AR 3 SUPPLEMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE — Pasadena City Council, January 10, 2022

Martinez, Ruben
From: Sonja Berndt <
Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2022 8:49ĂM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse; Jomsky, Mark; Gordo, Victor; Hampton, Tyron; Kennedy, John J.; Madison, Steve; Masuda, Gene; Rivas, Jessica; Williams, Felicia; Wilson, Andy Cc:

Subject: City Council Meeting 1/10/2022 Correspondence Agenda #3-Motel Vouchers Attachments: CC Mtg. 1.10.22. Item 3. Motel Vouchers.pdf; Attachment 1. 11.2.21 PRA Response (1).pdf; Attachment 2. PRA-Motel Vouchers FINAL.pdf
CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more....

Dear Mayor Gordo, Members of the City Council, Mr. Jomsky & City Clerk Staff:

Attached please find a letter with two attachments related to the 1/10/2022 City Council Meeting Agenda Item #3 -- Motel Vouchers. Please ensure that it is made a part of the public record (as one document) on that item. Thank you.

Sonja K. Berndt
Pasadena
01/10/2022
Item 3
SONJA K. BERNDT
Pasadena, CA 91107
[email protected]
January 9, 2022
Mayor Victor Gordo
Members of the Pasadena City Council
Pasadena, CA
(By email)
Re: City Council Meeting 1/10/2022 Agenda Item #3: Authorization to Amend Contracts with Union Station Homeless Services and Sycamores for Additional Funding for the Provision of Motel Vouchers
Dear Mayor Gordo and Councilmembers:

A. Introduction
Recently, Mayor Gordo urged our community on as follows: "With your help, we will continue to focus our efforts on strengthening our community, supporting our most vulnerable, and creatively and collectively addressing our challenges." ("Mayor Gordo Reviews 2021, Says Faced With Challenges, Community Worked Together," Pasadena Now, 12/31/2021, emphasis added.) Our unsheltered residents are extremely vulnerable due to substantial chronic health conditions; undiagnosed and untreated mental illness; substance use disorders; malnutrition, and/or other substantial problems, including threats to their personal safety. (See Pasadena Homeless Count--2020, pp. 23-25.) Agenda item #3 on the Consent Calendar seeks authorization to increase funding for two contracts: one with Union Station Homeless Services and one with Sycamores. Staff states these funds will be used (1) to support the City's scattered site motel "voucher" interim housing program and (2) to "support the provision of" weather-activated motel- based shelter services this winter. Staff notes that all of the requested funds, "ESG-CV" funding, are from the federal government. Staff also asks the Council to authorize the City Manager to increase funding on these two contracts for motel vouchers for our unsheltered residents, if such federal funds become available, i.e., if by chance the federal government gives the City more money.

I do not oppose the request. But the Council needs to understand and acknowledge that these meager funds will do very little to shelter our nearly 300 unsheltered residents who, undoubtedly, are among our most vulnerable residents. Our City cannot simply continue to move small amounts of federal funds to third parties for an expensive and inefficient 1 interim housing model that fails to provide basic shelter for the majority of our unsheltered residents.

Councilmember Hampton has advised community members that our City's motel voucher interim housing program, as well as a discussion of other forms of interim housing our City could be implementing, will come back to the Economic Development & Technology ("ED Tech") Committee in March. But that will be too late to avoid the needless suffering our unsheltered residents will experience this winter during inclement weather. The Council needs to act NOW and approve funding from our General Fund to shelter all who need it this winter and not simply wait to see if, and when, the federal government will provide additional funding.

B. Background
Interim housing, also referred to as "bridge" housing, provides shelter from the time a person exits life on the street until he or she obtains permanent housing, which can take up to a year. Interim housing involves intensive case management services which are critical to ensuring a successful transition to permanent housing. There are various types of interim housing available: "tiny shelter" communities (small single or double- occupancy cabins), re-purposed motels, congregate shelters, and "scattered site" motel "vouchers" (i.e., individual motel rooms in various motels throughout a region).

