Shelter Planning Task Force — Portland, ME
Date: 2015-06-24

Shelter Planning Task Force
 June 24, 2015
 9 - 11 am

 AGENDA




1. Welcome and updates

2. MaineHousing/HUD/Statewide Homeless Council – Coordinated Entry process

3. ESAC – Housing first/supportive services

4. Revised work plan

5. Next steps

 a. Next meeting: Weds 7/8, 9-11, rm 24 City Hall

 b. Topic: Available sources of funding for emergency shelter




389 Congress Street / Portland, ME 04101 / www.portlandmaine.gov / tel. 207•756•8363 / tty. 207•874•8936 / fax. 207•874•8669
 CITY OF PORTLAND
 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT
 SOCIAL SERVICES DIVISION


 MAY 2015 DASHBOARD

 OXFORD STREET SHELTER
 New Intakes (unduplicated)
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 150 774 144 759  
 Bed Nights
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 6,561 34,413 6,832 36,291  
 Housing Placements*
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 22 134 14 81  
 *Starting November, 2013, OSS shifted housing placement priorities to their long-
 term stayers. This was to make more quality placements, resulting in lower bed nights
 Veterans Served**
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD† Trend Trend
 22 75 28 76  
 **Veteran status is based on self-reporting
 † Unduplicated Veterans served




 Oxford Street Shelter Oxford Street Shelter
 Intake Residency Intake Residency
 May 2014 May 2015
Out of Town Out of State Out of Country Portland Out of Town Out of State Out of Country Portland


 42 53 51
 67
 14
 27 6 33
 CITY OF PORTLAND
 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT
 SOCIAL SERVICES DIVISION


 MAY 2015 DASHBOARD

 FAMILY SHELTER
 New Intakes (unduplicated families)
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 22 104 21 84  
 Bed Nights
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 3,334 16,304 3,711 17,462  
 Housing Placements (families)
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 20 87 11 63  
 Veterans Served (families)
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 4 7 0 5  




 Family Shelter Family Shelter
 Intake Residency Intake Residency
 May 2014 May 2015
Out of Town Out of State Out of Country Portland Out of Town Out of State Out of Country Portland


 8 5 7 2 4

 1 8 8
 CITY OF PORTLAND
 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT
 SOCIAL SERVICES DIVISION


 MAY 2015 DASHBOARD

 GENERAL ASSISTANCE
 New Intakes
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 70 303 95 375  

 Total Applications (unduplicated)
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 887 1,540 1062 1,581  

 Total Applications Granted (unduplicated)
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 817 1,366 991 1,462  

 Total Applications Denied (unduplicated)
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 70 174 71 119  

 Billable Expenditures Granted
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 $532,610 $3,063,395 $265,993 $1,341,688  

 Non-Billable Expenditures Granted
 May 2014 May 2015 Desired YTD
 2014 YTD 2015 YTD Trend Trend
 - - $364,145 $1,906,809  

 All clients were “billable” until June 17, 2014




 General Assistance General Assistance
 Intake Residency Intake Residency
 May 2014 May 2015
Out of Town Out of State Out of Country Portland Out of Town Out of State Out of Country Portland


 13 7 9 29 10
 18

 41 38
 CITY OF PORTLAND
 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT
 SOCIAL SERVICES DIVISION

 PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
 7 POINT PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS

 UPDATE
 MAY, 2015
 GOAL #1 GOAL #2
 CASE MANAGEMENT RAPID REHOUSING
The Task Force recommends case management services be expanded The task force recommends a focus on providing
to people who are homeless and those case management delivery appropriate permanent housing and support in the
systems follow client needs, rather than reimbursable service delivery community for individuals, families and youth as
models quickly as possible.

 Oxford Street Shelter 236 Chronically Homeless Single Adults in need of
 May May Permanent Housing
 2014 2015  7 Placed in to Permanent Housing
  Housing Placements 22 14 TBRA
  Individuals Served 538 540  30 Individuals Assisted
  Shelter Occupancy 150% 156%
  $17,670 spent
 22 28
  Veterans Served
 382 Bed Nights 332 Bed nights Home To Stay
  15 Active Cases
 Family Shelter  40 Subsidies Provided
 May May
 2014 2015 Program started March, 2014
 20 Families/ 11 Families/
  Housing Placements
 76 Individuals 37 Individuals
 56 Families/ 52 Families/
  Individuals Served
 198 Individuals 169 Individuals
  Shelter Occupancy 211% 163%
 4 Families 0 Families
  Veterans Served
 12 Individuals 0 Individuals

