City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2023-01127 9/19/2023 Consent Item 10.
Allocation of Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention, Round 4 (HHAP 4) Funds to the X Street Navigation Center (Two-Thirds Vote Required)
File ID: 2023-01127
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Pass a Motion 1) by two-thirds vote waiving Sacramento City Code Section
4.04.020 and Council Rules of Procedure (Chapter 7, Section E.2.d) mandating that unless waived by a two-thirds vote of the City Council, all labor agreements and all agreements greater than $1 million shall be made available to the public at least ten days prior to council action; 2) authorizing the City Manager or City Manager’s designee to execute a grant agreement (can also be referred to as an “administrative services agreement”) with the Housing Authority of the City of Sacramento for a not-to-exceed amount of $4,628,284 in funding for operations from the State Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 4 (HHAP 4) funds for the X Street Navigation Shelter.
Contact: Eva Chiang, Support Services Manager, (916) 808-5898, [email protected], Department of Community Response, Jason Beckstrom, Program Specialist, (916) 808-5709, [email protected]
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-X Street Navigation Center Agreement
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: On October 22, 2019, Housing Authority staff presented a Five Point Homeless Plan to address the growing homeless crisis in Sacramento. This Plan included the following options: 1) Scattered sites; 2) Safe Parking Program; 3) Sleeping Tents/Cabins; 4) Motel Conversion; and 5) Permanent Supportive Housing. This item was subsequently discussed and unanimously supported at City Council on December 3, 2019.
File ID: 2023-01127 9/19/2023 Consent Item 10.
On December 5, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom launched a 100-day challenge for California Cities to jumpstart action to fight homelessness. A Declaration of a Shelter Crisis was adopted by City Council on January 14, 2020, suspending state/ local regulatory statute or regulation prescribing standards of housing, health, or safety for public facilities that could delay mitigation measures in place to alleviate the shelter crisis.
X Street Navigation Center
In August 2019, the City Council provided guidance to City staff to move forward with the X Street Navigation Center (X Street) to house up to 100 homeless adults on a property owned by CalTrans. The Housing Authority was approved to oversee the administration of shelter operations at the site, which is located under Business 80 at the intersection of Broadway and Alhambra. The City entered into a lease with CalTrans in late 2020, after which construction led by the City Public Works department started in January 2021. The site opened to guests on September 21, 2021.
The site has two Sprung Structures (for dining and sleeping quarters) with accompanying restrooms, laundry and showers, and administrative space for case management services. Through a competitive process, Volunteers of America (VOA) was selected as the site operator and has staff onsite 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Three daily meals are provided each day, and limited kennels are available onsite.
X Street gives priority to the unsheltered homeless in the immediate vicinity of Oak Park, Curtis Park, and the Alhambra/Broadway corridor. Intake is through a coordinated access process led by the Continuum of Care lead agency Sacramento Steps Forward. VOA operates the shelter from a housing-first, low-barrier "come as you are" approach where sobriety and addiction treatment are not conditions to receive services.
Guests receive services on-site and/or are linked to services offsite that meet their individual needs. It includes but is not limited to behavioral health treatment, anger management, addiction recovery assistance, conducting activities of daily living, ready to-rent training, financial management, employment connections, access to critical documents, arts and crafts, addressing credit/eviction issues, significant re-housing efforts and much more.
X Street operations started in 2021, during the heart of the pandemic, which impacted guests' lives and limited access to supportive services and housing. Despite these challenges, many achievements were accomplished.
From September 21. 2021 - June 30. 2023:
823 Guests admitted (706 are unduplicated guests)*
118 Guests came in with/connected to employment while at X Street 49,138 Bed nights provided
275,645 Guest meals provided
*Some guests require multiple entries into the shelter before being open to receiving services.
On average during this time period, 68 percent of the guests were male, 31 percent were female, and 1 percent had no single gender or were transgender. Six percent of the guests were veterans.
The goal of VOA staff is to stabilize the guests with individualized services that meet their needs, make sure all critical documents are in hand (identification card, social security card, disability certification etc.), connect them to employment/income sources if applicable and transition them to
File ID: 2023-01127 9/19/2023 Consent Item 10.
stable housing in the community.
With this end goal in mind, VOA works very hard with each individual guest, and it is important to understand the demographics of the shelter population to shed light on the challenges faced by the operator to house the guests.
The following data is from September 21, 2021 - June 30, 2023 and is self-reported by the guests during the shelter intake process and entered into the national Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
Approximately 70 percent of the guests who entered-X Street Center have been unhoused for over than 12 months.
Race Percentage
Black, African American, or African 46 percent
White 39 percent
American Indian, Alaska Native or indigenous 5 percent
Asian or Asian American 3 percent
Multiple Races 6 percent
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 1 percent
Age Range Percentage of Guests
18-24 years 2 percent
25-34 years 17 percent
35-54 years 46 percent
55-61 years 21 percent
62+ years 14 percent
Most of the guests in the 35-54 age range are in their early 50's..
Almost 80 percent of the guests have some type of disability.
Type of Disability* Percentage
General Disability 79 percent
Physical Disability 31 percent
Chronic Health Condition 42 percent
Mental Health Disorder 55 percent
Alcohol Use Disorder 9 percent
Drua Use Disorder 19 percent
Both Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders 17 percent
Developmental Disability 12 percent
File ID: 2023-01127 9/19/2023 Consent Item 10.
