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Home My WebLink About08/23/2022 - Special Meeting Staff: Committee Members: Christian Clegg, City Manager Vice-Mayor Ken Weir – Chair Anthony Valdez, Assistant to the City Manager Councilmember Patty Gray Juan Heredia, Administrative Analyst III Councilmember Eric Arias Special Meeting of the Homelessness Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council – City of Bakersfield Tuesday, August 23, 2022 12:00 p.m. Open Door Network: Job Center 1420 Union Avenue, Bakersfield CA 93305 AGENDA 1) ROLL CALL 2) PUBLIC STATEMENTS a. Agenda Item Public Statements b. Non-Agenda Item Public Statements 3) ADOPTION OF THE JULY 26, 2022 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT 4) STAFF REPORT a. Staff update on the City’s efforts to address homelessness – Valdez 5) NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion and tour of Open-Door Network’s Job Center Program - Valdez 6) COMMITTEE COMMENTS 7) ADJOURNMENT /S/ Christian Clegg Staff: Committee Members: Christian Clegg, City Manager Vice-Mayor Ken Weir – Chair Anthony Valdez, Assistant to the City Manager Councilmember Patty Gray Juan Heredia, Administrative Analyst III Councilmember Eric Arias Special Meeting of the Homelessness Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council – City of Bakersfield Tuesday, July 26, 2022 12:00 p.m. Mercy House: Brundage Lane Navigation Center, Conference Room 1900 E. Brundage Lane, Suite 1, Bakersfield CA 93307 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Meeting called to order at 12:05 p.m. 1) ROLL CALL Committee Members: Councilmember Ken Weir, Chair Councilmember, Eric Arias Councilmember, Patty Gray City Staff: Scott Andrews, Assistant City Manager Anthony Valdez, Assistant to the City Manager Juan Heredia, Administrative Analyst III Robert Voyles, Public Works Operations Manager Ashley Zambrano, Deputy City Attorney Elizabeth Villanueva, Associate Attorney Joe Conroy, Public Information Officer Theo Dues, Program Manager, Mercy House Additional Attendees: Members of the public 2) PUBLIC STATEMENTS Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness Special Meeting July 26 Agenda Page 2 a. Agenda Item Public Statements - None b. Non-Agenda Item Public Statements - None 3) ADOPTION OF THE JUNE 28, 2022 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Motion by Councilmember Gray, seconded by Councilmember Arias, to adopt June 28, 2022 agenda summary report. Motion was unanimously approved. 4) STAFF REPORT a. Staff update on the City’s efforts to address homelessness – Valdez Assistant to the city Manager Anthony Valdez provided a monthly update on city’s efforts to address homeless with the City’s contracted partners. Councilmember Gray commended all efforts by city partners and commented on the number of individuals moved into permanent housing. 5) NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion and tour of construction expansion of the City of Bakersfield’s Brundage Lane Navigation Center – Valdez In advance of the tour of the Brundage Lance Navigation Center expansion, Assistant to the City Manager Anthony Valdez provided a look back at the efforts made since 2020 and the progress made. As of January, Point In Time 744 in shelter and 600+ unsheltered. For the first time in recent years there are more sheltered individuals than unsheltered. Mr. Valdez introduced Theo Dues, with Mercy House to give the committee some insight on what they are doing for their clients. Mr. Dues talked about a key idea behind their success is based on WHY they do what they and is rooted in human dignity. Mercy House’s model of service is founded on three main ideas: 1) They are trauma informed 2) they are low barrier and 3) they are housing first. Councilmember Gray loved the philosophy behind Mercy House’s model. Ms. Gray went on to ask how housing first is sustainable when so many individuals have trauma, mental health or substance abuse issues, mentioning the 158 placements. Mr. Dues explained that having established quality system of aftercare which includes social workers and case managers that continue to address the issues that lead them to BLNC. Because of the model in place, 90% of placements organization wide have maintained retention. Councilmember Eric Arias thanked the group and provided a testimony of the BLNC being the ideal place to go to when one is experiencing homelessness. Mr. Arias asked about the housing first element and are there any challenges? Mr. Dues responded that it is much more cost effective than Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness Special Meeting July 26 Agenda Page 3 making individuals navigate through a long system first. Mr. Dues also commented on the team effort by local agencies to ensure that individuals get matched up with homes. Council member Weir expressed his gratitude for being able to participate in the tour. Mr. Valdez provided the group a brief view of the plans and they moved to tour the expansion of the Brundage Lane Navigation Center. The meeting resumed after the tour. 6) COMMITTEE COMMENTS - None 7) ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 1:04 p.m. Page 1 of 2 Bakersfield City Council Homelessness Ad-Hoc Committee Monthly Report: July 2022 The City of Bakersfield contracts with Flood Ministries for street outreach services to unsheltered individuals. July Report Weekly Average Contacts with homeless individuals in the field 102 City’s Brundage Lane Navigation Center (BLNC) turn-aways due to lack of dorm or pet capacity (includes field contacts, walk-in, and call-ins) 178 BLNC turn-aways due to lack of dorm capacity 156 Male 55 Male with pet 4 Female 48 Female with pet 9 Couple (# of individuals) 29 Couple with pet (# of individuals) 11 BLNC turn-aways due to lack of pet capacity 22 Male 3 Female 9 Couple (# of individuals) 11 Service Resistance Monthly Total Shelter referrals received for an individual from the following sources: Executive Referrals & Elected Officials City and County Staff Email & Social Media City and County Code Compliance City and County Joint Evaluation Teams Bakersfield Police Department & Kern County Sheriff’s Office County Park Rangers Flood Ministries Front Desk Flood Community Referral Line Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (HAT, ROEM, etc.) 111 Referred individuals who refused shelter 46 Percentage of individuals refusing service 41% Page 2 of 2 The City of Bakersfield contracts with Mercy House to operate all aspects of the City’s Brundage Lane Navigation Center (BLNC). July Report Weekly Average Maximum Capacity % Of Capacity Filled Weekly City’s Brundage Lane Navigation Center beds filled 147 150* 95% Male 74 76 94% Female 54 54 94% Couple (# of individuals) 19 20 100% Housing Placements July Total Fiscal YTD Placed in permanent housing 4 4 Guest/Family reunifications 1 1 * BLNC’s maximum capacity is 150 beds. Each night four (4) beds are held open for the Bakersfield Police Department to utilize which brings the functional capacity to 146. The City of Bakersfield contracts with the Open Door Network for a jobs program serving multiple City functions, including but not limited to downtown ambassadors, green solid waste, high-way clean-up, animal shelter, and sump cleaning. The new City-funded Open Door Network Jobs Center building was completed in December. July Report June Total Calendar YTD Max. Capacity % Filled Newly Hired Employees 15 51 -- -- Current Employees 115 -- 109 106% Male 72 -- -- -- Female 43 -- -- -- Program Participants Placed in Permanent Jobs 3 12 -- --