City of Lawrence, Kansas

HOMELESS ISSUES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

September 11, 2012 Minutes (Lawrence City Commission Room)

Members present: Brad Cook (Bert Nash Homeless Outreach Team), Karin Feltman (LMH), Brent Hoffman (Family Promise), Lt. Matt McCluer (Salvation Army), Trent McKinley (LPD), Cary Strong (Lawrence Business Community), Elyse Towey (LDCHA)

Members absent: Hubbard Collinsworth (at-large)

Staff present: Danelle Dresslar, Margene Swarts

Public present: Doug Wallace (KSHC), Loring Henderson (LCS), Marilyn Stanley (HCCI), Anju Mishra (HCCI), CJ Brune, Amanda Schwegler (CCC), Sara Taliaferro (CCC), Hilda Enoch, Saunny Scott.

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

ITEM NO. 1 Introductions

The members of the HIAC and guests introduced themselves.

ITEM NO. 2 Approval of the Agenda and the August 14, 2012 Minutes.

Motion by Hoffman to approve the Agenda and the August 14, 2012 meeting minutes of the HIAC; seconded by Towey.

Motion passed unanimously.

ITEM NO. 3 Housing Vision Reports

A. Non-Housing – LCS Jobs program

Loring Henderson, Executive Director at LCS, was present. Henderson stated the jobs program at LCS currently has two parts. One part is called “Back to Work” which is one-on-one job counseling, and is administered by Arnell Walker. Walker meets with program participants on a one-on-one basis and helps them with activities such as resume preparation and job searches. The program works with many partners, including employers such as KU. The assistance is strength based, and asks the question if a person is ready for the responsibilities of a job. The program has availability of some temporary jobs as well. Henderson said an example of this is a project that is based in North Lawrence. LCS works with a company that partners with Berry Plastics and Printing Solutions. The company in North Lawrence packages goods from these companies and handles the shipping for them. To accomplish this, the company uses folks from the shelter to package the merchandise. Henderson said this was good pay and it has the potential to be turned into essentially full time employment. It is steady work in a warehouse setting. Henderson said although the work sounds simple and it is technically temporary, it becomes something they can put on their resume, teaching good work habits and gaining work experience. LCS is able to transport the workers from the shelter to the jobsite with the LCS van. This also gets them into the habit of going to work on time and teaching good habits. LCS also has the ability to provide disaster relief work through a temporary employment company. Crews are sent all over the country to aid in disaster relief. People from the shelter have been involved in tornado and flood cleanups. Henderson said this type of activity offers very good pay, and the person is gone for two or three months at a time. It is not permanent work but it is good money that can be put in the savings program and can help them get out of the shelter. The focus of the jobs program is for the person to get work, get money, and ultimately get out of the shelter.

Henderson said there will be some changes moving forward in the future for the jobs program. He said when the shelter relocates; there will be a 10,000 sq. ft. space that will be the jobs training space. There have been talks with the North Lawrence shipping company to look at the possibility of moving their distribution activities to this space. Henderson said right now he was unsure of how that would work but it is a possibility. LCS has also been in touch with Department of Labor in Kansas City, Kansas. The Department of Labor is working with LCS on a grant proposal to set up a job training curriculum and program at the shelter. A trainer would be set up in the new space for the classes, and a certificate of completion would be issued for different trades such as kitchen work, gardening, housekeeping, and recycling among others. The certificate will be issued through the Department of Labor. Henderson said Arnell Walker will continue to coordinate most of the job training activities. He said there is a wonderful opportunity there, and moving forward the shelter will have more space and they will enhance what they do now, as well as bring in new opportunities.

B. Emergency Shelter/Temporary Housing – LCS, Loring Henderson

Henderson provided an update on the shelter. He said construction is underway at the new facility and the workers have been doing work overhead and have not started putting walls and studs up. The substantial completion date is December 21. Henderson said whether or not the shelter will move right then is still in question, but the move should be completed around the first of the year. Henderson also extended a Thank You to LMH for printing the most recent run of the Change of Heart newsletter.

