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Anaheim, CA 92805
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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT
DATE: MAY 24, 2022
FROM: HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: HOMELESS HOUSING, ASSISTANCE AND PREVENTION
PROGRAM (HHAP) ROUND 3 APPLICATION AND CITY
HOMELESSNESS ACTION PLAN
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 04
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion:
1) Approve the submission of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program grant application and attachments for $10,290,351.69 to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness;
2) Authorize the Housing and Community Development Director, or her designee, to modify the application and attachments as needed, provided that any such modifications do not materially change the purpose or scope of the submission; 3) If awarded, increase the Housing and Community Development Department’s FY 2022/23 revenue and expenditures budget commensurate with the grant award; and
4) Authorize the Housing and Community Development Director, or her designee, to accept the grant, execute required grant documents, and take all other actions necessary to implement grant activities.
DISCUSSION:
The California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) has released a third round of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) funding to pursue homelessness reduction activities throughout the State. The City of Anaheim is eligible for $10,290,351.69 in this round of funding. HHAP funding is the result of continued advocacy efforts on the part of the Big Cities Mayors’ Coalition, a collaboration of the leaders from the State's 13 largest cities who work together to champion the most crucial issues Californians face.
While funding has been earmarked for Anaheim to receive these funds, we must submit a completed HHAP 3 funding application to Cal ICH and provide a Homelessness Action Plan (Plan) that outlines how funds will be deployed along with accountability measures. Guidelines for the Plan provide flexibility for development of goals and services at the City level, however, there is an expectation that the City plan aligns to HHAP 3 Application
May 24, 2022
address the needs identified on a regional level, that is, within the broader Orange County Continuum of Care (CoC) system. To that end, staff has participated in several planning meetings and calls with the Orange County Continuum of Care as well as used County-provided data to inform the Anaheim plan.
Guidance provided by the State also calls for the inclusion of feedback from persons with lived experience of homelessness and local homeless service providers. Two focus groups were conducted with persons who are currently or recently engaged with the Anaheim homeless system of care, one at the Salvation Army emergency shelter and the other at a recently completed permanent supportive housing (PSH) site, Buena Esperanza. A total of 17 individuals participated in these conversations. Staff also developed two electronic surveys to solicit feedback from homeless service providers as well as the community at large; with the community survey containing one question aimed towards people with lived expertise to highlight additional feedback on experiences navigating homelessness resources in the City. A total of 28 survey responses were received. Some of the feedback received from community members is as follows:
Community outreach efforts are strong and readily available. The community is aware they can call the Community Care Response Team (CCRT) and a qualified outreach worker will connect an unsheltered household to emergency resources. Due to the pandemic, coordinated efforts among providers has diminished and the city would benefit from building stronger collective impact among those working to address homelessness; including ongoing conversations with people with lived experience, churches, and other informal networks. Emergency shelters are doing a good job with getting clients vouchered and document-ready for housing, but there is a disconnect in getting clients onto the next step in the housing process (actual placement). Stronger housing navigation and case management is needed to move clients out of city shelters. The community needs to do more to address the mental health aspect of homelessness. There is no sustainable pipeline to helping people with chronic issues through the homeless system of care.
The City of Anaheim has built a strong network of integrated programs and resources to get people off the streets and into housing; the city has done a good job addressing both immediate needs (emergency response) and long term needs (permanent housing options).
Staff values all the input received from the community-engaged process and has utilized this information to inform the completion of the HHAP 3 application.
State Requirement for the Plan
HHAP 3 applicant jurisdictions are required to establish outcome goals for the progress that they will make in preventing and reducing homelessness over the three-year period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2024, informed by the findings from a local landscape analysis.
HHAP 3 Application
May 24, 2022
Grantees are encouraged to utilize existing documentation, including but not limited to:
data from the Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS); point-in-time count (PIT) data; Continuum of Care Housing Inventory Count (HIC) data; longitudinal systems analysis (LSA); HUD’s Stella tools; as well as data from the CoC’s local HMIS and any recently conducted needs assessments, analyses, or other data sources. It is noted that COVID-19 disrupted the PIT count planned for 2020, therefore the most complete data available for analysis purposes is from the 2019 PIT.
