City of Lawrence

Homeless Issues Advisory Committee

July 11, 2017 minutes     

MEMBERS PRESENT:	Michael Brouwer, Mathew Faulk, Laurie Hooker, Trent McKinley, Eric Ogwangi, Dana Ortiz, Teri Smith
MEMBERS ABSENT:	Vivian Baars, Cary Strong
STAFF PRESENT:	Danelle Dresslar, Brad Karr

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1. Introductions

The committee members introduced themselves.

2. Approve minutes from April 11, 2017 meeting

Smith moved to approve the minutes from April 11, 2017. Hooker seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.

3. Receive 2017 1^st quarter report from Bert Nash Homeless Outreach Team

McKinley asked if there were only two Outreach workers. Faulk said yes, there was originally four but now down to two. Ogwangi asked if demographic information by race could be included in the reports. Faulk said the criteria established by the city for this report did not request information on race, but he would try to start including the information. Smith asked if more Outreach workers would be hired. Faulk said the team was solely based on city funding and the amount of staff is within the current budget. Smith asked if there was a change in the city’s budget for next year. Faulk said he had not heard; they did ask to reinstate a third position in their funding application, but budget amounts are usually announced in August.

Dresslar said the committee had previously discussed writing a letter of support for funding in preparation of next year’s budget process. She said the committee could form a sub-committee to draft a letter to be reviewed at the October HIAC meeting. Ogwangi asked how the city decided on the amount to fund. Faulk said the city had a budget shortfall last year, and in order to balance the budget had to make cuts to many programs, including the Outreach Team. Ogwangi asked if the Outreach Team had tried to obtain private funding. Faulk said the Bert Nash Community Health Center is a private, not for profit agency that conducts fundraising; any additional funds the Outreach Team has received in the past went directly to client services such as rent or utilities. Faulk said the Outreach Team is part of a larger agency, and the Bert Nash Community Health Center would like to have a unified community message on fundraising.

Hooker asked if the Outreach Team got to keep the funds from the Coalition for Homeless Concerns (CHC). Faulk said yes, they do get those funds, and anyone can donate funds to Bert Nash and allocate the funds to their choice of programs.

Dresslar said the committee could designate a representative to speak to the City Commission during the budget process. Ogwangi asked the committee if they would like to designate someone to speak at the City Commission meeting. Faulk felt it could be a conflict for him, but he would support another committee member speaking. Ortiz asked if they were discussing the City Commission meeting on July 11, 2017. McKinley said the requests and discussion for funding for service providers was held two months ago by the City Commission. Faulk agreed the HIAC is behind the curve on this budget cycle; the discussion of creating a letter for the October HIAC meeting would help them get ahead of the curve for next year. Ogwangi said it could be better late than never and he volunteered to attend the meeting. Ortiz suggested Faulk create a draft or outline of the letter to be discussed at the October HIAC meeting. Faulk asked if the letter would just address funding for the Homeless Outreach Team, or open up the discussion on the level of need in the entire community. Ogwangi felt it should discuss the city wide need. Faulk agreed, and indicated the population in Lawrence has increased by 30,000 in the last 17 years and the growth includes all aspects of society; he felt the City should invest more in poverty services.

Faulk asked the committee to send him talking points for the outline of the letter. Ortiz asked about the timeline of submitting the talking points to Faulk. Faulk said the sooner the better, at least by August 18, 2017.

4. Housing Vision Reports

a. Non-Housing – BoS CoC

Natasha Derakhshanian, the program coordinator for the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition, spoke to the committee about the Continuum of Care (CoC). She said CoC is both a federal funding stream and also a geographic area; the geographic area for Lawrence is the 101 counties in the Balance of State (BoS). It does not matter who provides funding for an agency, if they are in the geographic area, they are part of the CoC and need to work together to improve the system and ensure no federal funds are at risk. HUD requires the use of system performance measures in the form of data entered in one HMIS system; the entry of data helps secure needed funding in the community. Another federal mandate is coordinated entry to identify and assess individuals who are literally homeless and rate them on an acuity scale from 1 to 20; when resources become available, they are used to serve individuals at the top of the list instead of on a first come first serve model.

The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for CoC funding will be open at some point and the CoC has been working to make sure all of the applicants are prepared for the funding cycle and will score as high as they possibly can. The CoC hopes there will be new funding available for new projects in the CoC area.

The Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition Conference Housing Summit will be merged with the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation’s Kansas Housing Conference to bring together the agencies who serve low income individuals and families with the developers who build low income housing projects. The conference will be in August 2017 in Wichita, KS.

Dresslar informed the committee the CoC Regional Coordinator position for Douglas County is available if they know anyone interested in the position.

b. Emergency Shelter/Temporary Housing – LCS Update – Trey Meyer

Trey Meyer gave the committee an update on the Lawrence Community Shelter (LCS). The county has agreed to fund an expansion to LCS to create an auxiliary shelter, contingent on receiving all required city approvals. The expansion would offer a cold weather, overnight shelter for individuals with an urgent need, but no case management would be offered. The auxiliary shelter would be open nights from October to March, and offer just the basics of a cot or mat, coffee and water, and a sandwich; the individuals in the auxiliary shelter would need to leave the next day, weather permitting.

