Housing and Homelessness
Committee Memorandum
TO: HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS COMMITTEE DATE: AUGUST 28, 2023 FROM: OFFICE OF HOMELESS SOLUTIONS WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: HOMELESSNESS ACTION PLAN UPDATE
ISSUE:
Receive a presentation from the Office of Homeless Solutions on the progress of the Homelessness Action Plan.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Housing and Homelessness Committee receive and file a presentation from the Office of Homeless Solutions on the progress of Homelessness Action Plan.
BACKGROUND:
To ensure the Homelessness Action Plan reflected the needs of Riverside’s stakeholders, the City held three hybrid community engagement meetings (simultaneously in-person and on Zoom) to inform the community, obtain feedback on the proposed goals and the activities within the goals and prioritize activities leveraging HHAP-3, HOME-ARP, Measure Z, and other existing funding streams. These community meetings featured Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation. The City hosted three Homeless Task Force meetings virtually and one in person, where leaders and front-line staff who work with the unhoused population and extremely low- to low-income residents had an opportunity to provide input on how to craft a feasible and useful Homelessness Action Plan. Additionally, our partners were asked to administer an end-user survey to collect valuable feedback from those experiencing homelessness. People experiencing homelessness and those with lived experience were invited to participate in an in-person discussion to provide input on the Homelessness Action Plan.
The three major themes of these meetings included:
The need to prioritize vulnerable groups experiencing homelessness; Supporting creative housing with low-barrier shelter options; and An all-hands-on-deck approach to help with the homelessness crisis.
The meeting attendees also supported the following six goals to address homelessness:
Increase housing production with a focus on affordability; Availability of services, with a focus on physical and mental health and substance use disorder treatment; Prevent homelessness;
Increase availability and effectiveness of emergency shelters; Expand public awareness; and
Build a coordinated regional infrastructure.
The Homelessness Action Plan (Attachment 1) includes each goal and the corresponding program policy deliverables, partnerships, city department leads, leveraged city resources, timelines, and goal alignments. To receive the HHAP-3 grant funds, the City had to submit a local homelessness action plan and HHAP-3 application by June 30, 2022. The HHAP-3 application, a component of the formal Five-Year Plan, required regional collaboration with the County and Continuum of Care (CoC) to complete the eight tables included in the application.
On June 28, 2022, the Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) presented the draft Homelessness Action Plan, HHAP-3, and HOME-ARP to City Council. Over several months the OHS engaged experts in the field, community members, and end-users to gather quantitative and qualitative data that informed the OHS of the importance of identifying gaps and the focus on addressing subpopulations. Further, the 2022 Point-in-Time Count data weaved into the information collected from stakeholders supported the creation of new goals the City intends to implement intentionally. Recommendations by City Council included coordination between the City and County to provide joint efforts to address homelessness across the City, preventing lawlessness and ensuring safety for all, review of the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program, affordable for sale options, and differentiation between CARE Court and HOME Court. Additionally, Councilmember Edwards requested that the OHS meet in person with the Task Force to receive feedback and to confirm that the plan incorporates the voice of all stakeholders.
On August 17, 2022, the OHS led a meeting with Task Force members to review the draft Homelessness Action Plan problem statement, activities, and measurements and ensure stakeholders' voices were captured throughout the plan. Feedback from the group included:
Additional measuring tools to strengthen data collection; Individuals with lived experience are crucial in implementing the Action Plan; Identify what action is being taken toward meeting other goals to contribute to success; and The Plan aligns closely with the County’s 2022-2027 County of Riverside Homeless Action Plan.
On September 1, 2022, the OHS led a meeting with individuals experiencing homelessness and those with lived experience to discuss the Homelessness Action Plan. Participants shared their struggles with utilizing housing vouchers, the need for compassionate field engagements, clean drinking water, shower utilization, and the importance of frequent safety checks at non-congregate shelters. Those experiencing homelessness and people with lived experience would like to continue meeting with the City throughout the implementation of the Action Plan to share experiences around gaps and success.
On October 11, 2022, City Council approved the Homelessness Action Plan to reduce homelessness. The City is building from the Envision Riverside 2025 Strategic Plan, the Housing & Homelessness Committee’s FY 2021/22 goals, and the City’s Housing First Policy.
