We Get (More) Letters: Our City Must Provide a Variety of Shelter Models

Dear Members of the Economic Development & Technology Committee:

I submitted letters to this Committee in advance of the December 8, 2021 meeting,  listened to the meeting, gave live public comment, and listened to the videorecording  after the meeting. I prepared an excel spreadsheet of the various statements and requests  made during the meeting. The purpose of this letter is to summarize statements and  requests made to staff and also to provide relevant information I obtained from third  parties following the meeting which may be helpful in addressing, on an urgent basis, the  shelter needs of our residents who sleep on the street every night.

I note at the outset that Vice Mayor Wilson requested Chairperson Tyron Hampton to  agendize the subject of tiny shelter communities (aka “tiny home villages”) and asked staff to come back with more data so the Committee will have more detailed comparisons of various shelter models. He noted that the Human Services Commission prepared a  proposal for a tiny shelter community. “We owe it to the public to get a more full  analysis of this program.” (Timestamp 1:01:00.)1 Councilmember Rivas supported the  request. (1:06:30.) Chairperson Hampton responded “That’s a fair request. I’ve written  in my notes that it is an important discussion to come up in the New Year.” (1:02:00.)

I also note at the outset that I previously submitted two Public Records Act (PRA)  requests to Pasadena’s Housing Department to obtain information concerning our City’s

1 Timestamp references in this letter are approximate.

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interim housing program for our unsheltered residents. Significantly, in the December 6,  2021 response to my second PRA request (submitted November 2, 2021), staff stated the  following: “. . .[T]he City does not have sufficient resources to meet the shelter needs of  all who need it on a nightly basis. Motel vouchers for everyone is not a viable or

practical solution for several reasons. Scattered-site, motel-based shelter without on-site  services is not a shelter model that appropriately meets the needs of all unsheltered  persons. A variety of shelter models, including congregate shelters and transitional  housing for certain populations, is needed to meet the varying needs of the City’s  homeless population.” (See Attachment 1, emphasis added.)

Community members agree. Our City must provide a variety of shelter models in  addition to the scattered-site motel voucher program currently used in order to meet the  varying needs of our unsheltered population. Our City can do this by providing the  necessary resources for the most basic need of shelter for our unsheltered residents.

A. Requests of Committee Members to City Staff

1. Requests related to expenditures of funds in the motel voucher program

Vice Mayor Wilson asked staff to provide the total number of motel nights, by location, used for interim housing. He stated the City is spending over $2 million and should be  tracking where the money is spent. He noted that, if motel vouchers are concentrated in a  few motels at a few locations, perhaps we could pursue “ownership change.” (55:00.)

Councilmember Madison stated “[a]t a bare minimum we need to know where every  dollar went.” (1:15:00.) Councilmember Hampton agreed that we should know how  many room nights were used, and where, and that if staff does not have that information,  it should obtain it on a going-forward basis. (1:17:00.)

2. Request for comparative data

Vice Mayor Wilson requested a cost comparison, per night, of different options for the  “various strategies.” (58:00.) He asked staff to come back with more data so the  Committee would have more effective comparisons. (1:01:00.)

Jennifer O’Reilly-Jones, Pasadena’s Homeless Programs Coordinator, stated that the  operating costs of the Baldwin Park tiny shelter community are $81 per night plus there  was $1/2 million in upfront capital costs. She stated she “suspects” this does not include  housing navigation services. (58:52.)

Vice Mayor Wilson asked Ms. O’Reilly-Jones if the $100 per night cost she cited for the  City’s motel voucher program (see timestamp 38:41) is equivalent to the $81 per day cost  she cited for the Baldwin Park tiny shelter community. She said yes, she would compare  those two, but would like to bring back more specific numbers. (59:54.)

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Additional Information I Obtained After the Meeting

According to a news release, the SGV Regional Housing Trust and SGVCOG provided  technical assistance, plus $500,000 in grant funding for preparation of the Baldwin Park  tiny shelter community site and the acquisition of homes and facilities AND provided  $800,000 for the first year of operation with options to fund additional years. (San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 11/20/21: “Baldwin Park Celebrates Opening of Esperanza  Villa, a Village of Tiny Dwellings for Homeless.”)

