SR-03-18-2014-9ACity Council Meeting: March 18, 2014
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Karen Ginsberg, Director of Community and Cultural Services
Andy Agle, Director of Housing and Economic Development
Jacqueline Seabrooks, Chief of Police
Scott Ferguson, Fire Chief
Subject: Public Hearing of the Annual Review of the City's Plan for Homeless
Services
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Hold a public hearing and receive public comment on the Annual Review of
the City's Plan for Homeless Services, pursuant to Municipal Code Section
2.69.030.
2) Review and comment on strategies to address homelessness.
3) Direct staff to proceed with next steps.
Executive Summary
This staff report meets the requirements of the City's Public Safety Initiative by providing
the Annual Review of the City's Plan for Homeless Services (Annual Review) for FY
2012 -2013. The public hearing affords the public and the City Council an opportunity to
comment on the Annual Review and provide input on strategies to address
homelessness.
The required Annual Review reports on: (a) local impacts and perceptions of
homelessness; (b) local resources and responses; (c) continuing challenges; (d)
regional coordination and advocacy; and (e) recommendations for goal advancement.
Public Safety Initiative
In 1994, Council adopted the Public Safety Initiative (SMMC Sections 2.69.010 through
2.69.030). Part of the Public Safety Initiative calls for the City to adopt a plan for
homeless services. In 2008, Council adopted the Action Plan to Address
Homelessness. The plan is updated regularly, and the current plan, 201 2014 Action
1
Plan to Address Homelessness, reflects and informs current policies and practices and
also establishes goals for addressing homelessness in Santa Monica. In addition to the
formal plan, elements of the Public Safety Initiative are also incorporated into other City
documents — the City's FY20 i f _2_J', " Human Se;'Enees Gr�. nt_.F'ro ram and the
C onsofidatecf Pram tar FY 2010 2015, which is required by the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Santa Monica Housing Authority's
EY201 ,-2014 Adrnin s €lmi ve Plan., also includes policies for homeless and special needs
housing programs.
The Public Safety Initiative also requires Council to conduct an annual review of the
City's progress in meeting the goals established by the Initiative and hold a public
hearing to assess:
• The impact of the city's homeless population on other residents of the city;
• The effectiveness of service delivery to the homeless by the City and various
social service agencies;
• The cost of those services; and
• The changes which should be made in the Plan in order to carry out its
primary goals and objectives.
Notice of a public hearing for March 18, 2014 was placed in the Santa Monica Daily
Press and posted on w?,w si,iiis �i[arnorii__.com and on the City's website.
Action Plan to Address Homelessness
As noted above, a guiding document designed to direct the City's strategy is the Action
Plan to Address Homelessness (Action Plan) adopted by Council on Fn !ua ! _ g0.
The Action Plan established a vision statement, guiding principles, and refinements to
the City's homeless service system within six project areas: services, housing,
evaluation, community education, public policy, and regional collaboration.
The current version of the Action Plan was updated in 20i o. and has become a multi-
year plan to coincide with the City's Human Services Grant Program (HSGP) funding
cycle, providing a longer -term view that emphasizes system changes and
2
improvements. The Action Plan also defines a "priority population" to whom City- funded
resources will be dedicated: individuals that have been homeless in Santa Monica for
five or more years; homeless individuals and families whose last permanent address is
in Santa Monica; vulnerable members of Santa Monica's workforce; individuals on the
Santa Monica Service Registry; individuals identified by City staff (i.e. Santa Monica
Police Department, Santa Monica Fire Department) as high users of City resources and
services. The current Action Plan is framed upon the Federal plan to prevent and end
homelessness, Opening Doors, and the goals of the HEARTH Act, which shifted priority
from a first - come /first - served model, to more coordinated community -wide strategies
that prioritize resources to house chronically homeless individuals and families. The
Action Plan also reflects strengthened efforts to address emerging needs and
responses for homeless individuals who are newly arrived in the community. During the
next year the Plan will be updated, with community input, to inform the FY2015 -2020
Consolidated Plan and Human Services Grant Program FY2015 -2019 funding cycle.
