Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness, Inc. 2016 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Application Prospective Bidder s Conference May 6, 2016 Location: The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Resources Center Attendees: Kat Douglas-Houston, John Noe, Greg Carlson, The Salvation Army, Sarasota; Julia Showers, Justin Creel, The Salvation Army, Manatee; Erin Minor, Harvest House Transitional Centers; Phil Gorelick, Jeff Rohleder, Jewish Family and Children s Service; Lisa Davis, Family Resources; Lucille Acken, Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice; Paul Johnson, Face of Hope. Staff: Leslie Loveless, Jackie McNeil Overview Leslie Loveless shared highlights regarding changes to the ESG application, including new 3-year contractual timeframes and how Suncoast Partnership as lead agency will submit the collective application on behalf of the CoC. Successful Bidders will continue to provide services during that three year period, and no new applications will be solicited unless a provider fails to perform. The allowable activities proposed in the original grant application will be the only activities allowable during the 3- year period. There may be some shifting of allocation within the activities. ESG grant to be performed on a cost reimbursement, so agencies awarded should be able to carry expenses for 60-90 day period realistically. Leslie encouraged participants to take a collaborative approach and look at the overall activities being funded in each municipality. Applications will be reviewed and ranked by the grants review committee, with recommendations being made to the CoC Advisory Council, and to the Suncoast Partnership Board for final approval. Ideally there will be two projects accepted per municipality, the Partnership will consider more than two. Leslie shared her information packet which included the following documents: Request for Proposal information; timetable addendum recently provided by the State of Florida s Office on homelessness; and a draft application outline to be finalized when State gives update, hopefully early next week. Attendees will receive a writable electronic format and same will be posted, along with information packet, on Suncoast Partnership website under Public Notice page. It was noted that Budget pages need to be included, and Leslie clarified that the Budget would be a one-year budget. Subsequent year funding levels will determine budget amounts in years 2 and 3. Some participants wished to meet afterwards to discuss shared interest in certain municipality coverage and seek ways to collaborate. Activities should correlate with the CoC Strategic Action Plan which is also posted under Public Notice. Questions/Answers: Does the organization and/or service location need to be in the city limits? Page 1 of 5
This question has been asked of Mia Parker in the office on homelessness, and the results will be shared as soon as we get reply. Can the agency apply for more than one municipality? Yes, but it will require separate applications. Is there administrative cost that is passed down to the sub-grantees? No, the 5% administrative cost will be retained at the Partnership. This will cover need for additional staff capacity for monitoring and oversight required. However, due to other funding awards, the Partnership will not require HMIS hosting and maintenance fees for this first year. Are the costs of case management allowable as a program cost? Yes, case management is an allowable cost. Please see Exhibit 16 for full details. What performance will be required for Emergency Shelter, Prevention/Rehousing? The Office on Homelessness hasn t released any new performance measures, so existing ones are probably what they will want Prevention/Rapid Re-Housing programs propose how many households will be served and % of households remaining housed at the end of the grant. Emergency Shelter projects propose total unique participants/monthly unique participants, % increase in sheltered, average length of stay. Please Note: Written Standards for the continuum contain Minimum Performance Benchmarks. It may be necessary to revise some of these standards, as recited below for Emergency Shelter and for Rapid-ReHousing to comply with outline in grant. From CoC Written Standards: EMERGENCY SHELTERS The Emergency Shelter System in Manatee and Sarasota Counties currently has 425 year-round beds in the following nine programs: Family Haven/Catholic Charities (North Port) Family Haven/Harvest House, (North Sarasota) Family Shelter/The Salvation Army, Sarasota Family Shelter/The Salvation Army, Manatee Family Resources Youth Shelter (Bradenton) Hope Family Services (Domestic Violence-Manatee) Salvation Army, Bradenton Salvation Army, Sarasota SPARCC (Domestic Violence-Sarasota) Page 2 of 5
