No single nonprofit or government agency has taken the lead in developing and implementing a strategy. Without a leader and a strategy, discussions continue to be circular , frustrations of downtown business owners grow, community members ,
continue to raise safety concerns, and homeless wom en and men do not know where to turn. Acting without resea rch wastes resources and time that the homeless and the
members of our community do not have to spare. Our success as a community will depend upon our ability to inte grate long- term and short-term planning, and that maximizes av ailable funding and services.
The Legacy Health Report underscores the importance of a plan, implementation, and leadership. The Turlock City Council should take pr oductive steps to help those in need while concurrently protecting the rights of all cit izens by encouraging, and when necessary, enforcing community standards.
Cities and counties stopped enforcing many municipa l ordinances after a decision by our federal courts in Martin v. City of Boise. The case discouraged enforcement of traditional municipal ordinances commonly used to address the e ffects on the community from actions of some homeless individuals. This paralysis in enforcement lead to a proliferation of significant homeless encampments, including in t he City of Turlock. On March 14, 2021, Acting City Manager Gary Hampton proclaimed a local emergency in response to the Unsheltered Homeless Encampment Crisis (“UHEC L ocal Emergency”). The UHEC Local Emergency was ratified by the City Council on March 16, 2021. This allowed emergency action through education efforts and the offering of shelter to mitigate the significant homeless encampments in the City. The U HEC Local Emergency was reaffirmed several times thereafter before it was t erminated on July 13, 2021 by City Council action.
On July 9, 2021, Interim City Manager Sarah Tamey E ddy proclaimed a local emergency in response to a continuing Unsheltered Homeless Cr isis within the City of Turlock (“UHC Local Emergency”). The UHC Local Emergency was rati fied by the City Council on July 13, 2021, has been regularly reaffirmed by the City Council and continues in effect. This local emergency allows the City to ensure it has ad equate emergency shelter beds available, primarily by funding an agreement between the Turlock Gospel Mission and the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds that provides signifi cant additional shelter bed capacity if the emergency shelters become full.
On June 22, 2021, Mayor Amy Bublak reported at the City Council meeting that she had appointed Councilmembers Rebecka Monez and Pam Fran co to the Ad Hoc Committee on the Homeless. Councilmember Monez was appointed chairperson.
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The Ad Hoc Committee met with numerous parties invo lved or interested in the homelessness challenge faced by the City and review ed numerous studies and reports.
This report to the City Council is the result of those efforts.
Homelessness in Turlock: Building and Implementing a Plan to Reduce Homelessness by Respecting All Persons Who Make Tur lock Their Home – the Homeless and the Housed Alike
As our colleagues know, Councilmember Franco and I have been outspoken on the need to implement a “Turlock” plan to address the multip le needs of the unsheltered homeless by respecting and assisting this unsheltered popula tion while also respecting and addressing the desire of Turlock residents to live in a safe, clean, and hospitable community. Our residents constantly ask us to addre ss homelessness and its effects on the larger community. The Turlock Community Issues Survey conducted in February 2020 identified homelessness as the most serious pr oblem facing Turlock with 85% of respondents stating it was an “extremely serious” or “very serious” problem.
What follows is a multifaceted strategy. Our approach relies on:
1. Providing a bed to all those in need of shelter who desire shelter.
2. Providing help to those in need of shelter who d esire help in addressing the core reasons for their homelessness, including access to mental health treatment, health care, strategies to redress family alienation and the like.
3. Augmenting funding of certain services to addres s the core causes of chronic homelessness.
4. Reversing the critical mistakes of the state and federal governments that have made chronic homelessness a permanent feature of local life.
5. Being skeptical of “silver bullet” approaches pr omising magic cures for complicated challenges. The City should be wary of making perma nent another government bureaucracy that loses focus on measurably improvin g the lives of those in need.
Sometimes government programs seek to sustain thems elves whether or not the chosen approaches work. The focus of finding solut ions that work effectively and efficiently can be lost.