Discussion
The primary focus of this report is to review the City's homeless initiatives during
FY2012 -2013. However, the timing of this report has provided an opportunity to preview
activities from the first half of FY2013 -2014, including the 2014 Homeless Count, which
will be covered in detail in next year's Annual Review. The five sections of this report
include: local impacts of homelessness; resource allocation and priorities; regional
factors and coordination; emerging opportunities and challenges; and recommended
actions for advancing the goals of the Action Plan.
Local Impact of Homelessness
Homeless Trends and Perceptions: Compared to a 15% overall increase in the number
of homeless people in Los Angeles County between 2011 and 20131, the 2013 Santa
Monica Homeless Count total showed the overall number of people experiencing
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, 2013 Overall Results for Los Angeles County and the Los
Angeles Continuum of Care — vwavw,hsa.or^j
t
homelessness increased just 5% from 2011 to 20131. Despite the success in limiting the
increase of homelessness in the City, homelessness continues to be a prevalent topic
that impacts both residents' and visitors' perceptions of Santa Monica as a desirable
destination and a welcoming place to visit or live. In the City's 2013 Resident Survey,
62% of respondents named the number of homeless people in the city to be a serious
problem. In response to both the Resident Survey and the increase in 2013, staff
revisited existing strategies and enhanced local initiatives to refocus on individuals
known to the community the longest and who are the most vulnerable, while continuing
to redirect new individuals to resources in their home communities. In addition, the
Santa Monica Police Department's strategic deployment of the HLP team in the
downtown area led to a significant decrease in people sleeping on the streets in
downtown, and contributed to an overall decrease in homelessness of 5 %, from 780 in
2013 to 742 in 20142.
Local Initiatives
• Santa Monica Service Registry3: Created in 2008, the Registry is currently
comprised of 352 individuals, 266 of whom are vulnerable. Two hundred
eighteen (62 %) of the total Registry participants are in permanent housing.
• Chronic Homeless Project (CHP): The Human Services Division led CHP Action
Committee is a monthly work group that employs a collective impact approach to
increase partnerships and communication between providers and City
departments, and improving outcomes through shared accountability with City -
funded agencies.
• Homeless Community Court (HCC): Like other collaborative justice courts, HCC
aims to improve efficiency in judicial proceedings, match sanctions and services
to offenders, and build bridges between public and private agencies that serve
offenders. The continued collaboration between the City of Santa Monica, Los
Angeles County Superior Court, the Public Defender's Office and service
providers has served 248 participants since the program began in 2007 with 102
of those individuals becoming housed or maintaining housing as a direct result of
the program.
• Project Homecoming: The City's family reunification program, started in 2006,
helps connect homeless individuals to friends or family outside of the county who
See Attachment 1, pg. 1 — Santa Monica Homeless Count
2 Ibid
3 See Attachment 1, pg 2 — Santa Monica Registry for a description of the Registry process
CI
can provide housing and support. In FY2012 -2013, the program assisted 130
individuals to reunite with family and friends in their communities of origin, at an
average cost of $243 per participant.
Food Distribution: The City seeks to connect public food distribution to homeless people
with existing full - service social service programs. By locating food distribution in the
same location as other services, individuals have better access to the tools to become
housed. This year, the City's successful efforts on this issue included moving one of the
larger food distributors from Reed Park to OPCC's SAMOSHEL Shelter for indoor meal
provision. City staff also redirected several groups from starting new feeding programs,
connecting them to service projects with local agencies instead. While this strategy has
reduced the number of public food programs over the past several years from 13 to
seven, it places significant strain on local resources. Local agencies are limited in their
capacity to accommodate new groups. The remaining food distribution groups originate
from outside of Santa Monica, and staff will continue to encourage these groups to align
their activities with local priorities or to serve a need in their home community.