*Occupancy is over for both shelters due to overflow facilities being GOAL #3
utilized.
 INCREASED OUTREACH
*Family Shelter capacity increased by 10 beds in November, 2014
 Goal: Conducting assertive, community-based
 outreach

 HOME Team
  1070 Encounters
  440 Transports
  108 Individuals Served
 GOAL #4 GOAL #5
 ZONING CONSTRAINTS SPECIAL POPULATION
 HOUSING
Goal: Explore Portland’s zoning requirements so
that all neighborhoods are equal candidates for Goal: Coordinate behavioral and primary care
emergency shelters, dispersed service locations or treatment for people in the shelter system. Increase
specialized care housing as a conditional use. housing opportunities for people who are homeless
 and are struggling with addiction. Increase
Study/Assessment of commercial corridors R-6 & employment opportunities for people who are
R-7 homeless and are struggling with addiction and
 mental illness.
Planning & Urban Development Department
Ann Machado, Zoning Specialist United Way Feasibility of Medical Respite
 Program
*Zoning has been changed on Bishop Street to  Dan Coyne, United Way
accommodate the Housing First Program

 May May
 2014 2015
 York County
 Shelter (YCS) 0 0
 Placements




 GOAL #6 GOAL #7
 HOUSING FIRST PROGRAM SECTION 8 HOUSING
 VOUCHERS
Goal: Reduce the number of long term/chronically
homeless in Portland. Increase specific housing Goal: Work in partnership with landlords to increase
options to include transitional and permanent access to housing stock which will increase
supportive housing models. available rental opportunities for people who are
 homeless. Create/expand resources for landlords to
Update on $50,000 RFP for Housing First Program work through issues with tenants.
Avesta Housing Project Section 8 Housing Vouchers made available by:
  Portland (40- primarily CLIP vouchers)
  Westbrook (unspecified amount)
  South Portland (2)

Shelter Planning Task Force
 June 24, 2015
 Meeting Notes

Attendees:
Kim Cook Off-peninsula Dave Maclean City of Portland, HHS, Social Services
 Division
Mike Tarpinian Opportunity Alliance Angela Giordano City of Portland, HHS, Social Services
 Division, Oxford Street Shelter
Bob Fowler Milestone Nicole Evans United Way
Sean Kerwin Bayside Neighborhood Assn Melissa Skahan Mercy Hospital
Bill Higgins Homeless Voices for Justice Peter Driscoll Amistad
Jim Hanley Greater Portland Chamber of Ginny Dill Shalom House
 Commerce
Dawn Stiles City of Portland, Health & Cindy Namer MaineHousing
 Human Services Dept
Dana Totman Avesta Housing Rob Parritt MaineHousing
Cullen Ryan Community Housing of Maine Julie Sullivan City of Portland, staff to Task Force



 1. Welcome, (re-)introductions, updates

 2. Coordinated entry process – MaineHousing, Statewide Homeless Council, Portland Continuum
 of Care, Maine Continuum of Care

  Cindy Namer presented the coordinated entry process map (CAARES – please see attached)
 currently under development
  Coordinated entry is one of HUD’s main priorities
 o Assessment tools – including 5-10 question pre-screening
 o Prioritization based on assessment – longest-term stayers and most vulnerable first –
 permanent housing; if not available, rapid re-housing
 o Serve clients where they are (geographically)
 o Only exclusionary criterion is violence
 o Data-sharing among shelters is critical
 o No wrong door
 o Driven by client experience
 o Following initial assessment, more robust intake/assessment (VISPDAT)
 o Then housing stability plan
 o Then performance measurement
  System performance measurement is another HUD key focus area
 o Entire system – i.e., anything listed on the Continuum of Care’s housing inventory as
 serving homeless (even if not CoC-funded)

