Task Force To Prevent And End Homelessness — Columbia, SC
Date: 2022-08-17
Time: 16:00

COLUMBIA TASK FORCE TO PREVENT AND END HOMELESSNESS MEETING
 AGENDA - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022

The Columbia Task Force to Prevent and End Homelessness will conduct a meeting on
Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. at the Busby Street Community Center, 1735 Busby
Street, Columbia, SC 29203. Members of the public may view the meeting online at
www.columbiasc.gov. For questions regarding the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at
(803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov.
 The Honorable Aditi Bussells, Chair
 The Honorable Edward H. McDowell, Jr., District II  The Honorable William Brennan, District III

CALL TO ORDER
APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Approval of the June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

2. Overview - The Honorable Will Brennan

PRESENTATIONS

3. Responses from Homeless Service Providers - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of
 Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands / Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW,
 Director of Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management for Prisma Health-
 Midlands Supportive Housing Services / Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions / Ms. Lila
 Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President & CEO of Homeless No More / Ms. Julie Ann Avin,
 Executive Director of MIRCI

 a) CPD estimates that there are approximately 200-250 unsheltered people. What are your
 recommendations for addressing the growing number of unsheltered homeless on the street?

 b) The Taskforce has identified a lack of coordination and services after 5:00 p.m. What would you
 suggest on how to address this?

 c) What are the biggest challenges you see in this work?

 d) The Taskforce has identified over 100 services addressing homelessness in the midlands. How can
 these services be better streamlined to address the needs of the unsheltered population? Where do
 you see your role?

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
ADJOURNMENT

 Page 1 of 1

COLUMBIA TASK FORCE TO PREVENT AND END HOMELESSNESS
 MEETING AGENDA - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022

The Columbia Task Force to Prevent and End Homelessness will conduct a meeting on
Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. at the Busby Street Community Center, 1735 Busby
Street, Columbia, SC 29203. Members of the public may view the meeting online at
www.columbiasc.gov. For questions regarding the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at
(803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov.
 The Honorable Aditi Bussells, Chair
 The Honorable Edward H. McDowell, Jr., District II  The Honorable William Brennan, District III

CALL TO ORDER
APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Approval of the June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

2. Overview - The Honorable Will Brennan

PRESENTATIONS

3. Responses from Homeless Service Providers - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of
 Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands / Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW,
 Director of Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management for Prisma Health-
 Midlands Supportive Housing Services / Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions / Ms. Lila
 Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President & CEO of Homeless No More / Ms. Julie Ann Avin,
 Executive Director of MIRCI

 a) CPD estimates that there are approximately 200-250 unsheltered people. What are your
 recommendations for addressing the growing number of unsheltered homeless on the street?

 b) The Taskforce has identified a lack of coordination and services after 5:00 p.m. What would you
 suggest on how to address this?

 c) What are the biggest challenges you see in this work?

 d) The Taskforce has identified over 100 services addressing homelessness in the midlands. How can
 these services be better streamlined to address the needs of the unsheltered population? Where do
 you see your role?

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
ADJOURNMENT

 Page 1 of 1
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MEETING DATE: August 17, 2022

DEPARTMENT: City Clerk

FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk

SUBJECT: Approval of the June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes
FUNDING SOURCE &
ORIGINAL BUDGET:


ATTACHMENTS:
  TPEH_MN_06_29_22 (PDF)




Updated: 8/16/2022 11:42 AM Page 1
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 Attachment: TPEH_MN_06_29_22 (7797 : Approval of the June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes)
 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022


The Columbia Task Force to Prevent and End Homelessness conducted a meeting on Tuesday,
June 29, 2022 at the Busby Street Community Center, 1735 Busby Street, Columbia, SC 29203.
The Honorable Aditi Bussells, Chair called the meeting to order at 4:09 p.m. and the following
members were present:

 Attendee Name Title Status
 Aditi Bussells Chair Present
 Edward H. McDowell District II Present
 Will Brennan District III Absent
 William "Skip" Holbrook Police Chief Present
 Matt Kennell City Center Partnership Present
 Steve Cook Five Points Association Present
 George Whitehead Department of Probations, Pardon and Parole Present
 Allison Farrell SC Department of Mental Health Present
 John Wilkerson Elmwood/Downtown Coalition of Neighborhoods Absent
 Bret Kloos USC Department of Psychology Absent
 Amy McCulloch Probate Judge Absent
 Matthew Brock Associate Probate Judge Present
 Kieley Sutton Assistant Public Defender Present
 Antonio Flores Jr. Wal-Mart Absent
 Doreen Skelton Advocate Present
 Jamar Ogburn Advocate Present
 Treacy Dobbins Inspire Real Change Present

INVOCATION

The Honorable Edward H. McDowell, Jr. offered the invocation.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Approval of the May 18, 2022 Task Force Meeting Minutes - The Honorable Aditi Bussells

Upon a motion made by Mr. McDowell and seconded by Mr. Kennell, task force members voted
unanimously to approve the May 18, 2022 Task Force Meeting Minutes.



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COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

2. Welcome - The Honorable Aditi Bussells and The Honorable Edward H. McDowell

Councilor Aditi Bussells said we held our first meeting almost five weeks ago. Since then, there
has been a lot of activity and great discussion around the ways in which we continue this work.
We have great perspectives and much needed expertise around the ways in which we can continue
to address this complex issue. I want to acknowledge two new members: Mr. Jamar Ogburn and
Ms. Doreen Skelton.

3. Task Force Goals and Outcomes - The Honorable Aditi Bussells

Councilor Aditi Bussells said I want to frame today’s conversation and talk through some of the
things I found to be the most salient in our discussion. We learned how much the city has invested
in homelessness. We have one million dollars for city services specifically around our Inclement
Weather Center. For the last several years that has been awarded to United Way with a pass through
to several other providers. We provide dollars for security at Transitions, which is a shelter at the
end of our Main Street corridor. A lot of our community development funding also goes towards
homelessness. About $2.5 million from our American Rescue Plan Act funding will be going
towards non-congregate housing which is housing that allows people to not live in shared spaces.
We continue to support providers to include Homeless No More and MIRCI. We expanded the
Pathways Unit which is focused on embedding mental health clinicians within the Columbia Police
Department. We cannot solve the entire problem of homelessness. We can do our part in leading
efforts that we can control or influence. This task force will focus on the chronic and visible
homeless. Typically, these are folks interacting with our commercial districts including downtown,
Harbison and Garners Ferry. We are not focused on other populations like youth in transition,
families and other populations that may be interacting with services. We want to focus on those
that are visible and often resistant to services. We talked about the need to balance the increase in
crime with the need to provide effective options and services for this population. Crime is often a
consequence of these other complex factors that lead to homelessness. We talked about the
importance of inclusive language. HUD uses the term unsheltered homeless. That is the term that
we can continue to use. Instead of saying the homeless, let’s say people experiencing homelessness
as a more inclusive way of talking about the population that we are interested in serving. This task
force was created with the intention of existing for six to eight months. The goal is to develop
short-term immediate solutions to address the urgency of this issue. A lot of systemic change needs
to happen. I need your help to find those short term immediate solutions.



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We talked about how important it is to hold service providers accountable. One strategy that came
out of that was to revisit the request for proposals (RFP) process for city homelessness service
providers and to determine what your accountability metrics will be. Another strategy is to ask and
advocate for regional and state investment around the work we are doing. Many of our community
providers are serving the Midlands but the burden of support often falls on the city. We talked
about having beat cops and a consistent police presence downtown to enforce regulations. We
also talked about holding community groups accountable for waste that comes from meal sharing
and the need to coordinate these efforts. Finally, we learned about our Homeless Court. We talked
about competency and options for pathways out of homelessness. Perhaps the court can be a
partner in making that happen. Are there any other strategies that you would like to bring up at this
time?

Mr. Steve Cook said here is mental illness, drug addiction and a criminal element among the
homeless in Columbia. It is important to be honest and realistic about that. As a member of the
business community, this is important to me. I have a different issue with someone who needs help
versus someone who is actively doing criminal activity in neighborhoods. That seems to get pushed
underneath when we talk about law enforcement.

Mr. Jamar Ogburn recalled interactions with the police when he stayed at Transitions. When you
look and act a certain way, you get labeled. The police have to change their attitude.

Chief Skip Holbrook said it is interesting that the first conversation is about law enforcement. We
spent a lot of time at the last meeting talking about how to get law enforcement out of the solution.
I can assure you that we would prefer not to spend 60% of our time in the Metro Region dealing
with unsheltered homeless. Especially now with the staffing challenges we have, we are very
reactive. For us, public contact is almost entirely based on complaints or a reported crime. We
have various corridors that are more active than others. There are a lot of quality of life and criminal
violations that occur in the area where Transitions is located. More goes on that is unenforced and
that is a sticking point for a lot of the businesses. Law enforcement is always going to have to
interact when there are violations of law. No matter the situation, we have to treat people with
respect and dignity and justify our actions. There are lots of checks and balances. We wear body
cameras. A lot of trespassing charges are based on a business owner giving law enforcement the
authority to act on their behalf after someone has been properly noticed.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said that is what we hear from constituents as well. How do we solve this
in a way that is meaningful?



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Chief Skip Holbrook said we had dozens of complaints in the Forest Drive corridor. We had to do
a special operations to address this particular quality of life issue. In two days, we made nine
custodial arrests. Every one of those were personal recognizance (PR) bonds and they were right
back out. A lot of resources were drained for two days and those same people are back in the same
place doing the same thing. Then the unsheltered homeless may have had a bad experience. They
are mad at us and the business owner is mad at us because we did not affect a change. I would like
to hear solutions.

Councilor Edward McDowell said we need to recognize that law enforcement officers are there to
enforce the law. What is the responsibility of the providers? We hired clinicians to effectuate and
navigate through crisis in the community. We want officers to be reasonable, compassionate and
sensible, but we also want them to enforce the law.

Mr. Steve Cook said the only tool given to business owners is through the police department. It is
incredibly unfair for officers to be the frontline for triaging this. We would love to have another
agency to call or have the counselors come first.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said we have heard that consistently. Folks naturally call 911. We find
that people struggle to find services after hours. It sounds like we need to identify an afterhours
and first point of contact that can respond in a timely manner without putting the burden on CPD
especially for instances where there isn’t criminal activity.

