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RiversideCA.govHousing and Homelessness CommitteeSeptember 26, 2022Homelessness Action PlanOffice of Homeless Solutions RiversideCA.gov2
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Homelessness Action Plan Goals•GOAL 1: Increase Housing Production With a Focus on Affordability •GOAL 2: Availability of Services, With a Focus on Physical and Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment •GOAL 3: Prevent Homelessness•GOAL 4: Increase Availability and Effectiveness of Emergency Shelter Beds •GOAL 5: Expand Public Awareness•GOAL 6: Coordinated Regional Infrastructure 9/14/2022
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STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATON •Community Engagement Meetings•Taskforce Meetings•End-users Survey •Discussion with those experiencing homelessness and with lived experience RiversideCA.gov4
RiversideCA.gov•The need to prioritize vulnerable groups experiencing homelessness.•Supporting creative housing and low-barrier shelter options.•All hands-on deck approach to tackle the homelessness epidemic.STAKEHOLDER INPUT
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GOAL 11. Increase Housing Production with a Focus on Affordability•Ensure 90% of expiring affordable housing covenants are maintained. •5% increase in affordable housing units inventory.•550 market rate and affordable housing units built per year . •55 for-sale market rate and affordable housing units built per year . •5% increase in number of sites developed from 2018 Housing First PlanA. Renew Existing Affordable Housing CovenantsWork with property owners with expiring affordable housing covenants on how to extend the term of their affordable housing covenants to ensure tenants remain stably housed.B. Market Housing Element and City and Housing Authority Owned Sitesto DevelopersDevelop a webpage whereby developers can quickly identify housing sites identified in the 6thCycle Housing Element and sites owned by the City- and Housing Authority-owned, showing the zoning and potential densities.
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GOAL 1 (cont.)C. Receive Annual Progress Report on 6thCycle Housing ElementThe City of Riverside must prepare an Annual Progress Report (APR), submitted to the California Office of Planning and Research and the Housing & Community Development Department, reporting on the status and progress of the General Plan, including the 6thCycle Housing Element implementation. The Planning Division presents the APR to City Council in the first quarter of each year before submitting to the State. D. Leverage State and Other Resources to Encourage First-Time HomebuyersThe Housing Authority will market state and other first-time homebuyer resources and first-time homebuyer workshops to help low-income households achieve the dream of homeownership. E. Research Ongoing Affordable Housing Funding StreamsTo address the affordable housing crisis, the Housing Authority will research dedicated funding streams that can assist in the developments of affordable housing units for extremely low- to low-income households. 9/14/2022
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GOAL 22. Availability of Services, with a Focus on Physical and Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment•Increase number of social work interns by 15% annually. •Increase in skills to reduce re-traumatized/confidence/job satisfaction among PSET, PANS and Outreach Workers by 45%. •Refer 96 individuals to “physical and behavioral health” resources. •Decrease homelessness amongst “chronically homeless” by 5%. •Decrease homelessness amongst those struggling with substance abuse by 5%. •Increase the number of people who accept services from PSET and the street nurse by 25%. •Increase the number of people who are successfully placed from street outreach by 25%. •Refer 15 individuals annually to the Home Court Program.•Care Court implementation by October 1, 2023.A. CARE CourtThe City will support the implementation of the pilot Care Act in Riverside County that will focus on individuals experiencing severe mental illness who are unable to care for themselves by offering an advocate, treatment, and housing.B. Clinical Social Worker Internship ProgramPartner with local universities to provide internship hours with Office of Homeless Solutions for clinical social work students. Interns will be placed at libraries to deliver services to those in need. Interns will build rapport with the goal of working cohesively with the individual to create a plan to exit homelessness. C. Intentional Connections to CarePartner with Riverside University Health Systems – Behavioral Health or other entity to provide training to teams working directly with individuals experiencing homelessness to provide training in Trauma Informed Care, Harm Reduction, Motivational Interviewing, and other best practices in human services.
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GOAL 2 (cont.)D. Street Nurse ProgramThe professionally trained street nurse will provide assessments in the field, care coordination, case management, and referrals for primary care, medical insurance, pharmaceutical and other services as needed. The individual(s) will support outreach teams in the urban and wildlands areas. E. HOME Court ProgramCollaboration between City and County providers to offer opportunities for alternative sentencing or diversion for individuals with low-level misdemeanor offenses with linkages to housing, behavioral health treatment, life skills courses, and peer supports. F. Parks and Neighborhood Specialist 20 non-sworn Parks and Neighborhood Specialist (PANS) to provide safety and monitoring of parks and surrounding neighborhoods to lessen the burden on Riverside Police Department in non-emergency response calls. G. Urban Public Safety and Engagement TeamExpand the Public Safety and Engagement Team (PSET) to provide both evening and early morning coverage across the City of Riverside. The team will respond to 311 service requests and follow a monthly calendar that focuses on hotspot areas to engage those experiencing homelessness in encampments to offer services and supports, to tag items for debris and trash abatement, and provide enforcement as appropriate. 9/14/2022
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GOAL 2 (cont.)H. Wildlands Public Safety and Engagement TeamWildlands Public Safety and Engagement Team (PSET) will focus on the Santa Ana River bottom (SAR). The team will follow a monthly calendar that focuses on hotspot areas to engage those experiencing homelessness to offer services and supports, to tag items for debris and trash abatement, provide enforcement as appropriate and enforce the anti-camping ordinance to ensure safety for all.I. Access Center OutreachOutreach workers cover the City of Riverside hotspot areas and respond to 311 service requests to engage individuals experiencing homelessness throughout the City. The team evaluates individual needs and walks alongside the person to develop a plan to exit homelessness. Resources and shelter options are presented, and the team does an infield intake to identify the individual and their location for follow up. An outreach representative is available at the Access Center to support walk-ins.
