Meeting Information


Meeting Type
Special Meeting
Date
Monday, 4/19/2021
Start
8:00 PM
End
9:30 PM
Agenda
Agenda
Summary
Meeting to prepare for the final County Ad Hoc Committee to end homelessness. Goal is to make decisions on these:
  • Coalition policy on using law enforcement to enforce camping bans when adequate shelter is available
  • Should safe shelter plan include permanent housing
  • Committee structure and who should be on the 11/1 safe shelter planning committee
  • Committee (or committees) structure and who should be on the comprehensive plan
Hopefully we'll have a report out on legality around Martin v. Boise and sanctioned encampments
Location
We are meeting remotely via Zoom - register here
Minutes

Presentation

Update on Camping Ban

·         Maureen:

o    Thoms Contacted me right after sending out the email on Friday. Thoms wanted to talk immediately, but Thoms was exhausted.  Spoke with him. Money is available - Thoms is willing to put money into homelessness.  

o    Comprehensive plan and the shelter plan change the dynamic. We want to use this opportunity to do this is important. Many reasons to oppose the ban.

o    Thoms would consider pausing the ban. Mayor thought the ordinance wouldn't be dropped for another week - she apologized for getting the timing wrong.

o    Met with Safe Sites for All people - asked Thoms to meet with them.

o    Reached out to Melanie Harding and the Mayor - have had two conversations tonight. This is where we are.

o    Mayor reached out to the deputy mayor and both are interested in a 30 day pause on the ordinance.

o    By Ad Hoc committee on Wednesday will know how the shelter and comprehensive plan will go forward.

·         Al - stance should be what we stick with - keep with getting city to identify land - focus on what we can do, not on what we don't want to do. Need to force the City to make a positive solution.

·         Megan - is one month enough time? For all the money and all the grants? That wasn't really enough time.

·         Maureen - see a lot of opportunity to do this with strategic cover in the . NW Justice willing to pick up lawsuits, asked Tristia for language. I mentioned ot Victoria that she leads nationally - can do better.

·         Rosemary - will put some thinking into the type of research we need. I know there is data out there - I'll look for research. Maureen - go to National Homeless Law Center.

·         Colin - I made a few edits to Jan's letter - not sure what is going on with that. Last thing I would say. Need to call them on their bluff - they are currently clearing encampments - need to know what criteria are used to determine a health and safety issue.

·         Jeffrey - encampment on 72nd was swept - 3 of 7 tents are now along the railroad.

 

Enforcement

·         James - Shouldn't be the homeless system's job to plan for the cost of law enforcement.

·         Colin - enforcement - need lines that were drawn. That is a small portion of our people that will need enforcement, but we need strategies and funding to deal with that.

·         Kevin - I don't think that funding should be coming out of the money that is used to respond to homelessness.

·         Colin - need an accountability for funds that are used in enforcement

·         James - we coundn't fill the spaces we had open - people thought we couldn’t fill slots - but people wanted in. All cities will offer you the carrot and the stick at the same time - that is how they get things passed.

·         Rosemary - This ad hoc group shouldn't plan for how to enforce things.

·         Theresa - if a safe campground would accept a person, say someone is still blocking our sidewalks, this is where creative juice could be put into solutions that will work for people. If we have a safe place for people.

·         Maureen - what about ITA. - involuntary confinement.

·         James - involuntary confinement is only self or other harm issue, and they will go to a hold somewhere.

·         Megan (chat) hold folks accountable without fining or jail time.

·         Jeffrey - Need to pay attention to the individuals.

·         Megan - replicating the Cahoots model - aligning mental health with.

·         Gerrit - humane response - Cahoots type model - responds to help folk move to safe sites without fining or jail time. Have a team that is good at making the move happen smoothly.

·         Kevin -

·         Megan - DSA is researching Cahoots - join us if you are interested.

·         Need sustainable tools - it needs to live for 5 year.

·         Gerrit - need to serve the person, not the city.

·         Gerrit, Kevin and Colin to draft.

 

Permanent Housing on the shelter list?

·         Maureen - have permanent housing in a separate band - on a separate list. Must keep permanent housing intervention on that list.

·         Colin - hotels are a neat intervention. Can be permanent or what it needs to be. Permanent while they are there. Danger to putting permanent back together with shelter - waters it down. It is mukey.