Chief Skip Holbrook said we have one clinician. We had 337 calls for service, interacted with 214
different clients and made 238 different referrals. Those 214 clients were homeless and they did
not go to jail. The discussion needs to be about the disposition of those 214 clients. We have to
effectively deal with these persons who are experiencing homelessness that come into contact with
the Pathways Unit. They are in crisis whether it is through addiction to alcohol or drugs, they are
on the street, and they suffer from mental illness.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said the challenge is also that our services are all over the city or beyond
the city. It is hard to interact if you don’t have transportation or someone helping you navigate
these things. There is no single point of entry that people have found consistent success with. We
have folks that need services and we don’t have a seamless process for that. We have folks that
are engaging in criminal activity as a consequence of homelessness and it has affected
neighborhoods and businesses.




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Mr. Jamar Ogburn said when working at the Inclement Weather Center, I would call a number for
clients with mental issues, but I was told that they had no one to send out. I had to call the police
and they tell me to call mental health. Something needs to be in place 24 hours a day.

Ms. Allison Farrell said there is a resource called Mobile Crisis that is available in every county
24/7 for 365 days a year. Call (833)364-2274 and two clinicians will be dispatched along with law
enforcement if it is a mental health crisis. When will law enforcement identify it as a homeless
issue? Is it during dispatch?

Chief Skip Holbrook said it could be the complainant through dispatch or after we interact with
them on scene. It could be based on field interviews, arrest reports or incident reports where an
address is not listed. Mobile Crisis works well and it complements our Pathways Unit.

Ms. Kieley Sutton said I represent almost everyone who comes through the City of Columbia
Municipal Court with a competency issue. Competency is when your mental health is so significant
that you don’t understand what’s going on in court and you don’t care to participate in your
defense. That also means that you can’t engage in services. It is not necessarily a resistance to
services; it can be an inability to engage and follow through in an appropriate way. Since January
1, 2022 through June 22, 20222, there were 113 arrests for 10 different people who have pending
competency evaluations. [Correction received on June 30, 2022: The number of arrests is 34 for
10 unique individuals who collectively spent 405 days in jail as of June 22, 2022.] These
individuals cannot be tried. They cannot engage in services. There is no solution. They can’t
comport their behavior in a way that allows them to stay in a shelter or participate in services. They
can’t be probated because they usually don’t have family. The hospitals can’t or won’t engage
with them longer than the 24 hour or one-week hold. They don’t have insurance to keep them in a
program. With all of those issues, the appropriate thing would be a competency evaluation and the
restoration process after they are charged criminally. That doesn’t exist but we are working on this
with the city. There was a 2019 State Supreme Court order saying that the mechanism needs to be
developed and here we are mid-2022 with no plans. That is arrests and days spent in jail by people
who cannot be tried, self-advocate, or participate in services. They are discharged without a plan.
At last check, there were 23 people with pending competency evaluations. We have a robust
service provider community but none of the services are one size fits all. We need an afterhours or
on call individual who is well versed on all of the services available to make appropriate referrals.
It is a matter of collaboration, cohesiveness, clear referrals, follow-up, and warm handoffs.
Proposals for afterhours peer support specialists and weekend peer support have been presented to
MACH. There is an issue with transportation. A lot of the clients that I work with who are
interested in engaging in services have been banned or put on trespass notice from the Comet.


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There is no clear policy, notification process, or appeals process. We are putting a gap in the
continuity of care which is an additional hurdle to the next level of success.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said we have competency up there. We need to talk about clear policies
and suggestions for how we are allowing people to become unbanned from transportation. I would
add that a lot of people are banned from accessing services. What is the process if you want to
engage in services again? What are our accountability metrics to ensure that we are not creating
these unintended consequences? A campaign would help people have access, especially business
owners and community members to numbers and a set of resources that actually work. I don’t
want to hear the desperation of “I don’t know what to do except call CPD.” I want to have options
for those who feel like they have criminal activity on their property or in their vicinity.

Ms. Kieley Sutton encouraged everyone to recognize that there is going to be two sides to every
coin. If I went into my job and didn’t recognize that on one client I could be the best advocate in
the world but on the next one I am a public pretender - if I didn’t know that those two perceptions
existed, I would be doing clients a disservice. We need to deal with that consistency of interaction
and understanding. If the rumor is that your weekend staff is different from your day staff, we as
agencies, service providers, and advocates need to be aware of those rumors, recognize if there is
truth to it, and be willing to fix it.

Councilor Edward McDowell noted that the Department of Mental Health is the only service
provider in the meeting.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said many of the providers have been invited to our August meeting
where they will be presenting on the services they provide. During the next meeting, I would like
to hear the questions you have for providers.

Councilor Edward McDowell said this is not just a mental health issue; there are layers to
homelessness. I don’t think there has been collaboration with providers to discuss resolutions. In
August, I will ask what is being done collaboratively towards resolutions that can effectuate
themselves. Again, CPD is not in the triage business. We have to do a better job. We have
identified the issues, but we haven’t had the hard conversations about what we can do
collaboratively. We spend one million dollars per year and I am asked if we are getting a bang for
our buck. We will have this conversation in August.




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Ms. Kieley Sutton said there are monthly case conferencing meetings that talks about intensive
case conference based on a list provided by CPD or MACH. There is a youth specific meeting, a
families meeting, and there used to be a VA meeting. Clean of Heart has the next level services
where we do intensive case management as a group table event. The library has partnership days.
I don’t think there has been a collaborative effort to discuss what the city can do differently. There
have been collaborative efforts to coordinate services and better serve our fellow humans.

Councilor Edward McDowell said we are having these intensive conversations with others. Is it
working? If it is not working, we need to fix it or find some resolution. If we are not making a
difference in terms of that conversation, then we are talking about sounding brass and gonging
cymbals. It has to be a collaborative conversation that is going to engender itself around solutions.
We can’t do it by ourselves. It doesn’t matter which agency it is; it is not working. It becomes a
hard pull for CPD when there are issues and situations and the only thing we do is dial 911. There
has to be a genuine conversation between you all. We can effectuate change but what are the end
results. There are no results right now.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said what is currently happening is not working. We have to revisit the
ways in which our community, business owners, and providers are all interacting. We have a lot
of great pieces and they are not all moving together in one cohesive puzzle that allows folks to
engage with services correctly and allows CPD to stay in their lane and respond to the situations
that make the most sense and are in their purview. It is scary to say that. What we are doing is not
working, because it continues to escalate. We keep hearing about the increase in the number of
people experiencing homelessness.

4. Review of Reading Materials - The Honorable Aditi Bussells

Councilor Aditi Bussells said I want to talk about the materials I sent to you all. One being the
2013 Homeless Committee Report. The committee had four subcommittees. I want to summarize
some of the strategies they had that may be interesting for our discussion: Winter Shelter, Main
Street Corridor, Meals and Feeding, and Sanitation. The four key recommendations for the Winter
Shelter Subcommittee were to have a four-year plan to start having effective enough services where
they no longer need an overflow. They wanted to make transportation accessible, timely, and
reasonable. They shifted the times for when meals and services are provided in the winter. They
had recommendations on how to manage overflows. Instead of having those experiencing
homelessness move into MLK Park, they suggested using the existing structure to address that. In
terms of the Main Street Corridor Subcommittee, the city added more “No Loitering” signs and
garbage cans; conducted trash patrols of areas for meal sharing; and handed out posters on how to


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address homelessness. They urged the city to pursue vacant properties. They talked about the blue
store that continues to sell single-serve alcohol, which led to an increase in alcohol consumption
and substance use around that business. In 2013, they urged us to look at ways to halt single-serve
alcohol. Emphasis was placed on the Midlands Area Consortium for the Homeless (MACH) doing
a point in time count to estimate the number of people experiencing homelessness and launching
a public awareness campaign of the different services available in Columbia. The Meals and
Feedings Subcommittee suggested that we have fixed locations for meals. They suggested having
specific times because so many programs were overlapping. They also suggested discouraging
outdoor meal providers and enforcing and revising city regulations to ensure that they are sharing
meals in fixed locations to help address issues with trash. Lastly, the Sanitation Subcommittee
explored options for public sanitation. They did not include specific recommendations but said
they were talking with Savannah and Asheville to look at models for public bathrooms and
sanitation options. This was in 2013 and we continue to talk about many of these issues. I would
love to hear your reactions to these recommendations and if you think there are some that we
should continue to pursue.

Mr. Matt Kennell said the blue store is a major issue. I testified before the Department of Revenue
and for a year or two they were not allowed to sell alcohol. Somehow they were allowed to open
and it has been a major problem ever since. The single-serve alcohol from there, El Cheapo and
other places is a major problem. That is an issue that perhaps council could deal with by ordinance.
The city has put in porta johns and there have been maintenance issues over the years. Anybody
that works in the Main Street District would say that it is better than it used to be. There are better
solutions. Austin, Texas installed The Portland Loo®. It is a beautiful thing but it is expensive.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said I would like to put that down as a solution. We are brainstorming
and we will see what is feasible.

Ms. Allison Farrell asked why some of the recommendations did not go forward. What were the
barriers to getting some of these recommendations addressed in 2013?

Councilor Aditi Bussells said I will try to find out.

Mr. George Whitehead said during COVID there were handwashing stations all around town but
they went away. I would like to see some of them come back. That was a great resource.




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Chief Skip Holbrook said every one of those areas have been touched in one way or another since
that committee brought forward the recommendations. The winter shelter has been massaged and
worked over and over again. It is not perfect but it has been an important resource for managing
the situations with homeless individuals in inclement weather. The Main Street corridor has
changed. There has been a dramatic shift in the complaints of people relieving themselves. The
porta johns aren’t the greatest thing to look at. It would be awesome if this group could come up
with a solution to meal sharing. It leads to a lot of issues with trash. We have meal shares that
occur throughout the day, every day and in various places. Some are scheduled but more are not.
It is nearly impossible to coordinate. All of these areas have been touched in one way or another
and with various successes. Hopefully we can build on those successes as those are all important
areas.

