May 6, 2008 Minutes (City Commission Room, City Hall)
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
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Jeanette Collier, Hubbard Collinsworth, Jane Faubion, Loring Henderson, Charlotte Knoche, Shirley Martin-Smith |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
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Wes Dalberg, Katherine Dinsdale, Phil Hemphill, Mike Monroe, Robert Mosely |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
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Lesley Rigney and Margene Swarts |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
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Jeanette Parker, Saunny Scott, Shannon Murphy |
Martin-Smith called the meeting to order at 9:08 am.
Approval of the April 8, 2008 Minutes
Faubion moved to approve the April 8, 2008 minutes. Collinsworth seconded the motion, which passed.
Study Session Update
Martin-Smith said the Study Session with the City Commission went well and commissioners were interested in the Housing Connector. We did not hear that they were going to discontinue other programs. We requested they appoint Shannon Murphy to the CCH as the County Reentry Director.
Staff read the e-mail from WTCS regarding the Housing Connector. See attached.
Martin-Smith said there are issues that need to be worked through, but we can get started with this.
Henderson said the women at WTCS seem to be perfect candidates for the Housing Connector and it is unfortunate that they are not willing to participate.
Knoche said WTCS does not have in-house case workers so they would have to develop that in order to participate in the connector. A lot of WTCS clients are getting case management from other agencies.
Martin-Smith said not everyone at WTCS comes from Lawrence or stays in Lawrence after they leave. Not all will need local housing options. She would like to see the city and county partner to create more housing options.
Update – LCS Zoning Request
Henderson will be providing the LCS Annual Report to the CC this evening. He submitted the report to the Planning Office and they now want him to present it to the CC. He doesn’t want to repeat what is in the document, but he wonders what the CC wants. This is the last year that this call log will be included in this format – it is too revealing. The CC does not need this detail.
Henderson said it will be nice to have the connector for the purpose of tracking which case manager is working with which client.
Knoche said it will also be very helpful for transitional housing as well.
Henderson said there is a 120-day limit at the shelter unless they are participating in a program. More than 31 clients are involved in services.
Collier asked if all drop-in clients are involved in a program.
Henderson said if they are just dropping in it isn’t required. The 120-day limit applies to those who stay in the shelter. The number of drop-in clients that are involved in a case plan is growing.
Collier said it is important to address why some people choose not to engage in services.
Henderson said about 1/3 of shelter guests stay less than 10 days and then they are gone.
Collier asked if they identify transients from the start.
Henderson said no, it often is not possible to determine this.
Swarts said one of the questions is going to be “are our services drawing people to Lawrence.”
Henderson said that is the running joke among shelter directors – people in every town think this is happening.
Faubion said she spent several hours researching the validity of this claim. She could not find any data to support it.
There was a continued discussion about Henderson’s presentation.
Funding Requests – LDCHA and CCC
Knoche said she doesn’t have any information on LDCHA’s funding request.
Swarts noted they submitted a request for outside agency funding. Approval of the 2008-2012 Consolidated Plan and Investment Summary is on the CC agenda for tonight.
Martin-Smith said the Community Cooperation Committee (CCC) submitted a request for $2995.
Swarts said Bert Nash also made a request for continued funding of the outreach team.
Other Business
Shannon Murphy asked about Knoche’s statement in the minutes about the eligibility of people incarcerated for S+C.
It was determined that there was an error in the minutes – staff will correct the error.
Collier asked about the status of the Continuum of Care (CoC).
Henderson said they are at the point where they are waiting for agencies to come forward with projects and for HUD to lay out the timeline. He recently attended a meeting and Joyce Schau was there from the Salvation Army.
Knoche said she was not aware of the meeting.
Staff will ask that she be added to the state distribution list.
Shannon Murphy said she is putting out a re-entry newsletter and will include some CCH info in the next one.
Jeannette Parker with Interfaith, attended the Homeless Conference in California and she has a lot of materials. She gave information to Henderson and Collier.
Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 9:40 am.