TASK FORCE ON HOMELESS SERVICES
June 15, 2004 minutes
|
MEMBERS PRESENT: |
|
Bruce Beale, Candy Davis, Tami Clark, Katherine Dinsdale, Loring Henderson, Caroline Hicks, Barbara Huppee, David Johnson, Shirley Martin-Smith, Steve Ozark, Mike Rundle, Sara Taliaferro, and Sarah Terwelp |
|
|
|
|
|
MEMBERS ABSENT: |
|
Randy Beeman, Rich Forney, Helen Hartnett, and Barbara Tucker |
|
|
|
|
|
STAFF PRESENT: |
|
Cindy Nau and Margene Swarts |
|
|
|
|
|
PUBLIC PRESENT: |
|
Herman Leon and Joseph W. Spence |
Rundle called the meeting to order at 4:08 p.m.
Approval of Agenda
Rundle moved to approve the agenda. Clark seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Approval of April 20, 2004 minutes
Martin-Smith moved to approve the April 20, 2004 minutes. Ozark seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Loring Henderson entered the meeting.
Discussion of Public Comments Forums
Nau reported what she heard new, which was a need for public restrooms. Ozark said the Coalition was working on a map of available restrooms. Ozark thought that meeting with a caseworker once each month was a good idea.
Rundle said he heard someone say they felt like the Lawrence Public Library was not a very welcoming place to express concerns. He suggested perhaps a committee could be put together to speak to the public one-on-one.
Martin-Smith stated she would be willing to assist with private interviews. She was taken by the positive, constructive information given by the homeless and those involved with the homeless. She commented that it is interesting to see the common threads between the two meetings. She was struck by the desire for homeless to be a part of the community and get back on their feet. ID cards were mentioned often. Keeping dialogue going between businesses and homeless providers was requested.
Schneider commented on Rundle’s comment about business people not wanting to talk. He said two business people told him they felt the needs of the homeless were being expressed more than the business needs. Schneider was also struck by the ID discussion. He felt that if it could be instituted, it could be used to address some problems.
Johnson said the task force should have another series of forums before putting together a final report.
Rundle noted he had sent the second version of the letter which was in response to the funders letter. Rundle said the funders should be involved in the decision-making process so the task force can come to a common conclusion. Rundle remarked that there should be a meeting with the funders, as well as law enforcement.
Martin-Smith said Chief Olin did attend the Practitioners Round Table meeting. The police department would like a laminated card of the services. Clark said they were given a homeless brochure to assist them with referrals. Olin commented at the PRT meeting that he had never seen the brochure before.
Huppee entered the meeting.
Clark said the coalition talked about the ID card. The basis of the expectations resulting from the card is good, but Clark thinks it should be used to encourage positive behavior instead of being used to discourage bad behavior (i.e. receive bus passes if accomplish services).
Martin-Smith said the comment that struck her was that the ID would give a homeless person a feeling of belonging to the community.
Rundle said he thought the idea of the card was to know that one was serving the homeless and track them from place to place. Martin-Smith said it could also be used for that.
Schneider said there should be some minimal participation required to get the card. Clark asked if there was a way to compromise.
Martin-Smith said a small committee could work through the details of this. Johnson recommended the standardized intake subcommittee. Ozark said HMIS could assist with this and that he would not want to see the card taken away in order to withhold services or shelter. Martin-Smith agreed that there should not be anyone with that much power.
Hicks said this all goes back to collaborative case management so that one agency does not have that power.
Taliaferro clarified how ID cards are used in Clearwater, FL saying that on the pamphlet the things that are violations are public nuisance things (i.e. open container, public drunkenness, etc.). The pamphlet clearly stated what is considered a violation. It is a clear-cut program that everyone agrees to.
Rundle asked who would want to be on the subcommittee. Volunteers include Ozark, Clark, Henderson, Hicks, and Martin-Smith.
Davis asked if ID status would be on the shared information system. Nau said it could be.
Terwelp said the HMIS subcommittee is looking at creating their own HMIS and hopes if all goes well it could be installed within a year.
Henderson stated he was sure Clark nominated him for the sub-committee because his initial reaction is to not have an ID. There is a huge portion of people that cannot keep track of drivers licenses, social security cards, etc., let alone an ID. Henderson said he strongly believes ID cards will be used against the homeless.
Martin-Smith reiterated that the idea was discussed and desired by a homeless person participating in the public forums. Henderson said it did indeed come from an individual, but thinks the majority will object. Martin-Smith said the ID card should be used to help, not hurt. Henderson said the value of the card decreases significantly once an HMIS is instituted.
Beale asked what type of information the HIMIS will share. Henderson explained it will share casework information, demographic information, shelter availability, and services. Health information can only be shared with a release of information. Those that will not sign a release of information will be hidden, but the data would be in the aggregate pool.
Ozark said the HMIS promotes better collaboration.
Committee Updates
Taliaferro shared the Model Cities Committee report. The Committee will be attempting to aggregate other reports with this one and develop one single report.
