City of Lawrence, Kansas

COMMUNITY COMMISSION ON HOMELESSNESS

June 14, 2011 Minutes (Lawrence City Commission Room)

Members present: Hubbard Collinsworth, Brad Cook, Karin Feltman, Charlotte Knoche, Mike Monroe, Shannon Murphy, Samantha Snyder, Cary Strong,

Members absent: Wes Dalberg

Staff present: Danelle Dresslar, Margene Swarts

Public present: Steve Cowan, Saunny Scott, Hilda Enoch, Jason Hess, Jennifer Porrino

The meeting was called to order at 8:30 am by Chair Knoche.

ITEM NO. 1 Introductions

The members of the CCH introduced themselves.

ITEM NO. 2 Approval of the Agenda and the May 10, 2011 Minutes.

ACTION TAKEN

Motion by Collinsworth to approve the Agenda and the May 10, 2011 meeting minutes of the CCH. Seconded by Murphy.

Motion passed unanimously.

ITEM NO. 3 Housing Vision Reports.

a. Emergency Shelter – LCS Relocation Update

Swarts read an email from Loring Henderson, Executive Director of the Lawrence Community Shelter on their relocation efforts. The email read:

“The Lawrence Community Shelter continues its search for a new site or building to relocate the shelter. The building committee has looked at some buildings that it has looked at before and has looked at some locations for the first time. Unfortunately, there is nothing more definite to report at this time. We will keep the Commission informed of our progress.”

b. Temporary Housing – Heartland Regional Alcohol & Drug Assessment Center (RADAC)

Heartland RADAC was represented by Jason Hess, Director of Clinical Services, and Jennifer Porrino, Substance Abuse Case Manager. Hess said that Heartland RADAC has been working in and around the community for the last 12 years, and they primarily provide alcohol and drug assessment services. They get their client referrals from both the court system as well as service providers such as SRS. They are able to help clients access treatment that is funded through Medicaid. Hess said that they are a regional agency and they cover 76 of the counties in Kansas. They also provide targeted case management to specific client cases. They help folks get back into the work force, they help keep families intact, and they help promote the recovery lifestyle. Hess said that recently Heartland RADAC had begun to look into the housing piece of the recovery cycle. He said that so many of the clients that walk through the door at Heartland RADAC have no home due to their substance abuse issues. Heartland RADAC began working with Kim Wilson Housing, Inc. and their Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing program (HPRP) to offer additional assistance to those who qualified under their program to receive assistance. This allowed for more doors to open for the folks that needed to take advantage of the HPRP funding. Kim Wilson Housing, Inc. began to allow Heartland RADAC to process the HPRP applications after a meeting in January of 2011 where Kim Wilson Housing, Inc. offered a program opportunity to Heartland RADAC. The idea was to allow for Heartland RADAC to assist with better access to the HPRP funds, as well as the proper case management for those who were calling with housing needs. Hess said that the Lawrence/Douglas County area is being handled by case manager Jennifer Porrino. He said that the two things that Heartland RADAC is working toward is to provide housing case management services and the ability to process the HPRP applications quickly and efficiently. He said that Heartland RADAC meets with Kim Wilson Housing, Inc. every two weeks and the line of communication is working both ways.

Jennifer Porrino, case manager, said that this past month has been a very busy one and there have been many applications and many phone calls. The program through Kim Wilson Housing, Inc. has shifted a bit and is being focused more directly on the re-housing aspect. They are working to help the homeless with income become housed.

Knoche asked how many Heartland RADAC has assisted in Douglas County.

Porrino said that they have assisted seven so far in Douglas County. There have been more assisted in Topeka.

Knoche asked if those seven assisted in Douglas County were primarily rapid re-housing clients.

Porrino said that most of those previously helped were homelessness prevention cases. She said that she had been working with a few cases with Family Promise and she has also worked with the Lawrence Community Shelter.

Hess said that Kim Wilson Housing, Inc. has only recently shifted the focus of the funding to rapid re-housing, and that there are still funds available for the homelessness prevention clients.

