TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Keith Stahley, City Manager
FROM: Gretchen Bennett, Homelessness Liaison
SUBJECT:
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City service and investment in response to the homelessness emergency
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Safe Community; Welcoming and Livable Community.
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SUMMARY:
summary
Council allocated $23,322,752 during Fiscal Years (FY) 22 and 23 for response to the homelessness emergency. A summary of investment and impact to date is provided. Programs without ongoing operational revenue are noted along with a proposed spending plan for sheltering efforts that funds activities and services through Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. Council direction on limited remaining one-time funds is sought.
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ISSUE:
Shall City Council adopt the attached spending plan for sheltering efforts and prioritize current activities and services with existing revenue, and abstain from funding new or enhanced services until additional revenue is identified and secured?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Adopt the spending plan for sheltering efforts and prioritize current activities and services with existing revenue, and abstain from funding new or enhanced services until additional revenue is identified and secured.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
During FY22 and FY23 Council directed the following investments, not including funds authorized through the Urban Development Department grant programs:
Expand Alternative Shelter Options:
• Navigation Center acquisition/construction/architectural design: $3,272,000.
• Micro-shelter village start-up costs and operations: $7,789,862.
• Safe park services: $480,000.
• Housing and Rental Assistance Program (HRAP): $1,745,000.
• Salem Warming/Inclement Weather Network: $300,000.
• Non-congregate sheltering (hotel rooms): $172,830.
Manage Health, Safety and Livability Concerns:
• Towing: $428,000.
• Vehicle Repair: $10,000.
• Cleaning Supplies: $5,000.
• Bio Hazzard and Environmental Clean-up: $320,000.
• Salem Outreach Livability Services Team: $1,132,000.
Programs vary with start and stop time; FY23 data reflects only July, and in some cases August 2022, leaving ten to eleven months of data for future collection during the fiscal year. To date, these combined investments resulted in:
• 479 total people served at micro-shelter villages,
• 195 people exited to positive destinations, including 66 to permanent destinations as defined by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD),
• Of those identified as frequent users of emergency systems, all but one demonstrated significant reductions in use of systems when in micro-shelter villages,
• Over one hundred people accessed overnight Safe Park services,
• 380 persons aided by HRAP since the program began in 2017,
• Activation of warming shelters during inclement weather,
• 170 unsheltered people received referrals to services by city team,
• 443 sites with unsheltered people contacted by city team,
• 76 tows completed; 21 tows in process,
• Eight people assisted with vehicle repair to prevent loss of vehicle,
• 4,943 cubic yards, equivalent to 412 12-yard dump truck loads of garbage removed,
• 11.4 cubic yards or 16 tons of garbage removed since the inception of the Salem Outreach Livability Services team members started August 1st,
• Hotel stays provided for people with high vulnerability.
Council directed the following four investments which are in progress now, but funds are not yet expended:
• Center for Hope and Safety Mosaic shelter kitchenettes: $230,000.
• SafeSleep United shelter expansion: $300,000.
• Turner Road micro-shelter start-up and operations: $750,000.
• Nonprofit work program: $205,000.
Without new revenue, activities funded through one-time revenue (state or federal grants) will conclude. The attached sheltering spending plan provides an illustration of possible investments for FY 23 and 24. The attachment identifies whether an activity is funded through one-time revenue or City general fund. Based on the spending plan, one-time revenue will be largely exhausted by the end of FY 24 and sheltering and many services will be unfunded beginning in FY25. Expending additional funds now on new or enhanced activities or services will result in a funding shortfall for current activities and may result in discontinuing those activities earlier than anticipated. Staff recommends not funding new or enhanced activities or services until additional funding is identified and secured.
Council direction is needed on how to allocate the remaining homelessness services dollars to inform the FY24 budget process. Not all current programs and services can be funded with remaining dollars.
Ongoing operational programs started with one-time funds that seek sustainable revenue are:
• Navigation Center operations,
• Micro-shelter village operations (three sites are or will be open during FY23),
• Safe Park services,
• Salem Warming/Inclement Weather Network expanded investment,
• Towing,
• Bio Hazzard and Environmental Clean Up,
• Salem Outreach Livability Services Team.
To prevent closure of programs before new funds are identified, prioritization of available current one-time revenue is needed. New funding sources are limited in availability, and take time to identify, select, receive, and operationalize. The budget forecast does not fund current activities through the following two fiscal years (FY 25 and 26). Creating new projects would accelerate the potential timeline for closing current programs.
BACKGROUND:
The 2022 Point in Time Count identifies 1,566 persons who are either unsheltered or in shelters in Salem.
City staff and non-profit partners work with people every day in need of assistance. For example, some who have persistent and severe mental illness are unable to meet the behavioral expectations of shelter programs, or, have care needs beyond what programs are prepared to provide. Some require Medicaid assisted living services that are unavailable. Some await affordable housing. Some are addicted to substances. Some await permanent supportive housing units.
The Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance published the annual Gaps Analysis report in August 2022. This report provides analysis on the current need in the homelessness service system. The report is attached.
Gretchen Bennett
Homelessness Liaison
Attachments:
1. Sheltering Spending Plan
2. Gaps Analysis