1. Receive update on homeless activities in Yolo County
   
2. Authorize the use of $30,000 from the Health and Human Services Contingency to fund the Bridge to Housing Pilot Project
   
3. Adopt a budget resolution increasing the countywide budget for Fiscal Year 14/15 by $80,000 ($30,000 in new appropriations and $50,000 in previously allocated funds to be moved from the CAO budget)

West Sacramento- Wednesday, January 28
Lead: Ryan Collins (City of West Sacramento

Woodland- Thursday, January 29
Lead: Eric Banuelos (4th and Hope)

Winters and Rural- Friday, January 30
Lead: Tracey Dickinson/Kacey Dominguez (County of Yolo)

This year, the Planning Group decided to make several changes to the way that the count has traditionally been done in Yolo, in the hopes of improving the quality of the data that is collected. Changes include: (1) spreading count activities over several days, rather than completing in a single day, to maximize the use of surveyors with direct experience working with the homeless, (2) engaging additional parties with knowledge of the homeless in planning activities (such as police departments and probation), and (3) revising the survey to collect additional information on the characteristics and needs of the homeless in Yolo, rather than just the demographic information required by HUD.

Improving our Count of Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

In addition to preparing for the general homeless count, County staff has also convened a working group focused on improving our identification of unaccompanied homeless youth (ages 14-24) in the count process. Several years ago HUD began requiring that communities report specific data on homeless youth, but Yolo County has struggled to find homeless youth during the count. In 2013, count efforts did not identify any unaccompanied homeless youth. We believe this is not because there are no homeless youth in Yolo County, but rather, because homeless youth are better at remaining unnoticed. Homeless youth often maintain similar behaviors and appearance to that of other youth, making them harder to identify in a regular count process.

The community received a $12,000 grant to improve the inclusion of homeless youth in our 2015 count, with the goal of increasing the availability of data on the housing and other service needs of unstably housed youth in the Yolo Community. Youth count activities will occur during the same week as the regular count, but will be focused specifically on reaching at-risk youth in places they often hang out (like the library) or through activities they might want to participate in (like after-school pizza parties).

Staff will report updated prevalence data on both the youth and adult homeless populations to the Board of Supervisors following the count.

Community Workshops

The 10-Year Plan Executive Commission is preparing to complete a comprehensive update to Yolo's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. In preparation for this update a work group appointed by the 10-Year Plan Commission (composed of representatives from Yolo County Housing, the cities and the County) has planned a series of three community workshops on homelessness. Workshops were already held in Davis on November 17th and in Woodland on December 4th. The final workshop will be held in January for the West Sacramento community. These workshops are aimed at collecting information regarding both countywide and community-specific needs and priorities for addressing homelessness. Information collected during the workshops will be used to inform the community priorities and needs that should be addressed in the updated 10-Year Plan.

Bridge to Housing Pilot Project

In August 2014 County staff began participating in a collaborative planning process aimed at relocating a large population of homeless individuals living along the riverbank in West Sacramento. The planning group developed a plan for the Bridge to Housing Pilot Project as a solution to the temporary and permanent housing needs of the homeless individuals relocating from the riverbank. On October 21, 2014 the Board of Supervisors approved participation in the Bridge to Housing project, and authorized the use of $50,000 from the Health and Human Services Contingency to fund the project. The City of West Sacramento contributed another $50,000 to the project, allowing for a total project budget of $100,000.

The project began on November 12, 2014 when 65 homeless individuals previously living along the riverbank were relocated to a motel in West Sacramento that has been leased by Yolo County Housing for the use of this project. Each participant has been assigned a case manager, and residents are expected to participate in case management and program activities for the duration of their stay at the motel.



Staff has identified an ideal series of approximately eight steps that participants must move through in order to successfully transition to permanent housing, which are described below. Please note that not all residents will move through the steps in this order, and the residents are all moving through the steps at very different paces.

STEP ONE: Move into the Motel

• 65 residents moved into the motel on November 12, 2014. 58 of the original residents remain in the program. 7 residents were discharged for behavioral issues, but 3 of the discharged residents have continued to work with their case managers, and are still eligible for vouchers.