Mr. Matthew Brock said the problem with coordinating meals can be solved with some type of
technology and by getting all providers and those who share meals regularly in a room. That way,
not only do the homeless know but the police can know and we can have that coordination.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said we have churches and other non-profits that are not traditionally in
the provider community but want to do something kind. These come up and there is no way to
capture all of them until after they happen. Then we get a call about trash and bags of clothes being
left behind. The United Way did a great job with trying to organize the meal shares but there is
much more happening that is tangential and happens on its own.

Mr. Matthew Brock suggested having an ordinance requiring 24-hour notice before going to feed.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said I like the idea of a 24-hour notice.

Mr. Jamar Ogburn said don’t feed them. There is a major difference from when I moved here in
1988 to what we have today. In 1988, the Salvation Army, Oliver Gospel Mission and the church
on Washington Street were the only place that offered meals. On Sunday, you had the church on
Senate Street. Back then, the Salvation Army and the Oliver Gospel Mission didn’t let you take
food out. Now you have massive churches and law firms. If you don’t feed them, you don’t have
it. Coordinate it in a certain area but move it away from the city and the main corridor. Let the
main people do what they have been doing and stop the extras.




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Councilor Aditi Bussells noted that the city attorney mentioned several cities have tried this
approach. In many cases, these groups sued and they won on the rights of the first amendment to
be able to feed. There are creative ways to help people understand the unintended consequences.
Legally, we won’t be able to say you can’t feed at all.

Ms. Jacqueline Pavlicek, Esq., City Attorney’s Office said pursuant to the first amendment, the
City of Columbia doesn’t regulate churches. There have been numerous law suits largely based on
the first amendment. The City of Columbia cannot have an official policy that would fine them for
that.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said another strategy is continuing to find ways in which we can help
people understand those unintended consequences.

Mr. Jamar Ogburn asked if we can setup a central location for meal sharing.

Councilor Aditi Bussells suggested looking at policies around waste and to-go containers.

Doreen Skelton said one solution is for us to help people have a place of their own where they can
feed themselves. Several states have done it. Cities have worked with social workers and
community programs to have tiny homes where each person has their own sleeping quarters. They
are able to put their belongings in it and they setup bathrooms and resources. A lot of money has
been put out for bathrooms. You can use recyclables to help them and they can help build the
places.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said one strategy we did not talk about but has been key to this task force
is understanding the landscape of our provider network. There are a lot of robust services and there
may be opportunities to strengthen it. What is happening right now is not working for all of the
people experiencing homelessness. We tasked Treacy and his organization with cataloging these
agencies and providing us with a presentation. This will flow into our conversation in July where
we will prepare for our providers to be with us in August where we can have questions and make
sure we are on the same page for how we would like to collaborate with our providers on
developing solutions. Please read the three articles in your packet.




 Task Force to Prevent and Homelessness June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes - Page 10 of 13
 Packet Pg. 12
 1.a




 COLUMBIA TASK FORCE TO PREVENT AND END HOMELESSNESS MEETING
 MINUTES




 Attachment: TPEH_MN_06_29_22 (7797 : Approval of the June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes)
 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022
5. Social Service Network Catalogue Presentation - Mr. Treacy Dobbins, Inspire Real Change

Mr. Treacy Dobbins, Inspire Real Change said we entered into a partnership with the city to do a
social services advancement project. We realized that there were so many resources and
organizations in Richland County. We needed to understand who is out there, who’s doing what,
and how they are operating. Our goal was to build a functional catalog. It is 41-pages that contain
information on each program to include eligibility and contact information for 102 programs and
services. We included the Inclement Weather Center under shelter services. The transitional
housing programs are broken down by the demographic they serve. We have nine veteran services
that are directly related to somebody who is unsheltered or at-risk. There are 33 organizations that
serve food and they are linked to a map. This is the first part of our project. The 102 programs are
strictly within Richland County, not Lexington County. Our continued work is to evaluate and
assess the current social services delivery system within Richland County. We will be looking at
how services are delivered from a big picture perspective and from a service level perspective
through case studies. We will evaluate the challenges, the gaps in services, and the need. The latter
part is to provide the task force with recommendations on the potential restructure or consolidation
of services that would improve delivery to these individuals and bring efficiencies to the system.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said the catalog is available in the task force members’ packets. We plan
on releasing this to the public and sharing it with those who helped in gathering this information
including our providers. There are 102 services in Richland County, yet we are still seeing these
challenges. This continues to reinforce that we have the puzzle pieces but it is not put together in
a way that is working. We have a compassionate city but we are facing a lot of changes and we
need to revisit how we are providing some of this support.

Mr. George Whitehead said there is a lot of transitional housing out there. Is anyone evaluating if
a place should come off the list or if we shouldn’t be referring people to these places? Are you
looking at quality assurance?

Mr. Treacy Dobbins said there is no real quality control within the system. People start sober living
homes under an organizational name and they are chartered to perform services but there is no real
quality control piece to validate who is doing what.

Mr. George Whitehead said my concern is that we will refer people to places that are not going to
make them successful and no one has gone to these places to vet them.




 Task Force to Prevent and Homelessness June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes - Page 11 of 13
 Packet Pg. 13
 1.a




 COLUMBIA TASK FORCE TO PREVENT AND END HOMELESSNESS MEETING
 MINUTES




 Attachment: TPEH_MN_06_29_22 (7797 : Approval of the June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes)
 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022
Councilor Aditi Bussells said for the one million we are investing directly towards professional
services, I am in full support of accountability metrics and outcomes that need to be monitored
over time and treating these contracts as grants where we are able to see what will be accomplished
in the short-term and the long-term. That has not happened. That is a question I’d like to table for
the providers. What accountability mechanisms do you have with each other? Where is the quality
control? How do you work with each other to identify some of that? I am aware that a lot of federal
opportunities are coming down the pipeline through HUD to address homelessness. We want to
make sure that we are receiving those funds and they are making a difference in our communities.
There are certain touch points where evaluation has to happen as part of those grants. It will be
helpful to hear what those look like.

6. Task Force Discussion

Public Input form Ms. Diane Wiley, Belvedere Community resident said we shouldn’t have
homeless in America. People want a roof over their heads. Give them a chance. I am homeless
from the flood and if it wasn’t for my mother I wouldn’t have a place to stay. Give them shelter,
pride and a job. If they have a mental problem, have a place where they can go. There are a lot of
people sleeping in Finlay Park. The tiny homes are a great idea. You need shelter for 24 hours. It
is hot and it will get cold. They need a place to lay their head and go to the bathroom.

Ms. Doreen Skelton presented solutions to help anyone that is experiencing homelessness. My
intent is to provide houses for the homeless to be able to go to every night. Some people are hard
to get off the streets. The benefit is having resources onsite like social workers and employment.
The first phase would be to get the people off the street. The tiny homes do not have bathrooms.
All of the facilities are on community property. They have weekly meetings to discuss issues.
There is a fence around the perimeter. They can’t go out or come in without going pass a guard.
We can use recyclables. Builders donate their time and materials. This is my solution for getting
people off the streets. I give people food and I talk to them. The solution is to give them the
resources and a place to sleep.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said there are great examples of tiny homes across the country and we
will put that down as a potential solution. The committee will receive a link to the video.




 Task Force to Prevent and Homelessness June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes - Page 12 of 13
 Packet Pg. 14
 1.a




 COLUMBIA TASK FORCE TO PREVENT AND END HOMELESSNESS MEETING
 MINUTES




 Attachment: TPEH_MN_06_29_22 (7797 : Approval of the June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes)
 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022
Ms. Missy Caughman said Chief Holbrook addressed what Ms. Farrell was saying about the 2013
study. A couple outcomes from that study were worked on such as the meal sharing through United
Way’s coordination. There’s a food share committee. We will talk more about that during the
August meeting with the providers. We did the solicitation and now we have an inclement weather
center. Other things were mentioned and will be discussed in future meetings. We will also talk
about who will be invited to the August meeting.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said we will talk about the structure of that meeting. I want it to be an
opportunity for all of you to get as many questions answered with the providers as possible. Before
that meeting, send your questions over. I want to have some of those hard conversations. We will
dedicate our July meeting to thinking about some of those metrics; following up on conversations
we’ve had; and responding to the examples we have seen in other cities. This was an incredible
conversation and I appreciate everyone being open-minded about a difficult topic.

7. Closing Remarks - The Honorable Edward H. McDowell, Jr.

Councilor Edward McDowell said what a good day to have this conversation and resolutional
things that we can institute and initiate as our city continues to grow and expand. Thank you for
taking the time out of your schedule to be a part of this dialogue. I want to thank Councilwoman
Bussells for her leadership. Councilman Will Brennan could not be here today, but I am sure he
senses that this conversation was needed within the confines of this community. We look forward
to seeing you in July and August. It is going to be an interesting time.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was closed at 5:57 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:



Erika D. Moore Hammond, CMC
City Clerk




 Task Force to Prevent and Homelessness June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes - Page 13 of 13
 Packet Pg. 15
 2




MEETING DATE: August 17, 2022

DEPARTMENT: City Clerk

FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk

SUBJECT: Overview - The Honorable Will Brennan
FUNDING SOURCE &
ORIGINAL BUDGET:




Updated: 8/16/2022 1:04 PM Page 1
 Packet Pg. 16
 3




MEETING DATE: August 17, 2022

DEPARTMENT: City Clerk

FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk

SUBJECT: Responses from Homeless Service Providers - Ms. Jennifer
 Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way
 of the Midlands / Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW, Director of
 Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management for Prisma
 Health-Midlands Supportive Housing Services / Mr. Craig
 Currey, CEO of Transitions / Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, EdD,
 HDFP, President & CEO of Homeless No More / Ms. Julie Ann
 Avin, Executive Director of MIRCI
FUNDING SOURCE &
ORIGINAL BUDGET:

PURPOSE:
a) CPD estimates that there are approximately 200-250 unsheltered people. What are
 your recommendations for addressing the growing number of unsheltered homeless
 on the street?

b) The Taskforce has identified a lack of coordination and services after 5:00 p.m. What
 would you suggest on how to address this?

c) What are the biggest challenges you see in this work?

d) The Taskforce has identified over 100 services addressing homelessness in the
 midlands. How can these services be better streamlined to address the needs of the
 unsheltered population? Where do you see your role?