The 2023 Point-In-Time Count data indicates that the number of people experiencing homelessness across the City and County of Riverside has increased. The Point-In-Time Count data tells us that on a single night in the City of Riverside, 605 people (a 17% increase from the 2022 PIT) were reported as unsheltered, while 372 people (a 9% decrease from the 2022 PIT) were sheltered. Overall, there was a 5% increase, as indicated by the 2023 PIT Count data. To stabilize the rise in homelessness for the target population, working toward activities that support successful exits from homelessness into safe, supportive, affordable housing situations is vital. Activities recognized as best practices include intentional connections to care, medical and behavioral health services, expanded outreach efforts, multidisciplinary collaborations, increased emergency shelter beds, and affordable housing opportunities. These efforts and others are realized and implemented through the Homelessness Action Plan, which are led by the Housing Authority and the OHS.
On July 24, 2023, the Housing Authority and the OHS staff presented to the Housing and Homelessness Committee on the following Homelessness Action Plan’s first two goals :
Goal No. 1: Increase Housing Production with a Focus on Affordability
SUBGOAL
GOAL STATUS
FY 2022/2023 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Ensure 90% of expiring affordable housing covenants are maintained Met goal
No covenants expired during the reporting period. In the next reporting period, Riverglen affordability covenants expire for 30 affordable housing units. The property owner is not willing to preserve these affordability units. Housing Authority staff is working with the property manager to provide residents with advanced notice of rental increases and identify affordable housing units for the tenants that can’t afford market rate rents. 5% increase in affordable housing units’ inventory
Exceeded goal
This goal was exceeded by 5.9% by increasing the affordable housing inventory from 3,144 units to 3,326 units. 550 market rate and affordable housing units built annually Exceeded goal
This goal was exceeded by 25% by building 648 housing units which consisted of 503 rental units and 145 homeownership units. Of the 648 housing units, 135 housing units were affordable housing units (21% of units built), which consisted of 128 rental units and 7 homeownership units. 55 for-sale market and affordable housing units built annually Exceeded goal
This goal was exceeded by 164% as 145 homeownership units were built. Seven (7) of these homes were affordable.
SUBGOAL
GOAL STATUS
FY 2022/2023 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
5% increase in number of sites developed from 2018 Housing First Plan In progress
The Plan has a total of 22 development sites. Two sites have been developed and six (6) are in various stages of development.
Carryout the development of 689 affordable housing units in the pipeline for development In progress
One hundred sixty-nine (169) of the housing units in the development pipeline (20% of units) have been built, which consist of 135 affordable rental housing units and 34 homeownership units of which seven (7) are affordable. Two hundred eighty-five (285) of the housing units in the development pipeline are under construction. The remaining 235 affordable housing units are in the predevelopment phase.
General Activities
In progress
The Housing Authority staff will continue to market the Housing Element sites and City- and Housing Authority-owned sites to developers and work on furthering the development of an Inclusionary Housing Program to develop affordable housing within private developments for lower income families by requiring that a certain percentage of the units are rented to lower income households. EPS, the Housing Authority’s consultant, is working on updating the Inclusionary Housing numbers to reflect current market construction costs and interest rates. Staff anticipates presenting an update to the committee on September 25, 2023.
Goal No. 2: Increase the Availability of Services with a Focus on Physical, Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorder Treatment
SUBGOAL
GOAL STATUS
FY 2022/2023 ACCOMPLISHMENT
Increase number of social work interns by 15% annually
In progress – Established baseline
The Love Your Neighbor Collaboration program rolled out in Spring of 2023 enabling Licensed Clinical Social Worker interns to begin their clinical hours. Collectively, there have been 4 interns with 3 more set to start in the Fall of 2023. Services for library walk-ins include one-on-one assistance, referrals to employment training opportunities, counseling, and connections to vital resources like food pantries and other government services.
Increase in skills to reduce re-traumatized/confidence/job satisfaction among the Public Safety and Engagement Team (PSET), Parks and Neighborhood Specialist (PANS) Team, and Outreach Workers by 45% annually In progress
During FY 2022/2023, the PSET Outreach and Riverside Access Center Outreach participated in the following trainings: cultural humility, harm reduction, trauma informed care, racial equity, improving street outreach, de-escalation, motivation interviewing, CPR first aid, defensive driving, and Narcan. Created a pretraining and post training survey to measure an increase in knowledge and skills among the Outreach teams.
