Standing Committee on Homelessness
August 22, 2024
Meeting Minutes
The August 22, 2024 Standing Committee on Homelessness was called to order by Chair Melendez at 8:31 am in City Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center Drive, Vista, California.
Committee Members Present:
Deputy Mayor Katie Melendez, Chair
Mayor John Franklin, Vice Chair
Staff Present
John Conley, City Manager
Imelda Huerta, Assistant City Manager
Bevely Roxas, Assistant City Attorney
Kathy Valdez, Assistant City Clerk
Jonathan Lung, Homeless Services Program Manager
Daniel Sturman, Management Analyst
Pledge of Allegiance
Chair Melendez led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes
Approved the June 20, 2024, meeting minutes.
D1. Implementation of City Council Resolution 2024-140
Sgt. Brent Longfellow provided an overview of the process used to address camping on public property.
Committee members and staff discussed the following:
• No citations have been issued so far, only warnings
• Signs are being installed
• Law enforcement interactions are logged and captured on body-warn cameras • Can cross reference law enforcement contacts with outreach data to determine if individuals were offered services in the past
• May need an intake facility, primarily for law enforcement, with 7-12 beds and basic needs, for unhoused to stay until a shelter bed is available (three to seven days).
Want to receive reports on citations issued and the status/outcome of those cases.
D2. Vista Housing Innovation Pilot Program
Homeless Services Program Manager Jonathan Lung introduced the item and Melissa Peterman of Townspeople provided a presentation.
Standing Commission on Homelessness
August 22, 2024
2 Committee members and staff discussed the following:
• The program provides a good option for people
• There are no permanent subsidies attached to shared housing; some applicants have subsidies
• Townspeople looks at other options (purchasing renters insurance, offering a signing bonus) for encouraging landlords to participate before offering subsidies • Contract costs include staff, master lease (property insurance, rental guarantee, etc), and short-term rental assistance
• Concern about cost of program and lack of limit on the amount of subsidies a landlord can receive
• Participants must be experiencing homelessness
• Participants are generally matched first and then placed • Plans for working with the Buena Navigation Center
• Outreach and shelter workers need to be trained on the program • The program will be funded through a grant
Hannah Gailey, Retread, spoke about the success of a similar program in Colorado that is working well and that this program may work well for clients that are already matched.
Want to see program data, including expenditures and long term data.
D3. General Homelessness Updates
Homeless Services Program Manager Jonathan Lung reviewed the dashboard from each of the programs.
Councilmembers requested the following:
• On the Exodus dashboard, want to be able to see how many referrals resulted in intakes
• On the VEHAP dashboard, want to see the number of people that are not receiving any other benefit
• On the Safe Parking dashboard, show cumulative total/information on exits
Councilmembers and staff discussed the following:
• Need more information on clients and long-term data on impact of VEHAP program
• Concern about the amount of funding being spent and eligibility criteria for VEHAP; want funds to help those most in need
• Want presentation from MAAC on VEHAP program; discuss whether changes need to be made to the program
• Need rapid rehousing program
• Start tracking why referrals don’t result in an intake • Want to hear about individuals housed and how it was done • Tenant rights is another issue that needs to be addressed
Standing Commission on Homelessness
August 22, 2024
3 • The City’s Housing Resource Clinic was very well attended; would like future events to have appointment times so attendees can better connect with resources
Have MAAC and Jewish Family Services present on VEHAP and Safe Parking and upcoming meeting.
Discuss Rapid Rehousing at a future City Council meeting.
Adjournment
Chair Melendez adjourned the meeting at 11:49 am