Life Enrichment Committee
November 28, 2022
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Edward D. Reiskin FROM: Estelle Clemons
City Administrator Interim Director, Human
Services
SUBJECT: Oakland HHAP-4 Application DATE: November 21, 2022
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report On The City’s Homeless Housing Assistance And Prevention Program (HHAP-4) Application For State Funding
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The information in this report is a requirement of the application for HHAP-4 funds and must be submitted to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) on or before November 29, 2022. The application will be finalized after receiving feedback from the state body on the appropriateness of the systemwide performance goals and Oakland Local Action Plan, an implementation plan for Oakland’s homelessness funding in FY2022-23. City Council is required to receive this report in a public meeting.
The Oakland Local Action Plan is currently under review and will be presented during the full council meeting on December 20, 2022.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
HHAP 4 is a $1 billion dollar block grant program offered by the State of California to assist local governments in their response to the statewide homelessness crisis. These funds are a continuation of previous one-time funding from the state including Homeless Emergency Assistance Program (HEAP), and HHAP allocations 1, 2 and 3. The funds are designed to support local jurisdictions to continue building upon what has been developed through previous rounds of State funding. HHAP funds are administered at the State level by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH). In Alameda County, HHAP allocations are allotted to Alameda County, the Continuum of Care (supported by Everyone Home) and the City of Oakland. Advocacy at the state by a coalition of California big city mayors resulted in direct allocations to cities.
Nov 22, 2022
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Oakland HHAP 4 Application
Date: November 21, 2022 Page 2
Life Enrichment Committee
November 28, 2022
However, the state requires the planning for these funds to be coordinated and will be assessing performance based on shared measures across all funds in the County.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
As part of the HHAP-4 application process, a jurisdiction must create draft system-wide performance goals for addressing homelessness. These goals must be publicly noticed and heard before a governing body for review and input. In Alameda County, the three HHAP jurisdictions (City, County, Continuum of Care) were directed by the State to collaborate on a single set of systemwide performance goals for addressing homelessness county wide. These goals are based on County-Wide metrics the State has provided through their Homeless Data Integration system (HDIS).
The Oakland Local Action Plan is also part of the HHAP-4 application and is an implementation plan for addressing homelessness in Oakland in FY 22-23. While the PATH (Permanent Access to Housing) Framework, crafted in late 2019, provided the overall goals, strategies and investments needed to dramatically reduce homelessness in Oakland over a five-year period, the purpose of this Oakland Local Action Plan is to bridge the gap between those broad goals and what is achievable with resources currently allocated and expected. The Oakland Local Action Plan is intended to be a companion document to the countywide Home Together Plan and outlines Oakland’s specific role in addressing homelessness locally, which contributes to the larger countywide efforts. These efforts support the Citywide priorities of housing, economic, and cultural security. Oakland has approximately fifty (50) percent of Alameda County’s homeless population, so the City of Oakland must be a leader in the work to address this crisis.
While the work described in the Local Action Plan is closely aligned with the Home Together Plan, it is responsive to the specific needs of Oaklanders particularly the need to address the disproportionately impacted Black population. In an effort to set realistic, measurable goals, the Local Action Plan focuses primarily on strategies, resources, and expected outcomes in through 2024.
FISCAL IMPACT
This is an informational report and does not have a fiscal impact.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
No outreach was deemed necessary for the informational report beyond the standard City Council noticing procedures.
COORDINATION
Coordination has occurred between the Human Services Department and the City Administrator’s Office in the preparation of this report.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Oakland HHAP 4 Application
Date: November 21, 2022 Page 3
Life Enrichment Committee
November 28, 2022
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: The Home Together Plan is focused on strategies to provide housing and services to the homeless to eliminate and prevent homelessness.
Environmental: The provision of housing for at-risk and homeless persons is intended to address the environmental degradation caused by homeless families and individuals precariously housed or living on the streets.
Race & Equity: In Oakland, the drivers of homelessness fall most squarely on the backs of the African American community who, due to long standing structurally racist practices such as red lining and employment discrimination, are most vulnerable to losing their homes. Ending homelessness in Oakland must be defined by what works for African Americans first and foremost in order to reduce the racial disparities.
These drivers of homelessness include:
• Structural racism
• Insufficient controls on the rental housing market that create vulnerability and housing instability for tenants
• Insufficient housing units that are affordable to households with the lowest incomes, including particularly those whose incomes are below twenty (20) percent of Area Median Income (AMI)
• Systematic barriers that often prevent residents who are returning home from incarceration from living with family members and/or accessing both public and private rental housing and employment opportunities
The Home Together Plan seeks to center racial equity in the County’s response to homelessness and has reducing racial disparities as a primary goal of the plan.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Oakland HHAP 4 Application
Date: November 21, 2022 Page 4
Lif
e Enrichment Committee
November 28, 2022
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report On The City’s Homeless Housing Assistance And Prevention Program (HHAP-4) Application For State Funding
For questions regarding this report, please contact C’Mone Falls, Community Homelessness Services Acting Manager at (510) 238-6186.
Res
pectfully submitted,
Es
telle Clemons
Interim Director, Human Services Department
Pr
epared by:
C’Mone Falls, Acting Manager
Community Homelessness Services Division