OTHER COMMUNITIES
Taliaferro provided a brief summary of the model cities report. The first seven pages are the summary of the interviews and the questions asked of each of the cities are appended. She stated that this will not be distributed to the public until the report is final. Strategies for reducing street homelessness have come out. Eleven elements were identified which were present in cities that were successfully reducing homeless, with five of the eleven elements being essential. These have been included in the report. One main point is that no community has ended homelessness yet, they have only reduced it.
Martin-Smith expressed appreciation to the committee and to Taliaferro for the work they have done. Henderson stated Taliaferro did a lot of work and kept the committee on-task.
Schneider said he will be recommending another long meeting before the final report is done.
Taliaferro said funding still needs to be addressed. Many of the successful cities managed their funding thoroughly, had funders involved, and had good private support. There were many who fought negative feelings of businesses and neighbors and turned it around to bring positive community involvement.
Schneider said it was not agencies and homeless providers that made the first move, but rather entities outside of that realm. They were significant shareholders involved from the beginning. He noted that we need police, business, and city stakeholders involved. They currently are not involved.
Taliaferro said Schneider was correct, but pointed out that there is more than one way to accomplish the task. The bottom line is for everyone to support each other. El Paso, TX is a good example of this.
There followed a brief discussion on how to come together.
Davis said once the task force has solution to present, it could bring stakeholders in and get their input. She would be willing to speak in the community to gather support. Martin-Smith said there needs to be more outreach to the business community. Ozark said a letter has been drafted to the businesses to request that they express their concerns with them. Martin-Smith said she spoke with Maria Marting who is interested in being a partner.
In El Paso, TX the downtown association and the police were critical in helping find a solution.
FUNDING COMMITTEE
Rundle reported that when they began focusing on a report they saw the need for a broader focus. He distributed an outline.
The committee also needs an inventory of what resources are available today, and the resources that have not yet been tapped into. Huppee said there is nothing to report on external funding and agreed with Rundle on the need for an inventory. She further commented it to be difficult to seek funding options when there is no defined program/service. Rundle reported on the announcement of the SuperNOFA and requested Nau explain. Nau said the Continuum of Care (CoC) Committee will meet for the first time Wednesday morning to begin the process of writing the Supportive Housing Program grant. Huppee reported that the HOPE Building, funded with last year’s SHP grant, is coming along. The LDCHA has a committee of formerly homeless, who are advising them on location and programming. Huppee thinks contracts will be signed in September.
Ozark asked if the Task Force could determine priorities for funding. Nau said it they could be included.
Martin-Smith said searching for funding is hard because we do not know where we are going yet, and do not know what to ask for. However, she feels at some point there will be ideas that can be done, which are affordable and practical. She thought there were some funding options that could begin addressing degrees of homeless issues before the final plan is complete. Some issues that are easier than others could be addressed, which may drive how we go after funding.
Taliaferro added that Clearwater, FL, Kansas City, and a couple of other cities sent a detailed budget. Perhaps reviewing them will provide ideas. In some communities the Department of Justice has provided funding, but the drawback is that the community must pick up the funding in three to five years.
Terwelp asked if this is the appropriate time to talk about the letter from the funders. Rundle agreed. Terwelp said she spoke with Karen Davis at the Public Library and she is wiling to facilitate a meeting between the funders and TFHS members. She is neutral and would be a good option in moving the meeting forward. Terwelp stated that Jo Bryant had commented to her that there should be a meeting set as soon as possible.
Clark left the meeting.
INTAKE
Henderson read Clark’s report which said the committee is at a standstill due to the lack of an HMIS and that they would be looking at ID cards next. Henderson commented that Clark’s report did not do justice to the work completed. Clark did prepare a form to be used as a standardized intake in the absence of an HMIS.
CASEWORKER COMMITTEE
Terwelp reported that the Practitioners Roundtable Group (PRG) met twice and developed a consensus on the following proposals for the TFHS:
Nau was given an original document signed by PRG agencies.
PRG will meet quarterly to keep communication on-going. Terwelp also reported that the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority decided to begin a case manager coordination committee.
Huppee reported one outcome to be a standardized pre-application for housing that will be shared amongst the agencies.
Rundle asked Johnson to talk about mental health problems and working with LMH. Johnson said it will take the community to resolve the issue because administration has failed. There is a meeting this month to discuss mental health service. The recommendations of the PRG are what need to be presented to get LMH to reconsider mental services. Johnson will take a copy of the letter to the board and express the mayor’s concerns about the issue.
Ozark asked what the feasibility was that LMH would have a detox center. Johnson said he cannot speak for the hospital, but the critical piece is that the community says what the community needs. LMH is not going to do a detox for DCCCA or Bert Nash, but if the community stands up and says this is what we need, the possibility is greater. LMH has been responsive to community needs in the past.