YMCA Youth Shelter (Sarasota) In addition to the year-round beds, there are hotel/motel vouchers available through designated agencies. Emergency shelter programs serve various sub-populations including: households with children, male or female individuals, unaccompanied youth, and victims of domestic violence. The level of support services available to participants varies greatly from program to program. The length of stay is generally expected to be less than 30 days, but may be longer due to availability of affordable units. Extensions may be granted at some shelters if participants are making adequate progress on case plans. Access to Emergency Shelter: Information on how to access Emergency Shelter is available 24 hours a day/7 days a week through calling 2-1-1 or accessing 2-1-1 Resource page at www.uw211manasota.net/. Additional direct numbers are as follows: Catholic Charities Family Haven, 941-356-2442 Family Resources Youth Shelter, Manatee 941-741-3575 Harvest House Family Haven, 1-844-SAFE-SRQ National Domestic Violence Hot Line 1-800-799-SAFE Salvation Army, Sarasota - 941-954-4673 YMCA Youth Shelter, Sarasota 941-955-5596 Salvation Army, Manatee -- Family Shelter 941-757-5778 Salvation Army, Manatee -- Men's Shelter 941-757-5763 Eligibility Criteria for Emergency Shelter: Participants must meet the HUD definition of homelessness Currently, each individual shelter/program has its own eligibility criteria. At entry, this may be based on the subpopulation served, i.e. age, gender, family composition, severity of behavioral health issues, etc. As a continuum moving toward a Housing First model, shelters are discourage programs from establishing rules that would become barriers to sheltering and service. Note: Domestic Violence programs will be exempt from participating in the coordinated entry system due to issues of confidentiality. Minimum Standards for Emergency Shelter: Minimum hours of operation 8PM 7AM Staff supervision whether paid or volunteer must be provided during hours of operation of program Provide a minimum of one meal per day Minimum required HMIS data elements must be collected and input. At intake each participant shall be informed of evacuation procedures. Maps/diagrams of exits should be prominently placed throughout the facility Referrals to Rapid Re-Housing providers will be made within 7 business days. Page 3 of 5
Standard Outcomes for Emergency Shelter Average length of stay is less than 30 days _50 _% of participants exit with a successful housing outcome 1 and/or _30 % of participants exit to permanent housing Less than _30_% of participants exit to an unknown location _60 % of participants w/final exit with/linked to cash income _60 % of participants w/final exit with/linked to non-cash resources RAPID RE-HOUSING PROGRAMS (RRH) Rapid Re-Housing Programs (RRH) provide housing relocation and stabilization services and short or medium term rental assistance as needed to help a homeless individual or family move as quickly as possible to permanent housing and achieve stability in that housing. Eligibility Criteria for Rapid Re-Housing: Participants must meet the HUD definition of homelessness Participants must be in an emergency shelter or residing in a place not meant for human habitation Minimum Standards for Rapid Re-Housing: Referrals with initial eligibility assessment may be made by United Way 2-1-1 through the HMIS system, or agencies may do initial eligibility assessment directly and record information in HMIS. Providers will consult the Rapid Re-Housing Triage Tool, attached hereto as Appendix 1, when developing a housing plan. Maximum participation in a rapid rehousing program cannot exceed 24 months. Services that must be provided include landlord outreach, assessment of housing barriers, financial assistance and case management Process Outcomes for Rapid Re-Housing Once referral is made to Rapid Re-Housing Provider, the first face-to-face contact will be made within 14 days. A Housing Plan will be completed within 30 days of first face-to-face contact Average time from program entry to housing placement is 60 days. Minimum Performance Benchmarks: 35% of all participants remain stable in RRH or exit to a different permanent housing situation Recognizing that stability requires income and support, o 40% of adult participants who qualify for non-employment income will obtain or increase same at exit from program. 1 Successful housing outcome for Emergency Shelter participants could be permanent housing or transitional housing for former homeless persons; living with family or friend as permanent tenure; owned or rental by client with or without subsidy; psychiatric facility; substance abuse or detox facility. Page 4 of 5
o o 95% of all participants who qualify for mainstream (non-cash) benefits will maintain or obtain additional benefits at exit from program. 30% of employable adult participants have employment income or increase employment income at exit. There was discussion about outreach activities at least as a placement holder, in order to allow more flexibility of grant funding going forward over the next three years. Street outreach further defined in application, see page 4. Meeting adjourned 11:05 A.M. Page 5 of 5