HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 5.B 11/05/2018IUW
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
November 5, 2018
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council through City Manager
Sue Castellucci, Housing Administrator
Resolution Declaring a Shelter Crisis Pursuant to Government Code §8698.2
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached Resolution Declaring a Shelter Crisis
Pursuant to SB 850, as codified in Government Code §8698.2.
BACKGROUND
The three Housing and Urban Development (HUD) entitlement jurisdictions in Sonoma County
(the County, the City of Santa Rosa and the City of Petaluma) joined together informally in 1997
to create the Sonoma County Continuum of Care (CoC), with the Sonoma County Community
Development Commission (SCCDC) lending staff for administrative support. At the same time,
Petaluma was working on a master plan for a single homeless facility with programs for the
homeless provided by the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS). Petaluma spent $1,000,000 in
housing funds to help build the Mary Isaak Center to assist the homeless community in
Petaluma. In 2004, the Mary Isaak Center was opened which provided housing year-round to the
homeless community. The City also provided support to COTS through the allocation of funds
for their programs and services.
Despite the annual funding from HUD through the Continuum of Care and the efforts of
homeless service providers, the regional community has experienced the first increase in
homelessness since 2011 — at least partly due to the aftermath of the 2017 Sonoma Complex
Fire. With the sudden loss of 5% of Sonoma County's housing stock, the already -tight housing
market became flooded with people who had lost their homes and rents increased by more than
30% in the month following that disaster. Petaluma had a housing vacancy of only .018%. At
least 2,200 (40%) of the displaced households were low income. In April 2018, the City of
Petaluma adopted an urgency ordinance to facilitate temporary housing options for those
impacted by the Sonoma Complex Fire to provide immediate housing relief. The 2018 point -in -
time homeless count found a total of 2,996 homeless individuals living in Sonoma County; of
that total there were 283 homeless individuals in Petaluma. This year's point -in -time count
found 161 more homeless individuals than the previous year and more than 10,000 people were
living with family or friends, conditions as a direct or indirect result of the fires.
DISCUSSION
With the State's Fiscal Year 2018-2019 budget, significant new dollars have become available
under a Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP). HEAP is a $500 million block grant
program designed to provide direct assistance to cities, counties, and Continuums of Care
(CofCs) to address the homelessness crisis throughout California. CofCs are the only eligible
applicants for the HEAP funding other than 11 large cities with populations over 330,000. The
application window is from September 5, 2018 through December 31, 2018.
Eligible uses for the funding include, but are not limited to:
• Services: street outreach, health & safety education, criminal justice diversion programs,
prevention services, navigation services, and operating support for short-term or
comprehensive homeless services.
• Rental assistance or subsidies: Housing vouchers, rapid re -housing programs, and
eviction prevention strategies.
• Capital improvements: emergency shelter, transitional housing, drop-in centers,
permanent supportive housing, small/tiny houses, and improvements to current structures
that serve homeless individuals and families. Some communities are discussing solutions
to address homelessness and the public health crisis by using funds for handwashing
stations or public toilet and shower facilities.
A shelter crisis declaration pursuant to Government Code Section 8698.2 is required for all cities
and counties that wish to receive HEAP funds. Each incorporated city within the County of
Sonoma must declare a shelter crisis to receive HEAP funds.
Sonoma County could have access to more than $12,000,000 in HEAP funds over approximately
two years. The City of Santa Rosa declared a shelter crisis on August 9, 2016. The Board of
Supervisors declared a shelter crisis at their October 9, 2018 meeting.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS
There are no costs to the City for approving the resolution declaring a shelter crisis in Petaluma.
