TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
George Gabriel, Assistant to the City Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Quarterly Update on the City’s Homelessness Initiatives (City Manager Moe).
RECEIVE REPORT
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive the report detailing various efforts and initiatives staff is undertaking regarding homelessness.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
The City has taken an active role in addressing homelessness both strategically and regionally. In doing so, the City is doing everything possible to assist homeless individuals in obtaining the services needed while respecting their rights.
Over the last year, the City has dedicated additional resources to provide housing services and support for unsheltered individuals. In November 2021, the City Council approved an agreement in the annual amount of $66,390 with Harbor Interfaith Services for a dedicated housing navigator/case manager. Thereafter, the City Council approved an amendment extending the agreement for an additional year of service. The dedicated housing navigator/case manager has been instrumental in interacting with unhoused individuals and providing them with assistance, whether through treatment referrals, document production, or interim/stable housing placements. Additionally, the City has access to two additional regional housing navigator/case managers provided through County Measure H grant funding dedicated to the cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and El Segundo.
Furthermore, the Council approved an agreement with SHARE! Collaborative Housing for two beds to shelter unhoused individuals. Thereafter, the City Council approved an amendment to the agreement increasing the number of beds from two to five. All agreements ensure that street outreach conducted by Harbor Interfaith Services could quickly result in the housing of individuals within 24 hours of first contact compared to 260 days elsewhere through the housing process.
DISCUSSION:
On a quarterly basis, the City provides an update to the City Council and community on homelessness initiatives staff has undertaken as well as regional developments. For the purposes of this report, efforts will focus on those relevant since the last quarterly update on October 6, 2022.
Homeless Count
On January 25, 2023, approximately 30 volunteers gathered at the Joslyn Community Center to conduct the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count in Manhattan Beach. At the event, volunteers were introduced to city officials participating in the count (Chief Rachel Johnson, Acting Community Development Director Talyn Mirzakhanian, IT Director Terry Hackelman and City Manager Bruce Moe) and briefed on the City’s response to homelessness including the City’s actions to utilize general fund and grant funded money to address homelessness. Most importantly, volunteers were introduced to the Police Department’s homeless outreach team as well as the City’s dedicated outreach services worker, Maira Matias. It is unknown when the official count data will be announced at this point (typically in the summer/fall). In the meantime, staff is in the process of working with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to compile and cross verify the data to determine an unofficial number.
Outreach Statistics
Following Council’s action to approve an agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services for dedicated housing navigation/case management services in November 2021, Maira Matias was assigned to Manhattan Beach in January 2022 and began working in February 2022.
Maira has completed one year of service as the City’s dedicated resource. On a daily basis, Maira typically has 2-3 interactions with homeless individuals and actively manages approximately 6-10 clients who are interested in services. On a monthly basis, Harbor Interfaith Services provides individualized reports to the City (Attachment #1) that summarizes key metrics and progress toward goals outlined in the contract.
In summarizing her reportable metric work, the following information reflects data from March 2022 - December 2022:
• 330 interactions with homeless individuals (including repeat interactions with the same individuals);
• 78 unique clients assisted;
• 6 clients case managed (regular engagement centered around a housing plan);
• 9 clients assist with document production or enrolled with benefits;
• 21 clients placed into interim housing;
• 6 treatment program referral attained; and
• 12 stable housing placements.
As indicated previously, the City also has a grant funded contract with Harbor Interfaith Services with the beach cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and El Segundo. The SBCCOG administers the grant on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. Beginning in January 2022, Harbor Interfaith Services began to provide reports to the beach cities (Attachment #2) and the SBCCOG that summarizes key metrics and progress toward reaching goals outlined in the contract.
In summarizing HIS’s reportable metric work, the following information reflects data from March 2022 - December 2022 and is summarized below:
• 461 interactions with homeless individuals (including repeat interactions with the same individuals);
• 83 unique clients assisted;
• 61 clients case managed (regular engagement centered around a housing plan);
• 14 clients assist with document production or enrolled with benefits;
• 8 clients placed into interim housing;
• 5 treatment program referrals attained; and
• 12 stable housing placements.
It should be noted that the County grant operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with the SBCCOG and the cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo and Redondo Beach. While the grant’s initial term was to expire on June 30, 2023, the County and SBCCOG have mutually agreed to extend the grant contract until November 2024. Additionally, the SBCCOG has engaged in discussions with the County about the next tranche of Measure H grant funding to provide additional supports for the region and beach cities specifically.
Business Outreach and Trespassing Authorization Forms
As part of the City’s Work Plan contract with the Chamber of Commerce that City Council approved in July 2022, the Chamber and City hosted a business seminar regarding homelessness on January 11, 2023 at the Joslyn Community Center. Topics included: 1) City resources utilized to address homelessness; 2) Guidance on how a business could response to homeless concerns, 3) Prosecutorial requirements and private persons reporting for public safety concerns that may be associated with homelessness, and 4) Introduction to Trespassing Authorization Forms (Attachment #3) for business use. Since unveiling, approximately 23 businesses have fully executed the form to authorize Police officers to act on a business owner or property owner’s behalf and enforce trespassing laws.
Overall, the event was attended by 20-30 individuals (excluding staff) and the information was helpful and appreciated as numerous requests for the PowerPoint slide deck were solicited.
Outreach Requests
In Fall 2022, the City deployed a new “Homeless Outreach” category within the City’s mobile application, “Reach Manhattan Beach.” The application and service category now allows citizens to request services for homeless individuals in need of resources. Since the category’s unveiling to the community, 48 requests have been sent to the City and outreach teams comprised of Police Department officers, County Mental Health Clinicians and the dedicated Harbor Interfaith Services case manager have been deployed depending on the nature of the outreach request. Additionally, the City has received feedback from the community regarding confusion over who to call upon witnessing homelessness in the community. To provide guidance, the City has developed a decision tree (Attachment #4) for residents to refer to when assessing whether to call 911, the non-emergency number or the City’s mobile application. Staff continues to explore additional public outreach opportunities to inform the community how to appropriately respond to homelessness.
SHARE! Collaborative Housing
At the November 16, 2021, meeting, the City Council approved an agreement toward a collaborative housing program in the amount of $19,320 to maintain and provide two housed beds for one year in and around Service Planning Area 8 for individuals experiencing homelessness in the City of Manhattan Beach. At the October 6, 2022, meeting, City Council approved Amendment No. 1 with Emotional Health Association (Doing Business as SHARE! Self Help Recovery Exchange) in the amount of $18,900 to provide three additional interim housing placements (beds). Since this agreement has been in place, the City has placed ten different individuals into the program utilizing the City’s funding. An additional seven individuals have been placed utilizing local non-profit Manhattan Beach Safe Alternatives for Everyone (MBSAFE) donations.
It should be noted that each individual stayed in the housing program for different lengths of time ranging from 2-4 months on average. While the City’s dedicated homeless outreach navigator makes every efforts to make the individual self-sufficient in 1-2 months’ time, every homeless client may have circumstances that delay the process. Overall, the housing program allows for a prompt resource to house individuals experiencing homeless that are interested in services and not suffering from a mental health ailment.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive the report detailing various efforts and initiatives staff is undertaking regarding homelessness.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Manhattan Beach Outreach Program Outcomes
2. Beach Cities Outreach Program Outcomes
3. Manhattan Beach Trespassing and Authorization Form
4. Homeless Response Decision Tree