1 Appendix A: Consultation Meeting Notes
Housing and Service Provider Virtual Focus Group Notes - July 20, 2022 Participants: Bill Wilson Center (BWC), Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) McKinney Vento Liaisons, Silicon Valley Independent Living Center (SVILC) • What do you think is the biggest cause of homelessness in the City of Santa Clara (CSC)?
• Cost of living is very expensive
• In the past 5-6 years the number of people living on the streets has increased. May correspond with sweeps of encampments. Used to see people camping in San Jose all the time around overpasses and creeks, starting to see that in CSC as well. • People are priced out of the housing market, lose a job and then even harder to afford housing.
• Whole County, including CSC, there just isn’t enough housing for the number of residents. Poor supply of housing. Cities and county didn’t have enough forethought in planning and building enough housing, particularly for lower income. Rents have increased 10-25% almost annually, including CSC, and rising much faster than income is rising.
• Fastest growing homeless population is older adults over 65, there are populations we’re not paying enough attention to. As those adults age, they develop disabilities as well.
• A lot of the homeless population migrates from city to city to see what resources are available. E.g. leaving Gilroy, which has fewer resources. • Lack of affordable housing and cost of living rising faster than income are issues I encounter daily. Lack of planning to keep up with rising population, cost of housing rising faster than incomes. People who could put a little in the bank 10 years ago are now living check to check and one disaster from living on the street. • Mental health and substance use is a massive issue that’s not being addressed. For some, it’s a lifestyle choice – have gotten to know a few people who’ve been housed, but then willingly give up housing. Either too restrictive, or some other reason. See a lot of movement within the County, as well as some from outside of County. There are a lot of housing programs, but haven’t seen a lot of long-term sustainability supports – e.g. life skill building, etc. • What do you think are the biggest roadblocks to ending homelessness in the City of Santa Clara?
• Development of affordable housing, or lack of, is a roadblock. Even if you’re a developer who wants to do this, there are so many obstacles that developers give up. Combination of affordable housing with supportive services should be increased. Not enough supportive housing in CSC, there is some, but there should be more of that.
• We need to do more development of affordable housing, work with developers who have that knowledge and interest. A huge roadblock is the fact that there is 2 no funding for supportive services attached to that development. There are members of the community who can live independently and don’t need additional supports, but there are a lot of people who have disabilities, behavioral health issues, and need that additional support.
• E.g. Development targeting older adults had a plan to provide support services, but there was no money for it. Not even money to develop a space for a provider to provide the services (about $1.5M). State is making money available for capital improvements but not services. • Cost of housing is a barrier for providers as well. A few different houses where we place clients, challenge of finding similar housing in the market is really challenge.
• What services (shelter, case management, food etc.) have you found to be the most effective to house clients?
o SVILC has case management services for 3 programs (currently homeless, at risk of homelessness, people stuck in SNFs or hospitals because they don’t have affordable housing or family support). Provides nursing services throughout the community to help people with chronic health issues live independently. o Intensive case management services includes assessment of needs, help with first month’s rent and security deposit, working with supportive services and hiring caregivers, connecting to transit services. If these services are coordinated in a person-centered way and have an effective case manager, we have a high percentage of folks transitioning back into the community and able to sustain their living situation.
o Education and employment are key
o Basic independent living skills to be successful in maintaining housing o School district: no one has to pay for school meals anymore, there are also food distribution centers. Families can access food and supplies for their homes.
SCUSD partners with BWC a lot to get resources to families. • What has NOT been effective?
o County mental health services could be better. Not a lot of close interaction. o Issues with clients revolve around lack of mental health supports. Programs get stuck trying to problem solve with clients, this might be beyond one’s individual scope. Stronger coordination between mental health and housing would be great.
There seems to be a “hot potato” approach where agencies can’t actually address the issue of mental health.
o Clients seem to get lost in the County system.
o Not enough mental health resources for students, we don’t have enough wellness coordinators. Not enough people and not enough time.
