Title
The Alameda Wellness Center (McKay Avenue Project)
Body
Date: June 28, 2017
To: Social Service Human Relations Board
From: Ana Bagtas, Management Analyst
Re: The Alameda Wellness Center (McKay Avenue Project)
BACKGROUND
The Charter of the City of Alameda assigns the Social Service Human Relations Board (“the Board”) the responsibility “to assess the social service needs of the community and to facilitate provision therefor” [Section 15-1(A)]. The Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) further states that the intended purpose of the Board is “to create an environment which will encourage and bring about mutual understanding, respect and good will among groups of people in the community and to improve social services in the community” (AMC 2-9.1). It is the Board’s duty to:
• Encourage the formation of private social welfare organizations to meet needs not already provided for and to foster all worthy philanthropic enterprises (AMC 2-9.4.a); and
• Assess and report to the City Council the social service needs of the people and the methods of meeting those needs (AMC 2-9.4.e).
To fulfill these responsibilities, the Board periodically surveys Alameda residents to determine the scope of the community needs and to evaluate and publicize resources to meet those needs. The Board completed its most recent assessment of the community’s needs in November 2017 and accepted the 2017 Community Needs Assessment report at its April 26, 2018 meeting. The City Council accepted the Needs Assessment report at its June 5 meeting. The assessment found that health care facilities was the third most high need facilities rated by Alameda residents, next to Recreation and Parks’ fields/courts and community pools. The report also noted homeless shelters/homeless services as the second most pressing social services need in the City of Alameda, behind transportation.
Also at the April 26, 2018 meeting, the Board heard a presentation (Exhibit 1) from Doug Biggs, Executive Director of the Alameda Point Collaborative, regarding the Alameda Wellness Center proposed to be built on McKay Avenue. Several written public comments were received and published on the City of Alameda website ahead of this meeting (Exhibit 2), and members of the public provided oral comments following Mr. Biggs’ presentation to the Board. Board members listened, but did not comment or discuss the presentation or the project.
DISCUSSION
As noted above, healthcare facilities and homeless services are two of the high need areas identified by local residents in the 2017 Community Needs Assessment survey. The proposed Alameda Wellness Center on McKay Avenue provides an opportunity to address these two critical issues. The Center’s proposed 90-bed assisted living facility will be home to the frailest and most vulnerable of the City of Alameda and Alameda County’s older adult population living in the streets and suffering from debilitating illnesses due to their complex and chronic medical and psychosocial conditions. The Center’s proposed 50-bed medical respite and rehabilitative facility also offers an upstream solution to a downstream problem by reducing the frequency of emergency room visits and avoiding hospital readmissions that are preventable with proper care transition support for homeless individuals. The City of Alameda has prepared an FAQ document (Exhibit 3) for additional background information on the Center.
Tonight, the Board has an opportunity to discuss the project and allow its members to comment and determine its next course of action pertaining to the Alameda Wellness Center project. The Alameda Wellness Center was referenced as one of the policy options for the homeless in the City’s Homelessness Report, which was prepared by the Board’s Homeless Action Plan Workgroup, the Housing Authority, and City staff and approved by the Board at its February 22, 2018 meeting. The Report was later adopted unanimously by the City Council on March 20, 2018.
Community Development staff recommends the following process for the Board’s consideration as it deliberates its response to the Alameda Wellness Center project:
• Refer the matter to the Board’s Homeless Action Plan Workgroup
• Instruct the Homeless Action Plan Workgroup to prepare a statement of position for the Board’s consideration at a future meeting
Exhibits:
1. Alameda Wellness Center presentation
2. Written Public Comments
3. Alameda Wellness Center FAQs