Type of Disability* Percentage
General Disability 79 percent
Physical Disability 31 percent
Chronic Health Condition 42 percent
Mental Health Disorder 55 percent
Alcohol Use Disorder 9 percent
Drua Use Disorder 19 percent
Both Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders 17 percent
Developmental Disability 12 percent
*These disability categories are not mutually exclusive.
VOA housing navigators lead the efforts to house the guests once they are stabilized with case management. This task can be very challenging as the guests face many disabilities, coupled with long bouts of prior homelessness. In addition to the tight supply of rental units and high rental rates, many do not have any rental history to provide prospective landlords. Many have evictions on their record and debts to clear related to these evictions. Some guests aren't willing to engage with VOA to receive case management and critical services such as behavioral health treatment and counseling in order to stabilize themselves, which makes it challenging to be successfully housed. 46% of the guests enter the X Street shelter with zero income. Staff must work with these guests to identify an ongoing stream of income which could include employment or social security disability income if applicable, to pay for their future rent and other essential bills.
Forty percent of the guests are not "doc ready" and need help securing identification and social security cards, disability certification, and other documents needed to apply for benefits before commencing the housing search.
Despite a myriad of challenges, as of June 30, 2023, VOA successfully housed 241 guests. On average, it takes 3-6 months from enrollment in the program to finding suitable housing.
Type of Housing Guests Assisted
Permanent Housing 128
Temporary Housing 48
Transitional Housing 45
Institutionalized 20
Total 241
Currently there are landlord incentive funds available to pay for application fees, basic furniture and appliances, security deposits, and up to 6 months of rent. Once housed, VOA staff regularly check in with the guests for a six-month period to ensure the guests are stabilizing in housing.
When the X Street initiative was initially launched in 2021, $7.7 million of funding was allocated for
File ID: 2023-01127 9/19/2023 Consent Item 10.
a two-year period. These funds included State Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Phase 1 funds (HHAP 1), Kaiser Foundation funds, City General Funds, and Emergency Solutions Grant Corona Virus Phase 2 (ESG-CV2) funds.
These funds paid for VOA staffing 24 hours a day seven days a week, 3 meals each day, maintenance of the sprung structures, bathrooms, showers and other trailers, security patrol services around the center 24 hours a day, seven days a week, re-housing services (such as application fees, security deposits, rent for up to 6 months), cameras on the property, lease with CalTrans, leasing of administrative trailers, and administrative costs.
The deep level of services provided at X Street is pivotal to get the unhoused off the streets and to help them get ready to live their lives independently and rent a unit in the community.
To continue these operations, the City applied for $4.6 million of HHAP 4 funds from the State of California for one additional year of operations. These funds will be allocated as follows:
X Street Operations Allocations
Operating Subsidy: staff and operations $2,958,584
Re-Housing funds $500,000
Security services and onsite cameras $332,530
Street outreach/cleanup $300,000
Contingency $100,000
Subtotal $4,191,114
Administration
Direct staff delivery $143,800
Administration $293,370
Subtotal $437,170
TOTAL $4,628,284
Policy Considerations: Pursuant to Sacramento City Code section 3.56.090, any agreement for non-professional services that is for $250,000 or more requires City Council approval.
City Code Section 4.04.020 and Council Rules of Procedure (Chapter 7, Section E.2.d) mandate that unless waived by a 2/3 vote of the City Council, all labor agreements and all agreements greater than $1,000,000 shall be made available to the public at least ten (10) days prior to council action.
The recommendations are consistent with the Governor's Executive Order N-23-20 to reduce street homelessness, break down barriers to homeless individuals accessing health care and other critical
File ID: 2023-01127 9/19/2023 Consent Item 10.
services, and to increase housing options for those experiencing homelessness.
In addition, operating X Street meets one of the strategies of the joint City-County Local Homeless Action Plan (LHAP) which highlights the need to ensure emergency shelter operations provides pathways to rehousing opportunities for the shelter guests.
Economic Impacts Not applicable.
Environmental Considerations: This report concerns administrative activities that will not have a significant effect on the environment and does not constitute a “project” as defined by the CEQA [CEQA Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15378(b)(2)].
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: The City of Sacramento declared a shelter crisis, indicating that there are not enough beds to serve individuals experiencing homelessness, and shelter beds need to be made available as soon as possible. The United States lnteragency Council on Homelessness recommends that "shelters must be low barrier, focus on assessment and triage, and intentionally link to permanent housing resources so that people move through to h quickly".
The Housing Authority currently oversees the operations at X Street and City staff are recommending keeping the center operational to bring vulnerable un-housed individuals off the streets, to stabilize them and transition them to housing.
Financial Considerations: Sufficient funding is available (Operating Grants, Fund 2702) in the HHAP-4 Grant Project (G02000980) to execute the Agreement with the Housing Authority of the City of Sacramento for an amount not to exceed $4,628,284.
The initial cost to operate the X Street Center annually was $3.9 million. The current cost to annually operate the shelter is $4.6 million. The additional costs are related to providing cost of living wage increases to operator staff, and increased cost of services and supplies including food supplies to prepare three meals a day, seven days a week.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): All businesses and non-profit organizations that the Department of Community Response is partnering with are LBEs in the City of Sacramento.