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Home My WebLink About01/21/2020 04Aiii Report Regarding Chamber Homless Summit a\'4\lyy bxk ik 1 " PPd +� PPP d g. P A PPPPPP+Pd s' lii it tYlltYlA.\ta. BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No.A.iii. For Meeting of: January 21, 2020 ITEM TITLE: Report from Chamber of Commerce Board President Bob Gerst regarding the Chamber Homeless Summit SUBMITTED BY: Alex Meyerhoff, Interim City Manager SUMMARY EXPLANATION: Mr. Gerst will report on the Chamber of Commerce homeless summit meeting held on November 20, 2019. ITEM BUDGETED: STRATEGIC PRIORITY: APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL BY THE CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION: ATTACHMENTS: Description Upload Date Type note 1/1 /2020 r Me o 2 Homeless Summit — Meeting notes November 20th, 2019 Potential Short-Term ideas (Present through 18-months) discussed: • Restrooms placed in Downtown area • Involvement from Citizens in the Night Time Counts • More After School programs • Secured Storage facilities available • Shorter Park hours • Create a Block Watch for specific downtown areas • Stronger language in City Ordinances • Awareness of two separate types of homeless (i.e. Mental issues, Addictions) • Invitation for Homeless to attend our meetings • Lobby for change within City Government — Business owners • Fix the problem at night • Incentives — Motivation • Key access in defensible safe Tent Camp • Build relations with organizations and businesses • Case workers — outreach • Hire Code enforcers • Convert property into Affordable Housing • Enforcement • Create Business Response Team • Recruit Mental Health Professionals • Managed Camp • Involve Prosecutors —Judges 3 Roundtable of concerns from business owners, non-profit organizations, and city government: • More temporary housing facilities needed to be created • Concern of all the funding going towards the 15t street improvements will go to waste • Create other housing facilities and/or solutions for the homeless youth • Currently there are 56 YPD but additional funding would be needed for homeless support, It could be more accurate to state that YPD is already at capacity addressing violent crime and issues other than trespassing individuals. There was also a comment about the fact these cases are not prosecuted speaking to the capacity of the prosecutor's office. • Mental Health concerns and addictions are the core to all homelessness — "Human Brokenness" lies underneath these issues. • Healing, recovery, and well-being is needed • Camp HOPE provides shelter, transportation, clean up, counsel — call them when issues arise versus YPD • Businesses need to step up and be part of the process, not just expect service organizations to help • More shelters are needed for women (and single parents) • Stronger language ordinances are needed in the Downtown area, especially along Naches Ave. • Point in Time — count homeless program needs more involvement and support • Create "Code Task Enforcers" not more Police Officers • More Case management is needed within the shelters and city— long term • How can we create more "positive exits" for the homeless so they succeed? • Sunrise Outreach can also help with Youth outreach and support (collaborate with Rod's House) • Fire Department puts out lots of fires from homeless camps; concerns of property damages • If we force them out of one area, they will just move to another 4 • Short term housing facilities with mental health and addiction • Long term we need to concentrate on our Youth programs 9-14 yr. old's, crucial. • How are we going to pay for more Affordable Housing? addressing the need to identify funding for more permanent housing — but does not capture the comments around addressing prevention and rapid rehousing (though some of the parking lot items include things such as after school programs) • Not everyone who is homeless is an addict or has a mental health issue • To stay in a shelter, a person but give up all of their belongings (this was addressed in the short-term list —the need for storage) • Requiring "case Manager Involvement" to access personal belongings presumes that individuals are not already working with case managers • There are literally not enough housing units to house everyone • Should treatment be compelled under threat of arrest — how will those services be paid for (presuming they are not already in services). • Comments about how public bathroom facilities did not work in Seattle. • The most effective efforts for reducing street homelessness will be implemented at night. That's when the most disruptively-behaving population is at its most disaggregated, and when these people's behaviors are the least ambiguous as to their legality.