Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a One-Year Agreement from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024 with The Village of Love Foundation to Provide Homeless Outreach Team Services for Alameda's Homeless Population in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $296,415; and
Adoption of Resolution Amending the Fiscal Year 2023-24 General Fund Budget to Appropriate an Additional $131,415 from General Fund Residual Fund Balance to the Homelessness Program. (City Manager 10021833)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At the first stage of intervention, the City of Alameda (City) serves its unhoused population on the streets through a Homeless Outreach Team (HOT). The need for mobile homeless outreach is present and growing as Alamedans continue to be adversely affected by the impact of rising housing prices, the inflation of costs for basic needs like food and toiletries, family trauma, and serious mental health illnesses. According to the February 2022 Point-In-Time count, the City has 264 homeless individuals. Staff recommends the following: 1) continue to offer the HOT services; 2) add a second full-time outreach worker, who would be a mental health case manager, to work with unhoused individuals who need intensive mental health support; and 3) continue to engage The Village of Love Foundation (VOL) to provide the HOT services. Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a one-year agreement beginning October 1, 2023 and continuing to September 30, 2024 with VOL for an amount not-to-exceed $296,415 for the HOT services.
BACKGROUND
In May 2022, staff issued a request for proposal (RFP) for the continuation of HOT services. Two providers returned applications - The Village of Love Foundation (VOL) and Operation Dignity. Staff evaluated both proposals, interviewed both organizations, and identified VOL as the stronger candidate. For the past seven months, VOL’s HOT has served on average 116 individuals per month, distributing more than 900 meals and/or hygiene kits to individuals living on the streets of Alameda.
VOL is a successful and well-respected service provider that works collaboratively with social service agencies and various City departments on a regular basis. VOL has demonstrated a clear understanding of mobile outreach work based on their work in the Cities of Alameda, Oakland, and Berkeley. VOL’s model is to recruit employees with a passion to serve the unhoused, interact with unhoused members of the community with dignity and respect, and prioritize the value of empathy that is often times rooted in staff’s personal experience. Due to these values, VOL has a high rate of staff retention in a field where other providers struggle to maintain staffing levels. VOL plays a critical role in the journey from homelessness to supportive housing solutions. VOL is able to meet the unhoused on the street, offer basic services, develop relationships and refer individuals forward to supportive housing options as appropriate, including Day Center Services emergency shelter beds, Safe Sheltering trailer program, and the Emergency Supportive Housing program.
Staff from the VOL HOT, the City’s Housing and Human Services Division, Police Department, Fire Department, CARE Team and its case management provider, Alameda Family Services, are all seeing the need for ongoing and intensive mental health services for individuals experiencing homelessness in Alameda. Adding an additional outreach worker to the HOT with a focus and expertise on working with people experiencing mental health issues will increase the effectiveness of the homeless outreach work and VOL’s capacity to coordinate with the CARE Team and Alameda Family Services to provide ongoing case management, care and identify permanent supportive services.
DISCUSSION
Housing shortages, high rents, and the increase in the cost of goods and services, contribute to homelessness in our region. The economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation rates and the phasing out of eviction moratorium policies further exacerbated the issue. Persons of color are disproportionately affected. Support for individuals and families experiencing homelessness or at-risk of becoming homeless is critical and needed. Providing HOT services to directly outreach and connect with unhoused people and families in Alameda is essential and VOL is a strong partner with the City in this work. As emergency and transitional housing opportunities are further developed within the community, having a culturally competent and compassionate mobile outreach provider in place becomes critical to serving unsheltered individuals and families and helping them successfully transition from the streets to a supportive, sheltered environment where they are able to stabilize and connect with services that will lead toward permanent housing and self-sufficiency.
VOL’s HOT is the first step for intervention for Alameda’s unhoused individuals living on the streets. The HOT is tasked with building and leveraging relationships to serve the most vulnerable individuals in the community. VOL HOT services include:
• Staffing a full-time outreach worker, and a part-time outreach worker during weekend days,
• Staffing a full-time case manager with mental health expertise that coordinates closely with Alameda Family Services case managers working with the Alameda Fire Department CARE Team,
• Delivering of services with a harm reduction approach,
• Linking individuals and families to services,
• Providing office-based and street-based case management,
• Completing housing preparation work,
• Supporting City homeless encampment clean ups,
• Outreaching to individuals living on the street,
• Coordinating and cooperating with ongoing services and providers, and
• Responding to reports of encamped individuals to offer services and promote safety.
During the past year, VOL’s HOT staff provided critical expertise in building trust and helping individuals move from Alameda’s streets to shelters. In the process, both City and VOL staff observed that there is a higher need population that is also more difficult to address. These individuals are also often most highly visible and noticed by community members. The proposed HOT services expense for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 is $131,415 more than the $165,000 budget for homeless outreach services that City Council approved on June 20, 2023. The additional budget appropriation includes funding a second full-time outreach worker who would serve as a mental health case manager and the associated administrative costs. Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a contract, as described above, with VOL to provide HOT services for Alameda’s homeless population.
ALTERNATIVES
• Authorize the City Manager to execute a one-year agreement in the amount of $296,415, including an additional budget appropriation of $131,415 from the General Fund Unassigned Reserves, from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024 with VOL to provide HOT and additional mental health services and coordination services for Alameda’s homeless population.
• Direct staff to contract for HOT services without adding an additional full-time case manager with mental health expertise. The total agreement amount would be $165,000 which is included in the City Council approved FY 2023-24 budget.
• Direct staff to select a different service provider than VOL.
• Decline to move forward with the service provider agreement, which will significantly decrease the City’s ability to address homeless encampments and provide services to individuals who are unhoused in Alameda. City staff, including the Police Department, and Fire Department’s CARE Team have limited resources to serve people who are unhoused.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The FY 2023-24 budget previously approved by City Council includes $165,000 for HOT services estimated based on the existing service level. The proposed agreement would increase the service level by adding a second full-time outreach worker who would serve as a case manager with mental health expertise and associated administrative costs. As a result, staff is requesting additional appropriation of $131,415 from the General Fund residual fund balance to expand the provision of mental health services.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is consistent with the Social Services Human Relations Board Charter and Ordinance authority “to improve social services in the community” (Alameda Municipal Code Section 2-11.5) and the Report on Homelessness Policies and Programs.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.
CLIMATE IMPACT
The Social Vulnerability Assessment section of the draft Climate Action and Resiliency Plan states:
“adaptation strategies should consider how [the homeless] will receive emergency communications and how they will be sheltered. Proper, safe housing for all is an adaptation and resilience strategy. Planning strategies should always consider these vulnerable populations in adaptation efforts.”
HOT funding will help some of the most vulnerable in our community who are living with the consequences of climate change. Mobile outreach workers may be deployed to reach and help unsheltered individuals in order to connect them to services and other assistance.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a one-year agreement from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024 with The Village of Love Foundation (VOLF) to provide HOT services for Alameda's homeless population in an amount not-to-exceed $296,415; and adopt a Resolution amending the FY 2023-24 General Fund budget to appropriate an additional $131,415 from the General Fund residual fund balance for the provision of mental health assistance to Alameda’s unhoused.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Wooldridge, Assistant City Manager
By,
Lisa Fitts, Community Development Manager
Marcie Johnson, Social Services Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Agreement