Knoche asked what the maximum amount of months that can be assisted was through the Kim Wilson Housing, Inc. program.

Porrino said that originally it was up to three, but now it is up to two based on the scenario. These are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Knoche asked what the maximum dollar amount was that was available for assistance for each family.

Porrino said that it ranges from $2500-$3500 per family. She said that they try to do the minimum amount they can that still ensures success with the client.

c. Transitional Housing – Project Able –The Salvation Army

Carol Taylor was present from the Salvation Army to discuss Project Able. She said that currently there are twenty folks in the program that are being served in one way or another. The Salvation Army works closely with LDCHA to get the clients of the program into subsidized housing. She said that most of the client base lacks enough income to sustain a residence in Lawrence, so they help to find housing for them. Additionally, the program allows for assistance to take clients to appointments and treatment, and they also work to help the families solve older disputes with landlords and utility companies. They help the clients work on a budget and help with transportation. The clients can stay in the program for up to two years, and the majority stay in about a year and a half. After that year and a half, they are able to provide case management for an additional six months. They make sure that the client knows the expectations of all their services, from housing to schooling. They also work with a large population of disabled clients, so they make sure they know how much they can work and still retain their benefits. Taylor said that they work to help the clients get integrated into the service system in Lawrence as a whole, not just in Project Able.

Enoch asked if they provided transitional housing as well.

Vivian Baars, The Salvation Army, said that LDCHA provides the transitional housing and Project Able provides the case management services.

Taylor said that they work very closely with the LDCHA.

Knoche said there are forty people on the waiting list for transitional housing and the wait list has been closed since October 1 of 2010. She said the list will reopen on July 1 for the homeless transitional housing vouchers. This program uses HOME Investment Partnerships funding to provide the subsidy for the housing. The wait list currently is about a 12 months.

Taylor said that after they are able to get their clients into Project Able and connect them with the supportive services they need, they are able to get these folks ready for housing. Those in Project Able who are on the wait list are usually in the program for about a year. This allows the Salvation Army to prepare them for the idea of being a renter and a tenant. When those clients come up on the wait list for housing, they are better prepared to succeed. She said with Project Able the clients invite the Salvation Army case managers into their lives and they are willing to listen to succeed.

Knoche said that there are now 11 agencies participating in transitional housing, so there are a wide variety of service providers to be able to refer to. That is a very positive thing because there are lots of different ways that a provider can meet someone’s needs.

Saunny asked where the Project Able and transitional housing wait list folks are staying when the year is occurring when they are not housed by LDCHA.

Baars said they are staying at the shelter, the lake, camping, family promise, or doubled up with friends or family.

Enoch asked if there was a specific category for families within transitional housing.

Knoche said not specifically, but the majority of the families on the wait list are doubled up currently.

Collinsworth asked if the CCH needed to draft a document for the City Commission recommending funding in the budget for more case managers through the Bert Nash outreach program.

Swarts said that the applications for the outside agency funding requests were due in May and they are working through those requests along with the budget right now.

Cook said that the agencies were told they can only ask for what they were given last year, and they had to answer the question if the funding was cut how would that affect the program. The Social Services Advisory Board accepted the Bert Nash application and had no further questions at their meetings this budget cycle.

Swarts agreed and said there was no more money available.

Strong asked if there was a good possibility that the funding allocation could be less this year.

Cook said that was a possibility.

Swarts said there was a budget hearing before the City Commission in July. The calendar is on the City’s website. The City has to have the budget adopted by August per regulation.

Knoche said that if that was something the CCH wanted to look at for next year they can revisit it at that time.

Swarts said that would be at the beginning of the year. She said the original request for the outreach team was made through the CCH. After the RFP process, any suggestion of a funding increase must come from the agency. Early on, the request included bus passes and work clothing. Several agencies have been participating in this program, but Lawrence Community Shelter has been applying for and administering that program.