C. Transitional Housing/Supportive Services – LDCHA

Shannon Oury, Executive Director of the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority provided the agency report. Oury said LDCHA completed the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) in February and closed out the program at that time. As that date was approaching LDCHA tried to figure out how they could maintain some or any of that program. There was no funding source found that could keep it going in its original form. Before HPRP, there was a LDCHA program called the E-housing Connector. This program worked the angle of housing through referral services. This program had been absorbed into the HPRP program. LDCHA has some flexibility in programs, and they are a Moving To Work program. With this flexibility, LDCHA proposed a Homeless to Housing program. Oury said LDCHA has funded a position in the Resident Services office. This position does casework for the Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) Transitional Housing program. This program runs on vouchers funded through the City’s HOME program. This program has a very long wait list, and the 2012 budget took a huge hit in HUD funding. Oury said of all the programs that took a hit, the TBRA program was the largest. Because of this as well as the HPRP program ending, LDCHA tried to maintain the case management piece that worked so well under HPRP. LDCHA has a long list of referral sources and landlords, and they have maintained this list. The case manager continues to work with these resources. Oury said LDCHA also ended up with extra Protection and Preservation vouchers. With these additional resources they were able to graduate two regular vouchers. Many TBRA clients that LDCHA had were graduated as they were close to the 24 month subsidy maximum. Historically, LDCHA has always funded 30-35 vouchers in the HOME program, but the program suffered a 45% cut for the upcoming year. Because of this they took steps to free up other funding to maintain that level. Oury said they will still see a lower number of vouchers but they have worked to lessen the hit by freeing up money from other grants and bringing this position in to help with other supports. LDCHA has seen a 95% success rate in this program, and they do not want to see that success rate drop. Oury said LDCHA is not sure that the funding will get any better in the near future, but hopefully sometime LDCHA can go back to normal in that program. If not they will have to have a discussion about what they can do with the program. Oury said LDCHA will do what they can as it is an important piece of the continuum as folks move along the way to permanent housing.

Cook said he had a client in the TBRA program working with the new case manager and it has been very beneficial to have that second person in a supportive role.

D. Permanent Supportive Housing – Salvation Army Project Able

Lt. Matthew McCluer reported that the program has added a family to their new Permanent Supportive Housing program.

E. Permanent Housing – Housing and Credit Counseling (HCCI) – Marilyn Stanley

Marilyn Stanley from Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. (HCCI) was present to speak about the agency. She indicated Anju Mishra was also in attendance, and she had been with the agency for eight years. HCCI offers credit counseling and tenant-landlord counseling out of the Lawrence office. Stanley said HCCI has offices in Topeka, Lawrence, and Manhattan. The agency serves a 22 county area and they both provide direct services as well as partner with other agencies in their programs, including locally where HCCI was an HPRP partner. HCCI frequently teaches classes on budgeting and credit, as well as providing tenant-landlord counseling in conjunction with several statewide agency programs. They provide classes in the library as well including the new series, “Women and Money” which starts tonight (9/11/2012). This is a seven week series provided through interactive television. Each night there is a different topic. Topics covered will include budgeting, saving, credit counseling and basic budgeting items. The agency provides education on personal budgeting, and they work with credit reports, including how to find them and how to read them. Stanley said people without good credit history are limited in housing choices. Things such as past evictions, mortgage default, and past due utilities affect a person’s ability to gain housing, and HCCI works with the clients and the entities to set up payment plans to clean that up. Stanley said if someone is housed and in trouble with their credit, HCCI will work with the client to try to help them remain in their home. They also offer reverse mortgage counseling where a client can use equity in their home to get money. HCCI also will provide mandatory bankruptcy counseling, as before filing for bankruptcy a person is required to go to a bankruptcy counselor, and they also have to attend a class before they discharge.

Stanley said the tenant-landlord counseling piece is done entirely by phone. She said the agency used to do walk-ins, but they have found it to be much more efficient counsel by phone. She said a general session with a counselor lasts about an hour, and they cover items such as maintenance issues and making sure tenants understand rights and responsibilities. Stanley said they get a lot of calls that start off as people identifying Fair Housing concerns that do not actually need the definition of a Fair Housing concern. Other items covered include education on security deposits and leases, as well as what a tenant can do if they find themselves behind on rent. Stanley said HCCI also works with homebuyers as many come in and ask for help to rebuild their credit. Everyone counseled at HCCI leaves with an action plan that talks about savings and down payment options. Stanley said HCCI asks them what their goal is, and the action plan usually includes a lifestyle change. HCCI’s job is to help them along that way.

McCluer asked Stanley what the cost of their counseling services was.

Stanley said the tenant-landlord piece is funded by the United Way, the Community Development Block Grant, and HUD grant dollars. She said consumer credit counseling is a $45 fee but the agency will not turn anyone away. She estimates that the agency collects about 80% of the fees charged.

Enoch asked what HCCI’s office hours in Lawrence were.

Stanley said the office is open from 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Thursday. She said many of the classes offered are in the evening and after-hours appointments can be made.

ITEM NO. 4 2013 Point-In-Time Count.

Doug Wallace was present from the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition. He said the 2013 Point-in-time count will be held the night of January 23, 2013. The count will be for sheltered homeless and unsheltered homeless. A committee has been working over the last few months planning the logistics of the count. The 2013 count will be a week long data collection period. The committee feels like with a strict one day count people will be missed. Allowing for a one week period to count for where one slept on the night of January 23^rd should give a more accurate number. The count will be done through client surveys and in some circumstances client records. The majority of the data will be captured using client interviews and the Survey Monkey tool.

Enoch asked if the count can be performed in the summer instead of the cold winter.

Wallace said HUD requires the count to be specifically performed within the last 10 days of January.

Feltman said the winter provides a telling number of those who are truly homeless as the ones outside in January really have no other options.

Swarts agreed and said when the weather is nice people may not come into places that they do go into during the cold.