6. Continually measuring results through independen t evaluation to determine whether programs and services work or don’t work. The basic concept: stop funding what doesn’t work; continue to fund what does work. We r ecommend evaluating every six (6) months the chosen approaches the City undertake s or funds. The City Council should utilize the services of independent evaluators for this ongoing process.
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7. Focusing on the goal of providing help to those who want help through compassion and showing them respect while also treating the re st of the Turlock community with respect by enforcing local standards as articulated in the Turlock Municipal Code, all the while complying with the edicts of state and fe deral law. We believe that, as Governor Newsom recently stated enforcing laws that may affect the unsheltered population is a necessary component of any plan to address the unsheltered homeless while providing a desirable community in which to live.
In short, by providing beds and access to healthcar e, mental health treatment and other options, we will make considerable strides in compa ssionately dealing with the unsheltered homeless population while at the same t ime protecting the rights of all Turlock residents to live in a clean, safe environment.
Part 1: Effectively and Efficiently Serving the Challenges of the Unsheltered Homeless
To de-politicize the challenges created by an unshe ltered homeless population, the Committee recommends that the City of Turlock undertake the approaches listed below.
1. The City should continue to support the Turlock Gospel Mission and WeCare as the primary providers of emergency shelter in our C ity. The City should continue to monitor and document that there is emergency shelte r available to any person desiring shelter on a constant and continuing basis
2. The Committee found that our Turlock churches ha ve participated, and are willing to continue to participate, in alleviating homeless ness. We believe the City should collaborate with churches and other religious insti tutions where they choose how they would like to assist in continuing, new or inc reased efforts to alleviate. Many different offers were received including funding ho using vouchers, providing funds for other needs, and to house the homeless at their sites. This is an already active, but underutilized resource that is willing to do more.
3. The primary contact between City employees and t he unsheltered homeless is undertaken by the Turlock Police Department (“TPD”) under the Community Assistance Response Engagement (C.A.R.E.) Team coor dination with Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. The City should support and expand these efforts through providing additional t raining to TPD officers and employees and by expanding the circle of City emplo yees trained to interact in a positive manner with the unsheltered homeless. This training should include efforts to re-connect the unsheltered homeless with family or other important persons in their lives. Turlock-based Genesis Behavior Center (Dr. Romina Kiryakous, PsyD.) has offered free of charge to train City employees on behavioral interventions addressing the unique health and mental health chal lenges of our unsheltered homeless population. This training would be perform ed by professional behavioral experts to enhance the quality outcomes for our uns heltered homeless population.
The Committee recommends this as a pilot program.
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4. The Committee found that very little unsheltered homelessness involves two- parent families with children. It appears that two- parent families either are less susceptible to homelessness or are assisted if faci ng homelessness by a network of charity and/or government assistance that addres ses the challenge before homelessness – and certainly chronic homelessness – occurs or persists. The Committee also believes that single-parent families with young children may also face the prospect of homelessness with more success than single individuals, couples, or other groups of homeless individuals in informal family-style arrangements.
The Committee recommends that the City further expl ore the issue of two-parent and single-parent family homelessness with a goal o f creating a policy or standard of “Family First” leading to “No Family Homelessnes s” in Turlock. The Committee believes preventing homelessness among family units is easier than reversing homelessness once it occurs.
5. The Committee believes that an important interve ntion point occurs after a homeless person has been discharged from a local ho spital. By assisting at this juncture, the Committee believes that the cycle of homeless despair can sometimes be interrupted and create a positive outc ome in the life of a homeless individual. The Committee recommends that the City funding to Covenant Care at Home to provide post-hospitalization services for a ny unsheltered person discharged from a local hospital. In addition, the Committee recommends that the City reimburse WeCare for use of the four (4) shelt er beds they have designated for availability of the care of these individuals.
6. A large amount of chronic homelessness is relate d to mental health challenges and substance addictions. As is clear, these are di fficult to address successfully.
The Committee believes the City of Turlock should c ontract with First Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center to hire two licensed clin ical social workers to interact with the unsheltered population with a focus on the Westside of the City as a pilot- program to determine if such interaction can meanin gfully reduce homelessness (see Part 6 below).