Resource Allocation and Priorities
Local Investment in Social Services and Housing: The City maintains a high level of
direct investment in homeless services, funding six core non - profit agencies with $2.04
million in FY2012 -2013 through a combination of City General Funds, County
Proposition A, and federal funds. These six homeless service agencies raised an
additional $5.6 million in other public and private funding, providing Santa Monica
participants over $3.75 worth of services for every City dollar invested. These funds are
also critical housing resources, providing services such as housing placement,
behavioral health services and other support that keeps people in housing — services
which are required by federal housing subsidy programs for homeless individuals. In
addition, another six agencies provide case management, health care, legal assistance,
and other support to augment the core homeless services of the continuum. The
amount of matching funds committed by the non - profit agencies has been maintained
despite the scarcity of funding for homeless services, showing the reciprocal
9
commitment between the City and non - profit agencies to maintain the level of services
available in Santa Monica.
Finally, the City expended $440,552 in additional funds for projects and services related
to reducing homelessness in the City. Specifically, funds were expended for Project
Homecoming; clinical consultant services for the most chronically homeless vulnerable
individuals on the Service Registry; and centralized data management through the
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
Fire and Police Department: The Santa Monica Fire Department (SMFD) had an 18%
increase in the number of calls related to homeless individuals during FY2012- 20131.
During this time period there was a reduction in repeat calls for service, as related to
chronic utilizers. This increase in calls for new or one time services is in line with the
perceived trend that the majority of homeless individuals in Santa Monica are transitory
and new to the community. Incidents related to any chronic utilizers are addressed in a
bi- weekly inter - departmental meeting attended by staff from the Human Services
Division, the City Attorney's Office, the SMFD and the Santa Monica Police
Department's Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) team. Implementing coordinated
interventions focused on the highly visible, high service- utilizing individuals has been
especially important during this time.
In October 2012, a portion of the Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) Team was
redirected as part of a department wide effort to address an increase in part I crime. The
HLP Team was restored back to full strength in May 2013, with the intent of developing
a plan to train all officers in the use of key components of the HLP Team model, which
blends traditional patrol activities with linkages to services and interdepartmental
coordination to address homeless - related issues. Implemented in FY2013 -2014, this
training has created a "force multiplier" effect across the department.
See Attachment 1, pg. 3 — First Responder Calls and Contacts
n.
Housing: To successfully address homelessness, services must be tied to housing.
Permanent supportive and affordable housing is the most effective method of ending
homelessness. The City's Housing Division provides a diversity of housing options,
including permanent supportive housing, which includes rental subsidy vouchers and
loans to non - profit organizations to develop affordable and supportive housing. The
Division's resources also help keep vulnerable populations who are at risk of
homelessness housed.
The 2012 dissolution of California Redevelopment Agencies greatly impacts the City's
ability to provide funding for the development of affordable housing by significantly
reducing the amount of funds that the Housing Division has available to finance the
construction of future supportive housing developments. The Housing and Economic
Development Department will continue to investigate alternative funding sources. In
addition, Federal budget cuts have impacted the ability of the Santa Monica Housing
Authority (SMHA) to administer Section 8 housing vouchers. The Santa Monica Housing
Authority received 95 percent of the annual allocation of voucher assistance funding in
FY2012 -2013. Additionally, only 69 percent of the administrative costs of operating the
program will be provided by HUD in FY2013- 2014. The Santa Monica Housing
Authority will not reduce existing vouchers but will likely maintain financial feasibility
through voucher attrition. The City General Fund is supporting the operation of the
Santa Monica Housing Authority to fill the loss of administrative funding.
The Continuum of Care programs administered by the Santa Monica Housing Authority
including Shelter Plus Care and the Supportive Housing Program are anticipated to be
cut by 7% next year which further erodes the safety net for homeless households.