The LCS DADS grant project was renewed, and LCS has applied for a $400,000/year five year grant in partnership with Bert Nash and DCCCA to apply more resources to individuals who suffer co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

Ogwangi asked how many people could be served in the auxiliary shelter. Meyer said as many as 40 in the new area, but it will depend on the city zoning.

Ogwangi asked if LCS has partnerships with any other providers than Bert Nash. Meyer said nothing formal, they go and get mental health services wherever they can find them.

Ortiz spoke to the committee about Family Promise’s partnership with the Ninth Street Missionary Baptist Church and the Lawrence board of Realtors, and with a grant from the Douglas County Community Foundation to flip a fourplex for temporary housing. Family Promise would have a total of nine units for qualified Family Promise people in active programming. The units would have subsidized rent, with the tenant never paying more than 30% of their income, including utilities. The tenants continue to work with case managers for six to nine months, and eventually move into permanent housing. The four new units should be available for temporary housing occupancy right after Labor Day.

c. Transitional Housing/Supportive Services – LDCHA – Laurie Hooker

Hooker said she would combine agenda items c and e together, and introduced Nickie Daneke as a new employee of LDCHA. Daneke said the LDCHA is currently not issuing general vouchers, but they will be preparing for it soon. LDCHA is issuing two VASH vouchers, which will bring them to the full level of 45 vouchers, and two re-entry vouchers. Daneke said they are in the planning phase now to open up some supportive housing units using Moving-to-Work funding.

Ortiz asked if there was any news on domestic violence vouchers and aged-out vouchers. Daneke said they would hopefully have a better idea of those numbers in the fall. Daneke said there are currently 29 people on the general special voucher list; Hooker said at one point there were over 50 on the list.

d. Permanent Supportive Housing – HOPE Building update – Rae Johnson

Rae Johnson, the supportive housing specialist at the HOPE Building, spoke to the committee about housing at the HOPE Building. There are six beds for people who are chronically homeless and have mental health issues and/or substance abuse issues and/or chronic health issues; all of the beds are currently full. Johnson said there is no time limit on how long someone can stay in the house, and the goal is to promote self-sufficiency and get their life organized. Johnson said they moved to a Housing First model as of April 1, 2017, which changed some rules and regulations in the house, including drinking at the house which is no longer a reason to be kicked out automatically.

Hooker said she is glad the house moved to Housing First since it is not punitive and it can bring the problem out in the open.

e. Permanent Housing

Dresslar gave the committee an update on the Affordable Housing Advisory Board (AHAB) and the Housing Trust Fund (HTF). The AHAB has approved recommending a housing study to help get a comprehensive overview of the current housing stock and the gaps where specific types of housing are needed. The AHAB also just had an application period for projects to be funded from the HTF, with two applications reviewed and recommended to the City Commission for funding. The AHAB was also reviewing the ballot language for the upcoming election to renew the current infrastructure and transit sales tax; the City Manager has recommended reapportioning a portion of the tax to affordable housing.

Faulk asked how much the reapportioned sales tax would generate for affordable housing. Dresslar said approximately $1 million/year. Faulk asked if has been determined how those funds will be used for affordable housing. Dresslar said not yet.

Hooker asked what company was recommended for conducting the housing study and how long it would take. Dresslar said a consulting firm from Denver was selected to conduct the housing study, and it could take five or six months to complete, after approval by the City Commission.

5. Calendar/Miscellaneous – Next Meeting 10/10/17

Faulk said the committee would review the draft letter to the city addressing the overall need for homelessness assistance in the community. Ogwangi asked about forming a sub-committee to address different issues. Faulk said it could be added to the next agenda. Dresslar asked what type of sub-committees Ogwangi was interested in. Ogwangi said they did not have to be specific, just created to address an issue. Faulk said like a work group, and if anyone wanted to volunteer they could contact him.

6. Public Comment

Mary Sundal, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Washburn University, introduced herself and spoke to the committee about her research project on livelihood strategies among homeless parents and families.  

7.  Adjourn

Faulk moved to adjourn the meeting. Brouwer seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0 at 9:42am.

Attendance Record

Members	1/10	4/11	7/11
Vivian Baars	+	+	E
Michael Brouwer	+	+	+
Mathew Faulk	+	+	+
Laurie Hooker	+	E	+
Trent McKinley	E	+	+
Erick Ogwangi	+*	E	+
Dana Ortiz	E	+	+
Teri Smith	+	+	+
Cary Strong	U	U	U

X - Meeting Cancelled Due to Inclement Weather

E - Excused Absence

U - Unexcused Absence

() – Last meeting in term.

* - First meeting in term.

^ - Last Meeting

# - Meeting not official – no quorum