·         James - Someone will want to hold us accountable for numbers - if we much things together - shelter will be seen as a failure because people aren't getting permanent housing.

·         Theresa - I agree with James - the idea that when hotel rooms are used for shelter, they belong in the mix. If they become SROs, they belonw in the Permanent housing side. If we focus on enough shelter -

·         Colin - What does success look like - When I look at November 1st, if we had people in 12 different intervention.

·         Maureen - need to grab this moment to create the permanent housing.

·         Jeffrey - that will be 25 sites with 50 people in each site. We are looking at something that is grander. Functional zero needs 27 sites. How are we going to split those 27 sites up? That is simple math. How does that work out. We need to bring in churches - as a coalition or cities or the county we can do that, even with our support. Need to call in additional assets.

·         Colin - I feel strongly that what I've previously said - it is sheltering focus. Both shelter and PH need money. Tough topic.

·         Theresa - two branch thing - one branch works on shelter, and not include PH in that. Other branch is workign on just what Maureen is talking about.

·         Maureen - asking policy people to question recent assumptions.

·         James - need to address emergencies prior to long term planning.

·         Gerrit - Just focus on shelter.

·         Theresa - yes, just focus on shelter

·         Jeffrey - PSH shouldn’t be in the sheltering planning.

·         Decision - want to focus on getting the shelter up in place and not dilute that work, want to make sure we always push the Perm

·         Rosemary - what do you and James need to bring back.

·         "Ramp up shelter - but stay focused on every opportunity for Permanent Housing" Increase ceiling of funds ($2k instead of $600 maybe) for Diversion - if at all possible.

·         *I lost some of the discussion here*

·         Jan - the market may correct things, need to create more options for immediate safe shelter. Promote PSH - supportive piece is integral to the success of those leaving homelessness. In my economic journals that came here from the push from Amazon high tech salaries that will leave here. Need to think about safe sites for all first, brining along supportive housing as it becomes available with market or govt incentives.

 

Recommended Shelter structure

·         Maureen - should the same people be on both teams - the Nov. 1 plan and the

·         James - divide and conquer - not serve on both.

·         James - want to work on the quick November 1st stuff. Doing a survey of shelter providers on why folks get stuck at shelter, or why folks don't come into shelter. Work with shelter providers moved along - with interventions.

·         Maureen - Divide and Conquer.

·         People - who know what is need to scale up what works.

o    Jurisdictions -

§  Lakewood

§  Tillicum

§  Springbrook

§  Puyallup

§  Tacoma

§  Key Peninsula

§  Gig harbor

§  UP

§  Fife

§  Orting

§  Bethel SH

§  Sumner

§  Bonney Lake

§  Metro Park

§  Graham

§  Spanaway

o    School Districts

o    Puyallup Tribe

o    Shelter Agencies

§  LIHI

§  CCS

§  TRM

§  THA

§  PCHA

§  Puyallup Salvation Army

o    Outreach

§  New Hope

§  TRM

§  CLR

§  GLMR

§  VA

§  RISE

o    Habitat for Humanity

o    Chambers

o    First Responders

§  FDCares

§  West Pierce

§  Central Pierce

o    People experiencing homelessness

o    Volunteer outreach groups

o    Legal - tacoma probono and NW Justice

·         Core Group:

o    Coalition

o    CoC

o    Connection to people living unsheltered

o    Shelter operator

o    First responder (Laura from FDCares)

o    Outreach Worker

o    1 County

o    1 Rural Representative

o    Safe sites for all

·         Final Decision is to have James write up who should be on the committee based on his comments during the meeting

 

Comprehensive plan leadership team

·         Brains all too tired to think through - general thought is that the core group - the current ad hoc team- continue in some way, perhaps with a regular "advisory group" that is open and can comment, offer suggestions, and get information at regular meetings.

Attendees

Rob Huff

Gerrit Nyland

Jeffrey Boyce

Al Ratcliffe

Maureen howard

Stacey Soltoff

Kevin Glackin-Coley

Rosemary Powers

Megan Capes

James Pogue

Theresa Power-Drutis

RoxAnne Simon

Colin DeForrest

Jan Runbeck

Maybe someone else snuck in later…