Data Driven Strategies: The utilization of the HMIS (Homeless Management Information
System) database has been an essential part of the City's implementation of the Action
Plan. The tracking of outcomes and service utilization, with the ability to focus on
See Attachment 1, pg. 4 — Housing Resources for additional data
7
Priority Population participants, allows for both strong collaboration with and monitoring
of City funded agencies. During FY2012 -13 the number of service providers utilizing
HMIS increased. Additionally new guidelines for the timeliness of data entry and data
quality were implemented. The data collected by service providers allows for the
management of limited City resources. Specifically, the ability to track effectiveness of
programs over time will help to inform the development of Request for Proposals for the
Human Services Grant Program 2015 -2019 funding cycle.
Regional Factors and Coordination
Santa Monica is one of 88 cities within a large and populous county. The policies and
practices in the region directly impact the number of homeless people in Santa Monica.
When resources are available and coordinated, homelessness can be reduced as seen
by the reduction in veteran homelessness in the county. Intensive investments by the
federal government to increase Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers
coupled with improved coordination through efforts like Project 60 Vets to Home, piloted
by Supervisor Zev Yaroslaysky's office, reduced veteran homelessness in LA County by
23% between 2011 and 20131
.
Regional Investment: This year several decisions were made by the Los Angeles
Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Commission regarding Federal Continuum of
Care (CoC) dollars that are allocated regionally. These decisions have had, and will
continue to have, an effect on funded agencies. In 2013, HUD advised all CoC's to plan
for a 5% reduction in funding. As a continuum, Service Planning Area (SPA) 4 (metro
LA and Hollywood) and SPA 5 (Westside and Santa Monica) receive the majority of
HUD funding. Therefore, a push was made by the community to protect "underserved
communities" in other SPA's by prioritizing cuts to SPA 4 and 5. Staff and local
agencies advocated against geographic prioritization, emphasizing HUD's policies
which prioritize high performance, not geographic distribution of funds. These efforts
' Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, 2013 Overall Results for Los Angeles County and the Los
Angeles Continuum of Care — w�N.laha oft
i
successfully prevented proposed cuts that would have eliminated six programs and over
300 transitional housing beds in SPA 5. As federal funding shrinks, challenges to SPA 5
resources will continue to occur, putting at risk over $13 million in HUD funding to local
programs, including $3.1 million in federal housing subsidies directly allocated to Santa
Monica.
Regional Collaboration: Regional collaboration continues to be a significant priority for
the City. Reductions in federal funding are putting increased pressure on already limited
regional resources. In order to maintain a 'fair share" approach to homeless services,
there must be an increase in the collaboration of service provision and leveraging of
local, state and federal funding. The City and local providers must continue to advocate
for access to new resources that can be used to serve the City's priority population,
such as United Way's Home for Good Funders Collaborative, the L.A. County
Department of Health Services Housing for Health housing subsidies, and Federal
Veterans Administration Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers for veterans.
Emerging Opportunities and Challenges
The City continues to expand its role as a regional stakeholder. FY 2012 -2013 brought
new opportunities and challenges including:
® Federal Policy & Funding Changes: As required by HUD, LAHSA has
developed a tool to evaluate existing HUD program grants. The tool includes
a measure for geographic need that deducts points for all projects in Service
Planning Area (SPA) 5, which includes the Westside, in order to prioritize
funding for underserved areas of the County. This year, staff and local
providers successfully advocated for an emphasis on high performing
programs, which resulted in the Westside retaining funding for all but one
non -Santa Monica program.
• Santa Monica's Affordable Housing: The City's affordable housing
development program, including supportive housing for homeless persons, is
presently funded with HOME and Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers. This
funding faces significant cuts as a result of the Federal budget sequestration.
As mentioned above, the potential loss of HUD funding for new projects will
make it more difficult for development projects to secure sustainable
operating funds to make units affordable to homeless persons.
• Housing Retention: As part of the Action Plan to Address Homelessness, the
City supports a Housing First approach, and targets resources to individuals
V
J
who have complex barriers to housing stability. This approach has been
successful in housing the most visible and vulnerable individuals. However,
these residents require a lifetime of intensive services to remain housed.
