ITEM 6B
Coachella Valley Association of Governments
Homelessness Committee
April 20, 2022
STAFF REPORT
Subject: CV Housing First: First Quarter Report for 2022
Contact: Anyse Smith, Management Analyst ([email protected])
Recommendation: Information
Background: CVAG is now in its second year of operating the CV Housing First program with staff. The program is focused on the CV200, a by-name list of chronically homeless individuals residing in desert cities that have frequent contacts with law enforcement and who are likely to be shelter resistant or who have already fallen out of housing. The list was developed in partnership with CVAG’s member jurisdictions and local law enforcement.
CVAG staff has committed to adjusting CV Housing First programming based on the data, and provides quarterly updates to its members about the program. The CV Housing First team uses two primary methods to get clients to housing solutions: rapid resolution and crisis stabilization units:
• Rapid resolution is an urgent, cost -saving solution that the Housing First staff use to help overcome the barriers that keep people from getting housing. This could include options such as helping them secure their identifying paperwork, which then can help them qualify for benefits. It also includes sorting out the process for housing, medical, mental health, substance abuse, employment, and mainstream benefits.
• The crisis stabilization units allow CVAG to connect CV200 individuals to housing. These are apartments and hotel rooms where clients stay, generally up to 90 days, that keep them off the streets. Through case management and frequent interactions with the team, CVAG is helping them achieve the goal of permanent housing, programs, and family reunifications On a weekly basis, staff also conducts valley-wide coordinated outreach, and participates in regular planning meetings with law enforcement, healthcare providers, county behavioral health teams, and other service providers. In the first year, 75 CV200 clients were in permanent housing solutions and another 32 non-CV200 clients were housed.
CVAG staff will continue to provide quarterly reports as it provides services in 2022. In the first quarter of 2022, 15 CV200 clients were in permanent housing solutions and another seven non-CV200 clients were housed. This represents a small uptick in statistics as compared to the latter half of 2021.
CV Housing First Clients – By the Numbers through March 31, 2022
CV200 as of 3/31/2022 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TOTAL
Clients housed in Crisis Stabilization Units
(CSH) 33 33
Clients being helped through Rapid Resolution
(RR) 0 0
Clients returned to the street (failures) 5 5
Clients moved into permanent housing from
CSH (successes) 15 15
Clients moved into permanent housing through
RR (successes) 0 0
TOTAL HOUSED FROM LIST OF 200 15 15
NON CV200 as of 3/31/2022 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TOTAL
Households Housed in CSH Units 1 1
Households being helped through RR 6 6
Households returned to the street (failures) 0 0
Households moved into permanent housing
from CSH (successes) 1 1
Households moved into permanent housing
from RR (successes) 6 6
TOTAL HOUSEHOLDS HOUSED 7 7
TOTAL INDIVIDUALS HOUSED 7 7
CVAG staff continues to track program metrics, such as the length of stay in the units. For the first quarter, the CV200 clients who successfully exited the program into permanent housing stayed in a crisis stabilization unit for 69 days. Those CV200 clients who exited the program unsuccessfully stayed 115 days. This is longer than CVAG staff aims to keep clients in the units. However, this quarter’s figures – based on five people – were skewed by a couple of individuals who could not secure housing based on their low voucher level and no credit history. CVAG staff had hoped to not disrupt their progress by finding a solution, but had to exit them to emergency shelters when it became apparent no permanent solution would be found.
Throughout the year, CVAG staff also added additional program metrics to track the permanent housing resolutions. Knowing the type of housing where clients resolve will help with identifying future opportunities and options for housing, while also highlighting where we face challenges in finding placement for clients. Of the 15 permanent housing resolutions in the f irst quarter, the breakdown of clients’ Exit Destination is as follows:
• Family/Friends – 0
• Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) – 2
• Rental With Ongoing Subsidy (Low Income Senior Housing) – 1 • Rental With Ongoing Subsidy (VASH Voucher) – 0
• Rental With Ongoing Subsidy (Housing Choice Voucher) – 6 • Rental with No Ongoing Subsidy - 5
• Rapid Rehousing - 1
• Shared Housing - 0
CVAG staff will continue to track the housing status of permanently resolved clients at the six - and 12- month period after they were initially housed to determine which clients still remain in housing and which have returned to homelessness. For the clients who are still in housing or who have been recently housed, CVHF staff remains ready and available to assist with providing supportive services and linkages to services to prevent a return to homelessness.
Fiscal Analysis: The CV Housing First program, including the staffing and CV200 program, is incorporated into the CV Housing First budget, which has been funded by contributions from cities, Riverside County, the Desert Healthcare District/Foundation, and grants.