Enoch asked if it was possible to approach the City Commission and ask for more funding at this point.

Swarts said that a citizen can always go in front of the City Commission at any time and place a funding request.

d. Permanent Supportive Housing – Project Able – The Salvation Army

Vivian Baars, the Salvation Army, said the agency applied for a grant in October for permanent supportive housing and were recently informed they had been awarded the grant. The program will be for ten households, including five families and five individuals. The funding required that there be one disabled person per household. This program will work the same way as Project Able transitional housing does. These families have to be literally homeless, so those that are doubled up do not count for this program. These participants can stay in the housing indefinitely. The grant is a two year grant.

Baars added that the funding covered the leasing program and 1.5 case managers.

Knoche asked when the program will start.

Baars said that they are hoping by September. So far they have only received the notification of award letter.

e. Permanent Housing - James Dunn

Dunn said that recently he attended the monthly landlord meeting, and of the discussion, property taxes was a big factor in housing affordability in the community. In the previous landlord meetings, there has been concern expressed about the many, many programs that are offered in the community, and a lack of knowledge about what they all do. Dunn said that Steve Cowen is attending the next meeting to make a presentation to try to help clear up some questions that landlords have. Landlords are getting calls from programs that they have no idea what it does or what it means. Dunn said that to him, permanent housing has many different meanings. Some renters consider permanent housing a month to month lease, and some may consider permanent housing a six-month lease. The definition can be anything based on the renter. He said that landlords are working with a population who is worried about stability. Dunn said that he was pleased to hear about the Kim Wilson Housing, Inc. programs because this is funding with case management attached. Dunn said that in terms of affordability, this is tough as well because recently he had to vacate a zero rent unit. The tenant had voided their service agreement and had left case management. Another eviction he had was $32 rent a month including utilities. People that are willing to participate in the programs know they help to keep them housed. If people can pay rent for three consecutive months on the first of the month they have a higher success rate. At that time the pattern is set, and case management is extremely important. Dunn said that just having case management is not enough. The case manager needs to actually go to the properties. LDCHA has their annual housing inspections. This is a crucial date and this is very important to get those places ready to go. Dunn said he encourages all case managers to stop by the housing from time to time. From his experience the younger case managers have not dealt with people who do not know where the grocery stores are and how to keep a unit clean. Taylor mentioned utilities as something that Project Able assists with. Dunn said that in addition he would like to see help in dealing with back court journal entries. He said that it is very rare that someone wants to deal with those.

Knoche asked Dunn if he had an idea about vacant units in the community.

Dunn said there is housing out there. Statistically there are about 1000 units available in the community. Within those units, many are new, and many are rehabilitated.

Enoch asked about the client that defaulted that was paying $32 rent. Does the LDCHA immediately fill this unit?

Dunn said that the voucher is by tenant and not by the actual unit. The unit rent is the same. The tenant’s amount may vary depending on the subsidy.

Knoche said that when a person gets a voucher, they can go into the private rental market with their voucher. It is a subsidy contract. The tenants shop on the open market. LDCHA does refer to landlords that they know of that have units, but the voucher goes with client.

Swarts asked in the case of an eviction is the voucher lost?

Knoche said that it gets taken away from that individual. She said that if a person has a voucher in LDCHA the difference is the subsidy. The landlord has been getting their rent, but with a lot of families money is not the entire obstacle to having permanent housing.

Enoch asked if the landlord association carries a list of all vacant units to fill in the community.

Feltman noted that information would be hard to upkeep.

Knoche said there is a free listing at HCCI that lists available rental units, and that the landlords can list their units for free.

Enoch asked if it was current.

Knoche said that the list is maintained by the landlords, but it is also up to the landlords to keep it updated.

Enoch said that if the list was current, computerized, and printed it would help those looking for housing.