ATTACHMENTS:
  UWM Report to City Task Force 081722 (PDF)
  USC Housing First Homeless Taskforce Report 8-12-2022 (PDF)
  Transitions Homeless TF presentation Aug 22 (PDF)




Updated: 8/16/2022 1:11 PM Page 1
 Packet Pg. 17
 3.a




  Response to City Task Force Questions 8/12/22
Overview of United Way
United Way of the Midlands (UWM) addresses critical health and human services needs in Calhoun,
Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Richland, and Orangeburg counties. UWM focuses on helping provide a




 Attachment: UWM Report to City Task Force 081722 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
strong safety net, space for non-profit collaboration, and pathways to resiliency. More than 30,000 donors
support United Way, and we work with 69 certified Community Impact Partners that provide a variety of
services across the lifespan from educational programs for children, healthcare, and programs for seniors.
Our annual impact on the Midlands is over $20 million serving nearly 100,000 people last year. We also
directly operate initiatives such as our Midlands Reading Consortium children’s tutoring program and the
WellPartners free dental and eye care clinics.

 UWM’s Role with Homelessness
 1. Funder – UWM provides competitive funding across our six counties to organizations that provide
 homeless prevention, emergency shelter, street outreach, and long-term housing with case
 management. We also have funding for a new Two-Generation approach to stabilizing families in
 crisis. We will provide over $2.3 million in 2022 for these services assisting people in crisis.
 Additionally, UWM has $5 million dedicated over the next three years to affordable housing creation
 with portions dedicated to three projects under development in the Midlands plus two home repair
 programs to prevent homelessness.

 2. Research & Data Collection – UWM operates the local homeless coalition’s Homeless Management
 Information System (HMIS). HMIS is an internet-based client and bed management system for
 homeless and at-risk populations. The system covers the coalition’s 13 counties and supports agency
 users which represent a mix of homeless housing, shelter, and service providers. The system allows
 service providers to coordinate care across agencies. UWM uses data from HMIS for federal reporting,
 data collection for the homeless coalition’s annual point-in-time count, monitoring system
 effectiveness, and research into homelessness.

 An example of current research:
 UWM, in partnership with Chapin Hall, the nation’s lead authority in youth homelessness, we are
 working a project entitled ‘Estimating the Prevalence and Probability of Homeless Youth.’ With Chapin
 Hall and homeless service providers from Travis County, TX (Austin) and New York City, some
 overarching goals include:
 • Exploring innovative approaches to linking and analyzing different sources of administrative data
 to produce actionable insights on youth homelessness.
 • Develop methods to improve estimates of youth homelessness
 • Better understand of young people’s pathways into and through homelessness
 • Examine racial and intersectional inequities

 3. Lead for Federal Resources – The Midlands has a homeless coalition called the Midlands Area
 Consortium for the Homeless (MACH). Established in 1994, MACH is an all-volunteer 501c3 covering
 13 counties. UWM provides support for the coalition’s required Continuum of Care efforts to secure
 federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to fund
 homeless permanent housing programs. Annual funding supports $3.5 million dollars’ worth of
 housing vouchers equating to over 500 housing units of vulnerable individuals and families with
 children that need long-term housing with services. We recently submitted a new federal application
 1

 Packet Pg. 18
 3.a




 to address youth homelessness and are working on renewal of the current homeless voucher funding
 and two new federal applications via HUD. We seek to bring resources into the Midlands for housing
 and look for opportunities to improve collaborations.

 UWM’s work on behalf of the 13 county Continuum of Care include:
 • Securing federal housing resources for people experiencing homelessness




 Attachment: UWM Report to City Task Force 081722 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
 • Examining system effectiveness of federal homeless programs
 • Monitoring federal HUD homeless grantees
 • Maintain priority listing for housing voucher vacancies based on vulnerability
 • Convening case conferencing
 • Examining racial disparities in homeless services
 • Ensuring homeless coalition’s compliance with HUD regulations
 • Operate the Homeless Management Information System
 • Coordinating an annual point-in-time count
 • Providing data and input to local government Consolidated Plans
 • Coordinating with the State of South Carolina Emergency Solutions Grant program
 • Support coalition meetings and committees

Recommendations Based on the Task Force’s Four Questions
1. What are your recommendations for addressing the growing number of unsheltered homeless on the
 street? CPD estimates that this is approximately 200-250 people.

 Response: We can share data from HMIS and the point-in-time count and discuss what CPD is seeing
 with recommendations for improved communication and referrals. We have built a good relationship
 with CPD and would like to support their work. Since the Inclement Weather Center is closed for the
 season, there are currently more people on the streets.

 During the January 2021 one-day point-in-time count 243 people were identified as unsheltered
 across the homeless coalition’s 13-counties. This reflects a snapshot on a single day. The average time
 a person is homeless in the Midlands is 59 shelter beds nights. This is too long. In 2021, 19% of people
 engaged in street outreach services progressed to housing. Of people who successfully move on to
 long-term housing from shelters, 18% return to the streets within two years.

  Recommendations:
 • Provide City funding for more affordable housing units across a range of needs including
 permanent supportive housing, housing vouchers, and rental housing for people with low
 incomes.
 • Do not add additional shelter beds; however, limited motel vouchers could be helpful in assisting
 vulnerable populations with short-term assistance matched with services to develop a long-term
 housing plan, such as permanent supportive housing. Also, parks facilities could offer temporary
 sheltering options during short-term periods of increased populations rather than construction of
 new permanent sheltering facilities. Affordable housing is the answer not new shelter beds.
 • Encourage the Columbia Housing Authority to offer a preference for homelessness in their
 Housing Choice (Section 8) Voucher program. This will help with unsheltered placements, but also
 adds needed points during the highly competitive annual HUD Continuum of Care application to
 secure more resources for homeless housing units beyond the Housing Choice Vouchers
 themselves.

 2

 Packet Pg. 19
 3.a




 • Require programs funded with City resources to adopt a Housing First approach, which means
 offering housing then services to mitigate the immediate needs of people on the streets being
 unhoused.
 • Provide funding or require City funded programs to offer longer-term case management matched
 to street outreach engagement efforts. Unsheltered people often need navigation to secure
 documentation (photo ID, Social Security card, Birth Certificate), apply for disability benefits or




 Attachment: UWM Report to City Task Force 081722 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
 social security, and transportation to appointments. These steps prepare people to enter housing.
 • Continue City funding for the successful bus ticket program to reunite people with family and
 supportive environments in their home communities.
 • Require all City funded programs participate in the Homeless Management Information System.

2. The Taskforce has identified a lack of coordination and services after 5pm. What would you suggest
 on how address this?

 Response: There is limited intake for services after hours and weekends and this creates issues. Also
 complicating is that sheltering facilities are at maximum capacity daily; therefore, after hours if
 someone needed a bed, the shelters would already be full.

 Recommendations:
 • City staff participate in local homeless coalition meetings to discuss this issue with providers.
 • Require City funded programs to participate in the Homeless Management Information System,
 point-in-time count, local homeless coalition, and case conferencing meetings.
 • Resources to offer more services and triage after hours.

3. What are the biggest challenges you see in this work?

 Response: Lack of community understanding of the systems in place and understanding system
 limitations based on federal requirements, resources, and limited capacity. Also, understanding the
 gap in affordable housing and individual workforce skills.

4. The Taskforce has identified over 100 services addressing homelessness in the Midlands. How can
 these services be better streamlined to address the needs of the unsheltered population? Where do
 you see your role?

 Response: There are a high number of non-profits in the more populated areas of South Carolina,
 which can cause a competitive fundraising environment to sustain operations. At United Way, we
 strive to prevent duplication of our funding across agencies that provide similar services and require
 collaborative efforts versus siloed approaches.

 For homeless services, agencies often specialize in specific populations since best practice
 interventions tend to align with population type. For example, families with children need different
 approaches than single individuals living on the street for prolonged periods. Some agencies will have
 targeted populations such as Veterans, ex-offenders, or people living with mental illness. In the
 homeless space, this can create the perception of many agencies, when the interventions are different
 and tailored to population needs.




 3

 Packet Pg. 20
 3.a




Recommendations:
• Encourage any entity engaged in homeless services, including the City and CPD, to participate in
 the local homeless coalition and all direct service agencies should participate in the Homeless
 Management Information System and case conferencing. Please note, not all grassroot or smaller
 providers have capacity to participate in HMIS due to staffing levels.
• Encourage use of 2-1-1 or www.sc211.org. This is the state’s searchable database for health and




 Attachment: UWM Report to City Task Force 081722 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
 human services to promote resources that are available rather than organizations creating new
 programs. The database is updated for accuracy according to AIRS accreditation standards.
• We will continue our role as a funder, researcher, and conveyor to bring in additional resources
 for housing. We welcome opportunities to improve collaboration and to be a partner in that work.




 4

 Packet Pg. 21
 3.b




 Supportive Housing Services




 Attachment: USC Housing First Homeless Taskforce Report 8-12-2022 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
 Housing First Response to Homeless Task Force
 8/17/2022

History and Summary of Services:

2008: Housing First began as a pilot program funded by the City of Columbia with Supportive Housing
Services and Columbia Housing. The permanent supportive housing serves chronically homeless
individuals. Housing First is nationally recognized as a best-practice model and uses a team approach to
provide outreach, case management, medical adherence services, and mental health & substance abuse
services on site and in the home.

2012: The program expanded its initial scope of services to introduce 4 family units and 15 units
specifically designated for clients living with HIV/AIDS.

 Program Outcomes

 • 7/1/2021-6/30/2022: 43 clients housed
 6 new clients housed
 6 clients discharged
 49 clients provided supportive services
 223 clients seen via outreach
 • 7/1/2008-present: 157 clients housed in a Housing First unit
 26 months average length of stay
 $24.18 cost per client per day for services



Homeless Task Force Questions:

 1. What are your recommendations for addressing the growing number of unsheltered homeless
 on the street? CPD estimates that this is approximately 200-250 people.