ITEM NO. 5 Miscellaneous/Calendar

Swarts said staff will be going to the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) Housing Conference on September 17^th and 18^th. KHRC is the state agency that handles HOME funds. The conference will be held in Manhattan and there are several tracks including housing, developer, and neighborhood. Swarts said the conference was not focused so much on homelessness but housing.

Cook asked if there was any word from the City Commission about the letter addressing the drop-in center.

Swarts said the City Commission received the letter. She believes the Commissioners and others in the community are adopting a “wait and see” approach to the issue. She said the City instituted meter collection points and the recipient of the collected money is LCS. The City Clerk said there is a plan to put a label on the meter to show the beneficiary agency. If the donations become significant enough it may have to be revisited by the Social Service Advisory Group. In the future there may be conversation about other agencies receiving proceeds. Right now it is a pilot program.

Cook said he and Brune have talked to McCluer about building questions for a “drop-in center”. They have been discussing places the community can use and things the community can do. They talked about it in the Coalition for Homeless Concerns meeting. They too very much get the impression that it is “wait and see” but the conversation needs to be kept going.

Swarts said the key is that type of activity will require a Special Use Permit (SUP). That process will need to go through the Planning Department, the Planning Commission, and ultimately the City Commission. An SUP can be a lengthy process. It is not something any group can think of today and happen tomorrow.

McCluer said there is definitely a concern that the shelter is moving and realistically not everyone will go out there. The community can say there is a bus or a ride service, but realistically there will still be people downtown during the coldest part of the year. This issue needs to be addressed with some assertiveness that they need a warm place in the day.

Enoch asked if The Salvation Army will help.

McCluer said the agency has talked about it. There are issues with using the current building. He said it was no secret that the agency is moving, and the current building is not adequate for that type of activity. The location cannot be monitored very well. There would have to be funding to pay people to monitor the site. The Salvation Army has policies in place for the safety of children and vulnerable adults. By policy they cannot have unmonitored adults and children there at the same time.

Enoch asked if there was funding could they do it.

McCluer said with funding available they could look into it.

Cook said there would still be a need for an SUP.

Swarts said that was correct.

Enoch said the agency always provided that service.

McCluer said the agency had an SUP in the past but it has since expired.

Brune said she appreciated the time McCluer gave to the CHC to discuss the issue. The community needs to get started on the solution. The CHC is on board with finding a space and providing volunteer service.

Enoch said it would be helpful for the meters that collect money that goes to the shelter to be labeled. People will know where it is going.

Taliaferro said the Coalition for Community Concerns (CCC) has an updated version of the provider services pamphlet. These resources are primarily for use by the shelter but the community can look at expanding the base of those who use it. This brochure is relatively inexpensive to make and it includes resources for the streets or the shelter. There is also a large pamphlet that is an indexed brochure of any services organizations may provide. This document will go on line as a PDF, and it will also be sent out also to providers. Taliaferro said one of the main things the CCC has heard is that a lot of people are not aware of the network of services that are available. Taliaferro said she and Amanda Schwegler would be meeting with Henderson at LCS to show him the pamphlet and talk to him about the Good Neighbor Committee, which is a requirement of the Franklin Park Circle site SUP.

Cook said the documents look good.

Feltman asked if they could add who agencies can contact.

Taliaferro said that could be added.

Schwegler said the small pamphlet does not have all the information, but there is an ability to swap programs and services between the two. If there is a program not listed that really should be, the document can be modified.

Taliaferro said the CCC tried to include info that would be readily accessible if a person were actually on the street. The other is a brochure that can be given to those already in the community.

McCluer said the brochure was very nice.

Taliaferro said the CCC plans on updating the documents quarterly, and will add and change information as needed. The versions can be edited as much as needed.

Feltman announces that she had resigned her position from LMH as she has been appointed as a medical missionary to Nepal. She said she will be moving next year and working with the Community Health Education program. She said as her term is up in December, as of December she will be stepping down. She will work with staff and find someone from the hospital to take her position.

Swarts said she has not heard anything from Douglas County regarding Shannon Murphy’s replacement. She told Feltman she appreciated the notice and the ability to work together to fill the spot.

Enoch asked Feltman how long she will be in Nepal.

Feltman said it was an indefinite assignment.

ITEM NO. 6 Public Comment.

There was no additional public comment.

ITEM NO. 7 Adjourn.

Motion by McCluer to adjourn the September 11, 2012 meeting of the HIAC; seconded by Feltman.

Motion passed unanimously.

Attendance Record

Members

01/12

02/12

03/12

04/12

05/12

06/12

07/12

08/12

09/12

10/12

11/12

12/ 12

Hubbard Collinsworth

Brad Cook

Wes

Dalberg

Karin Feltman

Brent Hoffman

Matt McCluer

Trent McKinley

Mike

Monroe

Shannon Murphy

Cary

Strong

Elyse

Towey

X - Meeting Cancelled Due to Inclement Weather

E - Excused Absence

U - Unexcused Absence

() – Last meeting in term.

* - First meeting in term.

^ - Last Meeting