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SR-14-C . ~~~ \4-C 2..... 3-2' RP:DTA:VR February 3, 1987 Santa Monica, California TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: City staff SUBJECT: Options for Consideration Related to the Establishment of Emergency Shelters During the Winter Months INTRODUCTION This report provides Council with options for consideration regarding the establishment of emergency shelter services for homeless people during the winter months. A description of each option and the feasibility of each is discussed. BACKGROUND On January 20, Council directed staff to develop plans for housing people on a short term basis during the winter months as has been carried out by the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood. In consultation with local agencies and service providers, and the Homeless Working Group, a number of city owned facilities were reviewed for possible use as shelters. Considerations included proximity to residential areas, late night uses of City facilities by the public , the existence of suitable fire exits, and access to other support services. Discussion also involved the various programmatic approaches available to the City in addressing emergency shelter for the cold winter periods. Special attention was given to developing a program that could be effectively managed and that would be consistent with the city's committment to supporting emergency - I - . . services which are coordinated with related programs also serving the homeless population. Two meetings have been held to date to discuss these issues with representatives of CLARE, Ocean Park Community Center, Salvation Army, st. John's Hospital, Venice Family Clinic and st. Joseph's Center in addition to involvement by members of the City's Homeless Working Group. Numerous City staff meetings have been held as well with representatives of the Police Department, City Manager's Office, Recreation and Parks Department, and Community and Economic Development Department. The following outlines the two options evaluated during this planning process and discusses the feasibility of each: 1. SHORT TERM FACILITY FOR PERIODS OF EXTREMELY LOW TEMPERATVRES A short term facility would provide shelter only during inclement weather for the evening and nighttime hours. Agencies would be notified on the afternoon of a given day when the decision was made to operate the shelter that evening. Clients in contact with local agencies and the Police Department would then be directed to arrive at the shelter at 9:00 pm. The only services available would be restroom facilities (no showers). Clients would be screened by private security guards, hired for that evening, for weapons, drugs and indications of alcohol or drug abuse. Available Facilities - 2 - . . After an extensive review of city owned facilities, staff has identified two which could be utilized for a short term emergency shelter. One is the East Room of the Civic (which is available on a very sporadic basis between now and the end of April) and the other is the Miles Playhouse in Lincoln Park for use when the East Room is not available. Both provide limited restroom facilities and could sleep a sizeable number of people. Shelter Operations Generally these types of short term facilities have utilized management staff for needed supervision and private security guards to maintain order. This allows a city to hire staff on very short notice. A local security agency with experience in staffing a skid row shelter suggests it is able to provide officers within three hours notice. (See budget breakdown attachment #1.) Threshhold for Opening Short Term Facility staff is currently working with the Venice Family Clinic and the County Health Department to identify climate factors which should trigger the opening of emergency shelters to protect the health of the homeless population. (A temperature of 44 degrees or the presence of rain has tentatively been suggested for initiating the opening of such a shelter.) Feasibility of Short Term Facility While this option provides a quick response to sheltering individuals during periodS of intemperate weather, staff in - 3 - . . consultation with local service providers, identified the following potential problems: - 1. Difficulty in notifying homeless people that the shelter is open due to the unpredictability of weather conditions. 2. Possibility of individuals congregating at the facility before the shelter opens and when the weather improves and the decision has been made to close it. 3. Conflict with local residents and groups who utilize public facilities frequently and often until very late hours (11:00 pm in many cases). 4. Because of the lack of any agency referral system on such a short as-needed basis, inability to screen clients for violent behavior, drug or alcohol abuse, contagious diseases, and anti-social behavior. 5. Because of lack of showers and client screening, the difficulty of maintaining minimum health standards to prevent the spread of disease. 