 • We recommend increasing affordable housing overall, in both capacity and access.
 • While emergency shelter beds are an integral part of the continuum of care, affordable housing
 is ideally a permanent and more sustainable solution.
 • Along with affordable housing, the City would benefit from services such as outreach and inten-
 sive case management, either in conjunction with or in addition to the currently funded ser-
 vices, to people who are historically difficult to engage.
 • The Housing first model is a best practice strategy and offers immediate access to permanent,
 supportive housing, which means that participants are offered services such as intensive case
 management and mental health support. We recommend continuing the current program and
 considering ways to replicate or expand the current model as it is nationally recognized and

 Packet Pg. 22
 3.b




 Supportive Housing Services




 Attachment: USC Housing First Homeless Taskforce Report 8-12-2022 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
 Housing First Response to Homeless Task Force
 8/17/2022

 listed as a HUD priority. The approach is cost effective and the current program using City fund-
 ing for services estimates serving 26 clients for approximately $58.04 per day ($33.86 for hous-
 ing, $24.18 for services.) The program targets individuals who are resistant to or unsuccessful in
 traditional programs and services, and the majority are chronically homeless.

2. The Taskforce has identified a lack of coordination and services after 5pm. What would you
 suggest on how to address this?

• We recommend that shelters are staffed for intakes 24 hours a day, contingent upon bed avail-
 ability.
• Additionally, the issue can be discussed during the Street Outreach Coordination Meeting and
 Case Conferencing (i.e., targeting specific cases, areas.)
• Increase support for outreach workers to focus on unsheltered individuals during nights and
 weekends.

3. What are the biggest challenges you see in this work?

• The biggest challenge in this work is housing availability and access to housing.
• For most people that we work with, affordability, criminal history, eviction history, and credit
 history are all issues and barriers that keep them from accessing adequate and stable housing.
• People may also lack required documentation such as identification or Social Security card to
 successfully obtain housing. Assistance is required from housing agencies and case managers to
 navigate the systems on behalf of the clients.
• Accessing affordable housing with the assistance of a Housing Choice Voucher, also known as
 Section 8, has become increasingly difficult.

4. The Taskforce has identified over 100 services addressing homelessness in the midlands. How
 can these services be better streamlined to address the needs of the unsheltered population?
 Where do you see your role?

Each agency has a specific purpose depending on capacity and funder’s expectations and limitations.
However, many service providers regularly work together on individual client cases, targeted
geographic areas, and on collaborative community efforts. Additionally, agencies should:

• Attend local homeless coalition meetings, trainings, and events.
• Join Case Conferences and the Street Outreach Coordination meeting.
• Participate in the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) in order to access and
 share information, which in turn streamlines services.



 Packet Pg. 23
 3.b




 Supportive Housing Services




 Attachment: USC Housing First Homeless Taskforce Report 8-12-2022 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
 Housing First Response to Homeless Task Force
 8/17/2022

The role of Supportive Housing Services’ (SHS) Housing First program is to provide housing units in
partnership with Columbia Housing for chronically homeless and disabled individuals and families,
including persons living with HIV/AIDS. The Housing First team works to provide intensive case
management to clients who are historically difficult to engage. Housing First services target the most
vulnerable individuals and families experiencing homelessness and provide ongoing home-based
support. The services provided by SHS are crucial to ensure clients can manage living independently and
avoid returning to homelessness. Housing First staff provides and facilitates case management,
outreach, medical adherence, and mental health and substance abuse support services. We also
provide street outreach services to unsheltered individuals and link people to resources even if they are
not eligible for the Housing First program.




 Packet Pg. 24
 3.c




 Transitions’ Impact on the Homeless Community in the Midlands and Impact
 of Moving the Facility
 August 12, 2022
Transitions provides:
 1. Its mission is “engaging and equipping homeless adults in the Midlands to




 Attachment: Transitions Homeless TF presentation Aug 22 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
 transition into stability and permanent housing.”
 2. Transitions is a one-stop facility to help homeless off the street into
 immediate beds, address barriers, and achieve permanent housing as
 quickly as possible.
 3. We partner with some 50+ agencies to address client needs.
 4. 260 beds that keep that number of adults off the street every night and the
 day center that helps another 70 on average a day (330 homeless helped
 every day).
 5. Placed 3,298 into permanent housing since opening in 2011.
 6. Engaged 3,139 total clients last year.
 7. Served 181,984 meals last years (almost 2.3M since opening in 2011)
 8. Has access to resources like internet, showers, bathrooms, laundry, clean
 clothing, job searches, health care, mental health and substance abuse
 counseling, and legal help without a need to travel around town.
 9. 214 outreach outings last year--worked with 247 clients and got 143 into
 Transitions beds.
 10. Major partners include Salvation Army which helps with the meals,
 Cooperative Health that operates a clinic on site, CAMH that brings its van
 on site for counseling and referrals, LRADAC does Peer Support classes,
 Dorn VA Regional Medical Center partners with us with GPD beds on site,
 and Richland Bar/SC Legal Services comes on site to provide pro bono
 legal help.
 11. These services are prime examples of streamlining our efforts with our
 partners to best serve our clients at the Transitions facility.

Remembering Transitions’ Original Vision and Concept:
  1. Not a shelter, but a place where someone can stay while they work through
 their barriers while seeking housing. Not a “band aid” or a “warehouse” for
 people, its programs are designed to help house people and to aid in
 recovery from issues.
  2. Jobs are critical to about 70% of our clients who need employment job to be
 self-sufficient. For most, they must self-resolve as they will not be on a
 supplemental income.
  3. Day Center provides protection during the day from heat and cold while
 offering services and encouraging engagement, and the courtyard is a nice
 place where they can be away from the downtown areas.

Homeless Task Force Questions:
  1. Recommendations to address unsheltered population:
 a. Maintain what works. Keep shelter beds open with full services to
 address the non-chronic and chronic homeless populations. Maintain



 Packet Pg. 25
 3.c




 low barrier beds that unsheltered can get into. Don’t forgo the larger
 percentage of sheltered clients to deal exclusively with the unsheltered
 problem. If we don’t help all the homeless, the unsheltered population
 will immediately grow and become harder to serve dispersed on the
 streets.




 Attachment: Transitions Homeless TF presentation Aug 22 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
 b. Provide an FTE outreach worker to cover downtown, work with Yellow
 Shirts and CPD, and address neighborhood and business concerns with
 homeless in certain areas, particularly in the BID. Outreach person would
 work for Transitions and have immediate access to beds.
 c. Increase education on the homeless issue to inform the public on actual
 numbers and desired end state for homelessness. Do we define success as
 “functional zero?”
 d. Maintain the Inclement Weather Center program to have people off
 the streets in cold weather and the bus ticket funding to send people to
 their family homes.
2. Services after 5:00 PM:
 a. Have the FTE outreach worker mentioned above to help target those
 who are not in a shelter bed and on the street after 5:00 PM.
 b. Explore using the IWC in the off-season for a police drop-off point for
 the city. There were 104 people a night at the IWC last season, so they
 are on the street in the off-season.
 c. Increase DMH mental health teams in street outreach to refer and
 hospitalize those who should be.
 d. There need to be city bathrooms after 5:00 PM. There were port-o-lets
 used for months. Why were they taken down? There need to be some
 fixed-site bathrooms, so people can go to the bathroom in an appropriate
 place.
3. Biggest challenges:
 a. Need more affordable housing—single room occupancy.
 b. Need rooms for disabled people that are ADA compliant.
 c. Fund more towards homeless issues. Comment has been the city “pays a
 million dollars a year” for the last 10 years. Inflation has eaten at this
 amount over the years.
 d. Chronic homeless population is 32% at Transitions. These clients are
 harder to house because of their disabling conditions.
 e. Rental units are in short supply with increased rents. Incomes have not
 kept pace with rents.
 f. Mental Health (46% self-report) and addiction issues (40% self-report)
 continue to be challenging to house.
 g. No place to house sex-offenders. Remove any city limitation on housing
 them in shelters or housing units.
4. Streamline 100 services for unsheltered population?
 a. Transitions’ role is a one-stop facility for people on the street to get
 help with barriers. We partner with some 50 agencies now and
 welcome more. Agencies should go to facilities such as Transitions to
 target all the homeless to include some 70 day users who need help.



 Packet Pg. 26
 3.c




b. Educate the public on what various agencies do to help the homeless. It
 takes a “toolbox” full of various tools to help those who are homeless.
 Trying to make everyone a hammer will not work. Agencies must
 address the various barriers to housing within their expertise.
c. Mental health, substance, and hospitals should position workers




 Attachment: Transitions Homeless TF presentation Aug 22 (7796 : Responses from Homeless Service Providers)
 forward at Transitions and other areas to limit emergency room visits
 and help the unsheltered population receive services.
d. Transitions works to avoid duplication. If a partner does the service, we
 work with them to help the clients.




 Packet Pg. 27

COLUMBIA TASK FORCE TO PREVENT AND END HOMELESSNESS MEETING
 MINUTES
 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022

The Columbia Task Force to Prevent and End Homelessness conducted a meeting on
Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at the Busby Street Community Center, 1735 Busby Street,
Columbia, SC 29203. The Honorable Aditi Bussells, Chair called the meeting to order at 4:02
p.m. and the following members were present:

Attendee Name Title Status
Aditi Bussells Chair Present
Edward H. McDowell District II Present
Will Brennan District III Present
William "Skip" Holbrook Columbia Police Chief Present
Matt Kennell City Center Partnership Present
Steve Cook Five Points Association Present
John Wilkinson Elmwood/Downtown Coalition of Neighborhoods Present
George Whitehead Department of Probations, Pardon and Parole Absent
Allison Farrell SC Department of Mental Health Present
Bret Kloos USC Department of Psychology Present
Amy McCulloch Probate Judge Absent
Kieley Sutton Assistant Public Defender Present
Matthew Brock Associate Probate Judge Present
Antonio Flores Jr. Wal-Mart Absent
Treacy Dobbins Inspire Real Change Present
Doreen Skelton Advocate Present
Jamar Ogburn Advocate Present

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Approval of the June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes

Upon a motion made by Mr. Brennan and seconded by Mr. Brock, task force members voted
unanimously to approve the June 29, 2022 Meeting Minutes.

