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Community Action Plan – Key Items for Consideration

Community Action Plan

Community Action Plan

Key Items for Consideration

Six key items have been identified that should be addressed by the Leadership Council and Interagency Implementation Team early in its formation. These items are complex in nature, and require close coordination and alignment between partners to identify appropriate paths for resolution.

  1. Increase Behavioral Health Resources
  2. Improve Homeless-Specific Voucher Utilization
  3. Decrease Negative Impacts of Ordinance Enforcement on People Experiencing Homelessness
  4. Create a Comprehensive, Client-Centered Outreach Framework
  5. Evaluate Housing Navigation Center and Day Center
  6. Consideration of Staffing Resources to Support the Plan

1. Increase Behavioral Health Resources:

October 2019 Report: “The City has a need of additional behavioral health resources along with other health and human services supports to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and those who are in permanent supportive housing. The County must be engaged to address the shortages and ensure resources are comprehensive and meet the needs of those with high barriers because the City does not control these resources.”

2. Improve Homeless-Specific Voucher Utilization:

October 2019 Report: “These vouchers are currently underutilized. System barriers that negatively impact utilization rates should be addressed in partnership with service partner agencies.”

3. Decrease Negative Impacts of Ordinance Enforcement on People Experiencing Homelessness:

October 2019 Report: “City partners should engage with community advocates and people with lived experience through a facilitated dialogue to better understand how policies negatively impact people experiencing homelessness and the front line staff working with them. A balanced plan should be established to reduce criminalization of persons experiencing homelessness, and access to homeless court should be increased.”

4. Create a Comprehensive, Client-Centered Outreach Framework:

October 2019 Report: “Leadership, in consultation with subject matter experts, should develop a comprehensive outreach framework that coordinates City-wide efforts more effectively and moves the approach from contact-based to housing-focused outreach. The City and its partners should implement an approach that relies on service providers with expertise in this area (including clinical teams) to coordinate and carry out core outreach functions rather than the SDPD.”

October 2019 Report: “Leadership, in consultation with subject matter experts, should develop a comprehensive outreach framework that coordinates City-wide efforts more effectively and moves the approach from contact-based to housing-focused outreach. The City and its partners should implement an approach that relies on service providers with expertise in this area (including clinical teams) to coordinate and carry out core outreach functions rather than the SDPD.”

6. Consideration of Staffing Resources to Support the Plan:

October 2019 Report: “Staffing at each of the entities that comprise the Implementation Team should be reviewed so that adequate resources can be provided to support the Plan.”

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1. Increase Behavioral Health Resources:

Details: The implementation team is in ongoing conversations with the County to broaden the eligibility of Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) vouchers to be more client-centered. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the FY 2020-21 budget, which includes $5.4 million for the County fund essential supportive services for individuals who reside at permanent supportive housing locations.

2. Improve Homeless-Specific Voucher Utilization:

Update, First Quarter 2021:

Details: Operation Shelter to Home provided an opportunity to improve the utilization of Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) and Project One for All (POFA) vouchers. Through coordination with local, regional and federal leaders, including leaders from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and operational staff, barriers around how the VASH program historically operated were addressed. This led to a dramatically higher utilization rate of VASH vouchers.

The County contracted with Mental Health Systems (MHS) to provide services on-site at the Convention Center to actively identify individuals that may be eligible for POFA vouchers. In addition SDHC staff worked closely with MHS, contracted POFA service providers, and County Behavioral Health Services (BHS) leadership to reduce barriers to process and increase voucher utilization. The political will and leadership of the office of former Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer, County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, RTFH CEO Tamera Kohler and SDHC President & CEO Richard C. Gentry have been integral in achieving these successes with the VA and County BHS partners.

3. Decrease Negative Impacts of Ordinance Enforcement on People Experiencing Homelessness:

Update, First Quarter 2021:

Details: In recent years, the City of San Diego has changed the way it interacts with individuals experiencing homelessness. This includes a new Coordinated Street Outreach Program that the City Council approved on October 27, 2020, the establishment of the San Diego Police Department’s Neighborhood Policing Division, and improvements to the Homeless Court program.

The new Coordinated Outreach Program, operated and staffed by an experienced homelessness service provider, incorporates a neighborhood-specific approach with proactive contacts with residents, business owners, and civic organizations. It builds upon a 2018 pilot program that started in the Mid-City area. The new program is currently being implemented.

