HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 02 Social Needs Strategy AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 2/10/2020
Meeting Type:Work Session
Staff Contact/Dept.:Sandy Belson, DPW
Staff Phone No:541-736-7135
Estimated Time: 30 Minutes
S P R I N G F I E L D
C I T Y C O U N C I L
Council Goals: Strengthen Public Safety
by Leveraging
Partnerships and
Resources
ITEM TITLE: SOCIAL NEEDS STRATEGY
ACTION
REQUESTED:
Discuss how the Council’s stated focus on helping children and families can be
further defined. Identify opportunities for collaboration to leverage partnerships
and resources. Provide direction for future action items.
ISSUE
STATEMENT:
Homelessness and poverty are nation-wide issues. Living without stable housing
and adequate food, transportation prevents families from thriving. These stressful
environments create additional challenges to fully accessing education, physical
and mental health and employment opportunities. These obstacles in turn continue
the cycle of poverty.
In Springfield, the City Council has worked with a focus on services for families
with children. Council has directed staff to develop a Housing Strategy and begin
work on a Social Needs Strategy.
Staff is seeking direction from Council to provide options that further memorialize
the City’s work with families with children so we can more formally meet the need.
ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Springfield’s Social Needs Strategy
Attachment 2: Springfield’s Housing Strategy
Attachment 3: Homeless Service System Recommendations
Attachment 4: Executive Summary from the Lane County Shelter Feasibility Study
Report from Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC Report)
DISCUSSION/
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
The City provides funding support of projects and programs that provide services in
areas of housing, social needs, and workforce development. Most of these come
from the city’s general fund, but each year the City also allocates a portion of its
Community Development Block Grant funds to the Human Services Commission
to support partner agency programs.
Recognizing that the City is limited in its resources, it is prudent for the City to
identify opportunities to partner with other agencies to leverage resources to
address identified community needs. Providing direction to staff as to outcomes
desired will help staff prioritize time and efforts on projects and programs that
provide the desired results.
We are working to ensure Springfield is a safe, affordable, and supportive community for youth and families. Many City services are focused
on their well-being such as the Springfield Public Library and the Springfield Police Department. We also collaborate with partner agencies
that provide direct services for housing, workforce, and other social needs. Our efforts include:
Springfield’s Social Needs Strategy
City of
Springfield
Workforce
& Education Social
Needs
Housing
•Participating on/providing funding assistance to the Lane County Human Services
Commission to support low-income & homeless families.
•Collaborating with St. Vincent de Paul on siting a home for homeless teenage boys
in Springfield.
•Partnering with community stakeholders to use a vacant Serbu Detention Pod for
emergency shelter for homeless youth.
•Participating in the expansion of Kids’ FIRST Center, Lane County’s child abuse
intervention center.
•Leading the development of the G Street Oasis Program, which is a network of
support systems for homeless families with children.
•Providing funds for Buckley House, a drug & alcohol treatment center.
•Providing funds for CAHOOTS, a response organization for people in crisis.
•Funding the City’s Overnight Parking Program, which provides a safe space for
people to shelter in their vehicles.
•Providing funds for Work Ready, a program to prepare high school
students for the workforce.
TEAM Springfield
Lane County Human Services Commission
Lane Workforce Partnership
St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County
Catholic Community Services
Brattain House
Buckley House
White Bird Clinic
Lane County Poverty & Homelessness Board
Springfield Shelter Rights Alliance
Our
Partners
Attachment 1, Page 1 of 1
We want Springfield to be a family-friendly community for all people in every
phase of life; whether it’s just starting out with a new family, or downsizing to a
smaller home. We need a diverse housing market that supports employment and
families at every phase of life.
Housing
Values
•There is a lack of available housing at all levels including: emergency
shelter, transitional housing, income-qualified housing, market rate rentals,
space in manufactured home parks, and homes for sale.
•Rental vacancy rates are low.
•Housing is expensive. 51% of renters and 34% of homeowners are
cost-burdened, which means they are paying more than 30% of their
income on housing and basic utilities. (2010-14 American Community Survey)
Key
Findings
Partnerships
Contributing
Factors
Limited profit opportunities for developers•
Stagnant wages•
Insufficient public subsidies•
Increase Affordable Housing in Springfield OR »»
Springfield’s Housing Strategy
TEAM
Springfield
We’ve partnered with local and regional groups to help create
more affordable housing options across the continuum of housing
needs. We also provide funding for human services and work to
stimulate economic development, which has helped address the
gaps between household income and housing costs.
Through partnerships, important progress has been
made. But what could the City of Springfield
uniquely do to help improve housing options?
In 2016, the Springfield City Council directed staff to
evaluate housing needs and to build on strategies to
both increase the supply of housing and the accessibility
of affordable housing throughout the housing continuum.
The reverse side outlines strategies that are in
place, currently being implemented, or that will be
considered in the future.