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

2. Overview - The Honorable Will Brennan

Councilor Will Brennan provided an overview of the meeting. He said thank you for sticking
with us for such an important topic. It is a topic that we want to take forward as a major quality
of life issue that needs some TLC from us. To know where we want to go is to know how we got


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here and the current state of services that our wonderful partners provide. It takes businesses,
communities, and the religious sector to make it happen. We looked at a case study this week.
The Columbia Police Department shut down a store that we can all agree was a nuisance to
several neighborhoods, a business district, and a hospitality district.

Chief Skip Holbrook, Columbia Police Department said people know what was referred to as the
blue store. It was mentioned in our last meeting when they reviewed the 2013 task force report.
That business was identified as a problem. The store was contributing to and taking advantage of
some of those who are down on their luck and suffering from addiction. They seemed to be a
fueling spot for a voluminous number of purchases by people that were experiencing
homelessness. Oftentimes, they were the same folks we would see aggressively panhandling and
obstructing traffic and at times being intimidating and being intoxicated. Over the last 18
months, we were taking a hard look at some of the numbers and reviewing our reports. There
was an excess of 200 calls for service. A lot of it was quality of life type violations centered on
alcohol sales, alcohol abuse, public intoxication and other things that come with that. We had a
few serious assaults. Hopefully, it will be impactful for the immediate area, the surrounding
neighborhoods, and the people suffering from addictions.

Councilor Will Brennan said thank you for safely providing those services. We asked these
groups to present because they are wonderful partners with the city when it comes to funding and
partnering in services. We will hear from five groups today.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said we’ve had a lot of meetings to understand the breadth of services,
our options, and the history. The 2013 task force had strategies that aligned with the
conversations we've been having. It was important for us to get our providers that work closely
with the unsheltered population in the room to share their experiences and also for us to have a
collaborative discussion around the issues you all have raised. Prior to today’s meeting, we sent
four questions to our providers that are directly and indirectly funded. We have a set amount of
funds from our community development dollars that trickle down from federal HUD funding.
We also have general fund dollars which is direct city money. It is about one million dollars in
direct funding and a couple of million in terms of community development. We look at that as
our city’s investment in the prevention of homelessness. We believe this is a pivotal point for us
to think about addressing the gaps that you all have discussed during task force meetings and
other avenues. The four questions came from previous task force discussions. Some responses
are in writing. This task force decided that we cannot solve every facet of homelessness but we
can focus on the unsheltered population that we typically see interacting within our
entertainment districts and neighborhoods. At the last meeting, we talked about the lack of


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options after 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or weekend hours. We learned from Treacy Dobbins’
presentation that we have amazing programs but they are widely spread. What are some ways we
can streamline that to ensure we have a deliberate response while addressing the facets that
contribute to homelessness or our consequence of that? Today’s meeting is dedicated to our
discussion with providers. We will start with our general fund recipients.

PRESENTATIONS

3. Responses from Homeless Service Providers - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of
 Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands / Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW,
 Director of Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management for Prisma Health-
 Midlands Supportive Housing Services / Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions / Ms. Lila
 Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President & CEO of Homeless No More / Ms. Julie Ann Avin,
 Executive Director of MIRCI

 a) CPD estimates that there are approximately 200-250 unsheltered people. What are your
 recommendations for addressing the growing number of unsheltered homeless on the street?

 b) The Taskforce has identified a lack of coordination and services after 5:00 p.m. What would you
 suggest on how to address this?

 c) What are the biggest challenges you see in this work?

 d) The Taskforce has identified over 100 services addressing homelessness in the midlands. How can
 these services be better streamlined to address the needs of the unsheltered population? Where do
 you see your role?

United Way of the Midlands

Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands said
we are a six county United Way. We work in the field of health and human services. We fund a
variety of programs. Through our unrestricted funding, we work with certified impact partner
agencies that go through a vetting and review process. We have three roles in the homelessness
space. We are the community’s largest private funding source of homeless and emergency
services. We provided $2.3 million this year for emergency services, emergency shelter, street
outreach and prevention services (rent, mortgage, and utility assistance). Through partnerships
with the school districts, we started a two generation approach to look at families who are
homeless or precariously housed. Through our McKenzie Scott gift we dedicated $5 million to
affordable housing for a variety of incomes and voucher supported housing to permanent


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supportive housing. We recently funded two home repair projects. We are also working on three
projects that will add 160 new units in Richland and Lexington County. We operate the homeless
management information system (HMIS), which is an internet based database that our shelters
and service providers use. The vast majority of our mainstream providers use this system to log a
shelter stay, client progress, and the coordination of services across agencies. We do research on
the information that we get from the system. We are the lead for the local homeless continuum of
care bringing in federal resources for homelessness. The Midlands Area Consortium for the
Homeless (MACH) was established in 1994 as an all-volunteer organization covering 13
counties. Our role is to secure federal resources for housing for people who are experiencing
homelessness and all of the federal compliance. That equates to $3.5 million this year for over
500 units of housing for individuals and families with children.

Councilor Will Brennan asked if local municipalities participate in MACH meetings.

Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands said
yes and we would love to have strong representation from Columbia.

Councilor Aditi Bussells said that is a very large coalition of counties and Columbia is the only
one that has a low barrier shelter like Transitions. Have you seen that we are taking on the
burden of the other counties because we are the only ones that invest in those services?

Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands said
the City of Rock Hill has a sophisticated system. They have strong participation with city
government and they run a program for rapid rehousing. Between here and Charleston there is
one shelter in Orangeburg. There are needs across the state. In a year we see 10% to 15% of new
people who are not from the Midlands.

Mr. Matt Kennell, City Center Partnership said when the Inclement Weather Center is open we
seem to have less people on the streets. It is a seasonal shelter. Having the low demand shelter
helps. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands said
the city came to us six years ago to help coordinate a cold weather center. We work with partners
and we work with HMIS on the data side. We work with Transition, Salvation Army and private
security. The average head count last year was 104 people. We need to get people to where they
can increase their income and then identify housing because affordable housing is scarce. In
HMIS, we measure track system performance measures. Last year, we saw 2,989 unduplicated


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people that qualify as homeless. We have 2,081 beds year round and 269 seasonal beds. These
are the 13 county statistics, but 80% is Richland County. You have a gap on any given day of
639 people who need housing. For Richland County, you have over 500 people on any given
day who need housing.

Ms. Teresa Wilson, City Manager asked if there is a way to break down the numbers for the
city’s unsheltered population being that United Way is the coordinating entity for the City of
Columbia’s efforts.

Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands said
we are working on that. Sheltering facilities are easier to identify than unsheltered people.

Ms. Teresa Wilson, City Manager said if you all are still working with us in the space going
forward I would suggest that it is an important number for us to know and understand. It also
goes to a bigger discussion about the continuum of care in the 13 counties. A lot of that
information is mixed up and we are trying to get more micro as to what is going on here.

Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands said
there is complexity to HUD’s formula. We put the $3.5 million in continuum of care funds into a
big pool and typically 90% of those dollars are focused here. Those are housing units. Based on
the HUD allocation, Columbia is supposed to get $300,000. Lexington County is $1.5 million.
As a lobbying effort, I would suggest looking at the HUD allocations. South Carolina gets far
less money per capita than comparable states. Connecticut is a tiny state with less homeless
people and they get about ten times per person than we do here.

Chief Skip Holbrook asked how many of the 500 people experience a gap after hours. Who do
you contact? Where do you go?

Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands said
there is very little intake afterhours and on weekends. The unfortunate reality is that our shelters
are full. If you interacted with someone there likely will not be a bed for them to go to if there
was intake available. We have to look at the systems. We need more ranges of housing options
for people so we can free up beds at Transitions and the Oliver Gospel Mission. I don’t advocate
for additional shelter beds. I advocate for more housing options that will allow the system to
flow faster for everyone. The average length of time people are homeless is 59 days in a shelter
bed. It should be half of that.



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Councilor Aditi Bussells said currently the United Way contracts with Transitions to provide
support services at the Inclement Weather Center. In the past it has been Christ Central
Ministries. We've had a lot of different models.

Transitions

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said our mission is to engage and equip homeless adults in
the Midlands to transition into stability and permanent housing. We do not regard ourselves as a
normal shelter. We are a one-stop facility where people can go and ideally partners are there and
they can get help from case managers. We have 260 beds and we are at 91% occupancy. We are
almost full every night especially at the lower level emergency beds. Some of the veteran beds
may not be full but we don't tend to take people off the street and put them in the veteran rooms.
We placed 3,298 folks into permanent housing since we opened. We touch over 3,000 people a
year. We have provided 3.2 million meals since we opened. We are the largest feeding
organization. We only give meals to people at lunch if they don't have beds. We only do
breakfast and dinner for those that have a bed. That is per city guidance. Everybody can take
advantage of job searching and the bathrooms. We conducted 214 outreach outings last year
where we worked with 247 people and 143 of them got beds at Transitions. We are always trying
to get people into the shelter beds at Transitions and move them on to permanent housing. I
thank all of our major partners. I love when partners come in because it helps with the one-stop
concept. Streamlining is important. Transitions helps people work through barriers, aid them in
recovery and get them into permanent housing. Jobs are critical because 70% of our folks need a
job to pay for an apartment. The Day Center is a way to reach the unsheltered population. We
can engage them in services and get them off the street. I caution you to maintain what works.
We need sheltered beds, but I don't know that we need to build more. It is important to have an
outreach person to work with the Yellow Shirts and CPD. It is challenging to define what
success is. I don't know if we will get every homeless person off the street. The VA uses the term
functional zero. It would be beneficial for the task force to help define that. The bus ticket
program was very successful but we ran out of funding. An outreach worker is important for
services after 5:00 p.m. Chief and I have talked about a police drop off point but there are safety
considerations. I would be interested in discussing that further. The Department of Mental Health
is a key element. People are more open to discussion during the day. Bathrooms are an issue. We
had port-o-lets but they are gone now. That may be worth looking at again. Our biggest
challenges are affordable housing, single occupancy rooms, ADA compliant rooms, and funding
because we have been at one million for ten years and inflation is 8% this year. The chronically
homeless are tough to house. Partners need to help with mental health and addiction issues.
Incomes have not kept pace with the inflation for rental units. We do not take sex offenders per


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the city’s agreement. The hospitals need to come back to work with Transitions and we can work
to reduce ambulance calls. There are 100 agencies because there is a lot to this problem and we
need to work together. We avoid duplication the best we can. I don’t want to do something that
another agency is doing well. I want them to come help at Transitions.