Our City's scattered-site motel voucher program shelters only a fraction of our unsheltered residents. Scattered-site motel vouchers are expensive-according to Housing Department staff, the City spends an average of $100 per night solely for the room, not including the funds required for services. Of critical importance, once a person uses a voucher, it is gone. With other types of interim housing such as tiny shelter communities and motel conversions to interim housing, once a client obtains permanent housing, their unit, as well as onsite services, become available for the next person in need of interim housing. Significantly, these other types of interim housing can be more cost effective to operate and services are provided more efficiently at a single site.' In the December 6, 2021 response to my second Public Records Act ("PRA") request, staff stated the following: "...[T]he City does not have sufficient resources to meet the shelter needs of all who need it on a nightly basis. Motel vouchers for everyone is not a viable or practical solution for several reasons. Scattered-site, motel-based shelter without on-site services is not a shelter model that appropriately meets the needs of all unsheltered persons. A variety of shelter models, including congregate shelters and ' Casa Luna (motel conversion): operating expense of $87.00 per person per day, including intensive case management services (Casa-Luna-H2H-Case-Study_8-4-21.pdf (endhomelessness.org), p. 3); Esperanza Villa (Baldwin Park tiny shelter community): operating expense of $87.00 per person per day including intensive case management services (per Brielle Acevedo from SGV Regional Housing Trust). 2 transitional housing for certain populations, is needed to meet the varying needs of the City's homeless population." (See Attachment 1, emphasis added.) Community members agree. Our City must provide a variety of shelter models in addition to the motel voucher program in order to meet the varying needs of our unsheltered population.

At the December 8, 2021 ED Tech meeting, committee members were concerned about insufficient funds for motel rooms to shelter our residents both on the longer-term basis while awaiting permanent housing and as emergency shelter for bad weather this winter.

Councilmember Rivas stated "So it looks like you're coming back to us as needed to bolster these funds. I look forward to seeing that if necessary: " Ms. O'Reilly Jones responded "We'll be there." (Timestamp: 1:11:00.)' Councilmember Hampton also stated "Sounds as though this is going to be fluid and as you need money you will be coming back to us or at least ask the City Manager 'for discretion.' I definitely support making sure that anyone who needs vouchers receives one and is off the street into a warm space." (Timestamp: 1:16:00.)
C. Lack of Transparency/Lack of Accountability
At the December 8' ED Tech meeting, committee members questioned how the money allocated by the City for motel vouchers has been spent. Among the various information requests, Vice Mayor Wilson requested staff to provide the total number of motel nights, by location, used for interim housing. He stated the City is spending over $2 million and should be tracking where the money is spent. (Timestamp: 55:00.) The City's motel voucher interim housing program continues to lack transparency and accountability and this current request for funding is the latest evidence of that:
• How have Union Station and Sycamores as well as Friends In Deed and the Department of Public Health spent the federal/state funds already received from the City for motel vouchers and is there any money left on those contracts? • How many of our UNSHELTERED residents received interim housing through motel vouchers last year as they waited many months for permanent housing and how long were each of the motel stays?
• What case management services did those persons who received interim housing through motel vouchers last year receive and what was the cost for those services? • How many of our hundreds of UNSHELTERED residents received motel shelter during bad weather last December as well as December 2020-March 2021? • Is it still the City's plan to use federal funding to shelter only "the most vulnerable" vulnerable residents of our City and how are these decisions made? 2 Timestamp references herein are approximate.

Answers to these questions are vital if we are to understand how many people we are actually helping and how many are being left out. According to Rabbi Grater from Friends In Deed, it is their goal this winter to have 15 motel rooms available on any given night of bad weather, and he is unsure whether even that many rooms will be available. (Guest Opinion by Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater: "How We are Providing Shelter this Winter," Pasadena Now, 12/21/2021.)
D. The Interim Housing Needs of our Unsheltered Residents Requires Urgent Attention and Action from this City Council
According to the Housing Department's July 12, 2021 response to my first PRA request, the Department's FY 2022 Adopted Budget "includes $835,344 for motel vouchers and other interim housing." The chart the Department provided me shows that none of those funds are from the city's General Fund. (See Attachment 2.) Our City's plan for our unsheltered folks, apparently, is simply to expend funds received from our federal and state governments and from Los Angeles County (Measure H).

