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HSC - Minutes - 07-20-2023MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD HOMELESSNESS SUBCOMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING JULY 20, 2023 The Regular Meeting of the Rosemead Homelessness Subcommittee was called to order by Mayor Ly at 6:03 p. in. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PRESENT: Subcommittee Members: Dang, Eilers, Garcia, and Ly ABSENT: Subcommittee Member Tang 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Mayor Ly opened the Public Comment period. No Public Comments were received. Mayor Ly closed the Public Comment period. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR: Commissioner Garcia made a motion to approve the minutes from the June 29, 2023, Homelessness Subcommittee Meeting, and was seconded by Subcommittee Member Eilers. Motion carried by the following vote: YES: 4-0 3. MATTERS FROM STAFF Council Member Dang shared that homelessness is a growing problem that not only affects Rosemead but also surrounding communities. The hope is that the Subcommittee can come up with parameters for best management practices. The main thing is to create homes, but it cannot be done without funding. Council Member Dang mentioned it may not be possible to address all the issues, but some things can be done like incentivizing developers to create additional units. A. Report, Discussion, and Direction Regarding Homeless Services and Programs Assistant City Manager Bruckner mentioned the report consisted of the additional information, research, and fact-finding that was requested in the previous meeting to ensure the Subcommittee can make an informed decision on policy recommendations. One of the first questions that was discussed was, what are the root causes of homelessness? The report includes statistical information from the 2022 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count with demographic information about who was experiencing homelessness, then, as opposed to now. LAHSA finally put out their 2023 report as well, but it's still not entirely complete. The 2023 report does not have demographic data for individual cities, but they have provided a 2023 comprehensive report that includes handouts as well, attachments A and B. In addition to that, there is biographical information on the root causes, along with the experiences that result in people becoming more susceptible to homelessness. Things like individual trauma, mental illness, economic issues, and substance abuse, which tend to be the 4 major leading causes of how people fall into homelessness with everybody's individual experience being different from one to the next. There is no prototypical type of this person that is more inclined to fall into homelessness than another. It's really the totality of an individual's life circumstances that find them in those situations. If we could say the root cause is X, the solution would be Y but because there are all these myriad factors, you really have to come up with a comprehensive solution to identify what those root causes are, and then provide services to those individuals on an individual -by -individual basis. Ultimately, the challenge is that we're dealing with homelessness as a society. Some causes are domestic violence, physical abuse, drug abuse, and things of that nature. How many individuals are experiencing homelessness in Rosemead? Assistant City Manager Bruckner looked at LAHSA's reporting beginning in 2016, there were 20, 2017 there were 53, 2018 there were 68, 2019 there were 94, 2020 and 2021, were combined due to COVID, with a count of 79 and in 2022 there were 83. The 2023 count should be provided by LAHSA in the near future. The Subcommittee requested additional information about where City staff or Code Enforcement team come into contact with the homeless; however, staff is still trying to extract that data from our system. Once that information is gathered, we will try to identify concentration areas, and why we may think that the homeless are gathering there versus other parts of town. The L.A. CADA agreement kicks off next Monday and the Code Enforcement team and Sheriffs Department will meet to talk about how the City can leverage those teams together. When we get calls for services related to homeless issues, L.A. CADA will be making contact and dispatched to these properties, offering services first. If individuals are receptive to that, L.A. CADA will transport them and identify needed resources. Nonetheless, if it requires more of a public safety presence or a law enforcement presence, the Code Enforcement and law enforcement teams will then supplement that. Emergency shelter beds are typically available for individuals anywhere from 30 to 45 days. L.A. CADA mentioned that most people stay in that bed for about two weeks and then find outpatient residential treatment. Placement usually occurs within that two-week period, or as is often the case, those individuals leave and return to the streets. Since there is no way to force individuals into treatment or to stay in a facility, some will take the services, but many others return to their life on their streets. Mayor Ly asked if there is any data on how many people are getting additional services, making a transitory movement towards permanent/transitional housing, and how many are going back to the streets. Assistant City Manager Bruckner stated that L.A. CADA will be tracking that information as part of their contract. The City has limited data through the COG program. Council Member Dang asked where the L.A. CADA beds are located. Assistant City Manager Bruckner replied that they are not in Rosemead. There are facilities around LA County. Assistant City Manager Bruckner will report back on the location of the reserved beds. Subcommittee Member Eilers mentioned that Pasadena has reduced its homeless count and recommended that staff research what that city is doing. 2 Assistant City Manager Bruckner informed about care courts, which is the conservatorship program for the homeless. Last year, the governor signed SB 1338, which created what was called the Care Act, or the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Plan for individuals experiencing severe mental illness with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. The purpose of the bill is to have a mechanism in place for intervention and treatment for those that are not able to make those decisions for themselves. Individuals would go through a legal process whereby a conservator would be assigned to them and given legal authority to decide if that person needs treatment or referred to a mental health facility. There is currently no publicly available data for the program, but it is supposed to be up and running by December 1. There had been some legal challenges as to whether this was constitutional but failed up to this point. Council Member Dang asked that if there is no next of kin, how would the court determine whom to appoint? Assistant City Manager