If Petaluma does not make the declaration, any service provider that is providing services and
programs to the homeless in Petaluma will not be able to apply for HEAP funds.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution
2. Summary of 2018 point -in -time homeless count
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ATTACHMENT #1
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA, STATE OF
CALIFORNIA, DECLARING A SHELTER CRISIS PURSUANCT TO GOVERNMENT
CODE §8698.2
WHEREAS, California's Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. and the members of the
California Legislature have recognized the urgent and immediate need for funding at the local
level to combat homelessness; and
WHEREAS, the Governor and Legislature have provided funding to local governments
under the Homeless Emergency Aid Program as part of SB 850, as codified in Government Code
Section 8698 et seq, and the 2018-2019 Budget Act (Chapter 48, Statutes of 2018); and
WHEREAS, the Governor and Legislature require jurisdictions seeking grant funds
through the Homeless Emergency Aid Program to declare a Shelter Crisis pursuant to
Government Code 8698.2; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma has developed a homelessness plan and undertaken
multiple efforts at the local level to combat homelessness; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma finds that 283 persons within the City of Petaluma are
homeless and living without shelter; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma finds that the number of homeless is significant, and
these persons are without the ability to obtain shelter; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma finds that the health and safety of unsheltered persons
in the City of Petaluma is threatened by a lack of shelter; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma affirms Petaluma's commitment to combatting
homelessness and creating or augmenting a continuum of shelter and service options for those
living without shelter in our communities.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Petaluma
that a shelter crisis pursuant to Government Code Section §8698.2 exists in Petaluma and
authorizes the City of Petaluma's participation in the Homeless Emergency Aid Program, as a
member of the regional Continuum of Care.
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ATTACHMENT #2
SONOMA COUNTY `&,�-���
201Q EOME�vesunnN�A Y&SURVEY
-8
EXECUTIVE
year, communities across the country conduct comprehensive counts of the local homeless populations in order to
measure the prevalence of homelessness in each local Continuum of Care.
The 2018 Sonoma County Point -in -Time Count was a community -wide effort conducted on February 23, 2018. In the weeks
following the street count, a survey was administered to 519 unsheltered and sheltered homeless individuals to profile their
experience and characteristics.
Census Population: Longitudinal Trend
_ i it it
8% 16% 62% 14%
.............................
Gender
58% 39% 2% 1%
t&n Women Tnmgemler Gendernom
caitartnirkJ
.............................. �.�..,�.....�.....,.....
Sexual
Orientation
(Top 4 Responses)
e� es e4
s`
�f1 6 5H
Race/Ethnicity
(Top 4 Responses)
First Homelessness
Episode 1„1-k
35%37°/O .
yes.
65% of those experiencing
No homelessness for the first
time who were homeless
for one year or more
.....................................................................
Age at First Episode
of Homelessness '
....................................................................
Foster Care
48% of transition age -youth
survey respondents have received a GED
or graduated from high school
2018 Sheltered/Unsheltered Population
36%
Sheltered
(n=1,067)
64%
Unsheltered
1! (n=1,929)
ce
Length of Time in .
Sonoma County
ssness
(of those living in Sonoma County prior to
becoming homelessness)
84%
JMMCounty
Sonoma '
4v
6E
11
Duration of
Current Episode
of Homelessness
Mok
30 10%
s
34%
1-11 months
56%
1 year or more
Primary Event or Condition
That Led to Homelessness
(Top 6 Responses)
History of Domestic Violence
Obstacles to
Permanent Housing
(Top 4 Responses)
Interest in Permanent Housing
90% of survey respondents said YES when asked if
they would want to move into safe, affordable
. permanent housing were it available
IJ
44 % What is a A disabling condition is defined here as a physical disability,
y p disabling mental Illness, chronic depression, HI /AID alcohol a drug abuse,
of surve res ondents chronic health problems, HIV/AIDS, Post -Traumatic Stress
reported a disablingcondition? Disorder (PTSD), or a developmental disability.
condition
Services and Assistance
Reasons for Not Receiving Any
Government Assistance
(Top 6 Responses)
of survey
respondents
reported
receiving
government
benefits
Services Currently Accessing
(Top 6 Responses)
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