• Staff from Yolo County Housing held two workshops on November 13, 2014 to help participants complete the initial voucher application. All 65 participants completed the paperwork and were placed on the voucher wait list

• In the weeks following the move-in, case mangers spent a lot of time getting to know the residents that had been assigned to their case load and conducting assessments of their needs. Most residents were assessed to determine any health, dental, mental health and/or substance abuse issues that should be addressed during their stay in the motel.

• Verification Documents: People experiencing homelessness often do not have access to important identification or verification documents (such as ID cards, birth certificates, and social security cards) that they need to secure benefits, jobs or housing. Case managers have worked with residents to track down copies of their documents, or apply for new ones as needed. Staff from the Department of Employment and Social Services was able to pull copies for some residents from their old files, and also used department funding to pay for some ID applications when another option was not available. At this time, 69% of our residents are confirmed as having either secured identification (33 residents, 54%) or having pending applications (7 residents, 12%).
• Health Insurance: At the time of program entry, only 42% of residents reported having health insurance. At this time, 81% (47 residents) have health insurance, and 10% (6 residents) have pending applications. Only 5 residents still do not have health insurance.
• CalFresh: Enrollment in CalFresh has increased from 48% at program entry to 57% currently. This increase is relatively small, because most residents eligible for CalFresh were enrolled while living on the riverbank, during a significant outreach effort on the part of United Christian Centers and DESS.

• On December 17th Yolo County Housing opened their wait list and invited the top 100 people on their wait list to apply for vouchers. All program participants were included in that group. After receiving their letter, the residents have only a few weeks to complete a long and complicated application. Many residents struggled with completing this paperwork, as they received the applications over the holidays while many case managers were on vacation. Only 18 (31%) were able to submit applications initially, and none of them had completed all of the paperwork correctly. Due to these struggles, voucher staff from Yolo County Housing held several on-site workshops with residents to help them complete the paperwork. Many more residents have now submitted applications, and YCH staff is currently reviewing them for completeness.

• YCH staff will process each application as it is submitted. The processing time generally runs from 1-3 weeks, depending on how long it takes to receive results from the earned income verification and criminal background check. Once approved, participants will be required to attend a workshop to learn the rules, sign the paperwork, and officially receive their voucher. We expect to see residents start reaching this step in mid to late January.

• After being issued a voucher, a participant's success in finding housing will depend on having an income source. Voucher recipients pay 30% of their income toward housing, and YCH pays an additional amount that is capped. Recipients with a higher income have more flexibility in the amount they can spend on housing, and therefore, the options that are available to them. Case managers are emphasizing two different tracks to securing income for residents, including Social Security Income (SSI) or employment.
• SSI: 6 residents currently have SSI (compared to 5 at the time of program entry), and 14 residents have pending SSI applications. If all the pending applications are approved, 34% of residents will have secured SSI. Yolo County has a dedicated program, called SMART-Y, which expedites SSI applications for people experiencing homelessness. As part of the SMART-Y Program, staff from the Social Security Administration and State Disability Determination Services visit Yolo County twice a month and meet directly with applicants, often issuing approvals during the meeting. Our State and Federal partners have graciously agreed to provide additional hours in January and February to process our pending applications, but it may take some time to get through all of them.
• Employment: 3 of our residents currently have some type of employment (compared to only 1 at the time of program entry), and 3 report another type of income (refugee benefits and general assistance). 12 residents (20%) are reported as actively searching for employment. DESS has offered vocational workshops and Northern California Construction and Training program has offered to enroll residents in training and job placement.

• After securing income, the final step in transitioning participants into permanent housing is to actually secure housing. Voucher recipients have 60 days from the date that the voucher is issued to find housing. YCH has the discretion to extend this to 120 days if needed, and people with disabilities can be extended to 180 days.
• Staff from the City of West Sacramento will help with identifying potential housing options for participants, and the Housing Now program (at Yolo Community Care Continuum) and Turning Point Community Program are also working with residents on searching for housing and addressing credit issues.
• At this time, 26 residents (45%) are actively searching for housing.