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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFMCoC Meeting Minutes 5.13.21Page 1 of 5 Fresno Madera Continuum of Care Board Meeting Date: May 13, 2021 Type: General Meeting Time: 8:30 a.m. Chair: Laura Moreno Location: BlueJeans Video Conferencing 2021 FMCoC Board of Directors Attendance Log: Committee Position Director Organization / Agency Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Treasurer Misty Gattie-Blanco A: Chrystal Streets Fresno EOC Sanctuary P P P P P Andrea Evans A: Joseph Evans Valley Teen Ranch P P P P P Vice Chair Jody Ketcheside A: Latasha Hollins Turning Point Central California P P P P P Pamela Hancock A: Cheryl Vieira Fresno County Superintendent of Schools AP P AP P P Jeannemarie Caris- McManus A: Yanitza Castro Westside Family Preservation Services Network P P P P AP Aprille Meza A: Kerin Blasingame Clovis Unified School District A A A A A Secretary Sara Mirhadi A: Zachary Darrah Poverello House P P P P P Virginia Sparks A: Ana Cisneros Kings View P P P P AP Collaborative Applicant Rep. Doreen Eley A: Tiffany Chavarria Fresno Housing Authority P P P P P Alyce Belford A: Edith Rico Mental Health Systems, Inc. A P P A AP Ester Miramontes A: Gregory Coleman Clinica Sierra Vista AP A P P P Nikki Love A: Brandi Snow Central California Legal Services, Inc. A A A A A Alma Martinez A: Gayle Holman Community Medical Centers P P P P AP David Bacci A: Valerie Norvell Hospital Council of North and Central CA AP P A P AP Susan Holt A: Jolie Gordon-Browar Fresno County DBH P P P P AP Zaven Kalebjian A: Tom Gray Wings Advocacy Fresno A P P P P Margarita Rocha A: Ilse Gallardo Centro la Familia AP AP AP AP A Rain Chamberlain Navigating Structures A A A A P Chia Thao A: Patricia Yost Elder Abuse Services, Inc. P AP P P A Delfina Vazquez A: Angela Hernandez Selma C.O.M. A A P A P Debra Rush A: Arturo Correa Breaking the Chains A A P AP AP Page 2 of 5 Regional Rep. Heidi Crabtree A: Andrew Haussler City of Clovis P P P A A Chair/Regional Rep. Laura Moreno A: Shannon Duncan County of Fresno DSS P P P P P Regional Rep. H Spees A: Erika Lopez City of Fresno P P P P P Regional Rep. Elizabeth Wisener A: Ariana Gomez Community Action Partnership Madera P P P P P Sharon Diaz A: Eleanor Belmontes Madera County DSS A A P AP AP Connie Moreno- Peraza A: Julie Morgan Madera County BHS A A AP A AP Matthew Treber A: Joel Bugay County of Madera P P P P AP Immediate Past Chair Shawn Jenkins A: MaryAnn Knoy WestCare P P AP AP AP Laura Lopez A: Leticia Campos Marjaree Mason Center P AP P P P Member At Large MaryAnn Knoy WestCare P P P P P Member At Large Katie Wilbur A: Wayne Rutledge RH Community Builders AP P P P P Felix Aboh A: Deborah Goodel Felix Aboh – Eternal Life Gospel P P P P A Loraine Goodwin Greenhouse A A A A A Jessica Berzac A: Ryan Wilson Upholdings P P P AP P Cassandra Parker A: Joanna Litchenberg Focus Forward A A P P P Key: Present = P Alternate Present = AP Absent = A * Due to the virtual nature of the meeting, only the names of the Directors and their Alternates will be captured and not the meeting participants. Agenda/Minutes Agenda: Informational: Butterfly Gardens – Jessica Berzac COVID-19 Resource and Vaccination Updates – Monica Porter Independent Living Association – Elizabeth Williams Racial Equity Materials – Doreen Eley HMIS Update – Doreen Eley Emergency Housing Vouchers – Doreen Eley San Joaquin Valley Vets Update – Jenny Gonzalez County of Fresno Update – Shannon Duncan City of Fresno Update – H Spees County of Madera Update – Elizabeth Wisener Unscheduled Announcements Page 3 of 5 Minutes: The meeting was called to order by Chair Laura Moreno at 8:30 am. A quorum was established Action Items: Approval of May Agenda, April Minutes, and Financial Report – Laura Moreno: Doreen Eley requested to add “Emergency Housing Vouchers” to the May meeting agenda under Informational. The revised May meeting agenda was approved along with the April meeting minutes and financial report. Motion: Sara Mirhadi Second: H Spees Abstentions: None Approved Approval of NOFA Scoring Tools and Policies – Jason Green-Lowe: Jason shared that annually there is a local competition to determine which projects should be recommended to HUD for funding and that the scoring tools and policies are used to decide which priority order will be sent to HUD. A community meeting was held on April 27, 2021, led by Home Base, to review the scoring tools and policies. Jason stated there were no suggestions or feedback received at the meeting and requested a vote to approve the NOFA scoring tools and policies. Jason shared that his last day with Homebase is June 4, 2021. Motion: Jody Ketcheside Second: Doreen Eley Abstentions: None Approved Informational Items: 1. Butterfly Gardens – Jessica Berzac: Jessica presented on a new joint project between Upholdings, Self Help Enterprises and the County of Fresno, Department of Behavioral Health (DBH). Butterfly Gardens is a Permanent Supportive Housing Project with 75 one-bedroom units for those 18 years and older, experiencing homelessness and living with mental illness. Leasing will go through the Coordinated Entry System (CES) in a partnership with DBH and the Fresno Housing Authority. The project closed financing the week of May 3, 2021 and began construction immediately. It is anticipated leasing with begin in the fall of 2022. All units will be furnished, and home kits will be provided. The Butterfly Gardens groundbreaking event will occur on May 14, 2021. 