Chief Skip Holbrook asked how many people are turned away after confirming they are sex
offenders.

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said it is a small number. We will help them during the
day. We can take a former murderer but we can't take a sex offender. We need to look at that.

Chief Skip Holbrook asked what causes someone to be banned, how often bans happen, and can
you get unbanned.

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said bans are caused by a discipline infraction that is
threatening to staff or clients. They can come back after talking with the program director or by
being referred by another provider.

Chief Skip Holbrook inquired about the bus ticket program.

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said the bus ticket program was done by our outreach
person. The case manager has to talk to a relative or close friend who agrees that they will take
them in, help them get a job, and help support them. We don’t do cold sends.

Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands said
we track the bus ticket data and returns through HMIS. We had 25 bus tickets last year and 47
tickets the previous year. Half are in state and half are out of state. We have a 15% return rate. It
is a great program and we would encourage you to continue that.

Chief Skip Holbrook said I am a big believer in this. It has reunified a lot of people with loved
ones and the criteria for purchasing the ticket and putting somebody on the bus is very
responsible.

Mr. Steve Cook asked if Mr. Currey is aware of any provider that accepts sex offenders.

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said no. Federal guidelines are very strict against sex
offenders. We help them during the day, but they can’t have a bed.


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Mr. Steve Cook said in the entertainment districts, we are seeing that the problematic homeless
are resistant to any kind of housing or any kind of assistance. It sounds like you have the same
issue in your facility with folks you have to ban. Where do those folks go?

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said they are only banned from us and during the winter
they can go to the Inclement Weather Center. We ban no one from the Inclement Weather
Center. They could try going to the Oliver Gospel Mission. The federal government is changing
some of their guidance.

Mr. Steve Cook asked Colonel Currey if Mr. Currey communicates with the Oliver Gospel
Mission or is there a database to track people causing problems.

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said Travis will call me directly. Our trouble makers don’t
go to the Oliver Gospel Mission. Their folks come our way. We have tried to figure out how to
help some of the hardest folks.

Homeless No More

Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President and CEO of Homeless No More said recently we
were able to track the violent behavior of a client who started out at Transitions and then made
her way to us. Our worlds do collide at times. There are formal and informal relationships at
play.

Mr. Matthew Brock asked Colonel Currey to explain how the process works for getting a bed.
Are they free to leave once they have a bed? Do you lock them in at night?

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said we are not a prison; we cannot lock anybody
anywhere. Generally, you get a bed by walking into the Day Center and asking for a bed.
Partners will also make referrals. We don’t have a waitlist. They can be in the emergency beds
for 30 days. Then they go into the program and self-fulfill. They are free to leave whenever they
want; we can’t stop them.

Ms. Kieley Sutton echoed support for the bus ticket program. We have made referrals to you
especially for folks leaving institutionalized settings. They are transferred to a state hospital or
incarceration facility in Columbia and release doesn’t include transportation back home. We
have used this to help individuals on the registry get to a housing program in Charleston. I hope
the bus ticket program comes back. We have asked you to lift bans for individuals re-engaging in


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services or if there is a change in circumstances. I appreciate your ability to work with us. What
are the limitations on providing beds for those leaving institutional settings after more than 90-
days? Is there a HUD limitation on the definition of homelessness?

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said we are not supposed to be the default solution to the
prison system. Hopefully their preparatory system to get people housed is much better than that.
There is a prohibition from the federal government and we have to adhere to that.

Ms. Kieley Sutton asked do you see folks being dropped off expecting a bed because there hasn’t
been case management prior to their release.

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said there are a lot of ex-offenders at Transitions.

Ms. Kieley Sutton asked why lifting the limitation on sex offenders would help them with
accessing services.

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said the problem is where do sex offenders go when they
are homeless. I can’t answer that. I want to help people and that seems like a hindrance.

Councilor Will Brennan said Transitions is an important destination for persons in need and
operations cost money. You and all of our non-profit partners work hard for funding. What
percentage of funding do you receive from counties and other municipalities?

Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said we get up to $60,000 from CDBG funding from
Lexington County. We received COVID money from them last year. Richland County tends to
fund $200,000. They cut us by $100,000 this year. We are 54% Richland County; it is the largest
county by far. Fairfield County and Blythewood gives us money, too. Part of the issue is that
Transitions is in Columbia, but they do acknowledge that their folks go to Transitions. We are
helping everybody from all over the place.

Mr. John Wilkinson said thank you for joining our Coalition of Downtown Neighborhoods
monthly meetings. The issues and concerns of the neighborhoods are well understood. We found
that our residents were reluctant to call the police. The outreach worker that you lost was helpful
when we had concerns. That is something we would like to see included somehow so that there
is an option to get help when it is not a police matter. We see a lot of loitering on the edge of the
neighborhood. What is Transitions’ policy for loitering and how do you manage that?



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Mr. Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions said we have signs up and we don't want people to loiter
at all. Our answer during the day is to come in. The Day Center closes at 5:00 p.m. and the guard
will tell them to move on. We have cameras around the perimeter. I welcome Yellow Shirts and
police presence. Often they are selling drugs and preying on people. They need to go somewhere
else.
Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management for Prisma Health-Midlands Supportive
Housing Services
Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW, Director of Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management
for Prisma Health-Midlands Supportive Housing Services said we offer permanent supportive
housing. We take people experiencing homelessness directly from the street or from shelters and
put them directly into housing. We also provide wraparound supportive services that include case
management, mental health counseling, and medical adherence. It began in Columbia in 2008 as
a pilot program. It was funded by the city in partnership with Supportive Housing and the
Housing Authority. At that time, the city committed to funding the services and the housing units
which included rent and utilities. In 2012, we had a program expansion that included four family
units and we also included Housing of Persons With Aids (HOPWA) units that were HUD
funded. We are trying to diversify the funding. In 2012, the Columbia Housing Authority also
received HUD funding for rental and utility subsidies for the units so that the city’s general fund
dollars were only responsible for supportive services. Since its inception, we housed 157 clients
through the Housing First Program. These clients are historically difficult to engage, resistant to
services, and chronically homeless. All of our clients live with disabling conditions including
mental illness, addiction, and physical disabilities. We track where our clients are discharged
from. It is permanent housing but we like to move people out of the units to free up spaces for
people to move off of the streets. We had 120 discharges since we started the program and 72 of
those have moved on to other permanent housing. This approach is extremely cost effective. We
provided services for $24 per client per day. Housing First has been identified as a best practice
because it is cheaper than shelters, jails and hospitals. We have an outreach worker that is
partially funded by the city. I attended a meeting with outreach workers today. We share
information and identify clients that are in need and areas that could use attention. It is a great
way for people to work together. I don’t know if the task force knows that these conversations
are happening in real time. Housing is a challenge. Clients have a lot of barriers to housing: their
history, affordability, criminal record, evictions, and credit. Housing is not available for people
with vouchers. I hate when we identify somebody and they decline services. Outreach workers
can identify with that and it is concerning. People experiencing homelessness don't trust the
system. They have been disappointed a lot but we have to keep trying to engage. A lot of my
responses mirrored what Jennifer and Craig said. That is a great example of how we collaborate.

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Councilor Will Brennan asked if Kristen collaborates with any other department functions at
Prisma. Do you gather data on emergency room visits? What kind of energy is at Prisma in terms
of helping this group move forward?

Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW, Director of Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management
for Prisma Health-Midlands Supportive Housing Services said a study was done on emergency
room diversion. It was on people who were brought into the Housing First Program and whether
there was a difference in emergency room visits pre-housing and post-housing. Currently, we
have access to electronic medical records. We can see if our clients are in any of the Prisma
systems.

Councilor Will Brennan said it would be helpful if the healthcare systems would help us in
revenue participation and data collection.

Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW, Director of Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management
for Prisma Health-Midlands Supportive Housing Services said everything is integrated. Prisma
has access to other health systems.

Ms. Teresa Wilson, City Manager said a lot of reference is being made to outreach workers and
the need for more of them. What is the going rate for an outreach worker?

Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW, Director of Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management
for Prisma Health-Midlands Supportive Housing Services said it depends on education and
experience.

Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President and CEO of Homeless No More said $45,000 to
$70,000 a year.

Ms. Teresa Wilson, City Manager asked about the status of the Crisis Stabilization Unit.

Ms. Allison Smith, Chief of Staff for the Columbia Area Mental Health Center / Department of
Mental Health said we are in the licensure phase and DHEC is working with us on that. We hired
an architect and they are looking at the facility we identified off of Parklane. We are working as
quickly as we can to get it open. For Richland and Lexington County it will be an unlocked eight
bed unit for anyone experiencing a crisis. It will be staffed around the clock. They can stay for a
maximum of 14-days.



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Ms. Teresa Wilson, City Manager asked if there was the capacity to do more beds with
partnerships and funding for non-congregate housing can the center be expanded upon so that it
is more than eight beds.

Ms. Allison Smith, Department of Mental Health said the location and funding are barriers.

Dr. Bret Kloos asked how many Housing First Programs are in the United States. Last time I
checked it was over 100.

Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW, Director of Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management
for Prisma Health-Midlands Supportive Housing Services said it is replicated nationally and
internationally.

Ms. Kieley Sutton said jail funding is around $92 per day per person. My understanding is that
housing is difficult. Would you be able to highlight the specific difficulties we are facing?