6. Difficulty in acquiring staff with adequate training on very short term notice for a very short duration 2. THREE MONTH SHELTER DURING WINTER MONTHS In discussions with local professional service providers, an alternative approach to that employed in Los Angeles and West Hollywood was developed for winter emergency shelter. This approach involves utilizing a City facility for a three month - 4 - . . period, during the cold winter months, and structuring a program to allow for more controls of the client population, client screening, and the availability of related services. The approach also ties into the service network in Santa Monica which provides access for homeless people to income assistance, medical services, mental health screening, and job opportunities. Available Facilities A shelter could be set up in the Memorial Park Gym, five or seven nights a week, from 10:30pm - 7:30am. (These hours would minimize conflict with evening and morning uses of the gym by members of the general pUblic and allow adequate time for cleanup of the facility.) Shelter Operations Shelter clients would be admitted only with referral vouchers from local agencies who would screen adult men and women for admission. (This arrangement has been used successfully at Turning Point Shelter to prevent potential clients from gathering at the facility seeking admission.) Shelter clients would enter the building from the olympic side only, while gym users exit from the north (parking lot) entrance. The size of the shelter would be limited to 50 persons. The Salvation Army would continue to offer its early morning breakfast program at Memorial Park where the st. John's outreach Team visits Monday mornings to provide mental health services. Both of these services would be accessible to shelter clients. - 5 - . . It is anticipated that the shelter clients would return to local agencies during the day to continue their work on job search andlor applications for public assistance. The Health Department would be consulted before opening the shelter to assure that it is run in a manner which meets basis health standards. The shelter would be run by a director who would be expected to recruit volunteers and donations of supplies from area residents and businesses. (See budget breakdown attachment #1.) Feasibility of Three Month Program While this option is more resource-intensive than the first and provides for a more structured program, it offers the following advantages: 1) It encourages homeless people to develop a relationship with a local service agency as a condition of entry to the shelter thereby screening and limiting those admitted and increasing the likelihood that the person will receive needed help. 2) Because of pre-screening, it avoids the problem of clients congregating at the facility seeking admission and decreases the possibility of violence and anti-social behavior. 3) By providing showers, cleanliness can be maintained reducing the possibility of disease for the individual client and the shelter as a whole. - 6 - . . 4) It provides continuity of staffing and experienced staff able to handle the particular needs of homeless individuals. However, the use of Memorial park, a heavily utilized City park, will add to the numbers of activities which currently are held and would require security to prevent conflict betwen those activities. An active communication network would have to be developed between park users and the shelter director to avoid difficulties which could potentially arise. SUMMARY OF OPTIONS FOR PROVIDING EMERGENCY SHELTER DURING PERIODS OF COLD WEATHER 1. Provide very short term shelter on an as-needed basis at the East Room of the civic (when available) or at Miles Playhouse, utilizing supervisory staff and private security guards and weather threshholds developed in consultation with the Health Department. 2. Establish a three month shelter to be run during cold winter months at Memorial Park Gym from lO:30pm-6:30am utilizing a full time director, an overnight staff person or security guard, and community volunteers Prepared by: Vivian Rothstein Assistant to the Director Recreation and Parks Barbara stinchfield Manager, Community and Neighborhood Services Dept. of Community and Economic Development Attachment - 7 - . . BUDGET BREAKDOWN FOR EMERGENCY SHELTER PROGRAM OPTIONS Option I: Short Term Emergency Shelter (45 nights) Management/Supervision $ 7,500 Unarmed Security Guards (2 per night, 11 hours/night, at $7.50/hour) $165 x 45 nights (estimated) 7,425 Custodial Service ($20jday) 900 utilities ($20/night x 45 nights) Mats 100 @ $4.00 900 400 Consumable Supplies 3,000 $20,125 option II: Three Month Emergency Shelter (90 nights) Shelter Director $2,200jmonth x 3 months Fringe Benefits 6,600 800 Shelter Assistants or Unarmed Security Guard $7.50jhour x 10 hours/night utilities $340/month custodial $475jmonth 6,750 1,202 1,425 Mats 40 @ $4.00 200 Consumable Supplies 6,000 22,795 If contracted to service provider, administrative overhead at 20% of total budget 5,699 $28,493 - 1 -