Although available funding has been stagnant or shrinking, local providers
have continued to house these high- service -need individuals. Without new
resources, agencies stretch existing staff to care for a growing number of
clients in housing, many of whom are scattered throughout the city and
county. Without adequate support, these individuals struggle to address their
behavior and health issues, resulting in evictions which are damaging to the
participant, as well as to the landlords and neighbors. The City, in
collaboration with regional partners and non -City funders, will need to identify
new resources that can support the continued housing placement and
retention efforts of local providers.
Recommendations for Goal Advancement (FY2013 -14)
During the first half of FY2013 -2014, staff worked on several fronts to coordinate and
leverage resources to reduce the number of individuals living on the streets and in
shelters, as well as support the growing number of formerly homeless people in
permanent housing in the community. These efforts included a refocus on the City's
long -time "anchors" — those individuals whose continued presence in the same location
invite other homeless individuals to congregate. Research and best practices have
proven that housing "anchors" has a multiplying effect, encouraging others to access
services and reducing the number of homeless persons in the immediate vicinity around
the "anchor ". Starting July 2013, the City added funding conditions to contracts for
homeless services to include special provisions that identified 10% of clients to be
served as specific Service Registry "anchors" who remain un- housed. In August 2013,
the City also conducted an update of the Homeless Service Registry in the downtown
area and Wilshire and Lincoln transit corridors. The two night effort in which 219
individuals completed the Registry survey, revealed a significant change in the
homeless population. Of those surveyed, nearly half (48 %) reported staying in Santa
Monica for a year or less. This is consistent with anecdotal evidence that many of the
homeless individuals remaining in the City do not meet the criteria as Santa Monica
priority, as defined in the Action Plan, as they are new arrivals to the community. In
See Attachment 1, pg. 2 — Service Registry Update
10
addition, although the survey teams covered the same areas on both nights, there was
very little duplication of individuals, indicating a high rate of "turn- over" in the homeless
population, suggesting that rather than "anchoring" in the community, the population is
much more transitory.
As key partners in identifying and engaging "anchor" individuals, the HLP Team
members enlisted the assistance of department -wide resources to directly address
homeless related issues. In September 2013, the Police Department implemented an
innovative model of addressing homeless related issues by offering advanced training
to all department field personnel. This service oriented training was provided to both
sworn and civilian personnel, providing tools to address long term solutions to
homelessness, such as how to determine if a person is eligible for City- funded services,
available local and regional resources, and tips for coordinating with local providers.
With patrol providing additional support throughout the City and around the clock, the
Police Department was able to dedicate HLP Team resources to engage the most
chronic and long -term homeless individuals in the downtown area and link them to
housing and services. Preliminary indications show that these strategies were highly
effective, and contributed to an overall reduction in street homelessness and a
significant decrease in the downtown area.' In 2014, the Police Department will
continue incorporating the HLP model of engagement and linkages to services into daily
patrol operations.
While the City continues to improve service coordination locally, there are regional
issues being driven by external entities that may directly impact the City's local efforts.
These issues being monitored in the first half of FY2013 -2014 include:
• City of Los Angeles Actions: LA is also grappling with the impacts of
homelessness. Changes in the Venice homeless community that have
contributed to increased violence among the homeless population have
prompted an increase in LAPD resources in the Venice area. This special
enforcement is expected to continue through the spring and may result in an
1 See Attachment 1, pg. 1 — Homeless Count results for comparison of 2013 to 2014.
11
increase in homeless individuals on the beach and along the southwest edge
of the city. In addition, LA City Council is researching a possible ban on public
feedings. If a ban is adopted, LA food groups may see Santa Monica as an
alternative location.
