Minutes – April 2013

April 17, 2013 Meeting Minutes
 
1.                  Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Rochelle Doan.
2.                  Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Darlene Cook – Vice Chair, Sarah VanCleve – Secretary, Chris Brunell – Member at Large, Penny Lamping, Monica Bernhard, Jenell DeMatteo, Beverly Kincaid, Susan Brown, Kirsten Jewell, Alex Fastle, Becky Boughton, Marta Holt, Shannon Bauman, Gina Lindal, Brianna McNamara, Linda Kerkes, Sara Marez-Fields, Linda Hollingsworth, Sheryl Piercy, Leann Weaver, Terry Schroeder
3.                  Introductions were made around the table.
4.                  Agenda Review: No changes made.
Minutes: Chris Brunell moved and Penny Lamping seconded to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was approved.
Access to Mental Health Care – Kelly Schwab: Kelly started his presentation with a story that aptly illustrated the difference between a person who was mentally ill and one who is a danger to themselves or others. He went over some of the history of mental health care and the Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA). Prior to the ITA, it only took one person, not necessarily a medical professional, to have someone involuntarily committed. There now is a process that can be lengthy and has a high standard to meet in doing so. One example he gave was that if someone states they are going to take some pills and kill themselves, but doesn’t have the pills right there available, they don’t meet the standard of being a danger to themselves. A person can also be involuntarily committed due to being gravely disabled but this typically takes a series of calls before it will happen. 
The process is that someone requests an evaluation; a Designated Mental Health Professional evaluates the person to determine if the person meets the criteria:
  • Has a diagnosable mental illness AND
  • Represents an immediate risk of harm to self, others or property OR
  • They are unable to provide for basic needs of safety or health (gravely disabled) AND
  • There is no less restrictive alternative available. 
The DMHP may arrange for voluntary treatment if treatment is needed and the person is willing. If they are held involuntarily, they will initially be held for up to 72 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) and be evaluated. If the evaluation shows that inpatient care is required beyond the 72 hours, a petition will be filed with the court to hold for an additional 14 days. There are four outcomes that can come out of this petition: petition can be dropped for lack of evidence and patient is released; the judge can dismiss the case and release the patient; the patient is judged committable and will be held for short term commitment; or the judge will accept the patient’s agreement to enter treatment voluntarily. If the patient is held for the 14 days, and it is felt that additional inpatient treatment is needed, another petition will be filed to hold the individual for up to 90 days. A judge will make that determination and if committed, the individual will have a hearing every 180 days to determine if further inpatient treatment is required. At any point, if the patient agrees to an outpatient treatment plan, they may be released back to their community. They are monitored closely to ensure compliance with the plan.
Kelly went over some other items of interest. Adolescents are able to make their own decision about treatment at age 13. Persons with mental illness often learn what to say in order to keep them out of treatment. Many mental illnesses can be well controlled with medication. Although there is a huge population of homeless persons who are mentally ill, the goal of Kitsap Mental Health Services is to not discharge a person to homelessness. 
There was a question about the interface between 211 and Housing Solutions Center (HSC). Kelly stated that he felt they have a good working relationship. 211 does not typically refer directly to most programs, unless it is DV and after hours calls. In all other instances, they will refer homeless persons to the HSC. The afterhours calls for women and women with children will be routed to St. Vincent de Paul or Georgia’s House and then they will provide information to HSC the following business day. A drop-in shelter, like Kitsap Rescue Mission is working on, would be an answer to after-hours calls. Monica Bernhard stated that the HSC phone lines do direct people to 211 after hours. 
There was also a question about getting hold of KMHS case managers. The case managers are out of the office most of the day typically, but should return calls. If calls aren’t being returned, a supervisor could be contacted. Linda Kerkes also stated that for persons who are unstable, they could be placed in Kitsap Recovery Center’s (KRC) Crisis Triage Center for a three-day stay for stabilization.
Homeless Housing Plan – Kirsten Jewell: The HHP is completed! The KRCC Board approved the plan on March 26. The final plan is on their website, on their Housing Grant Program page. 
Combined Grant Program – Kirsten Jewell: The calendar will be on their website soon and all information will be in the NOFA, out April 26. Kirsten provided a few of the dates that are important:
  • May 30 – Mandatory Technical Assistance meeting – 9 am to Noon at Norm Dicks Government Center. Important/helpful for person completing the application and/or budget to be present
  • July 10 Noon – End of Online Submission – last date to submit applications
  • Sept 20 – Grant Recommendations distributed – Begins public hearing process
  • Oct 22 - KRCC Board acts on Grant recommendations for HHGP, AHGP, and County CDBG and HOME – end of public hearing
  • Nov 6 – Bremerton City Council acts on City CDBG and HOME recommendations
Priority setting for the Homeless Housing Grant Program began with a brainstorm session on Tuesday with the Continuum of Care Coalition members. That will go to the Housing Funding Leadership Group (HFLG) and then to the Housing Advisory Team (HAT), a subcommittee of the KRCC Board. It will then be approved by the KCRCC Board at their meeting on May 28. Kirsten will bring the priorities to the May CoCC meeting for concurrence. At the CoCC Brainstorm session, one idea that was brought up was that there should be a balance between continued funding for ongoing projects and funding for new, innovative projects. The recommendation was to have 80% of the funding be reserved for continued projects and 20% for new projects. That recommendation will be passed on to the HFLG and HAT.
Coordinator Report – Terry Schroeder: Terry reported that she has input all the information she has the PIT count, and just received information about some agencies that needed to do a bit more input. She will send out a preliminary report with this week’s TJ. She has also been working on the Housing Inventory Chart for the County Annual Report for Department of Commerce.   She has sent in the information she has received and sent out requests for more information in some cases. She attended the March Kitsap Housing Coalition meeting and the WLIHA Homeless Advisory Board meeting, where there was discussion about the conference and information from Commerce on some new projects. There also seemed to be a lot of interest in having discussions around topics. It might be something for the Executive Committee to schedule something like that for one of the CoCC meetings, instead of having a speaker. 
WLIHA Conference to End Homelessness – Terry Schroeder: The date for early registration has passed, so the cost to attend is a little higher, but it is close and there is the option of attending just one day, which is very reasonable. Also, they are trying to get each county to donate a basket for the auction. It can be anything, but baskets representing the various counties are nice. Terry has some things left from last year, as she was unable to attend at the last minute. She will include those, but if anyone has anything else they would like to add, let Terry know.
Outside Homeless Committee – Darlene Cook: A lot of the time was spent talking with a South Kitsap couple, from New Life Church, who own the restaurant, “That One Place” and want to open transitional housing in South Kitsap. Walt stated that things are moving along with the overnight shelter, but there are still things that need to be done. Kitsap Rescue Mission got a new truck. There was some discussion of the emergency evacuation of vulnerable populations and it is felt that Department of Emergency Management has a handle on that.
Executive Committee – Rochelle Doan: There was discussion about the case management piece that came out of the HHP. There was a small workgroup, from the HHP Planning Committee, that looked at the definition for case management. There was discussion about having everyone using the same information/definition for case management when writing grants. Perhaps there could also be more coordination and shared information about how case management is done in various agencies. The possibility of a mobile program that would allow case managers to assist clients to access the services they need. It was felt that it would be productive to allow some time for a discussion of case management at one of the upcoming CoCC meetings. 
AGENCY UPDATES
StandUp for Kids – Susan Brown: Susan passed around a brochure providing information about Adult Day Services that are provided at Canterbury Care Center, for impaired or frail seniors age 60 plus.
Housing Solutions Center – Monica Bernhard: Monica stated that she had brochures and cards for the HSC, if anyone needed some. 
Georgia’s House/Weaver Foundation – Leann Weaver: Georgia’s House is turning 2! On Sunday at 2:00 pm, they are having their 2nd Birthday celebration and all are invited. They also have completed their remodel and have space for six additional beds. They serve women and women with children.
WorkSource – Linda Hollingsworth: Linda distributed a flyer for the upcoming Stand Down for Veterans that will be held on Saturday April 27, 2013 from 9 am to 2:30 pm at Sheridan Park Community Center in Bremerton.
 