 Page 1 of 4
 o Driven by Point-in-Time Survey numbers
  Concern raised that those who are camping out are excluded
  Projects for Assistance in Transitions from Homelessness is a
 federal block grant (approx. $1.3 million to the State; about
 $300,000 to Portland).
  State subcontracts to Catholic Charities who subs to Preble Street
 in our area.
  About six months of services, which for some clients is insufficient
  Request to have Preble Street present on their PATH activities
 o HUD system performance measurement guide
 o HMIS = reporting database to HUD
  Discussion
 o Implementation time frame for this process? About two years. Trying to finish first
 chunk (activities that are supposed to happen within first 72 hours of client
 presenting) by end of calendar year; some components already being implemented
 o Who decides? How roll out? Working for buy-in from the two Continuums of Care
 and the three regional homeless councils (which comprise the Statewide Homeless
 Council) so that there will be consistency statewide in the client experience
  Should lead to clients being better served locally and not sending them to
 Portland?
  Database/data-sharing is supposed to be real-time
 o Required by HUD to serve most vulnerable
 o Overflow issue – Portland reports capacity of 246, though Oxford Street’s capacity is
 154
 o MaineHousing rules re homeless shelters appear not to be enforced
  Rulemaking is currently underway to change some of these rules
  Violations need to be reported to MaineHousing so they can investigate

3. ESAC/Longest-Term Stayer Initiative

  Cullen Ryan provided an overview of the work underway via ESAC to place the 70 longest-
 term stayers from the Oxford Street Shelter into permanent, supportive housing
  Within 5 weeks, 14 of the 70 have been housed
  9 organizations agreed to come together to make this happen, contributing 9.5 FTEs: City of
 Portland, Amistad, Opportunity Alliance, Milestone, Frannie Peabody, VA, Preble Street,
 Shalom House, MaineHousing (and PHA provided some additional Section 8 vouchers)
  All organizations have capacity to serve clients who are not MaineCare-eligible
  Goals are to be down to 52 long-term stayers by 7/1; 34 by 8/27, 16 by 10/29, 7 by 12/3 and
 0 by 12/31
  There are plenty of rental subsidies to get this group housed
  The subcommittee meets weekly to go through the longest-term stayers list, which comes
 from Oxford Street and the HMIS system, and assess the levels of support needed by each
 individual
  How does this work impact shelter capacity?

 Page 2 of 4
 o When the 30 long-term stayers were housed at Logan Place, the 3rd overflow shelter
 was no longer needed.
 o When the next 22 were housed, the 2nd overflow has been needed only very
 sporadically
 o By housing the medically compromised clients who need cots, capacity at Oxford
 Street is increased
 o When we get down to 170-180 folks seeking emergency shelter, they can fit into a
 154-bed shelter because of the entry/exit that happens throughout the night
 o Keep going after 12/31 and target the next group of longest-term stayers, etc.
  Now, when someone has been staying at Oxford Street for two weeks (even if not
 consecutive nights), they are screened with the VISPDAT to determine what resources and
 supports they need to prevent becoming a long-term stayer
  Is this approach sustainable?
 o Depends on the continuing will of the participating organizations
 o Fits right in with 2013 statewide plan
 o There are ongoing issues with DHHS – if MaineCare eligibility were granted to the
 262 long-term stayers statewide, there would be significant cost savings and
 improvements in their housing success; white paper provided to DHHS Sept 2013
 and still no response
  Is there enough housing stock given the tight rental market in Portland?
 o There is only a 1% vacancy rate in Portland, but we are only talking about placing 70
 people.
 o Landlords are often very responsive to guaranteed rent and a third party to assist
 with resolving any problems or removing an unsuccessful tenant and bringing in a
 new tenant
  Are the participating organizations able to provide enough support services to meet clients’
 needs?
 o The need for intensive services declines with length of time in housing
 o There is enough capacity currently to support the 70 targeted clients

4. Revised work plan

  Julie distributed an updated work plan reflecting the greater length of time spent
 understanding current services
  Concerns were raised regarding the Sept 8 deadline and the likely need to request an
 extension from Council to October or November
  Next meeting will focus on how much money is currently funding adult emergency shelter
 services in Portland via Milestone, Preble Street, and the City and the requirements of that
 funding in order to determine the current baseline funding as well as what is expected over
 the next two years
  Then we will focus on the components of the adult emergency shelter services model
  Followed by an examination of who should run the shelter, whether a new shelter makes
 sense at this time, where the shelter should be, and who the service partners should be



 Page 3 of 4
 5. Wrap up and next meeting

  Weds 7/8, 9-11 a.m., City Hall, rm 24
 o Current adult emergency shelter services funding and expected funding over the next
 two years

  Web site: www.portlandmaine.gov/1512/Shelter-Planning-Task-Force
 o User name: taskforce
 o Password: portland15


Julie Sullivan
Acting Chief of Staff
207.756.8363
jas@portlandmaine.gov




 Page 4 of 4