Ms. Kristen S. Connors, LMSW, Director of Supportive Housing & Medical Case Management
for Prisma Health-Midlands Supportive Housing Services said rents are going up. We used to
have good relationships with apartment complexes and private landlords. Complexes are being
bought by out of state companies and we no longer have those personal relationships. They have
stopped accepting HUD vouchers and being lenient with background checks. We have clients in
other programs with vouchers that they are not able to use. We have clients without vouchers
who can’t find any housing. The housing market is hard which causes more people to potentially
experience homelessness.

Homeless No More

Councilor Aditi Bussells said now we will hear from our two Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) recipients.

Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President and CEO of Homeless No More said we do not
work with the chronic homeless. We are a system of care for homeless families. That is defined
as parents, grandparents, or a single parent with a child 17 or under in their custody. We have a
family shelter with emergency services for 30-days; St. Lawrence Place as transitional housing
for up two years with intensive case management and life skill programming; Live Oak Place,
which is landlord-tenant affordable housing, and advocacy. We can proactively change a lot in
our community and state if we attack the systems first. Last year, we served 900 parents and


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children and when given support services and programs, 96% exited to permanent housing. We
referred about 500 families. We track everything in HMIS. I don't work with the unsheltered
homeless on the street. We work with families that the police find in the parking lot at Wal-Mart.
On any given night, I have 65 families in my care. Richland One and Richland Two have 1,100
homeless children. Our families are the hidden homeless that do not show up on Main Street or
in the hospitality districts. There is a data disconnect when it comes to families and our focus is
taking care of that population. We meet them where they are. We run wide, not deep. If we see
mental illness, we call MIRCI. If we see domestic violence, we call SisterCare. We have a
professional team of social workers but they are resource connecters. We will quickly outsource
to other agencies that run deep. The lack of coordination of services after 5:00 p.m. came into
play with us five years ago as police were finding families in the Wal-Mart parking lot and
putting them in motels out of their own pocket. We created a temporary motel voucher program.
At that time, we received $7,000 as a pass-through grant. If a city police officer found a family in
immediate need, they put the family in that motel and we send a social worker out the next day to
work with the family to come into the shelter system. The $7,000 lasted for six weeks. Once
word got out, families were looking to be placed in motels. We received $10,000 during COVID
and we used it for the families being displaced due to COVID. The rental moratorium was lifted
and there was a tsunami of evictions. We applied and received $75,000 for motel voucher
funding. We put families in motels and they would not come into the shelter after staying in the
motel for two nights. They would decline services or go to another agency with a motel voucher
program. We decided to limit ourselves to 48-hours and 89% of those families now come into
the shelter system. That is what our CDBG funding goes towards. We received $25,000 from the
City of Columbia and it is for a motel voucher program. We estimate that we can serve 20
families. We have contracts with six motels throughout the city with the goal of keeping families
close to the children’s school. Street outreach is the team that is working with the homeless who
are on the street. A social worker is the person who follows them. You need both. Every
organization that receives federal funding is using HMIS. We can pull any data point that you
need. The biggest challenge is affordable housing. Average market rent is $1,100. The self-
sustainability index shows that a family with two children has to make $60,000 to keep their
head above water if they have children in daycare. My families are not making that. We need to
develop affordable housing at 30% to 50% AMI and you can include support services. We will
have 200 units at Live Oak Place in the next twelve months. It is working with the families but
they are lacking budgeting skills and they are having issues paying rent. Our third challenge is
changing the post-COVID environment. The families we serve are more transient and they are
willing to walk out because of rules. The number one challenge for service providers is doing
more with less and with teams that are mentally fried. We are tired but are not going home
because there is work to be done. The only way to keep doing the work is to have us as part of


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the conversation. There are not 100 organizations. I am listed four times and Live Oak Place is
not transitional housing. We are a best practice. At some point, you have to start listening to
those of us on the ground.

Mr. Jamar Ogburn said I have been hearing a lot about the research workers on the street. What
are their hours of operation?

Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President and CEO of Homeless No More said we are staffed
24/7. We have fulltime positions for weekend staff, but we can't fill those now. We run at
capacity.

Mr. Jamar Ogburn asked what is being done to gain the trust of the families.

Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President and CEO of Homeless No More said a lot of
organizations do not use HMIS. This subculture of motel families know how to go from
organization to organization to sustain this lifestyle.

Mr. Jamar Ogburn asked if the social workers have enough training to identify issues when
speaking with clients.

Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President and CEO of Homeless No More said my social
workers are licensed and they have backgrounds from DSS to school districts. They are trained
in interviewing and trauma informed care. We are big on meeting families where they are. I have
a professional team of social workers.

Mr. John Wilkinson asked about the conversion rate between the phases of the programs.

Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President and CEO of Homeless No More said it is not very
high because you can stay at the family shelter for 30 days and at St. Lawrence Place for two
years. Turnover is not as high at St. Lawrence Place. The national average is 48% and ours is
58%. Our goal is to stabilize. We dig deep with life skills at St. Lawrence Place and the average
stay pre-COVID was 18 months. Our goal is once the families graduate from St. Lawrence Place
they don’t need us anymore.

Dr. Bret Kloos asked how much of your budget is not city or CDBG funds.

Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, EdD, HDFP, President and CEO of Homeless No More said my budget is


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$1.8 million. I get $25,000 from Columbia’s CDBG. I get $50,000 in CDBG from Richland
County and 98% of our families come from Richland County. We receive more from Lexington
County than both combined. The money from Lexington County was to begin a pilot program in
Lexington County. We have a 6% rate of return.

MIRCI

Councilor Aditi Bussells said MIRCI is funded through our Community Development funds.
Their scope and population may be different from some of the focus of this task force.

Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Executive Director of MIRCI said we receive CDBG funds from the city. In
2020 to 2021 we received $45,000. In 2021 to 2022, we received $40,000. We recently received
award notification for this year of $75,000. Those funds go to support our youth that are at risk
of homelessness. We operate a home for males 17 to 22 that are coming straight out of
homelessness or they have been identified by the school system as being at-risk. We also have
youth in Housing First that is funded through HUD. Since 2018, we have housed 84 youth. To
address the growing number of unsheltered homeless, we must have a regional approach.
Providers have been recommending single room occupancy for 20 years. It is a safe place with
onsite facilities, security, behavioral healthcare, physical healthcare, and case management
services. Our system in South Carolina is stretched beyond its means. Our governor has put out
an executive order to examine that system. Health and Human Services is looking at the
possibility of privatizing it or consolidating agencies. Our mental health system has to be
addressed. The biggest challenge is the lack of affordable housing. There are over 5,000 people
on a closed waiting list at the Columbia Housing Authority. Challenges also include shelter beds
and funding. The model for Transitions came to be through a partnership with the business
community through the Chamber and the non-profits that were providing services. The Knight
Foundation funded a large portion of that development and sent us all to Miami to view the
Chapman Center. We implemented some of those things, but we didn’t do the biggest thing that
made a difference in Miami-Dade and that was to include a percent in the hospitality tax to fund
the services. There is a need for incentives to develop affordable housing like the incentive that
was done for student housing. The list of services is being taken out of context. There were three
permanent supportive housing programs and 60 of the services were for food pantries and
hygiene products. Those services are not getting people into housing. The homeless don’t get
food from pantries because they don’t have anywhere to store it. MIRCI’s mission is to provide
behavioral healthcare, outreach services and affordable housing options for people who are
vulnerable to the adverse consequences of mental illness. It is not the whole population. There
are not acute or long-term hospital beds for people with mental illness. I took guardianship of


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someone who was in the emergency room 18 times in 20 days in November. He is now living in
a nursing home and he is doing great. It took a councilor, our chief probate judge and the director
of an agency to get him off the street. We need better hospital access. Nothing good is going to
come out of a mental health screening at 10:00 p.m. The best time is during the day. We will
continue to provide outreach, essential services, community based mental healthcare, and
supportive housing. Our budget is $7 million.

Chief Skip Holbrook said we have an after-hours encounter with someone in crisis but it is not
the best time to engage and there may not be a bed. The default is they go to jail or the hospital.
We have to figure out this intermediate stop. After hours is not always at 3:00 a.m. It could be
7:30 p.m.

Mr. Steve Cook said this got resolved because citizens and business owners in Five Points saw
this man dying in public. This is just one person who had a mental health issue. We talk about
the homeless who are resistant to care and that is what we deal with in the business district. They
go into the neighborhoods and the business district. They make it hard for people to do business
in Columbia and they make it hard to have a safe neighborhood in some circumstances. I haven’t
heard anyone address that. How do we get them help? The work you do is great. It is not
compassionate to allow somebody to live on the street. Some kind of engagement of those folks
has to happen

Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Executive Director of MIRCI said that is where single room occupancy will
help. You can renovate an old 130-bed hotel with services onsite. They will start building trust. I
live in a downtown neighborhood but I only had to call CPD when I had drunk college students
trying to break in my house when Five Points closed at 2:00 a.m. Part of it is the general public’s
discomfort with somebody experiencing homelessness. People react differently to someone who
is homeless than they do the drunk college kid.

Ms. Doreen Skelton said each person having an individual place would solve a lot of these
problems. We could have facilities with all of the resources. They would have rules and
regulations and be able to participate in cleaning.

Dr. Bret Kloos sought clarification on MIRCI’s budget.




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Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Executive Director of MIRCI said our budget is $7 million. We house 335
people at any given time. In 2021, we saved the hospital systems $7 million in emergency room
visits and hospitalizations. In 2022, our data analysis came in at $5.7 million. We have a
partnership with the Department of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs to receive the cost of
hospitalization and emergency room visits that each person experienced in the year prior to and
post to coming into services and housing with MIRCI.

Ms. Jennifer Moore, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Midlands said
we have high skilled outreach across several different agencies in the Columbia area. That is
important for engagement but if you don’t have the appropriate range of housing you have an
ambulance with no hospital to go to.

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

Councilor Aditi Bussells said we have a lot to think about over the next several weeks as we
prepare for our next meeting. I want to thank the service providers for taking the time, for being
so thoughtful in their responses, and for sharing strategies that we can all start thinking about.
This is just the beginning of our continued discussions.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 6:13 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:



Erika D. Moore Hammond, CMC
City Clerk




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