HomeMy WebLinkAbout19E - HOMELESSNESS QRTLY RPTREQUEST FOR
COUNCIL ACTION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE:
MARCH 19, 2019
TITLE:
RECEIVE AND FILE HOMELESS
SERVICES QUARTERLY REPORT
FOR OCTOBER 2018 THROUGH
DECEMBER 2018
(STRATEGIC PLAN NOS. 1,6; 5,4; 5,6)
CITY MANAGER
RECOMMENDED ACTION
CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY:
APPROVED
❑ As Recommended
❑ As Amended
❑ Ordinance on 1a' Reading
❑ Ordinance on 2nd Reading
❑ Implementing Resolution
❑ Set Public Hearing For
CONTINUED TO
FILE NUMBER
Recommend that the City Council receive and file Quarterly Report for Homeless Services for the
period of October 2018 through December 2018.
DISCUSSION
This Homeless Services Quarterly report ending on December 30, 2018 provides updates and
statistics for many of the homeless initiatives implemented throughout the City during October
2018 -December 2018.The report is divided into three sections:
• Law Enforcement and Homelessness
• Affordable Housing and Case Management
• Other Services and Initiatives
The report also highlights the following eight updates that took place this quarter and that are
further explained under the timeline of highlights and successes:
• Santa Ana establishes Interim Emergency Shelter in 28 days- The Link
• Santa Ana acknowledged in Federal Hearing on Homeless Update with Judge Carter
• Santa Ana opposes re -opening of Santa ana Armory
• Santa Ana receives visit form HUD for the Orchard Project
• Santa Ana participates in Operation Dignity
• Santa Ana receives Homeless Emergency Aid Program State funding of
• Santa Ana receives visit from State of California Representative to tour The Link
• Santa Ana receives visit from Senator Diane Feinstein's office to tour The Link
In addition, the report concludes with ongoing timeline that highlights the successes and
accomplishments in the area of homeless services by City staff and community partners. The
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Homeless Services Quarterly Report for October — December 2018
March 19, 2019
Page 2
City's Homeless Services Manager, Hafsa Kaka, joined the City in February 2018 to enhance the
coordination of the City's efforts to address homeless services and has identified four guiding
principles as the foundation in delivery of homeless services:
• Goal of bringing best practices of homeless service delivery to the City of
Santa Ana, such as Housing First and Harm Reduction.
• Strengthened collaboration with County and Cities in coordination of
homeless services and programs.
• Increased assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness and
addressing areas of housing, employment, mental health, and other basic
needs.
• Coordinated services with law enforcement, affordable housing, homeless
outreach, housing navigation and case management.
Law Enforcement
The Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) has been instrumental in addressing homelessness.
The SAPID tracks the calls for service received on an on-going basis. In 2017, SAPD received a
total of 8,554 calls for service related to transient disturbances, trespassing, drunk in public,
battery and Santa Ana Municipal Code Violations. With the recent removal of individuals
experiencing homelessness in the Civic Center Plaza, the SAPD has continued to dedicate two
teams to provide the ongoing outreach.
• Two Homeless Evaluation Assessment Response Team (HEART) officers, two Orange
County Health Care Agency outreach workers and the SAPD Civic Center Patrol
Team, continue to address homeless related issues. Specific outreach has been
conducted at Birch Park, Angeles Park, Sasser Park and the Old Orange County
Courthouse.
• The Quality of Life Team (QOLT) was formed in January 2018 to address concerns
and requests related to municipal code violations, property storage and improper use
of public/private property. This multidisciplinary team is comprised of staff from the
SAPD, Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Code Enforcement and Orange County
Healthcare Outreach workers.