Beale said the hospital was not the place for a detox. A detox can be operated much cheaper elsewhere and only those suffering a seizure should be sent to the hospital.
Martin-Smith stated that in her notes from the community forum, it was stated that the Police Department desired the psyche ward be reopened.
Dinsdale asked if the hospital has ever been invited. No one thought they had. She said it comes down to laws and money and perhaps they should be here to comment.
Johnson said Bert Nash has held meetings with city and county officers and asked LMH to participate so misunderstandings and miscommunication are handled. Beale said his expertise is in funding and it all comes down to money. His priority is finding a funding stream and thinks on-going funding will be a problem.
Davis said it is hard to identify where money is going.
Rundle said he requested information from community and agencies and only got a partial response. Rundle says he always mentions to people how we are spending money on medical and police services to assist the homeless and it would be better spent on prevention.
Beale left the meeting.
OUTLINE
Rundle distributed the outline he would like the Task Force to follow. He feels this dovetails with what is being done in Lawrence now. He then asked what members felt needed to be done.
Schneider commented that another long meeting was needed to discuss how caseworkers communicate, the ID card details, concerns of community, and the ways in which we can handle unmotivated homeless persons. Schneider said there is a need for a good, tight plan, which can be put together so we do not have another collapse or loss as was done with the Safe Haven in the late 80’s.
Ozark said it is not 24/7 shelter that is needed, but 24/7 services. Service is the emphasis in this case, not a shelter.
Dinsdale said we have identified all the gaps and need to turn “gap” into resolve…we as a community believe this. There is still a need for a comprehensive set of resolutions that identify what we want the community plan to look like. There is a need to acknowledge that we are not going to solve all the problems of the community.
Davis said she thought we would end up with something similar to what the model cities have. She thought there would be a plan put together. Also, she wondered how this could be put to the public and garner support without saying “here’s what we recommend and why.” She stated that there is a need for a framework.
Henderson said his sense was that in many of the cities there was not a plan, but many successful parts in the city. He felt this was because they coordinated and talked together. So we may not be talking about a plan, as much as better coordination.
Taliaferro said we may not have asked the question as to whether the city was following a plan or if they were just coordinating. Only one had a 10-year plan, but that is more to get in-line with HUD. She did get a sense that some cities had a plan for the community.
Rundle suggested a new committee be formed to make recommendations on a final report. Huppee recommended we start zeroing-in on specific steps with a specific timeframe in order to get to the end result. It could be put in the format of the outline Rundle distributed, once we think we have all the information gathered and find a consensus of what goals and recommendations should be adopted. Then the outline could be taken to the City Commission. Rundle noted that the people affected by this plan are not around the table (homeless, police, businesses, and neighbors). Therefore, the taskforce needs to take the recommendations to them and get their input, review what they say, and make final recommendations.
Martin-Smith asked if Karen would facilitate a meeting to get us over some of the sticky issues we come across. It was believed she would. The task force will take what we think are the right things to do to the people they affect and then get final recommendations.
Huppee, Martin-Smith, Schneider, Dinsdale, Terwelp, Davis, Johnson, and Rundle volunteered to be on the committee to organize a plan for a final report.
Rundle said he has heard comments from the public about how to manage poor behaviors. He invited members to participate in discussion on how to handle the poor behaviors here and now.
Davis said the task force will also have to work through people’s perceptions. Taliaferro said to be sure to also get input from the homeless.
Dinsdale left the meeting.
Other Business
There was no other business.
Public Comment
Joseph Spence asked how the TFHS proposes to bring different community views together, commenting that when homeless issues are mentioned, most often a negative reaction is given.
Hopes are that meetings with stakeholders (homeless, businesses, neighbors, etc.) will be able to help.
Herman Leon said he worked under Kirk Schuetz at The Salvation Army (TSA) and now works with LINK and LOS. He is impressed with the work being done. Leon thinks there is a source of funding not being fully explored—that being the Joan Kroc funds¹. Kroc has bequeathed $1.5 billion to TSA with the provision that the funds be used to build new buildings and Leon believes TSA’s proposal for their new building qualifies for Kroc funds because it will be leaving the downtown location. Leon believes the TSA move will abuse gentrification. Leon wants community pressure on TSA to apply for Kroc funds. Leon contacted the chairman of the board and was told TSA decided not to seek Kroc funds because the estate is tied-up with lawyers and will be for five to ten years.
Leon claims that the website of Joan Kroc says the lawyers have finished with the estate. He stated that Lawrence should put pressure on TSA to get some of the funds and not be passed over because we are not as large as they say. He further noted that this issue should go to the City Commission.
Rundle said the committee would consider taking that to the City Commission.
Adjournment
There being no further public comment, Clark moved to adjourn the meeting. Forney seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m.
¹Links to articles on Joan Kroc funds:
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn.nsf/ce952dea4507ee7780256c
http://www.salvationarmypendel.org/PR116.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1000066/posts
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4006823/
http://sandiego.about.com/b/a/059295.htm
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=75862004