Bruckner will conduct additional research on how conservatorship is appointed. Mayor Ly referenced the information on different types of beds and housing and inquired about occupancy data/rates for L.A. CADA beds and the criteria for each type of housing. Additionally, he asked, for those bringing their belongings to facilities, how many facilities allow for items to be stored securely and for how long. Assistant City Manager Bruckner will provide additional information in the next meeting. Commissioner Garcia recalled a report that was presented to the Public Safety Commission which included beds and requirements and asked if that information can be pulled. The report stated that beds were not being filled due to the requirements. Mayor Ly requested to have the Chief of Police present for the next meeting to provide a report and answer a few questions. Assistant City Manager Brukner addressed the question of affordable housing and how many the City has developed or are in the pipeline. There are two senior apartment complexes that are affordable, the Angelus Senior Apartments with 51 units, and the Garvey Senior Apartments with 72 units. There is also HOME and CDBG process allocation, funding set aside to the Rio Hondo Community Development Corporation. There was also the purchase of 3 two-bedroom rental properties in the City. More recently, the City Council approved the Mission Villas residential planned development project that has 37 residential units, 4 of which will be low-income. There are three additional projects that are currently in the pipeline the Garvey Garden Plaza with 46 apartments, 7 of which will be low- income, Garvey Plaza with 28 apartments, 7 of which are low-income, and the Taiwan Center mixed-use project with 42 apartments, 7 of which are low-income. The city has not received any applications from churches or other religious establishments about building affordable housing on their property. 3 Mayor Ly asked how low income is being defined and what are the income thresholds for Rosemead's low-income housing. Assistant City Manager Bruckner mentioned the numbers being used would pertain to HUD. Subcommittee Member Eilers recommended looking at model cities such as Pasadena, Claremont, and Santa Barbara to see how they are combating homelessness. The City of Houston lowered its homeless population by 20 percent and Ms. Eilers asked for additional information and how the voucher system worked. Commissioner Garcia recalled that Baldwin Park has tiny homes and suggested it as a potential option. Mayor Ly requested additional information on the Section 8 voucher program, whether can it be used for hotel/motel stays, and whether can it be utilized on a month-to-month basis. Subcommittee Member Eilers asked if L.A. CADA can provide information as to what types of vouchers are available for housing. Council Member Dang has spoken with many seniors, and they've been on the waiting list to receive senior housing for years. If there are that many seniors on the list, would it be best to build affordable housing and can it be built to accommodate those on the list? B. California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness Mayor Ly summarized the executive report where 9 out of 10 participants lost their housing in California and 75% of participants live in the same county as their last housing. The idea that people were traveling throughout the whole country to California is not necessarily true. Most of these homeless are a product of our own policies and systems. Interestingly, the majority, about 82%, are suffering from a serious mental health condition. Nearly two-thirds, 65%, were regularly using illicit drugs. Six months prior to them going into homelessness, the median monthly household income was $960. Roughly I in 5 participants, 19%, entered homelessness from an institution such as prison or prolonged jail stay. This article talked about there not being an actual transitional program for those who leave prison and jail. In regard to Section 8, it said that even if the cause of homelessness was multifactorial, participants believed that financial support could have prevented it and 70% believe that a monthly rental subsidy of $300 to $500 would have prevented their homelessness for a sustained period. 82% believe that receiving a one-time payment of $5,000 to $10,000 would have prevented their homelessness. Mayor Ly mentioned this report reinforced his personal philosophy, and housing should fall into three key things: it needs to be safe, drug-free, and provide some sort of upward mobility. 11 C. Discussion Regarding CalMatters Article Relating to Homelessness This item was Received and Filed by the Subcommittee 4. MATTERS FROM COMMISSION A. Commissioner Comments Subcommittee Member Eilers asked how many people are on the waiting list for the two senior apartment buildings. She agreed with having three buckets (categories) and potentially adding affordable housing for seniors in the homelessness prevention bucket. Ms. Eilers recommended researching emergency rental relief funding for vouchers, advertisement of the programs, tenant protections availability and possibly partnering with other nonprofits. The City of Alhambra contracts with different tenant rights groups and advertises it heavily. There is an interest in working with L.A. CADA and making sure they are held accountable and tracking how many people are exiting homelessness from their services. It is important to look into what can be improved and guarantee a pipeline where people don't fall back into homelessness and are able to have upward mobility. Council Member Dang mentioned wanting to see how many people are on the senior housing list as the numbers are quite large. Regarding tiny homes, Council Member Dang stated that the tiny sheds don't do well for an individual's quality of life and are a temporary band-aid. Tiny, prefabricated homes can cost about $200,000 and grant money could best be spent on something more permanent offering more quality and efficiency. Mayor Ly replied that the goal is not to eliminate any ideas until all research has been done. Mayor Ly requested contacting the school districts to see whether they are tracking any data on students that are near or are experiencing homelessness. Also, it would be good for the committee to know what pots of money are available, where they are allocated, and what funding has already been secured. Mayor Ly recommended reaching out to the City's Federal lobbyist to find out what funds are available next year for HUD and VA. The next request for congressionally directed funding is in January and it is important to prepare ahead of time. Council Member Dang thanked Assistant City Manager Bruckner for the report and extensive details. 5. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m. The next Homelessness Subcommittee meeting will be held on Thursday, August 17, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. irythe Council Chambers. APPROVED: Steven Ly, May r Analyst