• Coordinated Entry System (CES): One of the changes to the federal
regulations via the HEARTH Act included a requirement that all communities
that receive federal homeless dollars design and implement a Coordinated
Entry System to ensure that people are matched to the most appropriate
resources and eliminates the first come first served approach. After a
successful pilot in the Skid Row area the CES pilot project is being expanded
to seven additional communities county -wide, including the Westside. Similar
to the Santa Monica Service Registry, Coordinated Entry uses a standard
universal assessment tool that assigns people an acuity score and uses that
score to determine the most appropriate housing intervention. While Santa
Monica has been coordinating and prioritizing housing and services for the
most acute individuals for many years, this practice is now being implemented
on a county -wide scale. Participation in CES is becoming a criterion for
regional funding opportunities, both public and private, and will likely have an
impact on how funding and housing resources are allocated county -wide.
As staff prepares to re- envision the Action Plan to Address Homelessness for 2015-
2019, with a focus on alignment with the Request For Proposal (RFP) cycle and
consolidated plan, staff will:
• Continue collaboration with SMPD to imbed the HLP Team model across the
department.
• Work with community stakeholders and City departments to implement the
Coordinated Entry System, and continue advocacy with CES leaders (United
Way) to ensure CES aligns with City priorities and respects City goals.
• Explore Evidence Based Practices and national trends in Human Services
funding.
The reductions achieved in the 2014 Homeless Count required a heightened
commitment from community partners and City departments. Sustaining the reductions
will be difficult in an environment where funding is stagnant or shrinking, affordable
housing continues to be out of reach on the Westside, and regional policies are
challenging the service delivery infrastructure while potentially pushing more individuals
to Santa Monica.
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Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the
recommended actions. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required
in the future.
Prepared by: Margaret Willis, Human Services Administrator
CMTO it - a.
Forwarded to Council:
ri
Karen Ginsberg Rod Gould
Director, CommunAy and CItur City Manager
Services y
Attachment I: Summary of Homeless Data FY2012 -13
N
EXHIBIT 1
Attachment 1
Annual Homeless vl w
„y Supplemental Data
This attachment contains data collected by the following City of Santa Monica Divisions
and Departments: Community and Cultural Services Department's Human Services
Division, the Housing and Economic Development Department, the Police Department,
the Fire Department and the City Attorney's Office.
Santa Monica Homeless Count: 2013 and 2014
The 2013 Homeless point -in -time homeless count in Santa Monica showed an increase
of 1% from 769 in 2012 to 780 in 2013. The most recent count, conducted January
2014, resulted in a 5% decrease overall, from 780 to 742, with a strong 9% decrease in
the street count (from 380 in 2013 to 346 in 2014).
TOTALS 2010
COUNT
& INSTITUTION COUNT
2010
49
N/A
2011
2012
2013
2014
2011
2012
2013
2014
263
6264
316
289
43
45
57
40
8
7
7
17
EMMUZAMENIMMINEM
2011
2012
2013
2014
424' V 426 392
388
0_
2
3
2
2
6
5
6-
N /A•
19
N/A
N/A
2013 Findings: While the total homeless count has remained stable, there have been
significant increases in unsheltered individuals and people in vehicles that increased the
street count by 20 %. At the same time, the number of people in shelters decreased by
12% largely due to the reduced reliance on Santa Monica motels as emergency
housing. Families utilizing motel vouchers were housed outside of Santa Monica and
were counted as part of the Los Angeles County point -in -time count. This programmatic
change has no correlation to the change in street population, as no families were found
during the street count.
0
2014 Findings: The point -in -time homeless count found 742 individuals, a decrease
from 780 (5 %) in 2013, including a significant decrease in the downtown area from 141
in 2013 to 86 in 2014. Moving forward, staff will continue to coordinate with local service
providers to engage individuals, identify appropriate housing and ensure that local
resources are dedicated to individuals on the City's by -name Service Registry. This
coordination will be supported by the expanded efforts of the Police Department, who, in
2013, incorporated the Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) team model of engagement
and linkages to services into frontline patrol duties through a series of trainings. With
patrol providing additional support, the Police Department was able to dedicate HLP
Team resources to identify the most chronic and long -term homeless individuals in the
downtown area and link them to housing and services. Preliminary indications show that
these strategies were highly effective, and contributed to an overall reduction in street
homelessness and a significant decrease in the downtown area (the area between
Ocean Avenue, Lincoln Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard and Pico Boulevard, including all
of Palisades Park and the Pier). In 2014, the Police Department will continue to
proactively address areas in the City with the highest concentration of homeless
persons by incorporating the HLP model concept into daily patrol operations.