7. It appears that some defined populations – such as military veterans - have deep resources available that should yield a no-homeless -population standard for that particular population. The City should inventory su ch resources and opportunities and maximize assistance to such populations through the use of devices such as memoranda of understanding with appropriate agencies and organizations.
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8. The Committee believes our new City Manager shou ld inventory vacant or underutilized City land – and the land of other government agencies – to determine whether such land or facilities can play a role in the City’s long-term plan.
9. Despite the Committee’s recommendations to augme nt certain social services and measure whether such augmentation can meaningfully improve the lives of the unsheltered homeless, the primary unit of local gov ernment that provides homeless individuals medical, mental health, social and similar services remains county government. TPD has a good working relations hip with the County of Stanislaus agencies that provide such services. The Committee recommends that the City Manager review County provision of such se rvices to the unsheltered homeless population with the goal of documenting it s effectiveness, cost- effectiveness, and levels of service to Turlock. Be cause the City of Turlock is large enough to have its share of challenges in assisting the homeless but is not so large that the challenges are overwhelming, the Committee recommends that the Council allow the City Manager to explore pilot pro grams with the County that would establish “best practices” in reducing homele ssness in our community that are supported and justified by measuring effective and cost-effective outcomes.
The Committee believes the approaches outlined abov e can make measurable improvements in the lives of our unsheltered homeless.
Part 2: Creating a Legislative Platform and Judicial Reform Platform to Reverse the Mistakes of State and Federal Governments Related to the Unsheltered Homeless
The State of California and the federal government have made critical mistakes which must be reversed if local communities are ever to e ffectively address the challenges of the unsheltered homeless for the long term.
In retrospect, then-Governor Ronald Reagan’s de-ins titutionalization of the critically mentally ill has had devastating consequences for t he persons facing critical mental health challenges, for their families, and for the communities in which they congregate without being cared for. After decades of this fail ed policy, it is becoming clearer to many that it is simply an abomination for one of the ric hest societies created in the history of the world – that is California with all its abundance – does not create a system to allow the community to care for people who simply cannot care for themselves.
Another example is from the activist federal courts . The Martin v. City of Boise case mentioned above has frozen enforcement of local ord inances because of unrealistic judicial expectations and interference into local p olicy making. While decisions such as these can be overcome by local governments during t he time they are binding law, the City should seek correction of wrong-headed decisio ns that unduly hinder efforts of local elected officials to address local issues such as homeless encampments.
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The Committee recommends that the City create a leg islative platform for reform of these ill-conceived polices of the state or federal gover nments whether they arise from the executive, legislative or judicial branches.
Part 3: What is the Right Path from Shelter to Housing?
The Committee found that the most difficult and con tentious issue in the homelessness policy debate is identifying a sound path from unsh eltered homelessness to shelter to housing. Identifying a path that actually works for the unsheltered homeless rather than merely creating bureaucracies and spending and prog rams that “manage” rather than solve the actual plight of actual families and indi viduals facing chronic homelessness is a large task. The more the Committee studied the opti ons, the less certain we became of the appropriate approaches.
Consequently, we found these solutions by their nat ure beyond the work of the Committee. We recommend that the City Manager estab lish a City Task Force to decide on the longer-term approach to the types of additio nal shelter and housing that could help reduce the level of chronic homelessness in our com munity. The issues the Committee identified that need to be addressed include the potential roles of:
● transitional and supportive housing;
● non-congregate housing;
● use of FEMA trailers on a temporary basis as lo nger-term approaches are implemented;
● whether housing PODs have a role to play in one or more of categories of shelter and housing;
● use of motel vouchers on a temporary or long-term basis.
In the meantime, the Committee recommends that the UHC Local Emergency be left in place to ensure that sufficient shelter beds will b e available. Providing additional facilities is the most expensive part of the homelessness chal lenge. It is important that local government be good stewards of the tax dollars and charitable contributions that go to this effort.