Our Housing Department gets a scant $1.475 million from the General Fund while our Police Department gets over $84 million from the General Fund. The Police Department received so much money last fiscal year that it had purported operational "savings" of $2.3 million, which the City Council allowed to be used to remodel its headquarters and replace its functioning mobile operations center. And when the City received $26 million from the federal government in American Rescue Plan Act funds, the Council allocated more money for the traffic signal at Orange Grove Boulevard and Craig Avenue than for interim housing for our unsheltered neighbors. These are only two of the many, many examples I could give. Time after time, community members watch this Council approve very substantial General Fund expenditures for items/programs deemed worthy of funding from our General Fund. What could be more worthy than alleviating human suffering, and possible death, by sheltering our residents living on the street? E. Conclusion
Shelter is critical to the safety, health, mental health and wellbeing of our unsheltered residents. Please authorize funding from our General Fund to shelter all unsheltered residents who need shelter in inclement weather this winter. Additionally, please agendize, on an urgent basis, the development of alternative interim housing models in our City including, but not limited to, a tiny shelter community in our City. Thank you.

Sincerely,
/s/
Sonja K. Berndt, Esq. (retired)
Cc: William Huang, Director Pasadena Housing Department 4 Public Records Act Request to Pasadena Department of Housing Submitted by Sonja K. Berndt on November 2, 2021

DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this Public Records Act Request, the following definitions apply:
"Department" means the Pasadena Department of Housing.
"Documents" means "any handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, photocopying, transmitting by electronic mail or facsimile, and every other means of recording upon any tangible thing any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combinations thereof, and any record thereby created, regardless of the manner in which the record has been stored." (See Gov. Code, §6252, subd. (g).) "Shelter models" refers to the following: a congregate shelter that provides for lodging overnight inside a structure; or a "tiny shelter," aka "tiny home," aka "Pallet shelter;" or an entire motel, hotel or similar structure re-purposed for housing persons experiencing homelessness; or motel vouchers issued for use at motels/hotels in "scattered sites;" or a single-family or multi-family residence; or group home.
"Unsheltered persons" refers to persons whose primary nighttime location is a public or private place not designated for, or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (i.e. the streets, abandoned buildings, vehicles, or parks).

DOCUMENT REQUESTS
For the time period covering June 1, 2021, to the date you respond to this request, please produce the following documents:

1. Documents prepared by or at the direction of the Department to respond to Councilmember Tyron Hampton's June 2021 inquiry as to whether the City of Pasadena has sufficient motel vouchers to meet the housing needs of unsheltered persons located in Pasadena.

There are no public records that meet these criteria at this time. However, as is apparent by the number of individuals sleeping on our streets on any giving night, the City does not have sufficient resources to meet the shelter needs of all who need it on a nightly basis. Motel vouchers for everyone is not a viable or practical 1 solution for several reasons. Scattered-site, motel-based shelter without on-site services is not a shelter model that appropriately meets the needs of all unsheltered persons. A variety of shelter models, including congregate shelters and transitional housing for certain populations, is needed to meet the varying needs of the City's homeless population. Additionally, even if the City were to have sufficient funding to provide motel stays for its entire unsheltered homeless population, motel vouchers for all would not be viable as this type of resource is also constrained by service provider staffing and administrative capacity as well as the participation of local landlords. Motel-based shelter generally is provided within a scattered-site model, rather than at a single motel as we saw with Project Roomkey, which places significant demands on service providers who continue to work with program participants for their duration of their motel stay. Although the value of shelter cannot be understated from humanitarian and personal and public health standpoints, it is critical to develop a well-balanced homelessness response system which includes an optimal ratio of permanent housing resources to shelter resources in order to allow rapid and regular turnover of shelter "beds" (spots in any type of shelter program). An imbalanced system, as we currently have in Pasadena and across the region, creates bottle necks as people wait for many months or more than a year for scarce permanent housing resources, which ultimately reduces the number of people that existing shelter resources can serve.

2. All documents considered in preparing documents responsive to Request #1, above, including, but not limited to, expense projections for both room/unit costs and services.

There are no public records that meet these criteria. However, budgeting for motel voucher program is informed by available grant funding. The Department uses $100/ro0m/night as an average rate for budgeting and planning purposes. This average is based on the actual costs of motel stays funded by the City through six different agencies which utilize various motel throughout Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley.

3. All documents referencing the housing needs and/or unmet needs of persons located in Pasadena who are unsheltered.

There are no public records which meet this criteria at this time. However, a community needs assessment of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness was conducted in lieu of the 2021 unsheltered homeless count and the report is being finalized. A date has not been set for its release. The primary finding of this report, that permanent housing is the greatest need, further supports the City's efforts to continue to strive to make our homeless response system more balanced in order to reduce the average length of time people experience homelessness in Pasadena and maximize existing shelter resources.