Santa Monica Service Registry and Update
The Service Registry is an innovative practice that has garnered national support as a
best practice in addressing the housing needs of the "hardest to serve" chronically
homeless people. The City of Santa Monica was an early adopter of the Registry, which
was initiated in 2008. The Registry is a by -name list of individuals who have voluntarily
completed a comprehensive needs survey, including housing and homelessness
history, medical and behavioral health histories, and demographic information. The
information determines the person's vulnerability on a scale of zero to eight, with eight
being most likely to die on the streets without intervention. Individuals added to the
Registry meet the criteria for homelessness as defined by the Action Plan. The Registry
allows the City and our local providers to target services to those with the highest
vulnerability and to craft customized service interventions for each person. The
Registry is a continually evolving list that allows local service agencies to apply to add
individuals as needed.
As of June 2013, there are 352 individuals that comprise the Service Registry:
® 266 of the 352 are ranked as vulnerable. Of these individuals, 45 are vulnerable
veterans. Although the Registry is expanding, the number of veterans has
remained stable.
® 218 individuals (62 %) of the 352 are now in permanent housing. Of these, 172
were ranked as vulnerable.
® Of the 218 individuals in permanent housing, 30 are vulnerable veterans.
E
The Service Registry Update conducted on August 19th and 20" 2013:
e Contacted 289 individuals in six key areas of the City over two nights.
® 219 unduplicated individuals completed mini - surveys on their homeless and
medical histories. The additional seventy contacts, which may be duplicates,
refused to speak to volunteers.
e 3, or 1 %, were originally from Santa Monica.
e 19, or 9 %, were ranked as vulnerable. Of those 5 are currently on the Service
Registry and 9 are being considered for addition.
® Length of time in Santa Monica
o Less than 1 year = 107 (49 %)
0 1 -4 years = 48 (22 %)
0 over 5 years = 46 (21 %)
o refused to answer = 18 (8 %)
First Responder Calls and Contacts
First - responder calls and contacts reported during FY2012 -13:
• In FY 2012 -13, Santa Monica Police Department conducted 3934 jail bookings,
of which 1205 (31 %) listed their residence as transient, homeless, none, or
provided an address of a known homeless shelter. This is a 38% decrease from
the previous year.
• Santa Monica Police Department's Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) team made
2231 duplicated contacts with homeless individuals and approximately 291
periodic checks on property and open space, representing a 27% decrease in
contacts and an 84% decrease of periodic checks over last year. Patrol officers
conducted 894 periodic checks in FY 2012 -13, which was a 77% increase over
FY 11 -12. This shift is a result of enlisting department wide resources to address
homeless issues.
• Santa Monica Fire Department's paramedics responded to 10,925 incidents,
1,944 of these incidents (18 %) were to homeless persons needing
assistance. The number of homeless - related calls as a percentage of overall
SMFD calls has increased since FY 2011 -12. However the number of unique
(unduplicated) individuals making multiple calls decreased, showing a
reduction in chronic utilizers of emergency services.
• The City Attorney's Office received 1184 cases involving arrests and citations
in which the subjects involved were primarily homeless persons. The number
of cases decreased 39% compared to FY 2012 -13. This decrease is in line
with the decrease in homeless related bookings reported by SMPD.
K3
Housing Resources
During FY2012 -13:
® $16,245,116 million in Federal and local funds administered by the Santa Monica
Housing Authority (SMHA) were spent on approximately 1,400 active housing
vouchers, inclusive of Section 8, Special Needs Programs, HOME and RDA
(Redevelopment Agency) vouchers.
® $5.4 million in loans were committed to Step Up on Colorado to finance the
construction of 34 new units for homeless and disabled individuals.