2. COVID-19 Resource and Vaccination Updates – Monica Porter: Monica, with Home Base, shared that the state of California has made in-home COVID vaccination and transportation services available. Residents can request in-home vaccinations or transit services to vaccination appointments by registering at myturn.ca.gov or by calling the CA Department of Public Health COVID-19 Call Center at 1-833-422-4255. In-home patient, medical transportation, and non-medical transportation to COVID vaccination appointments can be requested as soon as the next day. Additional options for transportation services are available through United Way 211 and Lyft ride sharing service. Monica shared that Lyft codes are available to get to vaccination appointments at no cost and that United Way is available to partner with local agencies to provide Lyft codes to their members. Paula Hernandez can be contacted at phernandez@unitedwayca.org for more information. Monica shared information from a document based on the CA Department of Public Health addressing vaccine hesitancy and misleading information. Monica also mentioned that COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave can be used by eligible employees if they cannot work or telework due to COVID-19. Homebase’s Vaccine Working Group meets every other Tuesday at 10:00 AM via Zoom and emails can be sent to covid19response@homesbaseccc.org to be added to the meeting list or to receive notes and supplemental resources from the group. Brandi Nuse-Villegas asked if any outreach was being done to educate the homeless community regarding the vaccine. Sara Mirhadi answered that Poverello House provides flyers to various encampments throughout Fresno County and ensures transportation can be provided if needed. Gayle Holman asked what the success rate of vaccinations for the homeless population has been. Sara replied that Poverello House has administered over 200 vaccinations Page 4 of 5 and that transportation has not been a barrier. Laura Moreno noted that the PowerPoint was informational and could be pulled from the meeting chat. 3. Independent Living Association – Elizabeth Williams: Elizabeth, with the Independent Living Association (ILA), a collaborative community-wide effort focused on supporting independent living operators’ tenants, and the community by promoting high quality independent livings, presented to the FMCoC. ILA aids privately operated independent living homes by offering education, training, and peer review accountability. The typical population served by an independent living home is comprised of individuals with mental health diagnosis and experiencing homelessness. The ILA certified homes are typically privately owned or rented single-family homes or multi-unit complexes and provide shared housing for those on a fixed-income and for those who can benefit from a shared-living environment. Elizabeth stated that the ILA certified homes focus on serving homeless individuals who have a mental health diagnosis but that it is not a requirement. Elizabeth also shared that IHSS can come in to support the tenants in the ILA certified homes if needed. Community partners can refer individuals to a home and people can be housed within a few days. The ILA does not pay for tenant’s rent or place tenants in operators’ homes. Rent varies by several factors including whether a room is single occupancy or shared and whether the individual wants meal service. The average rent for an ILA bed is $700.00 and the cost may include meals and other amenities. The ILA tracks bed vacancies of Independent Living providers participating in the ILA and updates these numbers weekly on their online directory. Shannon Duncan asked if there was a limit to how long tenants can stay in the ILA homes, and Elizabeth answered that there is no limit and tenants can stay long term. Jolie Gordan Brower with the Department of Behavioral Health mentioned that a there will be a presentation on Tenant’s Rights on May 14, 2021 and meeting details will be shared with the listserv. 4. Racial Equity Materials – Doreen Eley: Doreen with the Fresno Housing Authority (FHA) shared that the agency participated in a three-week equity foundation workshop and is inquiring on the cost of providing this workshop to the FMCoC. Doreen stated that she will follow-up with the workshop providers and will notify the General membership if these sessions can be provided. 