4. All documents referencing shelter models the City of Pasadena considered to meet the housing needs and/or unmet needs of unsheltered persons located in Pasadena other than motel vouchers including, but not limited to, expense projections for both room/unit costs and services.

There are no public records that meet these criteria.

5. All documents referencing and/or evidencing the City of Pasadena's 2021/2022 plan for emergency shelter for unsheltered persons located in Pasadena when rain and/or low overnight temperatures are forecasted.

There are no public records that meet these criteria. However, the City is working with three non-profit service providers, including Friends In Deed, as well as the Public Health Department to create a coordinated response of weather-activated motel vouchers in lieu of the Bad Weather Shelter this year. The Public Health Department started providing additional motel vouchers on a weather-activated basis in November 2021, and Friends In Deed will be in January 2022.

Department of Housing - 649 N. Fair Oaks Avenue, Suite 202, Pasadena, CA 91103

RESPONSE TO PUBLIC RECORDS ACT (PRA) REQUEST
PRA case number: #1633€
Submittal date: 7/12/21
Submitted by: Sonja Berndt

1. QUESTION: The number of unsheltered in Pasadena as of the January 2020 homeless count was 295. Since we did not conduct a homeless count in 2021, what is the Department's current best estimate of the number of unsheltered persons in our City, recognizing that some unsheltered persons have received shelter this past year and other persons have become unsheltered this year? RESPONSE: The Housing Department does not maintain an ongoing estimate of the number of unsheltered persons in our City at any given time. The most recent tally we have of the unsheltered homeless population is from the 2020 Homeless Count. We will be conducting an unsheltered homeless count again in late January 2021.

2. QUESTION: Approximately how much of the Housing Department's entire FY 2022 operating budget is available for motel-voucher interim housing (or other types of interim housing) for our unsheltered residents, recognizing some funds in the Department are restricted for certain purposes? Please identify the source of those funds (e.g., government or other grant) as well as the particular fund (e.g., Community Development Block Grant). (See, e.g., Slide 6 from your budget PowerPoint presentation on June 21st which has a list of "Expenses by Fund.") RESPONSE: The Department's FY 2022 Adopted Budget is $40,657,914.

Hypothetically, $1,194,244 of grant funding within the budget could be used for motel vouchers or other interim housing. Currently $835,344 is earmarked for interim housing, primarily for motel vouchers specifically. City staff take many factors into consideration when determining what type of homeless services to fund including grant terms such as expenditure deadlines and set eligible activities, current system and provider capacity, and the current landscape of existing homeless services funded by both the City and other entities such as County departments. The Department and the Pasadena Continuum of Care continue to prioritize the creation and expansion of new and existing permanent housing resources in addition to providing interim housing. Ultimately permanent housing ends a person's homelessness, unlike interim housing. Additionally, a balanced system of services, which includes both interim housing and permanent housing resources, is necessary to move people out of homelessness quickly.

3. QUESTION: Of the total amount in Question 2, how much does the Housing Department currently intend to use for motel-voucher interim housing (or other interim housing) for unsheltered persons as opposed to other Housing Department initiatives such as rental assistance, affordable housing, etc.? RESPONSE: The Department's FY 2022 Adopted Budget of $40,657,914 includes $835,344 for motel vouchers and other interim housing. The very large majority of these funds are for motel vouchers, and a smaller portion (under $100,000) is for the Bad Weather Shelter. It is important to note that the adopted budget is revised several times throughout the fiscal year. The budget that is initially approved by City Council is staff's best estimate for the upcoming fiscal year. Particularly for the Supportive Housing Division, which oversees homeless services grant funding, these numbers are subject to change significantly because the City has not usually received its grant allocations for the upcoming fiscal year at the time budget is initially drafted. Staff utilizes figures from the current fiscal year to estimate the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, but these figures often need to be revised considerably.

Adopted FY 2022 Housing Department Budget Available for Interim Housing

FUND GRANT SOURCE INTERIM

HOUSING
224 Emergency Solutions Grant U.S Dept. of $70,559
(ESG)- annual allocation Housing and Urban
Development
(HUD)
224 ESG-CV (CARES Act) U.S Dept. of $500,000
Housing and Urban
Development
(HUD)
238 Measure H LA County tax $101,313
revenue
238 Homeless Housing, Assistance, State of California $209,031 and Prevention
and Her ences
Agency (BCSH)

4. QUESTION: Significantly, it was just announced publicly that California will provide funding for income-qualified persons to cover rent that accrued, but was not paid, due to COVID-19-related reasons. Does this mean that more of the Housing Department's budget can now be used to shelter our unsheltered population through interim housing? If not, why not?
2 RESPONSE: Yes, this is correct. The Department currently has $500k of ESG-CV funds set aside for homelessness prevention activities. In response to the availability of federal funding for emergency rental assistance administered to Pasadena residents by the State of California, the Department intends to reprogram this funding for motel vouchers. A portion of this funding will transferred to the Public Health Department to be utilized for motel vouchers by the PORT team in addition to the GEM and TAY Link programs. The remainder will be reprogrammed to augment existing motel voucher contracts with local non-profit service providers.

5. QUESTION: What is the daily rate, per person, the Housing Department uses to determine funding needs for the motel-voucher interim housing program? RESPONSE: The Department utilized $100 per room per night as the rate to calculate the budget for the Scattered Site Emergency Motel Program, which has provided shelter for vulnerable individuals throughout the last year of the pandemic. This figure was roughly the average of nightly rates found in invoices submitted to the City by multiple non-profit agencies for other contracted motel voucher programs. However most motel voucher programs are selected through an RFP or similar process, in which proposers submit their own budget. Some agencies have established relationships with local motels that have allowed them to secure lower nightly rates than other agencies.

6. QUESTION: You mentioned in your budget presentation to the City Council that Pasadena is expected to receive $3 million in HOME funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Is this $3 million part of the $26 million the City of Pasadena recently received in ARPA funding or is it in addition to the $26 million the City received?
RESPONSE-6: The $3 million of HOME funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act (HOME-ARP) is distinct from the $26 million that the City will receive from American Rescue Plan Act which was allocated to various uses at the August 16 City Council meeting.

7. QUESTION: You mentioned in your budget presentation that the $3 million in HOME funds referenced above are to address homelessness in general. Does the Housing Department intend that any of these specific funds will be used for interim housing such as motel vouchers and, if so, approximately how much? RESPONSE-7: The Department has not yet determined how the HOME-ARP funds will be utilized. We are awaiting final guidelines from HUD regarding the specifics of these HOME funds, which were authorized by the American Rescue Plan and will have different eligible uses and restrictions.
3 Martinez, Ruben
From:

Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2022 9:53 AM
To: Gordo, Victor; Madison, Steve; Rivas, Jessica; Masuda, Gene; Williams, Felicia; Hampton, Tyron; Kennedy, John J.; PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: Item #3: Emergency shelter during bad weather for our homeless neighbors CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more...

Dear Mayor Gordo and City Council members,
I want to wish you all a happy New Year. I hope you had a wonderful time with your friends and family over the holidays.

As you know, not all are as fortunate as we are. It was very disheartening to see homeless people on the streets of our city during this cold, rainy December. To get a sense of what this was like, I recommend watching this video in which the director of Hope of the Valley spends 100 hours on the street along with a colleague to find out what it feels like to be homeless, and how homelessness affects us physically and psychologically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqWVCvS9h1A. I have slept overnight on the streets of our city on a couple of occasions to see what it's like and I can testify that this experience profoundly affected me.

I want to thank the Mayor for calling on the city to focus on "the most vulnerable" (those whom Jesus calls "the least of these my brothers and sisters"), And I want to thank Council members Jesse Rivas and Andy Wilson for seeking to agendize tiny shelters as an emergency solution to help people get on the path to permanent, supportive housing.

Item #3 on the City Council's agenda for Monday, January 10, calls for increased funding for bad weather vouchers to house "the most vulnerable", which seems like a good thing, but the staff report omits some important information. For example, how many of the 300+ people living on the street were provided motel vouchers during the cold, rainy nights of December? How many vouchers per night will given out during the bad weather nights for the next few months? How is "most vulnerable" determined? How many motel rooms are typically available per night? (If few motel rooms are 1 01/10/2022
Item 3
available, is this a case for tiny shelters?) Do we need more case managers? If so, how can we fund them?
We need more accountability and transparency regarding how these funds have been and will be used. I also urge our City to take the following action:
(1) provide funding for motel rooms for all unsheltered residents who need them in bad weather this winter and assist in locating motels to participate;
(2) to provide more interim housing for our unsheltered folks as they wait many months for permanent housing; and
(3) to agendize the subject of a tiny shelter community in our City as soon as possible.

I appreciate all this city does to help our homeless neighbors, but we need to do much more.

Respectfully,
Anthony Manousos
2 FOOTHILLS KITCHEN
P.O. Box 126 RECEIVED
MONROVIA, CA 91017
Cofounders: Janie Duncan 626 201-3277, Carol Daley 626 506-5252, Pam Valhoth 6 08341687 09 TAX ID 501c3 #95-1683886
"Caring for those in need"
... i ..

Dear Mayor Gordo and Council Members,
When it poured rain for days and when the temperature dropped, didn't we all think about 'how are our unhoused neighbors doing out in this weather?' I hope you did, because you are representatives of ALL your citizens. At our Kitchen we are seeing so many new faces, MANY of whom are from Pasadena.

There is no Winter Shelter this year in SPA 3 (our area). There are no open beds in shelters because they are filled.

We run a food kitchen in Monrovia, but 'many' of our guests, are your unhoused Pasadena citizens that come to us for a meal. While we can provide a meal, we do not have the means to provide shelter. You have many wonderful organizations in Pasadena that reach out to help our neighbors in need.

We are 100% in favor of the recommendations of Item 3 of the January 10, 2022 city council agenda to increase funding for making housing a reality for the many that are living on the streets of Pasadena, INCLUDING tapping into the City's General Fund (for Interim housing).

The state and federal governments are eager to financially support the efforts of cities that will create housing for the thousands of people living on the street. Motel vouchers are an easy fix. But thinking of the long term and making a real difference in people's lives, are things that work, such as:
• Community land trusts
• Tiny home villages
• Allowing churches to create affordable housing on their properties • Motel conversions
• Incentivizing ADUs and Junior ADUs
• Safe parking and safe haven programs with case management involved Your City IS a forerunner in having an affordable housing ordinance! WOW! It is time to keep your lead in caring for people that are down on their luck OR mentally ill with nowhere to go.

One more thing we would like to urge:
• more transparency and accountability in how the City is providing for or not providing for, these most vulnerable members of our City
Sincerely on behalf of Foothills Kitchen,
Carol Daley
01/10/2022
Item 3
Martinez, Ruben
From: New Mail < [email protected]>
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 12:39 AM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Cc: Gordo, Victor; Hampton, Tyron; Kennedy, John J.; Madison, Steve; Masuda, Gene; Rivas, Jessica; Wilson, Andy; Williams, Felicia; Huang, William; Wong, Jim; Kurtz, Cynthia Subject: Agenda item #3 1/11/22: Additional funding for provision of motel vouchers CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more....

Dear Mayor Gordo, City Councilpersons, and city staff,
While I always cheer for more funds for the service providers who care for our unsheltered residents, there are many unanswered questions about the provision of such funds including the overall administrative decisions.

1. How efficient has the scattered site motel voucher program been? The Department of Housing report to EdTech 12-8-21 states 390 people were served by this program from January 2019 through June 2021.

How much money did this involve? How many nights of shelter were provided? Does the $100/night stated as the budget figure used for this program include on site services required for a healthy program?

2. Why aren't we looking into additional models for non-congregate interim or bridge housing that has proven successful and cost efficient in other communities? The Human Resources Commission has presented a proposal for a Tiny Home Community to provide bridge housing. Why has this been delayed in returning to the agenda for EdTech?

3. Are all the funds slated for motel vouchers and interim housing resources federal funds? Does the city rely only on federal, state or county funds for programs to serve the unhoused? Pasadena is a wealthy city and ranks high in charitable giving. Shouldn't we be putting some of our General Funds into a comprehensive plan for our unsheltered residents? If the Housing Department received a more equitable portion of the city budget, could we do this?

4. What are the barriers for the unsheltered to access motel voucher or other interim housing programs? My last letter to you raised concerns about the lack of emergency shelter during the cold and wet December nights. I received a response from the Housing Department with resources and suggestions if I knew of someone who needed assistance.

That night I helped give out food at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

The only given resource that was possible at that time of night was to call 2-1-1. I offered to do this for "Alex" who had no phone. It was an hour before I got a call back and, of course Alex had gone. The case worker who did call confirmed the scarcity of motel rooms and stated the best chance of getting 1 01/10/2022
Item 3
a motel room is around 11am after motel checkout time IF the city has decided the night will be cold and wet enough to provide rooms. It would be very unusual to get a room after 4 pm.