With regard to operational costs for our City’s motel voucher program, Ms. O’Reilly Jones previously advised me that the City spends an average of $100 per night solely for  the room. That figure does not include any services. Fireman Tony Zee of the Pasadena  Outreach Response Team (PORT) confirmed that fact to me this month.

Volunteers of America LA is the service provider for the Baldwin Park tiny shelter  community. Per Brielle Acevedo from SGV Regional Housing Trust, operating costs are  $87 per client per day. This includes security, resident support staff, facilities  maintenance, 3 meals a day and full-time case management which includes housing navigation assistance, linkage to benefits, ID assistance, assistance with job search and  transportation for offsite services, etc.

I have been advised by management from homeless service provider Sycamores that it has 134 beds of scattered site mostly two-bedroom apartments for young adults ages 18- 25 all over LA County, with supportive services. Daily room costs are approximately $80.00 and all program supportive services are approximately $65 per person per day.

I have contacted management at Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission which operates six different tiny shelter communities (349 homes; 908 beds). Chief Program Officer Laurie  Craft advised me that, by the first week of January, HOTV will respond to my request for  a cost analysis for its operations at their tiny shelter communities. Since HOTV has  substantial experience operating tiny shelter communities, it would be helpful to have  their input during the upcoming meeting to discuss tiny shelter communities.

3. Request for list of potential City-owned properties that could be available  for a tiny shelter community

Vice Mayor Wilson requested staff to let the Committee know of any City property that  could potentially be available for a tiny home community. (1:01:00.)

4. Request for more detailed information on tiny shelter communities

Councilmember Rivas requested information on the tiny shelter option “beyond the  operational costs.” She requested information on what the program is like and how  successful it is. (1:06:30.)

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5. Requests re: sufficiency of funding for motel vouchers to meet the need

On the issue of whether the City has sufficient motel “vouchers,” Councilmember Rivas  stated “So it looks like you’re coming back to us as needed to bolster these funds. I look  forward to seeing that if necessary.” Ms. O’Reilly Jones responded “We’ll be there.”  (1:11:00.) Councilmember Hampton also stated “Sounds as though this is going to be  fluid and as you need money you will be coming back to us or at least ask the City  Manager ‘for discretion.’ I definitely support making sure that anyone who needs  vouchers receives one and is off the street into a warm space.” (1:16:00.)

This discussion needs to be clarified. It is unclear as to whether it relates to motel rooms  for bad weather only or for motel rooms that provide interim housing for the many  months that may be required to obtain permanent housing.

In any event, Fireman Tony Zee who is a member of PORT Team #1 advised me on  December 15, 2021, that the Department of Public Health received an additional  $200,000 from the Housing Department for motel vouchers. They have 30 persons in  motels until December 29, 2021. PORT will need to receive additional funds to shelter  these persons beyond that date.

6. Request for information related to public safety

Councilmember Madison requested that the Pasadena Police Department (PPD) weigh in  about the motel voucher program and about ways it can be improved if we are going to  spend this kind of money. (1:15:00.) Vice Mayor Wilson also requested PPD input on  safety issues — whether there is a correlation between where the “vouchers” are used and  calls for service. (1:24:00.)

B. Community Member Requests for Information

1. What City-generated funds are used, and could be used for interim  housing of our unsheltered residents?

In addition to the information requested above, additional information is necessary to  address other gaps. Ms. O’Reilly-Jones stated in her presentation that the City primarily  “funds” the motel voucher program, while site based and transitional housing are funded  by the county and through private sources. (31:22.)

However, while the City expends funds for the motel voucher program, it is unclear  whether any of those funds are from the City’s revenues. According to the Housing  Department’s July 12, 2021 response to my first PRA request, the Department’s FY 2022  Adopted Budget “includes $835,344 for motel vouchers and other interim housing.” The  chart the Department provided me shows that none of those funds are from city-generated

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revenues. (See Attachment 2.) The City apparently simply intends to expend funds it  receives from federal and state governments and from LA County (Measure H).