• What opportunities and services are missing?
o It’s not effective for the City to rely on County services. Residents should be able to be served in their own communities.
o Vouchers for short term hotel/ motel stays
o Shelters
o Available, staffed safe parking sites
o Resources provided by the County should also be accessible within the City. 3 o Not enough temporary housing for folks who are trying to get things together (e.g. in between jobs, decrease in work hours, etc.) and are trying to get back to being stably housed.
o Establish a dedicated outreach team for the City of Santa Clara. Right now, PD has a couple of community resource officers but there is no dedicated street outreach team.
o Good things that the City does: TBRA, ERA program during COVID • BWC is piloting a small family shelter in the City of Santa Clara. Families stay for 6-12 months and transition to RRH/PSH.
o Need for more internal City resources. It would be great to not send people away from their community.
o Tenant Resource Center that residents can go to with housing concerns • BWC has the Here4You hotline, but we don’t have that much knowledge of what the City has. Lack of information on resources is challenging for the hotline.
• From your understanding, how do people learn about the available housing opportunities and services?
o How do you as providers learn about what is available? • Outreach to different cities
• Receive information from County and City contractors
• Social media
• Flyers posted in the community
• City and County websites (resource lists)
• Meetings with organizations addressing similar needs in the community o How do folks who need support learn about what is available? • Word of mouth. Families tell providers and then we are able to share with other people
• 211
• Here4you hotline
• What is something the city could do immediately to help address homelessness? • The City needs to invest more in care services – bridge the gap between housing and supportive services. Provide the support for people to transition from homelessness to living in community. Unless we invest in better incomes and lower rent, we will continue to have a revolving door of folks who need services because they can’t make it in society.
• City leaders should make it doable for developers to develop low-income housing. (x2)
• Implement a city-wide street outreach program. The one-on-one contact to figure out what is needed is crucial. We don’t have a dedicated team in Santa Clara. This is something that the city can fund.
• Long term: Work with the State and nonprofit developers to build more affordable accessible housing.
• Short term: expanding eviction protections through legislation, cover more properties under eviction protection to help people stay in their units. Anti-rent gouging protections, security deposit limits.
4 Phone Interview Notes with Santa Clara Unified School District McKinney Vento Liaisons - January 26, 2023
• Quite a few families are living in hotels right now but don’t have enough vouchers for families to get into these hotel spots; also that doesn’t help them to move forward. o Lots of families are doubled up which works out ok, but it ends up being difficult if you don’t have someone to stay with.
• A lot of families want to stay in our district. They understand that moving out of district would be cheaper but they’re very rooted. Families are willing to do whatever it takes to stay here.
o There are a small portion of families that live in San Jose and Sunnyvale, so they can access resources but not in Santa Clara.
• Lots of students don’t want to go to Bill Wilson Center; they are scared of being picked on, getting things stolen, program rules are restrictive (e.g. you can’t just take off whenever you want)
• Do you think that resources or services provided by an organization that has connections to the community would be helpful? e.g. orgs that are designed to serve language communities, Spanish speaking families, etc. Would this make people feel safer? o Maybe not safer but more comfortable. Trying to help folks across language barriers is difficult.
o It would be nice to get services here and it would also help to hold families accountable. Student attendance is bad because of housing and financial instability. We have families that find housing in San Jose, but the commute is really difficult because kids don’t want to get up early in the morning. They don’t want to go to a new school nearby either because they won’t have friends, will have to adjust to new teachers, etc.
• More support in the city is needed. We always have to look at the zip code to determine where to get help and never see 95051 included.
• Immigration status is a barrier. Families who are undocumented house in one apartment; often multiple families in one apartment. Other organizations in other cities (e.g. Somos Mayfair, Amigos de Guadalupe) are helpful, but very focused on their community. • We don’t have a shelter here; other shelters are very far and difficult for families to access.
• Homeless Prevention System isn’t typically used as a resource, but is mostly privately funded so there’s more flexibility.
• Lifemoves has been doing a good job of assisting families. hotel is accessible to families and children. It’s helpful to keep families in the same place and have been able to get housing. Seen a lot of positive outcomes from that site.
Phone Interview Notes with Next Door (DV Service Provider) - January 31, 2023 • What are the numbers and demographics of DV survivors experiencing homelessness in the City of Santa Clara?
