach and engagement with those individuals currently experiencing homelessness through a dedicated dispatch center, integration via the mySantaAna App and established relationships with virtually all City Departments including the Santa Ana Police Department. Street outreach efforts in Santa Ana are systematic, coordinated and comprehensive. City Net provides the City, trauma informed outreach and engagement activity with individuals who often require consistent and ongoing contacts before they choose to accept services. It is persistent outreach and encouragement by outreach workers that may lead to shelter, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, or a permanent housing option. It is not uncommon for many to resist group shelter, wanting a space to call their own. For those contacts where, emergency shelter is not an option, case management occurs on our streets. Santa Ana's Multi -Disciplinary Homeless Response Team, the SMART program, is designed to respond not only to the immediate crisis of homelessness, but also to contribute to the longer -term healing of homeless individuals. SMART goals were established as follows: 1. Exit homeless individuals from the streets of Santa Ana, 2. Divert 500 calls a month for non -emergency, homeless related services, 3. Provide COVID-19 information and interventions, and 4. Develop a regional response to homelessness through the Orange County Continuum of Care. An added benefit of SMART is to provide trained outreach staff the opportunity to work with the unhoused in the City and help lessen the impact on police services. From 2017 to 2020, the Santa Ana Police Department experienced an increase of 82% in calls for service related to homelessness.