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Home My WebLink About*Other - BOCCu IL GRANT COUNTY PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS Dece ber 2019 �Dece ber 2024 1. HOMELESS TASK FORCE OF GRANT COUNTY The Homeless Task Force of Grant County shall be the group that will direct the County in its overall goals of reducing homelessness. MISSION The Mission of the Grant County Homeless Taskforce is to advocate for the homeless people in Grant County in order to improve quality of life, increase public awareness of issues of homelessness, impact public policy and to prevent and end homelessness. VISION The Homeless Taskforce focuses on realizable strategies to move homeless individuals and families beyond shelter to permanent housing and self-sufficiency by looking at a comprehensive range of needs and develop the local capacity to meet these needs. The Taskforce identifies ways to coordinate and link resources to avoid duplication by involving stakeholders with a shared goal of building a comprehensive system to end homelessness and prevent return to homelessness. MEMBERSHIP Task Force membership is offered to those community members and/or organizations that have an interest in issues surrounding homelessness and who are willing to take an active role in the Task Force. Current members represent a broad array of fields. IL HOMELESSNESS /N GRANT COUNTY POINT IN TIME HOMELESS COUNT According to the 2019 Point -In -Time Homeless Count, on any given night there are 82 people living on the streets, in a vehicle, or other place not meant for human habitation. Total unsheltered homelessness as identified during the Point - In -Time Homeless Count has been on the decrease for the past 4 years. Homelessness happens to people of all ages, genders, races, income levels, and household types. Those who live in economic instability, who have health issues, mental health or substance use disorders, and those who may experience a job -loss, family break up, or domestic violence can all be pushed into homelessness at any time. Individuals Total number counted by area Households Children Veterans 2018 2017 Unsheltered Homeless: 82 Moses Lake: 52 70 8 3 88 110 Vehicle, RV, Outdoors, Ephrata: 1 3 Households Abandoned building, Quincy/George: 10 Grand Coulee: 6 Mattawa: 0 R ya I�City o - Soap Lake: 7 _ Sheltered Homeless: 68 - - - 49 29 Motel voucher, Warden: 0 emergency shelter, Other areas: 6 transitional housing Homelessness happens to people of all ages, genders, races, income levels, and household types. Those who live in economic instability, who have health issues, mental health or substance use disorders, and those who may experience a job -loss, family break up, or domestic violence can all be pushed into homelessness at any time. The County's vacancy rate is 5/0. Relatively low vacancy rates, shortages of affordable housing, the total lack of permanent -supportive housing, and long waitlists for Public Housing and Section -8 programs are all contributing factors to a household remaining homeless for more than 30 days. AVAILABLE RESOURCES Housing 01 Mee &-%A-% 0o Service Type Total Served 2018 July 1, 2018 — June 30, 2019 Expenditures HAGC CHG 100 $148,048 HAGC HEN 40 $195,275 HAGC TBRA 43 $75,545 HAGC 2163 39 $18,575 Hope Source - SSVF 61 $324,234 HAGC Motel Vouchers 89 $15,677 New Hope Motel Vouchers 43 $4,685 er �� .... . Ec .. ....... ::::........................ ..... ..... ::::::::..........................:.:::.:............................::::::::::................ Warming Center 251 $58,570 Supportive Housing 12 $14,613 Mobile Outreach 81 $82,279 LOCAL AGENCIES WITH LIMITED/PERIODIC HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR HOMELESS Serve Moses Lake — (Moses Lake residents only): Motel vouchers, rent assistance, application fees, utility assistance Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) Utility assistance, housing services for eligible farm workers Salvation Army — One-time motel voucher Serve Quincy — (Quincy residents only): Motel vouchers, rent assistance, application fees, utility assistance Veteran's Coalition of Grant County — limited housing services for veterans His Helping Hands — (Ephrata & Soap Lake residents only): Motel vouchers, food, gas voucher, clothing,, utility bill assistance, out of area travel assistance, tents, sleeping bags, hygiene items, application fees Grant Integrated Services: Various outreach, housing stability planning and case management COORDINATED ENTRY: Grant County utilizes a low -barrier Coordinated Entry System to identify, engage, and refer households to thero er p p services. The purpose of Grant County's crisis response system is to ensure that homelessness is rare, brief, and one- time. CE guides households who are experiencing a housing crisis by providing immediate access to the most appropriate housing program through a standardized assessment, prioritization, and referral process. Ifp ossible CE does not keep waitlists for services. Instead, available services are offered to qualifying households in the hope to assist with the household's housing crisis immediately. Prioritization for services is established by Department of Commerce's basic prioritization requirements. If resources are limited, prioritization will be given to those with the highest need. Need is identified by a score of more than 6 on the VISPDAT - Vulnerability Index. For those who do not met the prioritization, diversion discussions will be held. 111. STRA MIC PLAN Objective #1: Quickly Identify and Engage People Experiencing Homelessness Definition of homelessness: Households who are living unsheltered. This also includes households fleeing domestic violence. Unaccompanied youth are defined using the federal definition. Measure(s) of Success: • Compliance with state and federal coordinated entry requirements,for all projects receiving federal, state and local homeless funds • Consider implementation of the Coordinated Entry Core Element recommendations Tasks Responsible Parties Start Date Expand low barrier intake options in conjunction Coordinated Entry