In addition to approving additional funding for provision of motel vouchers, please provide accountability for how the funds are used,
pursue the search for alternative interim housing models, and make a plan for ongoing General Fund support of unsheltered residents.

Thank you
Ferne Hayes
District 7
2 Martinez, Ruben
From: Eloise Kaeck •
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 7:56 AM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse; Gordo, Victor; Kennedy, John J.

Subject: more resources for people experiencing homelessness CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more....

Yesterday I walked along the rim of the arroyo and saw a person sleeping on the ground along the rim. I got We need more motel vouchers, more alternative housing, action on re-zoning church properties and transparency on where the money is and where it goes. Thank you for your attention to these matters. sincerely,
eloise kaeck
01/10/2022
Item 3
1 Martinez, Ruben
Subject: FW: Agenda item #3 1/11/22: Additional funding for provision of motel vouchers From: New Mail
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 12:38 AM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Cc: Gordo, Victor; Hampton, Tyron; Kennedy, John J.; Madison, Steve; Masuda, Gene; Rivas, Jessica; Wilson, Andy; Williams, Felicia; Huang, William; Wong, Jim; Kurtz, Cynthia Subject: Agenda item #3 1/11/22: Additional funding for provision of motel vouchers CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn mor....

That night I helped give out food at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

Most of the folks I spoke with who did not have dry shelter that night seemed to either have no understanding of how to go about trying to get a room or are so inured to the system that it doesn't seem worth it to try.
01/10/2022
1 Item 3
The only given resource that was possible at that time of night was to call 2-1-1. I offered to do this for "Alex" who had no phone. It was an hour before I got a call back and, of course Alex had gone. The case worker who did call confirmed the scarcity of motel rooms and stated the best chance of getting a motel room is around 11am after motel checkout time IF the city has decided the night will be cold and wet enough to provide rooms. It would be very unusual to get a room after 4 pm.

Thank you
Ferne Hayes
District 7
2 Martinez, Ruben
From: Patricia Cunliffe
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 9:26 AM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse;
Cc: Gordo, Victor; Hampton, Tyron; Kennedy, John J.; Madison, Steve; Masuda, Gene; Rivas, Jessica; Wilson, Andy; Williams, Felicia; Kurtz, Cynthia; Shawn Morrissey:

Subject: Homeless & Affordable Housing is of the Utmost Importance in Pasadena CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more....

Dear Esteemed Mayor Gordo & City Council Members,
The fact that I even have to write a letter of this nature is extremely disturbing. That I have to plead with educated, theoretically well-intentioned, elected human beings, to remind you that it is your duty to look after and care for those who are most in need of your help, who are also human beings, seems almost ludicrous! But, regardless, the fact remains that I do have to.

Trust me, I understand well, human nature. I understand how difficult it must be, but I am asking you to please find it in your hearts to have the courage to do the right thing for those Pasadena residents who are the most vulnerable among us! I beg you to please look past the wads of cash that are constantly being presented to you.

To look beyond that to the greed & evil associated with that cash. Remember that we cannot continue to develop Pasadena primarily for the demographic who walks around with those wads of cash in their pockets, to continue to step over our equally important displaced brothers & sisters who are sleeping on the sidewalk outside of their monstrosity looking $2,000,000.00+ condos.

Please take heed to the requests of the letters presented to you here today that do prioritize taking care of our more unfortunate residents in mind. NO HUMAN BEING SHOULD EVER BE FORCED TO SLEEP ON THE STREET!!!!! Please let that resonate with you!!!! They are human beings just like you and me! And while you are at it - please know that it is my firm belief that we should stop electing greedy landlords to our city council & that we desperately need to replace Bill Huang as housing director - with someone who actually cares about those who need him. The fact alone that he had the audacity to post that landlord's event that took place at the convention center that ended up resulting in all those previously illegal $600.00 rent increases, in anticipation of AB1482, on the housing department facebook page speaks volumes about where his heart really lies. Not to mention the fact that he never circulated the paramount information that those increases were supposed to have been overturned at a certain point. Call me crazy but is that not an extremely important element associated with his position???? I find it completely unfathomable that no one else seemed to have caught this????
This was downloaded directly from the Pasadena Housing Dept Facebook page. It was taken down immediately after I commented that "wasn't it a conflict of interests considering he is supposed to look after the residents, not the landlords?"
01/10/2022
1 item 3