5 o Scope of need for survivors: Next Door will pull numbers for households receiving services and rental assistance
• What are the resources currently available to assist this population? o Main office is in San Jose; also have a confidential shelter. o Pandemic allowed team to do things virtually - constantly assess for virtual options (e.g. Kids Club)
o We do have services that we provide in Santa Clara for individuals who apply and live in that space.
o Next Door has an MOU with police dept to follow up with survivors after a police interaction; they follow up with survivors to talk about lethality. • Largest housing and service needs of this population, largest unmet needs, and gaps in services?
o DV is a major cause of homelessness; some survivors have homes, but are unable to maintain housing for varied reasons (financial, safety, etc). o Currently have a DV housing first program (one time assistance and ongoing) • Needs, Gaps, Challenges
o Credit - many survivors face financial abuse so credit can be ruined, result in evictions/violence, etc. some landlords won’t overlook that o Low income - clients would normally qualify for low-income housing but get denied because of bad credit. people end up going to places that are not livable o A lot of clients have children. people want to keep their kids in the same school district, don’t want to uproot their family and leave the community o The person causing harm is typically more financially stable. Income is lost if they separate from their partner
o Housing first program works well to help folks pay rent; some people don’t have higher education which impacts their ability to get jobs o Childcare is also a barrier to being able to work
• Can you speak to the importance of specific and targeted service for people who are fleeing?
o Safety planning and risk assessment is an ongoing way they support survivors o Even if someone is thinking of relocating, they’re trying to not have their address shared
o Can help people get their locks changed
o One client was about to get evicted because of DV, Next door was able to engage the law foundation to try to stop the eviction.
o Shelter has confidential services and locations, legal services specific to survivor needs (restraining orders, family court, helping clients with PD, survivors are sometimes wrongfully arrested, etc.)
o Support groups, therapy for survivors (family, children, etc). client trauma impacts the kids too, we support the whole family
o Employment services
o All of these things are still gaps, there isn’t enough of any of these services to meet needs
• Next Door Solutions FY 20-21 annual report
6 Phone Interview Notes with Santa Clara County Housing Authority - December 21, 2022 • 1,033 EHVs (10 years starting 7/22), plenty of people to refer but not enough landlords
o Primary obstacle is lack of units, plus some landlord resistance to taking vouchers
o Contract with Abode to do housing search
• Not enough vouchers
o No problem sending referrals, and referrals to send when those don’t work o Family queue clears out regularly and then they start rebuilding it • Who’s most likely to accept vouchers?
o Buildings that already have affordable units
o Not a lot of market-rate units being used right now
• 17,000 plus vouchers in HVC; 34,000 people on interest list currently o 50 new mainstream vouchers for families who are disabled and homeless o Got new VASH vouchers this year
o No large-scale infusion of general use vouchers, additions don’t really make a dent
• How are vouchers allocated?
o PBV right now is pretty focused on PSH, through Measure A developments o Interest List for HCV is a lottery system. Preference for people who’ve lived or worked in the County for the last 5 years
o Haven’t been pulling from the Interest List for HCV because we’ve allocated a lot of our pot of vouchers to PBV units
o Large concentration of voucher holders in downtown/east San Jose o Heather can send map showing concentrations of vouchers geographically o Can’t target PBV (or HCV) based on geography
• What can the City do to help promote landlord engagement? o Lists of landlord groups that meet regularly
o HA plan is to attend LL groups, talk about the HCV program and benefits - e.g. know you’re going to keep getting rent payments even in a pandemic o City has email lists, social media - can help advertise events, spread o City could also work with one of their contractors to organize landlord/ tenant events, could invite Housing Authority
Phone Interview Notes with Law Foundation of Silicon Valley – February 2, 2023 • Number and demographics of people experiencing homelessness in the City of Santa Clara
o Law Foundation of Silicon Valley Client population
▪ 784 housed
▪ 275 housing status unknown,
▪ 49 people identified as unhoused: unhoused number doesn’t include people who are in shelter or TH. includes people in sober living, SROs ▪ in general, most clients are low income.