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Homeless Services Quarterly Report for October — December 2018
March 19, 2019
Page 3
uescription
No. of Locations Responded
1436
30
7
No. of Individuals Contacted
2850
59
15
No. of Encampments
1642
34
9
(can be multiple per location
No. of Service Pick Ups
1162
24
6
(can be multiple per location -
Rubbish/Trash/Debris)
No. of Locations Posted
146
3
1
No. of Property Stored
141
3
1
(@ City Yard/Facility - personal property &
items of value)
No. of Needles Disposed of
492
123
31
No. of Tons of Trash
& Debris Disposed of
392
8
2
No. of Private Property Assistance with
Courtesy Clean-up and Removal of
267
6
1
Affordable Housing, Outreach and Case Management
As an entitlement city, Santa Ana receives an Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) to fund Non -
Profit homeless service providers in the areas of street outreach, emergency shelter, homeless
prevention and rapid rehousing. Following is an update on ESG ongoing efforts:
Unduplicated
Individuals 493 865
Served
Funding $ 38,984.78* $ 117,611.60*
Disbursed
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Homeless Services Quarterly Report for October — December 2018
March 19, 2019
Page 4
Other Services and Initiatives
STRATEGYACTION
OUTCOMEWTIME-
'
FRAME
Completed —
Create an Interdepartmental Team on
Team meets weekly & the
Improve the internal
Homelessness to coordinate all City agencies
addition of subcommittee
coordination and
and activities.
meetings to move action
communication between
items forward
Consider opportunities to improve conditions
Completed- April 2018
City agencies providing
services and
in the Civic Center.
enforcement
Completed- January 2018
Develop a webpage regarding how Santa Ana
Ongoing Addition have
is addressing homelessness.
been implemented
Utilize the Santa Ana
City Charter and
Draft a new section to the Santa Ana
Completed- December
Municipal Code make
Municipal Code related to storage or property
2017
improvements
s
and services in the Civic Center area.
Participate in regional bodies and discussions
Coordinate with courts,
to achieve the greatest impact on
Ongoing
other cities and County
homelessness in the City.
of Orange
Creation of Central Service Planning Area
Cities Collaborative on Housing Resources
Ongoing
Enlist Non -Profit and faith -based organizations
serving homeless individuals to agree on a
Ongoing
strategy to help move individuals off of the
Coordinate with Non-
streets and into housing.
Profits and Faith Based
Continue to fund Non -Profit Emergency
Organizations
Solutions Grant homeless service providers to
Ongoing
provide street outreach, shelter, homeless
prevention and rapid -rehousing services.
On-going — Staff is
Initiate and participate in lobbying for
participating on the
legislation and resources; solicit State and
County's Advisory
Develop and implement
Federal assistance to respond to the needs for
Committee for No Place
specific legislation
housing, enforcement and social services for
Like Home funds and are
related to housing and
the growing homeless population.
following relevant
homelessness
legislation
Participation in the Big 11 Cities Itive to
nitia
secure one-time state homeless block grant in
Completed
.;[In ---t of AB3171
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Homeless Services Quarterly Report for October — December 2018
March 19, 2019
Page 5
Eight Updates
1. Santa Ana Establishes Interim Emergency Homeless Shelter in 28 days- The Link
On November 15, 2018, the City of Santa Ana and Mercy House, hosted a media tour of The
Link, Santa Ana's Interim Emergency Homeless Shelter. The 200 bed, 24-hour, ADA accessible
emergency shelter, serves women, men, couples, and families with minor aged children. The
Link opened its door for clients that very night. Attending the media tour were the OC Register,
The Voice of OC, The Los Angeles Times, ABC News, CBS News, Spectrum News/Media, KFI,
Telemundo 54, KCAL 9 and NBC 4 News. The stories highlighted the excellent quality of work by
the City of Santa Ana and the positive outcomes of public and private partnership.
2. Santa Ana acknowledged in Federal Hearing on Homeless Update with Judge Carter
On October 29th 2018, the Honorable Federal District Judge David Carter, convened the County
of Orange, the cities of Santa Ana and Anaheim, the Santa Ana and Anaheim Police Chiefs, and
Mayors, City Managers and elected officials to attend a hearing regarding a status update on
Homeless Emergency Shelters throughout the County. The City of Santa Ana was represented
by Mayor Miguel Pulido, Mayor Pro Tem Martinez, City Manager Raul Godinez, Deputy City
Manager Robert, Director of Public Works Fuad Sweiss and City Attorneys. Pro -Tem Mayor
Martinez showcased a short video of the Santa Ana Interim Emergency Shelter- The Link, during
its development period and spoke on the efforts by City Council and City Staff to make the shelter
ready for operation in 28 days. Judge Carter declared the creation of the Link as a not only a
"County, State but also a National" best practice model to immediately address the homeless
crisis.