The Committee also researched complaints of panhand ling by homeless individuals occurring at shopping centers and popular intersect ions throughout the City. The Committee inquired with other cities to determine a n effective way to resolve or minimize this issue. The Committee learned that other citie s have implemented signage at shopping center exits and intersections that direct potential donors to donate to local non- profit providers instead of handing cash over to a panhandler. The other cities have determined that this approach has resulted in a sig nificant reduction in panhandling. The Committee reached out to the Turlock Gospel Mission and learned that it would be willing to bear the costs of the initial signs for the City . The Committee also inquired with the Finance Department and learned that the Finance Dir ector could implement and facilitate a program for Turlock’s non-profit providers to rec eive these funds. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the City implement the us e of a like or similar sign around the City at popular intersections and/or shopping centers.
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Part 4: Identify and Explore “Disfavored” Approaches
to Housing the Unsheltered Homeless
The Committee recommends that the City identify and explore seemingly “disfavored” approaches to housing the unsheltered homeless to d etermine if they provide an unheralded possibility in significantly addressing the challenges of chronic unsheltered homelessness. During the Ad Hoc Committee’s work, w e noted an anomaly in the state statutes surrounding homelessness. In provisions of California law, we found references to emergency shelter, transitional housing, and sup portive housing. In a few of these, we also noted reference to “single-room occupancy” units. While funding seems to follow with the first three (3) types of shelter mentioned, we did not find significant funding sources for “single-room occupancy” units.
The Committee recommends that the City undertake a Request for Information process on the potential use and funding of “single-room oc cupancy” units and the effect of this approach on assisting the unsheltered homeless population.
Part 5: Maintaining Local Community Standards by Enforcing Local Ordinances
Ever since the City of Boise case, many local gover nments have been paralyzed in enforcing local ordinances that federal courts stat e or imply violate the rights of homeless persons. Lost in this judicial activism are the rig hts of those who live in a local community that they make home. It is almost as if activist ju dges and their ideological allies in non- governmental organizations (NGOs) wish to demoraliz e and assault local communities by the sense of despair created by homeless encampments.
Under current law, the burden to enforce local ordi nances that formerly were commonplace is high, though not impossible. Despite these challenges, the Committee recommends that the City undertake a comprehensive review of City ordinances, policies, and procedures so that the City can confidently and without hesitation maintain local community standards by enforcing local ordinances.
Enforcement without judgment is a dead-end. The Com mittee recommends that the City seek to have the local courts and district attorney re-institute the Homeless Court diversion program or institute a city version of th is as a pilot program to be tested in Turlock.
Another Community concern is the amount of panhandling that is occurring within the City at off ramps and shopping centers. The Committee co nducted research as to what other cities were doing to address this issue. The Commit tee learned that other cities had strategically placed signage at popular panhandling locations and intersections directing donors to donate to the local non-profits of the Ci ty instead of handing cash to a panhandler. This resulted in a reduction of enabli ng to the homeless individuals. The Committee researched the possibility of the City fa cilitating this element with the Finance Director and has determined that it is possible. The Committee recommends that the City implement the use of these signs as the Finance Dep artment can facilitate incoming payments and the Turlock Gospel Mission has agreed to bear the cost of the initial signage.
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Part 6: Assisting the Unsheltered Homeless and Pre venting Additional Homelessness by Addressing the Behavioral Health Ne eds of the Greater Turlock Community - Step One Focusing on the Westside
The Committee recommends that the City of Turlock c ontract with the First Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center (“FBHUCC”) to establish t wo (2) full-time behavioral health professionals on the Westside of Turlock to focus o n the unsheltered homeless but also on the needs of the larger community. For too long, the challenges of Westside residents have been ignored by City government. Partnering wi th the FBHUCC will allow residents of the Westside immediate access to bilingual menta l health providers. The goal is to assist the unsheltered homeless but also other fami lies and individuals in an effort to prevent persons with homes from becoming homeless. The estimated cost of this contract is $400,000.
Part 7: Preventing Additional Homelessness by Meet ing the Urgent Healthcare Needs of Our Most Vulnerable
Access to healthcare services continues to be a cha llenge for many residents of Turlock, particularly for families caring for a disabled adu lt or child, socially isolated seniors, the unsheltered, and others. A reversal of fortune for a family facing these challenges can lead to homelessness. To address these overwhelming needs, the Committee recommends that the City of Turlock contract with C ommunity Health Centers of America to provide mobile health services to residents acro ss the City of Turlock. The estimated cost of this contract is $350,000.
