March 28, 2023
Community Development
DATE: March 28, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Lina Velasco, Director of Community Development
Jesus Morales, Housing Manager
Subject:
Contract with Safe Organized Spaces (SOS) to Provide
Encampment Services
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funding for this contract is appropriated in the unhoused intervention program account string: 15061219-400201-
RI160. In addition, since a portion of the services are to be provided at the Castro Encampment, a portion of the
work will be funded using Encampment Resolution
funding in account string 15061219-400201-16G07.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
N/A
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
City staff is seeking City Council approval of a contract with Safe Organized Spaces (SOS) for an amount not to
exceed $738,693.59, for the term beginning March 28,
2023 to June 30, 2024, with an option to extend for one year subject to available funding. SOS will provide
encampment services such as portable toilets, site
cleaning, garbage collection, and drinking water, for
health, safety, and sanitation purposes at encampments, and provide job opportunities for the unhoused.
AGENDA
REPORT
March 28, 2023
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE a contract with Safe Organized Spaces for
the term beginning March 28, 2023, to June 30, 2024,
with an option to extend for one year if funding is
available, for a total contact amount not to exceed
$738,693.59, to provide encampment services and job
opportunities for the unhoused – Community
Development Department (Lina Velasco/Jesus Morales
510-620-6649).
DISCUSSION:
The Housing Division is seeking City Council approval of a contract with Safe Organized Spaces (SOS) to continue providing encampment services and job opportunities for the unhoused at the Castro encampment and citywide, as directed by City staff. SOS previously provided these services as a program of Rebuilding Together East Bay North (RTEBN). This contract is set to terminate on March 31, 2023. The original sole source contract with RTEBN was approved by the City Council on July 27, 2021, and was amended several times for time and to add additional funding.
City staff issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Unhoused Services in August 2022 (see Attachment 2). The RFQ identified a range of services sought by the City. 373 firms were notified, 21 firms downloaded the RFQ and five firms responded to the RFQ. The five respondents addressed several of the service categories identified in the RFQ. Responses were received for a range of services, including street outreach, hygiene interventions, employment programs, housing navigation, and operation of emergency interventions such as emergency shelters, safe parking programs, and cabin communities.
City staff and the ERF Project Manager evaluated the responses to the RFQ for firms that proposed to provide services in the specified Service Category 3: Employment Programs for the Unhoused and Service Category 4: Hygiene Interventions to increase health and wellness of unsheltered individuals. SOS provided qualifications for identified Task A: Operate work readiness employment program for encampment residents and Task B: Operate a workforce program, for individuals who are currently homeless or recently housed with a focus on job placement and job retention toward increasing income to obtain/maintain housing. SOS was one of two respondents that addressed these service categories tasks as part of their qualification submittal. SOS’s experience in providing these services in the City of Richmond made them the most qualified respondent.
SOS has a current program that is employing several of the unhoused including Castro residents. These employees help maintain and service homeless encampments throughout the city including Castro. They are providing portable toilets, site cleaning, garbage collection, water, and other similar activities aimed at
March 28, 2023
resolving encampments by providing services to encampments residents for health, safety, and sanitation purposes.
SOS has been working and collaborating with City staff on providing these services since July 2022 as part of the City of Richmond’s Castro Encampment Resolution Project to provide services to residents, assisting residents to transition into varying housing options, clean the site, and restore it to its prior use.
Safe Organized Spaces (SOS) will provide the following services at encampments specified by the City:
1. Cleanup of trash and disposal.
2. Mobile showers and laundry.
3. Portable toilets and drinking water.
4. Providing outreach to address local situations to improve public safety.
5. Providing workforce training and job opportunities for the unhoused population.
Over the past year, SOS has created job opportunities for encampment dwellers, and as a result some of the encampment residents have successfully transitioned into stable housing. These activities are in alignment with the draft Homelessness Strategic Plan, Short Action Steps, 1.1, Ensure that essential living amenities such as water, sanitation, hygiene, and electricity are provided at least weekly to all encampments.
The total budget for the scope of work is $982,693.59 of which SOS has received other funding totaling $244,000. As a result, the request for funding from the City for the contract is $738,693.59.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Standard Contract
Attachment 2 – RFQ for Services in Support of the Unhoused Attachment 3 – RFQ BidsOnLine Report - Services for the Unhoused Attachment 4 – Service Providers for Unhoused - Rating Matrix