1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 15, 2022
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director VIA: Simone McFarland, Assistant Community Development Director BY: Marcos Gonzalez, Housing Development Manager
SUBJECT: Update on the City of Burbank Homelessness Efforts – Annual Progress Report
RECOMMENDATION
Note and file.
BACKGROUND
In December 2017, the City of Burbank (City) began implementing the Council adopted three-year (2018- 2021) Homelessness Plan (Plan). The attached A nnual Progress Report (Attachment 1) discusses the work completed under the Plan as well as progress on the work that continues. An updated Homelessness Plan will be presented to Council in April 2022.
The City has worked diligently over the last three years under the existing Plan, to meet the needs of its unhoused residents and created an award-winning homeless outreach program. Significant investments have been made to develop resources in outreach, housing, shelter, mental health, storage, prevention, and public health. The Annual Progress Report describes many of the City’s accomplishments during this period. Some of these successes include:
Engagement
• Increasing our communication with the community through the launch of 3-1-1, Our Burbank application (A City Manager Office, Public Information Office, and Information Technology collaboration).
• Forming an action-oriented network of health and service providers whose primary purpose is to deliver care and referrals to people experiencing homelessness.
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 • Completing two public educational videos on Burbank’s approach to addressing homelessness and challenges – “The Power of Connecting” and a Spectrum News Report on homelessness that was broadcasted to spectrum subscribers.
Shelter/Health First
• Developing a health and housing first prioritization system for the unhoused while finding permanent solutions.
• Continuing to provide shelter first strategies to people experiencing homelessness or people living in encampments. To date, m ore than 130 persons have been housed or reunited with their loved ones.
• Hiring of a social worker co- located within the Central Library and Joslyn Adult Center in partnership with Library Services an d the Parks and Recreation Department.
Special Programs
• Establishing and expanding the use of the SAFE and HELP Center (homeless storage center) and creating a calendar of monthly events and services with the support of the Salvation Army and community partners.
• Providing additional support to the street outreach program by adding a second Homeless Services Liaison to Streetplus city-wide services
Community Partners/Funding
• Working together to implement the H omelessness Plan with our community partners, such as Home Again L.A. (formerly Family Promise of the Verdugos) , Burbank Temporary Aid Center , Burbank Housing Corporation, Family Service Agency, Providence St. Joseph Medical Center , Salvation Army, Streetplus, housing property managers and landlords, and more.
• Advocating for funding from local, state, and federal agencies for implementation of our homeless efforts.
Lastly, in 2021, the City was awarded multiple grants from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center to support our homeless efforts. These funds totaled $250,000 and were instrumental in contracting a homeless and health provider to launch two new programs:
• Wrap Around Case Management
• Mobile Tele-Health Outreach
The core mission of these programs is to continue building trusting relationships and triage the service and health needs of the unhoused with a higher level of need and monitor their severe or chronic physical and mental conditions. The commencement of these programs is scheduled for spring 2022.
DISCUSSION
The City recognizes that there are still significant gaps in resources, services, and capacity for homeless services that require continued focus. Therefore, the City engaged Lesar Development Consultants to identify gaps and assist us in the planning process for a new five-year Homelessness Plan. As part of the process, the City engaged with a 3 diverse set of stakeholders and community members. Feedback from the stakeholder meetings highlighted various strengths and challenges in our current response. In early April 2022, City staff will present an updated five-year plan and will lay out the action areas, strategies, and metrics that we propose to implement for the next five years.
Further, the City will continue its commitment to the seven policy statements introduced and approved by City Council in August of 2021. These statements act as our guiding homeless principles
Policy Statement #1 : Burbank takes a holistic, humane approach in supporting people experiencing homelessness by acknowledging that homelessness is an extremely complex social dilemma that impacts the quality of life in our community.
Policy Statement #2 : Burbank’s response to homelessness requires being Compassionate & Smart (Compassionate: by understanding that homeless are human beings and as such, a part of our community who may need help, and Smart: Protecting the City and its residents through legal enforcement).
Policy Statement #3: Burbank supports a variety of pathways to housing for people experiencing homelessness including shelters, transitional housing, and motel vouchers along with navigation centers and permanent supportive housing.
Policy Statement #4 : Recognizing that homelessness has no jurisdictional boundaries, Burbank will help alleviate the homeless crisis by supporting federal and regional homeless strategies that are aligned with our Homeless strategy and listed within our Legislative Platform including advocating for legislation and funding for homelessness and mental health services.
Policy Statement #5: The City of Burbank is committed to working closely with the Burbank Unified School District to address the needs of our students and families experiencing homelessness.
Policy Statement #6: The City of Burbank is committed to providing annual updates and making information accessible so the public can be informed of the City’s current efforts to address homelessness and our progress in meeting our objectives.
Policy Statement #7 : In accordance with the policy statements described above, and while acknowledging that there are significant legal and financial obstacles, the City of Burbank is committed to reducing the number of Burbank’s unsheltered homeless population identified in the 2022 Los Angeles County Homeless Count by 50% before the end of 2027. (Example: If the unsheltered homeless during the 2022 Homeless Count is 200, Burbank will find housing, shelter and/or return to th eir loved ones 100 people by 2027)
The objective of the policy statements is to help set the compass for the development of the five-year Homelessness Plan. These policies can also be used to gain support from 4 all public and private groups and agencies as it takes strategic partnerships and several teams to address homelessness.
Lastly, with the development of the new Plan, staff will be including measurable goals and a new progress report template that will be presented to the City Council on an annual basis to review how we are progressing.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact at this time. Fiscal impacts to the City will be analyzed with the implementation of the new five-year Homelessness Plan.
CONCLUSION
The City has been able to create strategic partnerships and collaboration across various systems in order to make significant strides in delivering services and housing to the unhoused, veterans, families, youth, and people experiencing chronic homelessness.
These efforts will continue under the new five-year Homelessness Plan that will be presented to Council in April 2022.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1: Annual Progress Report