• Six HUD permanent supportive housing grants continue to be administered
(since 2006). The Santa Monica Housing Authority was awarded approximately
$3.1 million in Federal funds to provide permanent housing rental subsidies to
approximately 230 formerly homeless and disabled individuals and families under
the Shelter Plus Care and Serial Inebriate Programs. Supportive services are
delivered by OPCC, St. Joseph Center, and Step Up On Second. Of those
served, an average of more than 95% of program participants remained in
permanent housing for at least six months, which exceeds HUD's performance
standard requirement. Utilization of funds averages 99% across all programs.
• The Santa Monica Housing Authority also administers the HOME Program, a
tenant -based rental assistance (TBRA) program designed for individuals and
families who are disabled and /or homeless. In FY 2011 -2012, approximately 25
households received rental subsidies through the HOME program.
• Recognizing the need for a program to assist homeless adults who are 55 years
of age and older, the SMHA administered the RDA Homeless Prevention and
Rental Subsidy program. Part of this program previously provided a one -time
grant of up to $2,000 to Santa Monica residents who were at risk of eviction for
non - payment of rent due to a financial hardship. The rental subsidy component of
the RDA program provided rental assistance to applicants who were homeless
and part of the City's continuum of care for the chronically homeless for at least
one year prior to receiving assistance. In FY 2011 -2012, approximately 80
households received rental assistance. As a result of the dissolution of
Redevelopment Agencies, the 80 RDA households are now at -risk. The SMHA is
pursuing alternate sources of funding, including the transfer of eligible RDA
voucher holders to the Section 8 voucher program in FY 2012 -2013, in order to
continue housing assistance. 50% of the RDA voucher holders were transferred
to other programs without disruption of their housing. The City General Fund
supports the remaining vouchers for those who were not transferred to other
programs. The one -time grants were terminated after the loss of Redevelopment.
F11
Santa Monica Homeless Individuals That Access Services
Total Active Clients during FY 2012 -13:
® Based on data from the City's HM IS, agencies provided some level of assistance
to 5135 persons identified as homeless during FY 2012 -13. Further analysis of
this data has helped to better understand where individuals originated prior to
accessing services in Santa Monica. Of those individuals served this year who
identified a "last permanent address," 13% reported living in Santa Monica.
Seventeen percent of these individuals are of unknown origin, and the remaining
70% reported becoming homeless outside of Santa Monica:
0 25% originated from Los Angeles City
0 22% originated from Los Angeles County (non -LA City)
0 10% originated outside Los Angeles County, within California
0 13% originated outside of the State of California
® Santa Monica Priority Population: Within the 5135 Total Active Clients identified
in the HMIS, 1101 (21 %) meet the City's definition of Priority Population. The
effectiveness of programs is measured by their success in targeting resources to
this population. Of these:
0 103 permanent housing placements were made.
0 166 emergency or transitional housing placements were made.
Special Initiatives
Homeless Community Court (HCC):
® From program inception through June 2013:
o 248 chronic offenders have participated in the program
0 156 (65 %) have successfully completed the court's requirements and had
their cases successfully adjudicated
0 102 (65 %) have moved into permanent housing utilizing Shelter + Care,
HOME Chronic Homeless Program, RDA, and Support Intensive Program
(SIP) vouchers.
Project Homecoming: For individuals who do not meet the priority participant definition,
the City provides opportunities for households to reconnect to housing and services in
their community of origin.
® In FY 2012 -2013 this program assisted 130 individuals to relocate and reunite
with family or friends in their community of origin at an average cost of $243 per
participant. The destinations for the participants are as follows:
o 28% in the South
5
0 31 % in the Mid -West
0 16% in the West (excluding California)
0 18% in the Northeast
0 7% California
0 0% outside of the United States
West Coast Care: This outreach team partnered with the Santa Monica Police
Department's HLP Team. In FY 201 2 -201 3 2346 duplicated contacts were made. Of
those 59 utilized the City's Project Homecoming program.
0