City of Lawrence, Kansas

HOMELESS ISSUES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

December 10, 2013 Minutes (Lawrence City Commission Room)

Members present: Michael Brouwer (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Re-Entry Program), Brad Cook (Bert Nash Homeless Outreach Team), Laurie Hooker (LDCHA), Becky Peters (Family Promise), Trent McKinley (LPD), Cary Strong (Lawrence Business Community)

Members absent: Hubbard Collinsworth (at-large), Kadie Jorgensen (LMH), Lt. Matt McCluer (Salvation Army)

Staff present: Danelle Dresslar, Brad Karr

Public present: Anna VanSchoelandt (Willow Domestic Violence Center), CJ Brune, Loring Henderson (LCS), Josh Peoples (KDCF), Theresa Freed (KDCF), Sandra Kimmons (KDCF), Nolan Wright (LCS), Kelsie Wilson (LCS), Ailee Cassel (LCS), Sara Shepherd (LJW)

The meeting was called to order at 8:34 a.m. 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 November 12, 2013 Minutes.

Motion by Strong to approve the Agenda and the November 12, 2013 meeting minutes of the HIAC; seconded by Hooker.

The motion passed unanimously.

ITEM NO. 3 Transportation Update

Dresslar stated that Bob Nugent, the City of Lawrence Public Transit Administrator, was not able to attend the meeting but he did provide some information for the committee. There were no updates at this time for transportation, but the City is waiting for a formal commitment from KU pertaining to a possible site for a transit center. Information was also provided about the Night Line service, which is a 1 year pilot project with a limited budget that is approaching the first 6 months of service. Evaluation and proposed changes to the service will be presented to the public in either January or February of 2014.

ITEM NO. 4 Housing Vision Reports.

A. Non-Housing – SNAP Program Changes

Sandra Kimmons from the Economic & Employment Services department of the Kansas Department for Children and Families (KDCF) spoke about benefit changes to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). A handout was provided that explained how the benefits changed during the fall of 2013.

Hooker asked if clients that have a pending disability case and cannot work are eligible for benefits under the SNAP program. Kimmons explained that individuals do not have to meet the disability standards under HUD or Social Security to qualify for SNAP, but a statement from a medical professional is required. A statement from a social worker would be considered on a case by case basis depending on the credentials of the professional.

Hooker asked if someone enrolled in the workforce center meets the minimum work requirements. Kimmons said the federal government does have some regulations in what qualifies as an approved employment and training program. Kimmons said she will look to see if the LDCHA’s Moving to Work program qualifies.

Hooker asked about clients that live in rural areas and do not have computer access. Kimmons said transportation can be an issue since individuals do have to have computer access or drive to a local approved work center.

There was no public comment about the SNAP program changes.

B. Emergency Shelter/Temporary Housing – LCS

Loring Henderson from the Lawrence Community Shelter gave a report on the current state of the shelter. The one year anniversary of moving into the new LCS building is 12/29/13, and they are settling in and are generally happy with where they are. Transportation is an issue because of the new location on the edge of town, and they only have one van which broke down recently. The City has provided a bus stop at the location, and bus passes to distribute. LCS would like to build a shelter at the bus stop, but as of now it is uncertain where the permanent bus stop will be because of developments in the area. Henderson also spoke on how the LCS is in need of a cargo van to transport food from local grocery stores and restaurants to the LCS kitchen. The one van they now have is mainly used to transport people, and there is no room for food or supplies.

The LCS recently finished a playground for children at the shelter which was funded by a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation. The playground is in a fenced area to provide more safety for the children.

There is currently one staff vacancy, and they are interviewing for that position.

Capacity of the shelter is at the maximum of 125 individuals, even during the warm weather, and now with the cold weather months arriving people have to be turned away. Henderson is planning on asking the City to grant an increase to that number during cold weather. The building itself per fire code can hold a maximum of 334 people, but is limited to 125 due to the amount of plumbing fixtures. That is a large expense to increase the amount of plumbing fixtures required per person to increase the occupancy. Henderson hopes the City will grant a temporary increase during the cold months without requiring an increase of plumbing fixtures.

The family program at LCS is full, and they have to turn away families on average 2 or 3 a day. These are people that call on the phone to inquire about space at the shelter for a family. There are currently 4 babies and one pregnant woman in the family program.

Hooker asked what the families that are turned away are told. Henderson said they are directed towards other cities, such as Kansas City, Topeka, Paola and Salina.

Cook asked if Henderson has a date set for when he will speak to the City Commission about increasing the capacity during cold weather. Henderson said that he first has to get the paperwork to the Planning Department for review before going to the City Commission.

C. Transitional Housing/Supportive Services – LDCHA (if needed)

Hooker said there were no new updates.

D. Permanent Supportive Housing – Salvation Army Project Able (if needed)

No updates.

E. Permanent Housing

No updates.

ITEM NO. 5 Calendar/Miscellaneous

Dresslar stated that the next quarterly meeting will be in March. The meeting room will still be reserved each month in case something comes up and a meeting is needed.

As a reminder, Dresslar indicated that the Homeless Summit will be located in Salina in April, and January 22, 2014 is the Point in Time homeless count.

Dresslar also informed the committee that Doug Wallace of the Statewide Homeless Coalition is leaving his position to take a new job at KDADS, but he will still be in charge of one of the grants that fund the Statewide Homeless Coalition, and be involved with the Point in Time count.

Cook asked about committee seats other than Collinsworth that were expiring. Dresslar indicated that Collinsworth is not eligible for re-appointment, but no other seats were expiring. Cook asked how the committee proceeds with filling the empty seat. Dresslar indicated that Collingsworth was an at-large representative, so any new person interested needs to send a letter either to the City Manager’s office or the Community Development office. They would be interested in finding a person who represents the homeless community in general.

Dresslar said she would contact LMH about Jorgensen’s seat on the committee.

McKinley indicated that his and Cook’s positions both expired on December 31, 2013. Cook said he has received his re-appointment letter from the City already. McKinley indicated that there could be some re-organization in his work schedule, and did not know at this time if he would be available to continue. Dresslar said she would go ahead and process his re-appointment, and if his work schedule did change, he could step down from the committee.

ITEM NO. 6 Public Comment

Nolan Wright asked if the Point in Time count was being done from HMIS. Dresslar said no, HMIS does not work well in all communities based on the information being entered by providers. The housing inventory count will have the beds and the number of people in the beds, and also the surveys by the case managers.

ITEM NO. 7 Adjourn

Motion by Cook to adjourn the December 10, 2013 meeting of the HIAC; seconded by Brouwer.

The motion passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 9:07 a.m.

Attendance Record

Members

01/13

02/13

03/13

04/13

05/13

06/

13#

07/

13#

08/13

09/13

10/13

11/13

12/ 13

Michael Brouwer

Hubbard Collinsworth

U()

Brad Cook

Brent Hoffman

Matt McCluer

Trent McKinley

Cary Strong

Laurie Hooker

Becky Peters

Kadie Jorgensen

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