Taylor said that within those cases that the Salvation Army works with, there are a lot of landlords and a lot of available listings. What the person is looking for is different than what others want, and they need the option of looking at various units. Some may be looking for a close playground and some may be looking for accessibility. These programs need to allow the tenant the same frustrations that anyone would have looking for an apartment. The client may not stay in Lawrence. If they have learned to talk to landlords, they can take that with them anywhere. Landlords are upfront about what they will take and what they will not. Sometimes they decide to participate after meeting with the clients even if it did not originally fit with their expectations.

Baars said that LDCHA puts out a list of landlords of who have worked with their programs as well.

Knoche said that this list can change hourly. “Permanent” means the client can stay in that unit with no time limit. With the Housing Choice and other programs, as long as they remain eligible they can stay in the unit and receive the assistance as long as they want. Anyone who has a HOME voucher or another program voucher is given leads of units and landlords.

Enoch asked if there was a way to bring together all the landlords to talk about the programs.

Swarts said that the landlords are offered a variety of meetings and luncheons to try to get the word out there. Landlords come into the program, landlords leave. Some landlords might have previously believed the program was not worthy, then they have a good experience so they participate. It ebbs and flows. The Housing Authority makes ongoing efforts to educate the landlords about the programs.

Feltman asked about the average turnover rate.

Knoche said in Lawrence it is about nine months on average. People in the Section 8 Program can be there for 25 years, or more or less. Those on fixed income tend to move less because it is very expensive to move. Some folks move each year.

Taylor said that the HOME City grant needs to have participants in Lawrence only. They then may move from the HOME program to Section 8 and might move within the county. Overall it depends on the lease agreement.

Dunn said if individuals are young and secure a voucher they do not sometimes appreciate what they have. Those tend to be there a very short period of time. Those who are a little older and have had some difficult times in life can be there for decades. They want to hang on to those vouchers.

Knoche said that she has seen change over years. In 2002 there was a new renter’s education program. The program tries to stress making the first unit successful. She said she agrees with Dunn’s point of view that this has changed. Very young, first time renters do have problems.

Dunn said that older renters have been more successful, but there is still a constant education piece that must be in place. There could be a new legal case or new HUD rule any time that makes it a changing environment. Dunn said that young folks are a challenge and they need strong case management.

Knoche said that Lawrence is fortunate in that this vision can be filled by having a lot of rental housing. Landlords sometimes will not participate because of the condition of their properties. If they cannot put the repair money into the units then they cannot participate.

Enoch commented that the community still has a wait list that is closed.

Knoche said the reason for that is a lack of money. If the wait is more than twelve months from when LDCHA can serve them then the list is closed.

ITEM NO. 4 Miscellaneous/Calendar

Swarts said that at this year’s Homeless Summit she was asked to serve on the board of the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition (KSHC). She said that she agreed to be on the ballot and she was elected to the Board. She indicated that the board has a retreat meeting the week before the next CCH meeting. The KSHC elected two additional new individuals to the board and there is succession planning in place. There will be new officer elections in July and things will be changing in the leadership. There has been some confusion and disagreement about what the role of the KSHC should be in the work of the Balance of State (BoS). The BoS application was successful, including funding awarded to all renewals and two new projects.

Swarts said that staff has drafted the resolution for the CCH and the document is currently being reviewed by Legal staff and the department director, so staff is moving forward with updating and fine tuning that document. The document will be sent out prior to the July meeting.

Feltman said she will be out of the country at the next meeting.

Swarts said that she also had a hard copy of the citizen survey for the CCH. All boards and commissions get a copy. Overall, the citizen survey was positive for the City. With the recent economic downturn a lot of communities have seen decreased citizen satisfaction. The citizens have a few concerns with streets and traffic but for the most part, the survey was positive. The city will continue to work on ways that city employees can better serve the community and address issues that people have. There are a variety of ways to contact the city with concerns.

Feltman said that in regard to the Change of Heart newsletter, that LMH has agreed to do one printing a year. She said that it may be contracted out, but it will be covered by LMH once a year.