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GOAL 33. Prevent Homelessness•84% rental assistance programs retention rate annually. •15% increase in unduplicated number of households assisted through rental assistance programs in 2023 with 10% thereafter . •Refer 75 households annually to an employment assistance program. •5% annual decrease in homelessness amongst those who are justice involved. •5% annual increase of seniors assisted through the Office of Homeless Solutions referred to Riverside County In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). •Enroll six individuals through the Shared Housing Program annually.A. School Connections Ensure that City of Riverside School Districts (Alvord and Riverside) are aware of resources available to at risk families. By developing and distributing materials, bringing partners and the County together for presentations before the beginning of each school year, Pupil Services will be equipped with up-to-date information to share with students and families to make connections before individuals experience homelessness.B. Jail In-ReachGain access to Robert Presley Detention Center to connect with individuals who self-identify as homeless. By connecting with justice-involved individuals, we have an opportunity to support in the creation of an exit plan, empowering the individual to leverage available resources and shelter options decreasing homelessness among justice-involved individuals. 9/14/2022
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GOAL 3 (cont.)C. Identify at Risk HouseholdsIdentification of at-risk households through United Lift and City of Riverside Rental Relief programs. Connect individuals to Goodwill, County Workforce Development, and America’s Job Centers of California for job readiness workshops, mock interviews, resume writing workshops, and job training vouchers up to $8,000.00 per person. Industry recognized sectors and certifications that align with an individual’s interest will be identified. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds will support eligible teens and adults to subsidize employment opportunities for on the job-training. Other opportunities like paid apprenticeships and internships are also available in specific sectors. D. Shared HousingCreate and/or identify affordable housing for low income to extremely low-income households with a fast track for seniors. Seniors will be matched with Riverside County In-Home Supportive Services Program (IHSS). Leveraging best practices and the National Shared Housing Guide to responsibly place people to decrease homelessness and isolation. E. Review of Crime Free Multi-Housing ProgramReview Crime Free Multi-Housing Program to identify barriers impacting people with justice-involved backgrounds from potential prejudice and stigmatization perpetuating the cycle of recidivism and economic despair.
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GOAL 44. Increase Availability and Effectiveness of Emergency Shelter Beds•Increase the number of emergency shelter beds by 25% in 2023. •Increase the number of people exiting from emergency shelter to housing by 10%. •Decrease the number of unsheltered people by 10% annually. •Increase the number of people accepting shelter from PSET and Outreach teams by 25% annually.A. Storage ProgramStorage for individuals experiencing homelessness and seeking shelter services to remove barriers. Storage units will allow people to safely store their personal belongings. Additionally, outreach and case managers will have the ability to drop notes inside these units as reminders of upcoming appointments. B. Non-congregate Emergency ShelterProvide low barrier shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness. Request for proposals for alternative emergency housing non-congregate shelter to expand diversity of shelter types and provide wrap-around services leveraging best practices. 9/14/2022
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GOAL 55. Expand Public Awareness•Annual increase of 311 calls related to homeless activities by 25%, decreasing emergency 911 calls related to homelessness. •50% increase in traffic to the Office of Homeless Solutions web page annually.A. Quarterly NewsletterCreate the Office of Homeless Solutions quarterly newsletter to share with the public to provide progress toward goals, share success stories, share Housing & Homelessness Committee and Council meeting information to keep the community informed and encouraging participation.B. PresentationAttend community and stakeholder meetings to share Office of Homeless Solutions updates and respond to community questions and concerns. C. Homelessness Awareness CampaignIdentify individuals experiencing homelessness who are interested in sharing their story to build a powerful campaign and highlight that homelessness does not discriminate.
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GOAL 66. Coordinated Regional Infrastructure•Maintain 50 Cold Weather Shelter Program beds annually. •Attend 25 Continuum of Care and committee meetings annually and advocate for the increase of shelter beds, mental health programs and affordable housing based on a gap analysis. •Increase number of emergency shelter beds throughout Riverside County by 10% by 2024.A. Homeless Management Information System Work with County lead on agreement between HMIS and Outreach Grid (OG) to allow data to be imported and exported seamlessly. This will support the entire county in their ability to gain access to individuals that are served in the City of Riverside and move to a different region. B. Continuum of Care (CoC) Participation Attend 10 CoC meetings as well as sub-committee meetings to stay up to date with projects and action items from other regions as well as share out successes and gaps within our City. 9/14/2022
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GOAL 6 (cont.)A. Winter ShelterCollaborate with the County to ensure that there is a location for the 2022 Winter Shelter.A. MOU Between City and CountyExecuted MOU between the City and County of Riverside to identify collaborative efforts with a responsible department/line staff named for accountability purposes.A. EnforcementRPD, PSET, PANS, CBA T, and POP are all partners in reducing crime across the City. These entities will continue to protect vulnerable populations and answer calls to ensure community safety. The Sheriff Department will be the responsible party at County sites within the City of Riverside.
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STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENTEnvision Riverside 2025 Strategic Plan PrioritiesCross-Cutting Threads#2 Community Well-BeingCommunity TrustEquityFiscal ResponsibilityInnovationSustainability & Resiliency
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That the Housing and Homelessness Committeeconceptually approve the Homelessness Action Plan forCity Council’s consideration.RECOMMENDATION