7 • Largest housing and service needs of this population, largest unmet needs, and gaps in services
o Language access has been an issue from a lot of clients ▪ Mandarin, Cantonese, Southeast Asian languages, Russian once in a while ▪ Santa Clara clients are primarily English speaking
• Main perpetuators of housing instability
o Astronomical cost of housing
o Lack of continuity between service providers. work closely with people put on mental health holds in hospitals that don’t have a solid discharge plan or continuity required for stabilization
o encampment sweeps during the pandemic and now make it hard for people to live and stabilize minimally. people lose their belongings and have to start completely from scratch afterwards
o Smaller scale factors
▪ lack of board and care facilities in the county: different laws made them harder to run, so they were just shut down
▪ in addition to licensed board and cares, the unlicensed room and board/ independent living facilities lack the regulation needed ▪ really depends on the operators
▪ some people choose not to live in them, or experience unfair evictions. continues the cycle of housing instability
o lack of options to begin with, and there isn’t a strong continuation of services when people are in crisis
• people don’t have the basic knowledge to be able to apply for public benefits. since they’re more on the appeals side, they don’t have capacity to help people apply o providers need more capacity to help people apply and follow up • currently working on rehabilitating board and care facilities: a lot of complaints are related to finances and making sure funds are spent on maintenance and operations
Notes from Santa Clara CoC Board Meeting re: HOME ARP – March 22, 2022 • Comments from the Lived Experience Advisory Board
o Does HUD have a fact sheet on what's allowed for supportive service? o Can HUD ARP supplement existing programs, fill gaps with existing services? o If a family gets homelessness prevention services can they also get a subsidy from HOME ARP? Specifically for outreach, needs are identified. Do we have funds for things like car batteries?
o Nonprofit operating and capacity building; CHDO, professional development, peer support group, working group. Allocate funds to pay people with lived experience to do this work.
o furniture, cookware, etc.
o Matching HOME ARP funds with vouchers would be helpful • Best to think about HOME as base funds, fund one position and free up funds for another source that's more flexible. This is a moment where we need to pay attention to quantity, 8 quality, and sustainability of what is being funded. Need to think about where gaps are generally/ where people wish cities would step in.
• Gaps in multiple areas:
o Is this an opportunity for Cities to work with the County to advance pipeline projects?
o Is this an opportunity to come together to focus on one area with City/County approach?
o Lots of HHAP, ESG, Community Plan conversations provided feedback as well • County will share gaps analysis on funding sources.
• Matrix of available funding and prioritizing what the unmet needs are, see if there's overlap with County and City interests.
o Do we have enough resources for outreach? Maybe lived experience does outreach?
Information Provided via email from Veterans Affairs – January 24 & 31, 2023 Number and demographics of veterans in the City of Santa Clara The exact number of Veterans that are unhoused or who are at-risk specifically in the City of Santa Clara may be difficult to quantify, but we can pull some data from our HCHV (emergency shelters), GPD (transitional housing), and HUD-VASH (permanent housing) program census data to see if we have any location data specific to the City of Santa Clara (an initial pull of all programs is about 27 Veterans with addresses in the City of Santa Clara). We can also put you in contact with the local SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families) grantees that work with both unhoused Veterans and Veterans at-risk of losing their homes and see if they can provide any data on the number of Veterans in Santa Clara. Have you contacted BitFocus to see if they can pull City of Santa Clara-specific information from HMIS? If not, perhaps we can make a request. By when do you need this information?
Resources currently available to assist this population:
VA Program Current Capacity HOMES (our
database) Program
Census Numbers
Service Needs/Gaps
HUD-VASH HUD-VASH housing
choice vouchers =
1361 total, 375 of
which are open.
HUD-VASH Project-
Based Vouchers =
144, 12 of which are
open
385 enrolled with
issued vouchers in
Santa Clara County
73 enrolled, waiting
for
vouchers/assignments
• Moving resources
(packing,
physically
moving,
unpacking)
• Storage fees
• Transportation to
family in times of
crisis (funerals
etc.)