Refer 96 individuals to “physical and behavioral health” resources annually Goal met
During FY 2022/2023, PSET and the Riverside Access Center Outreach processed 90 referrals, including 17 referrals to behavioral health resources, six (6) referrals to a psychiatric hospital, 43 referrals to substance abuse facilities or detox centers, and 24 referrals to non-psychiatric medical facilities. If we consider 94 other referrals that can lead to behavioral health or substance abuse disorder misuse treatment programs. With the opening of the medical clinic at the Riverside Access Center, staff anticipates this goal will be met in the next fiscal year.
Decrease homelessness amongst “chronically homeless” by 5% annually Exceeded goal
According to the 2023 Riverside County Homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, chronic homelessness in the city of Riverside has seen a decline of 12% (from 144 to 127) compared to the previous year’s count.
Decrease homelessness amongst those struggling with substance abuse by 5% annually Exceeded goal
According to the 2023 PIT Count, substance misuse among people experiencing homelessness has decreased by 8% (92 to 85) compared to the previous year's count.
Increase the number of people who accept services from the PSET and the street nurse by 25% annually In progress – Established baseline
During FY 2022/2023, there were 580 duplicated individuals who accepted services from PSET.
Increase the number of people who are successfully placed from street outreach by 25% annually In progress – Established baseline
During FY 2022/2023, 47 unsheltered adults were successfully placed from street outreach.
Refer 15 individuals to the Home Court Program annually Goal met
On July 6, 2022, the HOME Court started in Riverside and the court meets the first Wednesday of every month. During the reporting period, 15 individuals with either a felony or misdemeanor participated or are currently participating in the program, with one successful program completion.
Care Court implementation by October 1, 2023
Ongoing
The State of California selected Riverside County to be in the first Care Court cohort that is expected to be implemented by October 1, 2023.
DISCUSSION:
The progress of the Homelessness Action Plan goals 3 through 6 are listed below and will be discussed at the Housing and Homelessness Committee meeting on August 28, 2023.
Goal No. 3: Prevent Homelessness
SUBGOAL
GOAL STATUS
FY 2022/2023 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
84% rental assistance programs retention rate annually
Exceeded goal
The Housing Authority staff and City Net’s Case Managers exceeded this goal by achieving a 93% retention rate. 15% increase in unduplicated number of households assisted through rental assistance programs in 2023 with 10% thereafter Exceeded goal
The Housing Authority staff and City Net’s Case Managers were able to increase the number of unduplicated households assisted through the rental assistance program by 150% from the previous fiscal year by assisting 30 new households.
Refer 75 households annually to an employment assistance program Goal not met
The housing case managers referred five (5) clients to an employment assistance program. The majority of the rental assistance program participants are disabled and unable to work. Staff will be reaching out to Goodwill Industries and the Riverside County Workforce Development about conducting workshops at the Riverside Access Center. Riverside Access Center Outreach and PSET Outreach will begin tracking this data. 5% annual decrease in homelessness amongst those who are justice involved Exceeded goal
According to the 2023 PIT Count, justice involved among people experiencing homelessness has decreased by 9.68% (52 to 47) compared to the previous year's count. With the implementation of the Jail-In-Reach and Project connect programs we anticipate these numbers continuing to decrease. 5% annual increase of seniors assisted through the Office of Homeless Solutions referred to Riverside County In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) In progress - Established baseline
During FY 2022/2023, two (2) rental assistance client was referred to IHSS. As part of case management, if a client is eligible aged, blind and disabled they are referred to IHSS which is an alternative to out-of-home care and enables clients to remain safely in their own home.
Enroll six individuals through the Shared Housing Program annually Goal met
The Housing Authority met this goal by enrolling six individuals in the Shared Housing Program to help individuals achieve housing stability.
Goal No. 4: Increase Availability and Effectiveness of Emergency Shelter
SUBGOAL
GOAL STATUS
FY 2022/2023 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Increase the number of emergency shelter beds by 25% in 2023 In progress
The Bridge Housing Program opened with 23 new beds, which was an increase of 10% shelter beds. Staff released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the design and construction of a non-congregate shelter with a minimum capacity of 50 beds. The responses received were found to be nonresponsive. The updated RFP is with Purchasing for review.