sites May 2020 with mobile outreach activities and various community events Continue to work with and receive referrals from: Coordinated Entry sites In progress Mobile Outreach, Supportive Housing programs, Point in Time Count, Project Homeless Connect, Serve Moses Lake, Salvation Army, Serve Quincy, various community outreach events Continue relationships with law enforcement/first Coordinated Entry sites In progress responders, health care, Serve Moses Lake, School Liaisons, and the Mobile Outreach team to ensure smooth referral processes Continue to offer low barrier coordinated entry Coordinated Entry/Intake In progress assessment that complies with CE data collection sites/agencies requirements Strengthen community partner referrals from Big Coordinated Entry sites September Bend Community College 2020 Conduct County -wide education to build the Grant County Homeless January 2021 community's capacity to quickly identify homeless Task Force and refer to services Identify strategies to engage Hope Source, New Hope TBD homeless/unaccompanied youth, consider implementing strategies Build in maintain active lists of persons Mobile Outreach Team, December experiencing homelessness, that includes tracking Coordinated Entry Sites 2020 status, engagements, and housing placements Objective #2: Prioritization of Homeless Housing for People with the Highest Needs Measure(s) of Success: Completed Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing • Successful implementation of prioritization policies for all projects receiving federal, state and local homeless funds, resulting in prioritized people consistently being housed in a timely manner. Tasks Responsible Parties Start Date Grantees and Subgrantees must prioritize services Grantees & Subgrantees of January 2020 for people w/highest need (unsheltered, chronic, funds Grant County length of time homeless, victims of domestic Ongoing Identify agencies who are not meeting system- violence) and utilize the VISPDAT if needed April 2020 wide performance measures/areas needed for Continue to monitor and evaluate HMIS data for Grantees & Subgrantees of In progress exits to permanent housing options funds April 2020 Continue non-waitlist philosophy when enrolling Grantees & Subgrantees of In progress prioritized households into programs funds Grant County Objective ##3: Effective and Efficient Homeless Crisis Response and Housing Services Measure(s) of Success: Completed Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing • System -wide performance: a) Increase percentage of exits to permanent housing to the level of the top performing 20 percent of homeless crisis response systems nationwide. b) Reduce returns to homelessness after exit to permanent housing to less than 10 percent. c) Reduce average length of time homeless of those served to less than 90 days. Current System Performance • Prioritization of Unsheltered Households: 77.1% (FFY 2018) — met target • Increase Exits from Shelter to Permanent Housing: 26.59% (as of 6-30-18) - made progress toward meeting performance measure • Decrease returns to homelessness within 2 years for those who resided in shelter: 0% (as of 6-30-18) — met goal • Increase exits to permanent housing for rapid rehousing: 85.98% (as of 6-30-19) — met goal • Decrease returns to homelessness within 2 years for those who received rapid rehousing services: .62% (as of 6-30-18) — met goal • Reduce average length of time homeless: 34 days (as of 2-14-19), goal is less than 90 days —met goal Tasks Responsible Parties Start Date April 2020 Completed Complete quarterly reviews of performance Homeless Task Force of Ongoing measures Grant County Ongoing Identify agencies who are not meeting system- Homeless Task Force of April 2020 wide performance measures/areas needed for Grant County improvement April 2020 Promote the development of housing for all Homeless Task Force of Grant County Increase case management/support for those who Homeless Task Force of lune 2020 are most vulnerable Grant County, Grantees, Subgrantees January 2021 Increase the number of affordable units Homeless Task Force of Grant County Objective #4: A projection of the impact of the fully implemented local plan on the number of households housed and the number of households left unsheltered, assuming existing resources and state polices Measure(s) of Success: A local plan that includes an estimate of people experiencing homelessness that will be housed during 2024 after successful implementation of the local plan using existing resources, and the count of households left unsheltered at a point in time in 2024, based on credible data and research; including the data, assumptions, calculations, and related citations necessary for outside parties to review and reproduce the estimate Tasks Responsible Parties Start Date Completed Complete modeling tool to project the impact of Steffanie Bonwell October 2019 October 2019 the local plan and identify future resources needed funds Strategize how to meet the future need of the Homeless Task Force January 2021 county's local plan Grantees & Subgrantees of January 2020 Objective #5: Address racial disparities among people experiencing homelessness Measure(s) of Success: • Completion of an initial analysis using a racial equity tool and data provided by Commerce. Tasks Responsible Parties Start Date Completed Complete initial analysis of racial disparities among Grantees & Subgrantees of August 2019 September 2019 people experiencing homelessness, using funds Commerce's racial equity tool Identify how Grant County compares to the State Grantees & Subgrantees of January 2020 and other like size counties in the State. funds Identify underrepresented homeless populations Grantees & Subgrantees of January 2020 (if any) funds Determine if alternative plans need to be put into Grantees & Subgrantees of June 2020 place to address disparities (if any) funds DATED this _�' day of � WA000e , 2019. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS GRANT COUNTY, WASHINGTON Tom Taylor, Chair -11!� 5 li:�� Cindy Carter, Vice Chair Z� Richard Stevens, Member