5. HMIS Update – Doreen Eley: Doreen stated that HMIS is the mandated database that is used for all homeless services funded by the federal government and in some instances, by the State. She also shared that the State mandates the CoCs to update information in their HDIS database every quarter. FHA receives HUD Continuum of Care grants to support the HMIS for the entire Continuum and those HMIS grants require a 25% match. As this is a community project that is required and benefits all CoC and State funded projects, the match is a community responsibility. Doreen stated that she will work with the Board of Directors to develop a match document and will provide an update at the next General meeting. 6. Emergency Housing Vouchers – Doreen Eley: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued Emergency Housing Vouchers for those experiencing homelessness. These vouchers require an MOU with the FMCoC and referral primarily through CES. Partnership with a CoC and any Victim Service Provider in the region is required. City and County regions were allocated 295 vouchers which need to be accepted by May 24, 2021 and a MOU must be completed by July 1, 2021. Doreen stated she will share the MOU at the June General Meeting for review. Doreen also mentioned that she is looking for a small team to participate in a series of webinars to discuss next steps. Joel Bugay asked if an MOU need to be established with the FMCoC if the allocation for Madera goes through the Madera Housing Authority. Doreen answered yes. Laura Moreno stated that MOUs would come back to the General membership for approval. 7. San Joaquin Valley Vets Update – Jenny Gonzales: Jenny shared that their current program census is 68 including 19 homeless prevention and 49 rapid rehousing. The program is currently increasing street outreach due to low enrollment numbers and is working with the VA to increase enrollments with their HUD-Vash. 8. County of Fresno Update – Shannon Duncan: Shannon shared that the State requested clarification on the HHAP Round 2 applications for the County and the FMCoC by requesting an amended application; approval on the amended application will be completed no later than June 13, 2021. The Housing Matcher Community Coordinator Agreement with WestCare is funded by CalWORKs HSP and ESG and will be extended to continue through June 2021. The agreement will go to the Board of Supervisors on June 22, 2021. Shannon also shared that the County received the HCV-ESG CV amendment for Round 2 money Page 5 of 5 that the County previously applied for. This $2.5M of HCV-ESG funding is prioritized for but not exclusive to non-entitlement areas. The RFP will be released next month, and agencies have four to six weeks to submit their applications once the RFP has been submitted. Agencies can register to the County’s Purchasing site for RFP notification. Anyone interested in being a review panel member and not applying for money can email Shannon before bids are released. 9. City of Fresno Update – H Spees: H shared that a presentation was submitted to City Council on April 28, 2021 which outlined plans for HEAP and HHAP funding and included property acquisition that will be used for emergency shelter. The City is working on a collaboration with Fresno Housing around the Homekey Project and a request is being made to the City Manager and Mayor to make an investment in the Coordinated Entry System. The City’s Annual Action Plan was approved by City Council on 4/20/2021 and HUD will have until the 30th of June to approve the plan. H provided an update on Project Off Ramp and stated that the City is in the process of bringing another motel online sometime in June. The HART team will kick off on July 1, 2021 for the new budget year. Doreen Eley requested that the City notify the Continuum of who received the current round of ESG funding. Erika Lopez stated that award letters are currently being drafted and will be sent out in the following weeks. 10. County of Madera Update – Elizabeth Wisener: Elizabeth stated that the County of Madera sent in a CDBG CARES application to install seven tiny homes at the Madera Rescue Mission that will be used as a triage center. The County of Madera also applied for HHAP Round 2 funding which will pay for a housing case worker that will case manage the clients in the emergency shelter triage center. Joel Bugay added that the Board approved a three-party MOU. Shannon asked if the households in the emergency shelters were funded with HEAP. Elizabeth answered yes. Elizabeth will bring a HHAP budget modification for approval at the June General Meeting. Unscheduled Announcements: 1. Laura Lopez with the Majaree Mason Center stated that she will send updated March and April reports to Sara Mirhadi to share with the listserv. Laura also mentioned she can be contacted for any questions or suggestions. Meeting Adjourned at 10:22 am - Next meeting will be on June 10, 2021 (Meeting will be conducted via BlueJeans video conferencing until further notice)