ITEM NO. 5 Public Comment

Enoch said that it was wonderful that Swarts is on the KSHC board. She brings expertise and it will be a wonderful thing for the state.

Enoch asked if there was any innovative effort that he community can participate in such as bringing builders together to build affordable housing. She said that the community needs to get these players together to discuss the fact that the community has families without housing.

Swarts said that Tenants to Homeowners is the local Community Housing Development Organization and they are always working on various issues in regard to housing. Swarts said there is not a shortage of housing. There is a shortage of subsidy. This has to be taken one step at a time. Currently the community is a lot ahead of where it used to be. She said she has sat in a lot of meetings with Dunn and Knoche and talked about case management. It is not enough to put someone in a house because if there is not help with the framework then they will not be successful. The client needs guidance, and that does not mean telling them what to do. The community is making strides forward in making this all fit together. Swarts said that she feels like the biggest sticking point is having enough cash to get people the subsidy that they need. People are getting educated and nurtured to get into housing, but it is the money piece that is missing. On a national level, the one family of grants that have been increased is homeless funds.

Enoch said that the community used to have a housing trust fund and there was money coming into that fund for affordable housing. She said that if that program could be established again and outreach done in the community it might be a way to subsidize a few more units. There is a tremendous need and it can help the community. Enoch said that she felt that the downtown merchants would be happy to contribute as well.

Strong said that as a downtown business owner, he contributes to a lot of charities. He said that he knew of several businesses that would contribute, and several that would have a different opinion.

Enoch said that this community has a real need.

Snyder said that this was a great idea, but the funding will need to be coming from somewhere a little more reliable than private donations.

Taylor said that she knows that a wait list of a year sounds like a long time. Albuquerque, New Mexico has a six year wait list. It goes into public housing instead of private market. Locally, Ottawa is two years, and Leavenworth is two years. It is the subsidy that has to be available and utilities that have to be available to turn on. There are many funding sources that need to implemented. There is not just funding for housing, but there is also the funding for other support services to keep the people in housing. Locally, the wish is that it was not a year, but looking at surrounding areas, Lawrence looks good.

Dunn said that the City is looking at raising rates on water bills. He asked the CCH if the City Commission asks for their opinion about this in regards to the homeless.

Swarts said that they have not asked the CCH to weigh in on the discussion.

Dunn said that Knoche said the wait list opens up July 1. What happens to those who have sent in application previously?

Knoche said that previously LDCHA has been sending the applications back when the list has been closed. Starting now, LDCHA will not send them back and they get date stamped.

Dunn asked who funds the KSHC.

Swarts said that the KSHC is funded by Kansas Housing Resources Corporation and SRS.

Dunn asked what type of budget KSHC has.

Swarts said that SRS had set aside money for a coordinator. Currently, there are no member dues and they are able to hold very inexpensive conferences for members. The Board will be talking about how to raise money. They need to hire an Executive Director so they need to figure out a way to have incoming funds.

Dunn asked if the KSHC meetings are public meetings.

Swarts said that she believed so, but she has not attended one yet to be sure.

Enoch said that the Salvation Army has a wonderful new grant and they can begin placing people in housing. Many communities have active housing trust funds. Commissioner Dever and Vice Mayor Schumm have expressed an interest in helping in this idea. Lawrence might be better than some communities, but should still be held to a higher standard. This idea could begin again. There are already two commissioners on board, so there might be some money that can be committed. Regardless, it will be a beginning and will be a start.

ITEM NO. 6 Adjourn

Motion by Feltman to adjourn the June 14, 2011 meeting of the CCH. Seconded by Cook.

Motion passed unanimously.

Attendance Record

Members

01/11

02/11

03/11

04/11

05/11

06/11

07/11

08/11

09/11

10/11

11/11

12/ 11

Hubbard Collinsworth

Brad Cook

Wes

Dalberg

Karin Feltman

Charlotte Knoche

Mike

Monroe

Shannon Murphy

Samantha Snyder

Cary Strong

X Meeting Cancelled Due to Inclement Weather