Community
Groups
Human Services
Commission
Poverty and
Homelessness
Board
Updated January 2019
Attachment 2, Page 1 of 2
Expand Overnight Parking Program
Contribute to Income-Qualified Housing Development
Encourage Construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
Secure Property for Targeted Residential Development
« Council Strategies to Address Housing Needs »
•Municipal code allows churches & industrial sites to host up to three
vehicles/campers/trailers
•City increased support to $37,000 per year to cover port-a-potties, &
administration cost of local non-profits
•Sanipac is donating trash collection services
•Use HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds for
development of housing that is affordable to low-income residents
•Waive development application fees for non-profit housing
•Reinstated property tax exemption for low-income housing (June 2018)
•Temporarily waive System Development Charges (SDCs) (FY17-19)
•Promote awareness & possibilities for ADUs
•Revised development code to make it easier & potentially less
expensive to add an ADU bit.ly/SpringfieldADUs (Spring 2018)
(photo: Small Home Oregon)
•Use Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for
acquisition & improvement of properties for new housing units
•Identify publicly-owned property for residential development
Assist Homeowners with CDBG Funds
•Assist low-income homeowners with repairs & accessibility
improvements (Emergency Home Repair Program)
•Provide down-payment assistance for home ownership (Springfield
Home Ownership Program)
Promote Housing of Diverse Types
•Consider a property tax exemption to increase housing diversity
•Update development code (Beginning in Fall 2018)
•Create user-friendly guides to navigate development code and process
•Ensure appropriate zoning for residential land (not programmed)
Contact: Comprehensive Planning Manager Sandy Belson, 541.736.7135 or sbelson@springfield-or.gov
Sign up to receive email updates about affordable housing at bit.ly/AffordableHousingSignupAttachment 2, Page 2 of 2
Attachment 3, Page 1 of 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In Lane County, the number of people experiencing homelessness
has been steadily increasing in recent years with a large portion
(69%) of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
Nationally, about a third of people experiencing homelessness
(34.5%) are in unsheltered locations, while about two-thirds
(65.5%) are in sheltered locations.1 With the high number of people
living on the streets, in cars, in tents, and other places not meant
for human habitation, it is crucial that Lane County implement
well-planned and effective strategies to move people out of
homelessness and into safe and secure housing.
The Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) developed this report
as part of a Public Shelter Feasibility study commissioned by Lane
County in collaboration with the City of Eugene. The purpose
of the study was to assess the crisis response system in Lane
County, identify gaps and bottlenecks within the system, and
outline best practices and strategies to address areas of need and
improvement. This report outlines ten key recommendations for
Lane County and its partners to address the current homeless
crisis with a particular focus on unsheltered homelessness among
single adults. The recommendations include strategies to address
system-wide issues as well as the need for low-barrier emergency
shelter beds. The key system-wide recommendations are as
follows:
1. Expand and better coordinate outreach services by pro-
actively engaging people who are on the streets or living
in places not meant for human habitation (cars, tents,
abandoned buildings, etc.) and connecting them to
services – these activities are a key part of ending
homelessness in any community.
2. Expand diversion and rapid exit services strategies, which
is an emerging practice whereby individuals or families
seeking emergency services are immediately engaged in an
exploratory conversation to determine if there are alternative
options, even if temporary, that would help them avoid or
quickly exit literal homelessness.
3. Expand and better coordinate rapid re-housing (RRH)
resources. RRH uses a progressive and individualized manner
to provide short- to medium-term rental assistance, along
with housing-focused services, in an effort to rapidly move
households out of homelessness.
4. Create additional permanent supportive housing (PSH)
and increase utilization, as Lane County has a significant
population of highly vulnerable, long-term homeless
individuals in both sheltered and unsheltered situations. The
current PSH units throughout the county are underutilized
and inadequate in meeting the needs of the community.
5. Implement effective move-on strategies, which are an
emerging practice that allows mainstream or other affordable
1 https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2017-AHAR-Part-2-Section-1.pdf
housing subsidies or units to replace the subsidy of a PSH
project and thus free up the intensive service package a PSH
project has to offer.
6. Expand and increase utilization of tenancy supports. While
rental assistance and subsidies are an important component
in ending homelessness, tenancy supports also play a
critical role in ensuring clients can maintain their housing
permanently.
7. Increase effectiveness of coordinated entry. A community’s
coordinated entry system is the primary mechanism for
ensuring that those experiencing homelessness are connected
to interventions that will rapidly end their homelessness.
8. Create centralized and coordinated landlord and housing
partner management; landlords and other housing partners
are critical stakeholders in the effort to end homelessness.
9. Provide training to ensure implementation of best practices,
as training and professional development are critical to any
homeless crisis response system. High staff turnover, evolving
practices and promising models, unique client needs, and the
overall need for highly specialized services all contribute to the
need for ongoing training.
10. In addition to the above nine system-wide recommendations,
TAC recommends that Lane County develop a new year-round
low-barrier emergency shelter to serve 75 people.
While increasing emergency shelter beds will help respond to the
immediate crisis of unsheltered single adults in the community,
without expansion of other system components as well as policy
alignment, training, and implementation of best practices across
the CoC, the county will be unable to make a significant impact on
single adult homelessness. TAC recommends that Lane County
capitalize on its existing partnerships with the City of Eugene, local
non-profit service providers, the local community, emergency first
responders, and elected officials to plan, implement, operate, and
evaluate the recommendations in this report.
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Attachment 4, Page 1 of 1