4. Santa Ana opposes re -opening of Santa Ana Armory
On November 15, 2018 City Manager Raul Godinez provided a letter to the County of orange
opposing the re -opening of the Santa Ana Armory. With the opening of The Link, Santa Ana's
Interim Emergency Homeless Shelter, the City of Santa Ana requested that the armory remain, at
this time, as to not create further undue burden to our community. The City has participated in a
regional collaborative approach and continues to encourage Orange County cities to share the
responsibility in providing resources to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
5. Santa Ana receives visit from HUD for the Orchard Project
On Thursday, November 15, 2018 the City of Santa Ana, in partnership with Community
Development Partners and Unit Way, provided a tour of The orchard, Santa Ana's first
Permanent Supportive Housing project to the United States Department and Urban Development
(HUD). The 71 -unit hotel was converted to provide housing for individuals experiencing and
receiving supportive services from Mercy House.
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Homeless Services Quarterly Report for October — December 2018
March 19, 2019
Page 6
6. Santa Ana participates in Operation Dignity
On November 30th, 2018, City staff began a more concerted effort towards outreach and
engagement to address unsheltered homeless individuals in the City of Santa Ana. The Police
Chief's Incident Action Plan (IAP), was led by Santa Ana Police Department, Deputy Chief
Gominsky and Sgt. Juan Montiel with the focus on enhanced engagement and enforcement to
ensure all options provided for immediate shelter and supportive services were offered. The IAP
plan included the Quality of Life Teams, led by Public Works Staff, ensuring proper clean up and
disposal of items and Parks and Recreation Staff, to ensure safety storage of items. The IAP plan
included support from Community Development Agency Homeless Division in leading support
staff efforts to shuttle individuals experiencing homelessness to The Link. Executive
Management Directors were represented from several City Departments. The IAP plan involved
two shifts per day, 4am-fpm and fpm-10pm to engage the homeless population off the streets
and into safe shelter. The efforts concluded on December 6th, 2018 with a total of 147 homeless
individual enrolled in The Link. This interdepartmental team effort created a positive impact in the
community and was also attended by Federal Judge Carter, who expressed that this effort was
yet another best practice model initiated by City of Santa Ana to address homelessness and
increase the Quality of Life in the City. Additionally, Homeless Services Manager, Hafsa Kaka
has created a Referral Collaborative of services providers to utilize best practices in outreach and
engaging vulnerable populations with mental and medical health disparities to receive services at
the Link upon qualification.
7. Santa Ana receives visit from State of California Representative to tour The Link
On December 17, 2018, staff provided a tour of The LINK Shelter to Lahela Mattox, the State of
California Representative for the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP). The City of Santa
Ana applied for and received HEAP funds of $3,690,885.84 from the state to address the
immediate homelessness challenge as one of the Big 11 Cities experiencing homeless crisis.
The state representative was impressed by the infrastructure of the 200 bed facility in dormitories
to accommodate women, men, families with children and couples. The state representative was
also impressed by the supportive services on site, ADA accommodations, and the beautiful mural
of the facility enhancing human dignity and respect. The state representative informed staff that
The LINK will be highlighted in the States best practice tools and examples of emergency
shelters. The State representative also received an opportunity to visit The Orchard afterwards.
This showcased how emergency shelters can lead clients into successful permanent supportive
housing. Please see pictures attached.
8. Santa Ana receives visit from Senator Diane Feinstein's office to tour The Link
On December 19, 2018 Chris Barwick, representative for Senator Diane Feinstein's Office was
provided a tour of THE LINK. Senator Feinstein's office was impressed that the shelter was built
with great quality in just 28 days. The Senators office would like to highlight the shelter as a best
practice model providing supportive services and stable housing while mitigating negative
impacts to community. The Senators office would also like to highlight The City of Santa Ana as
national model on a City's ability to quickly build capacity to address the homeless crisis and
deliver positive outcomes
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Homeless Services Quarterly Report for October — December 2018
March 19, 2019
Page 7
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
The activities covered by this report allow the City to meet Goal #1 — Community Safety,
Objective #6 (Enhance Public Safety integration, communications and community outreach);
Goal #5 - Community Health, Livability, Engagement & Sustainability, Objective #4 (Support
neighborhood vitality and livability) and Objective #6 (Focus projects and programs on improving
the health and wellness of all residents).
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
Steven A. Mendoza
Executive Director
Community Development Agency
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