Part 8: Preventing Additional Homelessness by Supp orting LHE’s Program for Respite Care and Homemaker Services for Families in Need
As our population ages in place, the need to assist families caring for aging parents, a spouse or partner with dementia or Alzheimer’s, or families caring for a disabled child or adult increases. Legacy Health Endowment is working with CareLinx to implement a program to provide families and individuals with ac cess to respite care and homemaker services. LHE is seeking a $200,000 grant (that the foundation will match) to provide these services to Turlock residents at no cost. No t only will Turlock residents and their families benefit from these services, but the City of Turlock will be the first community in America to proactively address the needs of “family care,” recognizing the importance of helping families with the costs of long-term care s ervices. At this time, there is no cost to the City as LHE is seeking to provide these services as part of its mission.
Part 9: Constant Measuring and Evaluation of Programs
The Committee recommends that the City measure the result of its efforts and funding.
The City should discontinue funding what does not w ork and only fund what does. We recommend evaluating the chosen approaches every si x (6) months to measure whether what the City has chosen to do or fund works or doe s not work. The City Council should utilize the services of independent evaluators for this ongoing process. For example, Agenda Staff Report
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Legacy Health Endowment (“LHE”) has the expertise t o do such evaluation in appropriate circumstances. If a program funded or operated by L HE is at issue, a different evaluator would be appropriate.
Selected resources consulted :
“Building a Better Turlock: How the Homeless Proble m Will Inevitably Challenge Healthcare for the Middle Class in Our Community – An Analysis & Recommendation,” Legacy Health Endowment (Spring 2019)
“Community Inquiry: Homeless Shelter in Turlock,” C enter for Public Policy Studies, CSU Stanislaus (August 2007)
“Frequently Asked Questions about Measure A,” City of Turlock (2pp.) (undated)
“Homelessness Task Force Report – Tools and Resourc es for Cities and Counties,” Institute for Local Government (2018)
“Plan to Address Homelessness in Stanislaus County,” (January 2019)
Point-in-Time Count 2018 Summary – “2018 Stanislaus County Point-In-Time Count Survey Results,” (7 pp.)
Point-in-Time Count 2019 Summary - “2019 Stanislaus County Point-In-Time Count Survey Results,” (6 pp.)
Point-in-Time Count 2020 Summary – “2020 Stanislaus County Homeless Point-in-Time Count Executive Summary,” (2 pp.)
Point-in-Time Count 2021 Summary - “2021 Stanislaus County Homeless Point-in-Time Count Executive Summary,” (1 pg.)
“Stanislaus 2021 Regional Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness Version II,” (9-30- 2021)
“Turlock Community Issues Survey – Survey Conducted : February 3-9, 2020,” power point presentation prepared by FMS Research for the Turlock City Council (undated)
4. BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATION:
The recommendations in the Report are based upon th e work of the Ad Hoc Committee with interested parties and those involve d in addressing the challenges of the unsheltered homeless in Turlock.
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5. FISCAL IMPACT / BUDGET AMENDMENT:
Some of the recommendations have a fiscal or budget impact consisting of additional spending which would require the appropr iate budget amendments. The Committee recommends the City Manager review these and return to the Council detailing the impacts.
6. STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommend the City Council receive and approve the Report from the Ad Hoc Committee on the Homeless and direct the City Manag er to review the recommendations and return to the Council will any necessary budget allocations.
7. CITY MANAGER’S COMMENTS:
Agree with the Staff Recommendation.
8. ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
N/A
9. ALTERNATIVES:
A. The City Council could not accept nor approve th e Report. This alternative is not recommended as the Report provides a basis for significant progress on addressing the UHC Local Emergency.
B. The City Council could send the report back to t he Ad Hoc Committee for additional work. This alternative is not recommende d as the Report provides a basis for significant progress on addressing the UH C Local Emergency and the issue should be addressed by the entire City Council and City staff.