The program consists of two main service elements:

  • A Rapid Response Team that focuses in areas with known concentrations of individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness and provides immediate intervention and problem-solving resources while working to improve the individual’s sense of safety and helping to meet their basic needs.
  • A Mobile Homelessness Response Team that provides intensive street-based case management, prioritizing interactions with individuals who are among the City’s most vulnerable. This team also works to identify individuals who may already be connected to a housing resource and are on a localized list developed in collaboration with the Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH). This team’s efforts will help individuals address any barriers to getting housing, such as obtaining identification, accessing primary care and seeking employment resources.

PATH San Diego operates the outreach program through a contract with the San Diego Housing Commission.

In addition, the San Diego Police Department established its Neighborhood Policing Division to help serve as a bridge between communities with concerns about quality-of-life issues, including homelessness-related issues, and individuals experiencing homelessness who need social services. The division includes the non-enforcement-focused Homeless Outreach Team.

The City’s enhancements to the Homeless Court program make it available to a larger group of individuals and allow for resolution of parking violations, as well as other outstanding criminal matters.

The City and SDPD also participate in a variety of programs that offer treatment and alternatives to and diversion away from the criminal justice system.

Update, Second Quarter 2021

The City of San Diego’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which Mayor Todd Gloria proposed and the City Council approved on June 14, 2021, includes $1 million to expand the Coordinated Street Outreach Program. This expansion will support more than 13 additional full-time equivalent staff positions.

In March 2021 Mayor Gloria also directed changes to policies regarding the City’s response to homeless encampments and the belongings of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. These changes provide a more person-centered approach to environmental services cleanings. Some of the changes include suspension of cleanups and enforcement during inclement weather, suspension of cleanups at night, and easier means to retrieve personal items removed during cleanups.

For more information on these and additional changes, click here.

4. Create a Comprehensive, Client-Centered Outreach Framework:

Update, First Quarter 2021:

Details: On January 16, 2020, RTFH adopted an unsheltered and encampment policy to provide guidance on a shared vision and approach among the San Diego region for addressing the needs of unsheltered persons including those in encampments.

Additionally, the Housing Authority of the City of San Diego and the City Council approved the Neighborhood-Based Coordinated Street Outreach Program on October 27, 2020. The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) contracts with People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) San Diego to operate the Coordinated Street Outreach Program. SDHC will also hire an Outreach Coordinator to provide direction and support to the program. The initiative aligns with one of the Key Items for Consideration identified in the Plan, as well as the Foundational Strategies to implement a systems-level approach and create a client-centered homeless assistance system.

Using a neighborhood-based approach, the Coordinated Street Outreach Program strategically engages people experiencing homelessness to divert them from the homeless response system and facilitate permanent housing placements. The program also meets basic needs and provides connections for individuals experiencing homelessness. The program focuses on the quality of each engagement compared to the quantity of engagements and is client-centric and housing-focused, following Housing First principles.

The program will consist of two main service elements:

  • A Rapid Response Team that focuses in areas with known concentrations of individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness and provide immediate intervention and problem-solving resources while working to improve the individual’s sense of safety and helping to meet their basic needs.
  • A Mobile Homelessness Response Team that provides intensive street-based case management, prioritizing interactions with individuals who are among the City’s most vulnerable. This team also works to identify individuals who may already be connected to a housing resource and are on a localized list developed in collaboration with the Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH). This team’s efforts will help individuals address any barriers to getting housing, such as obtaining identification, accessing primary care and seeking employment resources.

Update, Second Quarter 2021

The City of San Diego’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which Mayor Todd Gloria proposed and the City Council approved on June 14, 2021, includes $1 million to expand the Coordinated Street Outreach Program. This expansion will support more than 13 additional full-time equivalent staff positions.

5. Evaluate Housing Navigation Center and Day Center:

Update, First Quarter 2021:

Details: The process to have a third-party evaluation of the programs was suspended due to the unique operating conditions created/implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, new practices were piloted as part of Operation Shelter to Home to improve performance across the homeless crisis response system, and the successful practices and lessons learned will be incorporated into future programming. Based on those lessons learned and the successes achieved through Operation Shelter to Home, a proposal from SDHC for implementation of a Homelessness Response Center (HRC) was approved by the City Council and Housing Authority on October 27, 2020. The HRC opened in May 2021 following the wind-down of Operation Shelter to Home at the Convention Center.

6. Consideration of Staffing Resources to Support the Plan:

Details: A Project Manager was identified for Plan implementation to keep the process on track, and to provide support to senior staff.