9 • Towing fees
• Deep Cleaning
services,
Housekeeping
Services
• Decluttering
services
(hoarding)
Health Care for
Homeless Veteran
Program (HCHV) –
60 Day Emergency
Shelters
Total Santa Clara
County (SCC)
HCHV BEDS:
96 Total OCCUPIED
HCHV BEDS Santa
Clara County as of
1/26/23:
58 PERCENTAGE SCC
OCCUPIED:
HCHV: 60%
60 Veterans currently
enrolled in HCHV in
Santa Clara County
as of 1/31/23
• Board and Care
vouchers
• Funding for IHSS
for “donut hole”
Veterans (too
much for medi-
cal too little for
private pay)
• 290 Housing
vouchers
• Increased HHA
services for
Veterans
• Couples
shelters/housing
• Increased beds at
Cal Vet homes-
memory care.
Grant and Per-Diem
(GPD) Transitional
Housing- for up to 24
months
Total Santa Clara
County (SCC) GPD
BEDS:
122
Total OCCUPIED
GPD BEDS Santa
Clara County as of
1/26/23:
55 56 Veterans currently
enrolled in GPD in
Santa Clara County
as of 1/31/23
(same as above)
10 PERCENTAGE SCC
OCCUPIED:
GPD: 45%
HCHV Intensive
Case Management
(CCP Voucher
Program)
39 out of 80 vouchers
filled.
50 total enrolled in
HCHV ICM Program
including non-
voucher short-term
case management
program participants.
Possible
vouchers/contracts
for cleaning services
for our Veterans.
Some Veterans have
mobility or cognitive
issues that make the
day to day difficult.
This may go under
IHSS category.
Dental vouchers for
those not in shelter
(currently only
actively enrolled
HCHV/GPD Veterans
are eligible for dental
vouchers)
In addition to the above resources, Veterans often utilize the following resources/referrals in or near the City of Santa Clara through our programs:
• VSO: 68 N. Winchester Blvd, Santa Clara Ca. 95050
• City of Santa Clara Public Libraries (3 branches)
• Santa Clara Senior Center: 1303 Fremont St. Santa Clara, Ca. 95050 • Sourcewise: 3100 De La Cruz Blvd #310, Santa Clara, Ca. 95054 (Services, resources and referral for Seniors)
• Salvation Army: 3090 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara Ca. 95051 (they are part of the Homeless Prevention System within the county, what used to be EAN. And thus can provide temporary financial assistance).
• Santa Clara Farmer’s Market- accepts food stamps
• Project Sentinel: Deals with LL/tenant disputes/mediation, housing discrimination, info landlords/tenants
• Second Harvest Food Bank
• San Jose Parks and Recreation – Senior Programs
• Meals on Wheels
Largest housing and service needs of this population, largest unmet needs, and gaps in services I know that Jennifer and Aida will have more information on this but one of the biggest needs/gaps besides affordable housing in general, is housing for our aging Veterans, particularly those that are not able to live independently ---board and cares/vouchers, assisted 11 living. Housing for those with criminal histories that prevent them from participating in voucher program due to PHA rules such as those with a 290 status.
Phone Interview Notes with YWCA (DV Service Provider) – February 8, 2023 • Number and demographics of people experiencing homelessness in the City of Santa Clara
o Will pull data for CSC (support line calls, housing program, etc - can provide a number of folks who have contacted YWCA for services who are CSC residents) ▪ time period: calendar year 2021 and 2022
• Largest housing and service needs of this population, largest unmet needs, and gaps in services
o For folks fleeing, safety needs are primary concern
▪ confidentiality of where they’re going to
▪ *emergency housing
▪ during pandemic, this shifted to clients wanting motel vouchers ▪ shelter model is concerning bc there were so many resources available during the pandemic that gave people more anonymity and independence ▪ there is a decline of survivors fleeing that actually want to go to emergency shelter
▪ people want to go to places where they can still go about their day, sites near resources/ close to school/work
o Shelter is very expensive to run, motel stays are a better use of resources o Difficult to build sites in Santa Clara
o TBRA is always going to be a need. People constantly are scrambling at the end of the month to get their rent paid. Good resource to keep survivors housed and safe
o County resources have been very depleted especially when it comes to prevention o Clients who are unhoused and assessed are moving through the system quickly (enrolled in RRH program within a week)
▪ but, there are also people who leave abusers and are in an unstable housing setup
▪ even if they remove the abuser, the family can’t provide rent. some folks are able to get a hotel stay and are then moved back into their home, but without financial support (if the abuser was paying for housing) and need to figure out next steps
o Sometimes survivors have resources to pay rent but they don’t have money for a security deposit, and don’t need the assistance of a CoC program. YWCA helps with this
o Credit, lack of employment history, self sufficiency, and childcare are all large barriers. Drop in childcare would probably be helpful.