APARTMENT
lail. BUILDINGS*

CONFERENCE & EXPO

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER AND
Apatosen: Owners, Revi Estate Imestors Property
Management
2019 onverge un ttu AAG LA APARTMENT BUILDINGS
EXPO. for a day tull of education and profession
hotmorking. Over :00 local businesses showcasi
notarts toencos and dede to help thousands o
ore aparamed a the property

EGISTER ONLIN
vww.BUILDINGSLA.cor

EDUCATION
Attond beibut sessions discussing tending
topics and the iatest vitormation on a merging
legislives incontive programs & more'

EXHIBIT MALL
asseng innovative cost ettocure proper
tenne a mamen solutons tar
financial sourt r: logul (ounsel and more

NETWORKING
FREG
ADMISSION brakons & investors.
pedession as tom: al over Southern Calicocia
GUEST

SPEAKERS
INCLUDE:
"DOl
(TITAN
SKY
ping etc
Oxess GEVCARAGE
With all due respect, how can we actually expect for those whose investments are in real estate to ever really care about providing affordable housing, much less about housing the homeless....despite what they try to tell you publicly! I apologize, but someone needs to say this...

Again, I ask that you please take heed and act in accordance with all of the good people who have taken the time to address our specific needs to take care of our unhoused brothers and sisters, as well as those long-time residents who are in need of affordable housing, in their own correspondence, and addresses, to you tonight.

Please don't ever let yourselt forget that Homeless & Affordable Housing is of the utmost importance in Pasadena. And that those who need your help are every bit as important as those who choose to buy your help - even more so, in fact.

Thank you,
Patricia Cunliffe
2 Martinez, Ruben
From: carl selkin
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 4:24 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: January 10, 2022 Agenda item #3
CAUTION: This email was delivered from the internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more...

To Mayor Gordo and members of the Pasadena City Council:

I am writing on behalf of the Social Justice Committee of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center in support of the proposed additional funding for motel vouchers to address the needs of the unhoused on our streets. The combination of the pandemic and cold nights makes this emergency support necessary-- but it is not sufficient.

We encourage Pasadena to accelerate action on long-term solutions, including using funds available to the city and within the city general fund. This priority must take precedence over important but not critical projects like the renovations to police department facilities, the purchase of new furniture and replacing adequate police infrastructure.

We hope that our city will begin to take seriously the need to move beyond business as usual in order to address housing the unhoused, creating workforce housing, and meeting the climate crisis head on.

Respectfully,
Carl Selkin
Pasadena, CA 91104
Sent from Mail for Windows
01/10/2022
Item 3
1 Martinez, Ruben
From: Wendy Wang -
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 4:30 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Cc: Wendy Wang
Subject: Public Comment on Agenda Item #3 on agenda of January 10th City Council Meeting CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more...

Dear Mayor Gordo, members of City Council and Interim City Manager Kurtz, My name is Wendy Wang and I work for Sycamores, the lead nonprofit organization for the Youth Coordinated Entry System for Service Planning Area 3 that includes Pasadena. I am writing to offer public comment on agenda item #3 (funding for the provision of motel vouchers).

First of all, thank you for your on-going commitment to fully address homelessness in the City of Pasadena. T Sycamores is grateful for the Housing Department's recommendation to augment Contract Number 32093 with Sycamores so that we will be able to help our unhoused neighbors through provision of weather activated motel based shelter services. As the threat of Omnicron persists, it continues to be important to offer short term non-congregate options for those who are experiencing homelessness. Lastly, we like to take this opportunity to urge the City of Pasadena to continue to invest resources to bolster the entire housing continuum of care. This includes transitional housing options and innovative models like the Tiny Homes model that is being piloted in other jurisdictions.

Sincerely,
Wendy
Wendy Wang, MPP (she/her), Vice President, Public Policy and Advocacy -Mobile: Office: (
[email protected]
Sycamores
a better lir Pasadena, Ca, 91124
www.sycamores.org
This email message and any accompanying data is intended only for the use of the named recipients), and may contain information that is privileged and confidential and is subject to applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employer or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender at the email address above, delete the material from your computer, and destroy any copies immediately. Thank you for your cooperation.
01/10/2022
Item 3
1

Pasadena City CouncilJanuary 10, 2022

Pasadena City Council
January 10, 2022