Why is this important? Before our leaders and community members can determine whether our City is doing enough to shelter our unsheltered residents and whether the  City can and should do more, we need to know what the City is actually funding, if  anything. Our community is entitled to transparency on this issue.

Councilmember Madison stated at the meeting that it is “shameful” that the issue of  interim housing falls upon the City “to the extent it does.” “We clearly need state or  federal programs and resources to address the ‘pandemic’ of homelessness and I’m  talking about the long-term, chronic, service resistant, heavily involved in substance  abuse and mental health challenged homeless population.” (1:12:00.)

But it is clear from responses I have received from staff and from staff presentations at  City Council meetings that our state and federal governments are already providing very  substantial funding to our City to combat homelessness. On the other hand, it is unclear  how much, if anything, the City is providing in financial resources for interim housing.  Likewise, as for weather-activated motel vouchers for inclement weather, are any City generated funds used for those vouchers or are those motel and other expenses all funded by the federal/state/county governments as well?

Our Housing Department gets a scant $1.475 million from the General Fund while our  Police Department gets over $84 million from the General Fund. The Police Department  received so much money last fiscal year that it had purported operational “savings” of  $2.3 million, which the City Council allowed to be used to remodel its headquarters and  replace its functioning mobile operations center. And when the City received $26 million  from the federal government in American Rescue Plan Act funds, the Council allocated  more money for the traffic signal at Orange Grove Boulevard and Craig Avenue than for  interim housing for our unsheltered neighbors. The city CAN provide funding to  alleviate human suffering experienced by persons living on the street. Our city leaders  need to take urgent action to do so.

2. Will our City have enough weather-activated motel vouchers to shelter all  who want to be sheltered this winter in inclement weather?

Aside from the issues related to motel vouchers for interim housing over extended  periods of time, it is unclear whether there are sufficient “weather-activated” vouchers to  shelter people during rain or freezing temperatures. Councilmember Rivas asked Ms.  O’Reilly-Jones “It’s getting cold now. Do we have enough vouchers for this cold weather  season?” Ms. O’Reilly-Jones did not directly answer the question, but stated that, like  last year, City staff is organizing a network of homeless service providers who will  provide motel vouchers throughout the season. “We’re putting the resources we have

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behind it. And we’re looking to move additional resources behind this effort where we  can.” (1:10:00.)

What “resources” is staff talking about and how can additional funding for weather activated motel rooms be employed NOW for those who want and need shelter? We have already experienced several days and nights of rain this winter. The Friends In  Deed website states “Friends In Deed will also have a limited number of motel room one night stays to offer the most vulnerable members of the community.” Rabbi Grater,  Executive Director of Friends In Deed, advised me on December 21, 2021, that there is a  shortage of rooms available: “We are hoping to have 15 on any given weather night, but  I sincerely doubt that many will be open.”

In response to Councilmember Rivas’ question about whether staff would come back “to  us” as needed to bolster funding, Ms. O’Reilly Jones responded “We’ll be there.”  (1:11:00.) Our unsheltered persons and our community are relying on City staff to  request additional funding to shelter our unsheltered residents in bad weather.

C. Conclusion

Our City needs to urgently address the lack of sufficient interim housing in our City for our unsheltered residents and needs to quickly implement a plan to shelter them to  prevent death and needless suffering on the street. Many community members support  more interim housing in our City as evidenced by the over 200 signatures on the petition  for more interim housing for our unsheltered residents including, but not limited to, a tiny  shelter community in our City.2 Thank you for your time and consideration of this letter  and the attachments.

Sincerely,

/s/

Sonja K. Berndt, Esq. (retired)

Cc: William Huang, Director Pasadena Housing Department

Got something to say, email Managing Editor André Coleman, at andrec@pasadenanowmagazine.com