▪ Transportation is starting to peak a bit more
▪ Limited ability to get UPLIFT bus passes. Have been buying bus passes for clients.
12 o Mental health services (YWCA doesn’t provide this) ▪ Can help clients with therapy, but don’t have the ability to provide support for specific mental health conditions.
o Legal services past immediate orders (e.g. restraining order, etc.) are provided, but family court and undocumented legal support is a gap. ▪ ITINs are hard to get from the IRS. There are CPAs that can help with this, but it costs $1000+.
▪ This hinders everything else in the process (e.g. employment) • Sexual assault vs fleeing trafficking
o People experiencing sexual assault are looking for a place to detach from where the incident happened
▪ If someone calls for SA, they call for help with reporting ▪ A sole SA victim is typically looking for respite after a traumatic event/investigations
▪ Most people just stay in a motel for a day or two and then go back home, less likely to be a problem that makes their place unsafe long-term o Depends on what kind of trafficking experience people have been through - they may not be unsafe at home, could be a labor or sex trafficking situation that happens outside of wherever they are living.
▪ Some unhoused trafficked folks come in through CES, but these situations are usually the result of a large takedown
▪ A lot of trafficking victims coming through CES are undocumented ▪ Folks who are trafficked are more likely to be undocumented than other populations
o YWCA is the only VSP in the County that serves and shelters male survivors o Does not ask about criminal background information or documentation - curious about HOME ARP regulations in terms of eligibility for undocumented people.
Phone Interview Notes with Community Solutions – February 7, 2023 • Number and demographics of people experiencing homelessness in the City of Santa Clara
o Community solutions tracks people served by City. requested biggest possible number of any people requesting support
▪ might be a bit more challenging, don’t ask if people are fleeing ▪ can pull data on shelter requests
o A small percentage of clients we serve are connected to CSC. majority of clients are coming from South County
o Consider reaching out to the children’s advocacy center: more specific to children, considers minors who are impacted within a family unit o Report on homelessness in Santa Clara county is linked in the CDAW report • Largest housing and service needs of this population, largest unmet needs, and gaps in services
o DVAC put together housing gaps analysis - can we use that for HOME ARP? (yes)
▪ Looks at all types of housing
13 ▪ Aida will send PPT and memo
o Office of women’s policy CDAW reports provide more information o Supportive services offered through PSH are people who are high VISPDAT scorers, CH, etc
▪ For a good number of community solutions clients, there isn’t support they need available
▪ Need immediate financial assistance, legal help, shelter ▪ Supportive services look different for people impacted by gender-based violence than what is offered through PSH
o Credit, lack of employment history, self-sufficiency are all large barriers. o Education and improving income: giving people the skill set they need to survive post-subsidy.
o It takes people longer to stabilize than the duration of RRH (2 yrs) o Consuelo was able to ID about 1100 survivors who were identified during the VISPDAT process
▪ however, then people aren’t captured in the confidential queue ▪ communication issue between mainstream system and survivor system o Partners with VISPDAT trainers to train on the condensed training tool. Not sure that people are using it properly.
o For sexual assault specifically, there is no money set aside. There is funding set aside for trafficking.
o Seen an increase in survivors who are unhoused and struggling with either severe mental health issues or addiction.
▪ People are ending up on the streets as a result of victimization ▪ Depends on substance use to make it through the day and stay longer on the streets. Usually when they reach out, it’s because another victimization has happened (most folks in this situation are single, either to begin with or lost children).
o Concerns regarding serving mixed status households where parents/guardians may be undocumented.