Increase the number of people exiting from emergency shelter to housing by 10% annually Exceeded goal
During FY 2021/2022, Path of Life exited 34 guests from shelter into housing. In FY 2022/2023, Mercy House exited 11 individuals from shelter into housing and Path of Life exited 38 clients, binging the total guests exited into housing to 49 (40% increase from the previous year).
Decrease the number of unsheltered people by 10% annually Goal not met
According to the 2023 PIT Count, the number of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness increased by 18% (514 to 605) compared to the previous year's count. We anticipate this number to decrease due to the implementation of the Homeless Prevention Program to help keep low-income residents housed and Rental Assistance Programs to quickly house homeless individuals.
Increase the number of people accepting shelter from the PSET and Outreach teams by 25% annually Exceeded goal
During FY 2021/2022, 479 individuals were referred to shelter by PSET and Outreach teams and in FY 2022/2023 there were 615 individuals referred to shelter by the PSET and Outreach teams resulting in an increase of 78% referrals.
Goal No. 5: Expand Public Awareness
SUBGOAL
GOAL STATUS
FY 2022/2023 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Annual increase of 311 calls related to homeless activities by 25% decreasing emergency 911 calls related to homelessness Goal exceeded
In FY 2021/2022, there were 520 311 calls for services for Homeless Outreach and in FY 2022/2023 there were 825 311 calls for services for Homeless Outreach, which was increase of 59%. There was decrease of 63% in 911 homelessness-related calls from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023. 50% increase in traffic to the Office of Homeless Solutions web page annually Goal exceeded
In FY 2021/2022, the Office of Homeless Solutions web page has 163,427 clicks and in FY 2022/2023, the same web page had 309,892 clicks, representing an increase of 53% in we page clicks.
Goal No. 6: Coordinated Regional Infrastructure
SUBGOAL
GOAL STATUS
FY 2022/2023 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Maintain 50 Cold Weather Shelter Program beds annually
Met goal
In 2023, Path of Life was able to maintain the Cold Weather Shelter Program at the Salvation Army in Riverside, which is funded by the County of Riverside. The City will continue to work with the County to ensure these beds are provided on an annual basis to serve our homeless population during the cold weather months.
Attend 25 Continuum of Care (CoC) and committee meetings annually and advocate for the increase of shelter beds, mental health programs, and affordable housing based on a gap analysis Met goal
Michelle Davis, the CoC Vice Chair, attended 25 CoC and committee meetings to advocate for an increase in shelter beds, mental health programs and affordable housing based and the need for a gap analysis study to be completed. Reports are in the process of being on the performance outcomes of rental assistance and permanent supportive housing programs countywide. Michelle also requested that a CoC membership roster be created that lists the agencies programs and the to help organizations collaborate and identify what type of agencies may be missing in the collaboration to address homelessness.
Increase number of emergency shelter beds throughout Riverside County by 10% by 2024 Goal exceeded
The Bridge Housing Program opened up with 23 new beds, which was an increase of 10% shelter beds. Staff released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the design and construction of a non-congregate shelter with a minimum capacity of 50 beds. The responses received were found to be nonresponsive. The updated RFP is with Purchasing for review.
The Housing Authority and OHS will continue to implement the Plan goals to prevent homelessness, increase housing production and affordability, increase shelter beds and services, build a regional infrastructure with other jurisdictions and organizations, expand public awareness about homelessness and housing, and identify funding opportunities.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being and Goal 2.2, collaborate with partner agencies to improve household resiliency and reduce the incidence and duration of homelessness.
The item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – The City conducted community meetings and reestablished the Homeless Task Force to assist with drafting the Homelessness Action Plan.
Equity – Riverside residents will have equal access to the programs that will be supported through the Homelessness Action Plan.
Fiscal Responsibility –The City will ensure that federal, state and local resources used to carry out the goals of the Homelessness Action Plan will adhere to funding resource regulations.
Innovation – The Homelessness Action Plan provides the City with the ability to support innovative programs that address gaps in our homeless system of care.
Sustainability & Resiliency – HHAP and HOME-ARP grant funds will provide funding to meet the gaps in our homeless system of care and adapt to the needs of our homeless population and service providers.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this staff report.
Prepared by: Michelle Davis, Housing Authority Manager
Certified as to
Availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Mike Futrell, City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
Homelessness Action Plan
Presentation
Homelessness Action Plan Update ● Page 2