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Home My WebLink AboutCM Homeless Outreach Team & Ritter UpdateSAN RAFAEL THE CITY WITH A MISSION Agenda Item No: 5.b Meeting Date: October 17, 2016 SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Department: CITY MANAGER Prepared by: Andrew Hening, City Manager Approval: Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach TOPIC: Homeless Update Report SUBJECT: Informational Presentation on the Homeless Outreach Team Pilot Program and the Ritter Memorandum of Understanding RECOMMENDATION: Accept October 2016 status report on the Homeless Outreach Team Pilot Program and the Ritter Memorandum of Understanding, as prepared by the Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach. BACKGROUND: In the fall of 2015 the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin began exploring the scalability of a highly successful intervention for chronically homeless individuals in San Mateo County called the Homeless Outreach Team (or the "HOT Team" for short). After convening a group of local stakeholders including the City of San Rafael's Chief of Police Diana Bishop, Vice Mayor Kate Colin, and the County of Marin's Homeless Policy Analyst Ashley Hart -McIntyre to vet the program in San Mateo, St. Vincent's began spearheading a wider community conversation with the Marin Continuum of Care to pursue a pilot program focused on Downtown San Rafael. The pilot launched in March of 2016 with the support of the City of San Rafael, the County of Marin, and local services providers including Marin Housing Authority, Ritter Center, and Homeward Bound of Marin. HOT's steering committee is comprised of St. Vincent's Executive Director Christine Paquette, St. Vincent's Housing Director Howard Schwartz, the County of Marin's Homeless Policy Analyst Ashley Hart -McIntyre, the County of Marin's Homeless Program Coordinator Carrie Sager, the City's Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach, and the City's Mental Health Resource Officer Beginning in March of 2016, the City of San Rafael began discussions with senior staff and board members at the Ritter Center to consider possible operational changes to their site. In August of 2016, a final set of changes was agreed upon (relocating shower services, relocating mail services, and relocating homeless food pantry services, all contingent upon the creation of comparable services elsewhere) and affirmed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ritter Center. ANALYSIS: A full update on each of these two topics will be verbally presented at the City Council meeting. In short, the HOT Team is making significant progress assisting the hardest -to -serve FOR CITY CLERK ONLY File No.: 9-2-67 x 10-2.7 Council Meeting: 10/17/2016 Disposition: Accepted report SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 2 individuals in our community. The vast majority of the pilot group is currently off the street. Also, by working in partnership with Ritter, the County of Marin, the United States Postal Service, and other local providers, the City is making significant progress towards the implementation of the MOU. COMMUNITY OUTREACH: The Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach has been providing regular updates about the HOT Team and the Ritter MOU through the City's homelessness list -serve, which now has almost 1,300 subscribers. Notice for this presentation went out through the City's meeting announcement distribution. FISCAL IMPACT: In June, the City provided a $2,500 grant to St. Vincent's to be used as a flexible fund for assisting individuals in the HOT Program. St. Vincent's is maintaining a financial log detailing expenditures. The County of Marin has committed to funding the administration of the program and a full-time case manager (approximately $190,000). The City has yet to commit any financial resources to the implementation of the Ritter MOU. The Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach is working with Ritter, the County of Marin, and other local funding sources to establish creative funding models for the changes. The City may need to draw some funds from the Homeless Initiatives funding for the implementation of some changes, including covering a $1,500 annual fee paid to the United States Postal Service to cover the administration of a General Delivery Service. OPTIONS: The City Council has the following options to consider on this matter: 1. Accept the October 2016 report on the HOT Program and Ritter MOU as presented. 2. Direct staff to return with more information. 3. Take no action. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Accept the October 2016 report the HOT Pilot Program and the Ritter MOU Status Update ROUTING SLIP / APPROVAL FORM INSTRUCTIONS: Use this cover sheet with each submittal of a staff report before approval by the City Council. Save staff report (including this cover sheet) along with all related attachments in the Team Drive (T:) --> CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS 4 AGENDA ITEM APPROVAL PROCESS 4 [DEPT - AGENDA TOPIC] Agenda Item # Date of Meeting: 10/17/2016 From: Andrew Hening Department: City Manager Date: 10/17/2016 Topic: Homeless Update Report Subject: Informational Presentation on the Homeless Outreach Team Pilot Program and the Ritter Memorandum of Understanding Type: ❑ Resolution ❑ Ordinance ❑ Professional Services Agreement ® Other: Informational Presentation APPROVALS ® Finance Director Remarks: MM- approved 10/12/16 ® City Attorney Remarks: LG -Approved 10/12/16 ® Author, review and accept City Attorney / Finance changes Remarks: ® City Manager Remarks: