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Home My WebLink AboutHB Homeless Solutions Update City of Huntington Beach File #: 21-279 MEETING DATE: 4/5/2021 HB Homeless Solutions Update City of Huntington Beach Page 1 of 1 Printed on 3/31/2021 16 powered by Legistar'° • 4/6/2021 What's Next? Update On Huntington Beach Homeless Response Efforts City Council Meeting April 5, 2021 • I. Mnr,WGrOw •FKN City Has Been Developing & Improving Our Homeless Response Since Late 2013 • In late 2013, the City began to seriously assess homeless related issues in MB - At the time,the PoliceDepartment identified 130-150 homeless persons in the Citytyin October 2013 � - In 2019,our Point-in-Time count registered 289 unsheltered homeless in HB , • 2014/15 saw the creation of our initial homeless response team -As part of that effort,the City started developing relationships with non-profit organizations,the faith community,and other interested parties to assist in our response efforts - In September 2015,the City assigned Officer Ricci as our first full-time _ officer dedicated to homeless response -A second full-time officer was added to the homeless response team in January 2016,with the appointment of Officer Schloss to the role • 1 • 4/6/2021 Effort Has Continued With Additional City Resources Allocated Over The Years • The City has invested in expanding our homeless response team,and today,the City has 7 staff fully dedicated as part of our Homeless Task Force - an Mac Leith.Police Officer - Unan Mungle,Police Officer - Christopher Simpson,Police Offer - Mike Carsten, Police Officer - Kristy Conway.Homeless Outreach Case Manage• - Lisa Roberts,Homeless Outreach Case Manager - Hayley Ydntorn,Homeless Outreach Case Manager • The Police Department is also in the process of training more than a dozen additional officers to support homeless response/outreach efforts Homeless RR\\e�sponse Partnerships With Multiple Agencies Have Been Formed Helplow income single tl�Decatetl to finding nq parents graduate learn ppMME�E55 pare skills to achieve economic soluhom that impact and jlest TFr1 reduce homelessness in H8. independence. An interfaith orgonizorion mobilized to end Fam ily Tends to the wounds of the homelessness for Orange unsheltered in Oraage County Promise's families and their aa,�� County +a•o.+sam children. � _ A gathering of� Serves the working poor ��' +. representatives of faith V F and homeless in Hg by t - ` ' based communities providing an array of (� dedicated to respecting support and services. �r and celebrating spiritual and cultural diversity. • 2 • 4/6/2021 Homeless Response Partnerships With Multiple Agencies Have Been Formed An intentionally coordinated system,created in public private ��• •!� e e I I portoersh,p, to establish world class core for mental health and o.ua.a substance use disorders in Orange Caunry. Provides housing and supportive services for various homeless populations,including families,adult men B women,mothers& M E R C YA H O U S E their children. Serving the HB community since 1964,Resurrection has helped }`l J r 4 (/ r rl r champion and develop numerous homeless response programs and projects. Founded in 1967,Huntington Beach Hospitml a a 131 bed mate care community hospital,and serves as a community partner to 13Huntington Beach Hospital support the City's behavioral and mental health response efforts The City's Navigation Center Has Helped Advance Our Homeless Response Efforts • Our Navigation Center opened its doors in December 2020,and has served as a tremendous tool in our efforts to help those who most in need - There are currently`SO guests staying at the facility,best practices are in place,strong COVID-19 protocols have been instituted,and we continue to make quality-of-life enhancements at the facility • Additionally,with the Navigation Center in place,the City has been able to begin reclaiming sacrosanct public spaces for everyone in the community to use - A multi disciplinary team has engaged several successful operations where support was provided to vulnerable individuals while public spaces were returned to their intended use lip t •U- 3 • 4/6/2021 Through These Efforts, We've Started To Stabilize The Overall Situation • For those that want assistance,we're helping those individuals find stability - Since 2015,our case managers and police officers have helped transition at least 275 individuals off the street and into a more permanent housing situation In non COVID 19 times.our Navigation Center can provide congregate shelter for up to 174 individuals • Beginning in January,with the Navigation Center in place,the City has started to coordinate regular homeless encampment assistance and enforcement operations Personal property storage regulations in HB were updated in February - Daily reviews are conducted of known homeless encampment locations - Assisted Wound Walk and Resurrection Church with a wound care/support pilot program in March • Additional tools to help address mental health,addiction,and homelessness response are being developed - The City has been working to create a mobile crisis response program,whereby a non sworn crisis intervention team would be deployed to address non exigent calls for service - Progress is being made on developing a 43-unit permanent supportive housing project with Jamboree at 19431 Beach Boulevard Gaps In Our Homeless Response Efforts Still Exist • Despite the progress that's been made in recent years,gaps in the City's overall homeless response efforts still exist Jobs training and volunteer corps programs - Transitional housing - Permanent supportive housing - Shelter for families/children - Homeless prevention activities if - Data collection...defining success • The City Council has prioritized homelessness response as one of the City's 5 priority policy areas for 2021 - Bey goals and objectives that have been identified by the City Council include • Position H8 to be a leader,n addressing homelessness,mental health,and related issues • Engage community organizations in developing response programs • Develop new regional partnerships w/homeless response agencies • Establish a full-time position dedicated to addressing homeless issues 4 • 4/6/2021 Developing Strategies To Better Coordinate Community Efforts • One major challenge to addressing homeless related issues involves unifying the efforts of various groups in the community — Often,the efforts of various local agency,faith-based,and non-profit groups are directed at individual pieces of the solution to homelessness,without seeing how all the pans within the community fit together —Success is measured differently by each organizations programmatic goals • To address this matter,Mayor Carr and Council Member Moser have been discussing various strategies with staff, details of which are being developed to identify our next steps in homelessness response activities —These concepts will be reviewed with the City Council Ad Hoc Homeless Task Force and the City Council within the next few months • Internal discussions have labeled our efforts,"Project Zero..."because the ultimate goal of all homeless response activities should be to reduce our homeless population to zero —This aspirational goal recognizes that we'll never completely eradicate homelessness — However,to unify disparate community efforts,it will be important to develop shared goals that all interested groups can work towards Next Steps •The conceptual framework and inspiration for discussions related to Project Zero have been driven by the goals/priorities established by the City Council as it relates to our homeless response —Staff is working to refine the overall Project Zero response framework,which will be heavily focused on identifying the specific individuals in HB who belong to various subgroups within the homeless community(e.g.,chronic homeless, Veteran homeless,etc.),and developing unified strategies to end homelessness for each particular group —The proposed model is being built based on best-practices pioneered by the organization, 'Built For Zero" —If the overall workplan is ultimately endorsed by the City Council,our Project Zero framework would then seek to match up various community groups,non-profit organizations,and faith-based institutions with specific program elements • 5 • 4/6/2021 Questions? • 6