State statute does not require local governing boards to take action on or formally adopt a Plan, however sections of the Plan must be agendized at a local governing board meeting and available for public comment. The State has provided a template to support the streamlined presentation of information required to be agendized at a local governing board meeting and available for public comment as stated in Health and Safety Code Section 50220.7(b)(2).
Highlights of the Anaheim HHAP
Anaheim Landscape Analysis
The first part of the Anaheim HHAP application provides a landscape analysis in the form of a homelessness action plan based on data from the 2019 PIT count and other locally derived data including information collected by City Net, the City’s homeless outreach team. The data from 2019 indicated that homelessness was on the rise when compared to 2016 data. It also indicated that homelessness was most pronounced among individual males. Other subpopulations that experienced an increase in homelessness were seniors and transitional aged youth. Data available through 2021 from our outreach services team is largely consistent with the PIT data and further indicates that white males represent the largest group of persons who are chronically homeless locally.
The data collected through local and County sources has been utilized by the City to inform the creation of new programs and the allocation of funding resources for at least the last six years. As reported in the attached HHAP application, the City has actively worked to create a comprehensive system of care that includes a street outreach, shelter, work force development opportunities, and permanent affordable and supportive housing. While the system will benefit from continued investment and innovation, the foundation that has been established provides a strong framework from which the City can continue to build to advance both City and regional goals to reduce homelessness in Orange County.
Outcome Goals for the Planning Period 2021-2024
As part of the planning process, staff also completed an analysis of funding resources (Table 3). As reflected in the tables, investment into the homeless system of care is multifaceted and involves Federal, State and local investments. It is likely that our local investment is underrepresented as addressing homelessness involves responses from all City Departments including but not limited to Police, Fire, Public Works, and Community Services.
HHAP 3 Application
May 24, 2022
For outcome goals (Table 4), staff in partnership with the CoC addressed the following priority areas identified by the State (planning period is July 2021-June 2024):
Reducing the number of persons experiencing homelessness – with a focus on impacted homelessness among transitional aged youth
Reducing the number of persons experiencing homelessness on a daily basis with a focus on adding capacity to address family homelessness Reducing the number of people who become homeless for the first time Increasing the number of people who exit homelessness into permanent housing Reducing length of time persons remain homeless
Reducing the number of persons who return to homelessness after exiting homelessness
Increasing successful placement from street outreach
In order to achieve the proposed outcome goals, the HHAP spending plan (Table 6) is aligned to support activities that will have a meaningful impact. These activities are as follows:
$3.091 M Community Care Response
Teams
Outreach and engagement/
services coordination
$2 M Be Well OC Outreach and engagement/
services coordination
$1.44 M Salvation Army Shelter operations
$2 M Studio 6 Site Interim housing operations
$1.0291 M Transitional Aged Youth Supportive services and housing placements
$200,000 Families Rapid Rehousing
The proposed spending plan presented in the application is subject to adjustment based on needs identified during the planning period and does not include all sources used to address homelessness in Anaheim.
The full proposed Plan, in substantial form, is attached for review. Public comment as well as directions from City Council will be used to modify the Plan prior to submission to the State. The Plan and HHAP application are due by June 30, 2022.
As a footnote, staff is aware that the 2022 Point in Time count data summary has just recently been released. The preliminary summary data reflects an overall reduction in homelessness in the County from 6,860 in 2018 to 5,718 in 2022, or a 16% reduction.
The Anaheim City specific data reflects a 30% reduction in unsheltered homeless, which is an early indication that street outreach is having some impact in addressing homelessness. As indicated previously, the Plan relies on 2019 PIT data because it is the most recent, comprehensive data set; however, as more recent data is released, staff will use such information to make and/or recommend adjustments in services and goals.
HHAP 3 Application
May 24, 2022
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
If any grant funds are awarded, the Housing & Community Development Department’s FY 2022/23 revenue and expenditures budget will be increased commensurate with the grant funds received.
Respectfully submitted,
Grace Ruiz-Stepter
Housing & Community Development Director
Attachments:
1. Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3 Application
2. Draft City of Anaheim Homelessness Action Plan (July 2021 – June 2024)