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Anaheim, CA 92805
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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT
DATE: JANUARY 10, 2023
FROM: HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: HOMELESS HOUSING, ASSISTANCE AND PREVENTION
PROGRAM (HHAP) ROUND 4 APPLICATION
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 12
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion, 1) approve final submission of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program grant application and attachments 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 be 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 fourth round of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) funding to pursue homelessness reduction activities throughout the State. HHAP funding is the result of continued advocacy efforts on the part of the Big City 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 4 application to Cal ICH that outlines how funds will be deployed along with accountability measures. Guidelines for the application include equity-related goal setting at the city level. However, there is an expectation that the City application aligns to address the overall goals 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 alongside the City of Santa Ana and Irvine, fellow HHAP recipient cities.
Guidance provided by the State following a review of HHAP Round 3 applications included an expectation that Round 4 goals must be aggressive in addressing and HHAP 4 Application
January 10, 2023
reducing homelessness within the City and cumulatively throughout the State. Round 4 goals follow the blueprint set in our local Homelessness Action Plan which set ambitious goals of reducing unsheltered homelessness by 70% and overall homelessness by 50% come June 2024.
To help inform the development of the application, three focus groups were conducted with persons who are currently or recently engaged with the Anaheim homeless system of care: one at the senior permanent supportive housing site, El Verano; one at the transition-aged youth emergency shelter, Covenant House; and one at the Pathways of Hope family emergency shelter. A total of 20 individuals participated in these conversations. Some of the feedback received from community members is as follows:
The system works effectively to meet the immediate needs of young people but the population faces unique barriers to leasing up a unit. Expansion of case management and housing placement options dedicated to transition-aged youth would greatly improve their ability to exit shelter.
The Anaheim homelessness response system focuses largely on creating housing opportunities, leaving gaps in services related to periphery needs such as transportation, food stability, and accessible services. The system would benefit from creating stronger connections between homeless service providers and mainstream and health service providers to meet all needs of people experiencing homelessness.
When planning for target populations at permanent housing sites, residents encourage innovative ways to diversify the tenant selection process so that subpopulations are mixed, versus being in a silo based on one aspect of their identity.
Additionally, the City has increased focus on meeting the health and behavioral health needs of people experiencing homelessness. The City engaged in multiple discussions with healthcare providers, recovery programs, and community advocates to ensure that HHAP 4 funds were being strategically used to leverage and meet the needs of the most vulnerable living on the streets; many of whom are chronically homeless with co- occurring disabilities and are justice-involved.
Staff values all the input received from the community engaged process and has utilized this information to inform the completion of the HHAP 4 application.
State Requirement for the Application
HHAP 4 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, 2022 through June 30, 2025, informed by the findings from a local landscape analysis.
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 Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and any recently conducted needs HHAP 4 Application
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assessments, analyses, or other data sources. Between the HHAP Round 3 and Round 4 time period, the City has increased its capacity to collect and analyze data on the City’s homelessness population and use of system resources. While the HHAP Round 3 application data was largely County-centric, the HHAP Round 4 application data is now largely Anaheim-centric.
Cal ICH released the HHAP 4 application on September 30, 2022. State statute mandated applications in their various forms be submitted by November 30, 2022, with an optional 60-day grace period to submit a final, revised application. General outcome goals needed to complete the application were released by the CoC on November 10, 2022. To ensure a complete and thoughtful application, City staff elected to take the option of submitting a preliminary draft of our Round 4 application to Cal ICH and resubmit a revised application following presentation to the Housing and Community Development Commission and City Council. The City’s preliminary application was submitted successfully on November 30, 2022, triggering an automatic 60-day extension. State statute does not require local governing boards to take action on the application, however the application must be agendized at a local governing board meeting and available for public comment.
Highlights of the Anaheim HHAP 4 Application
Anaheim Landscape Analysis
The first part of the Anaheim HHAP application provides a landscape analysis based on data from the 2022 PIT Count and HMIS. The base year of the HHAP 3 application and the City Homelessness Action Plan drafted during Round 3 was 2019; making 2022 the first year in which the City has available data to gauge its progress towards meeting goals. The data from 2022 indicated that overall homelessness has decreased in the city by approximately 11% from 2019 to 2022. City- and County-run shelters are currently hosting 16% more people than in 2019, marking progress towards the City’s goal to connect more unsheltered residents to available resources. For the first time, the City of Anaheim has HMIS data from all City-funded homelessness response programs to begin to track progress in resource utilization and effectiveness. The data provided in this application round placed emphasis on increasing system equity for overrepresented demographic populations including Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native households.
As shown in the HHAP 4 application, the City has actively worked to create a comprehensive system of care that includes street outreach, shelter, work force development opportunities, and permanent affordable and supportive housing. The Housing and Community Development Department continues to build upon this strong foundation by refining our programs using a qualitative- and data-informed approach.
Outcome Goals for the Planning Period 2021-2024
As part of the planning process, staff also completed an analysis of funding resources.
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 HHAP 4 Application
January 10, 2023
addressing homelessness involves responses from all City Departments including but not limited to Police, Fire, Public Works, and Community Services.
For outcome goals, staff in partnership with the CoC addressed the following priority areas identified by the State (planning period is 2022-25):
Reducing the number of persons experiencing homelessness overall with a focus on impacted homelessness among Hispanic households
Reducing the number of persons experiencing homelessness on a daily basis with a focus on adding capacity to address homelessness for American Indian and Alaskan Native households
Reducing the number of people who become homeless for the first time with an emphasis on quickly returning Hispanic households to stable housing Increasing the number of people who exit homelessness into permanent housing with a focus on impacted homelessness among transition-aged youth Reducing length of time persons remain homeless with a focus on Black, Black American, and African American households
Reducing the number of persons who return to homelessness after exiting homelessness with increased monitoring and capacity for Hispanic households Increasing successful placement from street outreach by targeting relevant resources towards Black, Black American, and African American households At the time of application submission, Cal ICH had not yet released funding allocations to applying entities, citing a delay in verified PIT Count numbers from the Housing and Urban Development Department. Based on approximate percentage estimates of the final allocation, the HHAP 4 spending plan outlines the eligible use activities that will have a meaningful impact on addressing homelessness. These activities are as follows:
Proposed Programming % of Allocation Use Category
Upcoming motel acquisition and
rehabilitation; purchase of property to
create transition-aged youth housing
35% Delivery of Permanent
Housing
Rental Assistance for City Attorney’s
court diversion pilot participants 2% Rapid Rehousing
Operating reserves and subsidies for
Homekey project conversion to
permanent housing
15% Operating Subsidies
Expansion of street outreach housing
capacity 10% Street Outreach
Operating costs for workforce
connection program 10% Systems Support
Operating and rental assistance costs
for Senior Safety Net program
3% Prevention and
Diversion
Operating subsidies for emergency
shelters 25% Interim Sheltering
The proposed spending plan presented in the application is subject to adjustment based on needs identified during the planning and implementation period.
HHAP 4 Application
January 10, 2023
The full proposed application, in substantial form, is attached for review. Public comment as well as directions from City Council will be used to modify the application prior to resubmission to the State. The HHAP Round 4 application is due for resubmission by January 27, 2023.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
If any grant funds are awarded, the Housing & Community Development Department’s FY 2022/23 Homeless Housing and Emergency Rental Assistance Fund budget will be increased commensurate with the grant funds awarded.
Respectfully submitted,
Grace Ruiz-Stepter
Housing & Community Development Director
Attachment:
1. Draft Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 4 Application