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 pm.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
 
 
 
Sarah VanCleve, Secretary
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Minutes – March 2013

March 20, 2013 Meeting Minutes
 
1.                  Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Rochelle Doan.
2.                  Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Darlene Cook – Vice Chair, Terry Schroeder, Penny Lamping, Monica Bernhard, Jenell DeMatteo, Ginny Duff, Bev Kincaid, Dave Frederick, Susan Brown, Kirsten Jewell, Ruth Westergaard, Julie Graves, Jackie Brown, Sherryl Hawes, Clara Ann Ness, Alexandra Fastle, Becky Boughton, Cathy Brorson
3.                  Introductions were made around the table.
4.                  Agenda Review: No changes made.
Minutes: Darlene Cook moved and Dave Frederick seconded to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was approved.
Life on the Edge – Cathy Brorson: Cathy introduced herself at a CUDE, Credit Union Development Educator. As part of her credit union development educator project, she chose to do a project titled, “Life on the Edge”. This project had four components:
  1. Education – awareness of the state of poverty
  2. Experiential Learning
  3. Resources
  4. Celebration of Successes
There were 172 participants from King, Pierce, Mason and Kitsap counties. Speakers included Senator Christine Rolfes, Commissioner Charlotte Garrido, Mayor Patty Lent, Kitsap Credit Union CEO Elliott Gregg and Dr. Donna Beegle as the Keynote Speaker. The next component of the event was a “Simulation City” where each person was either a member of a family or an employee at a social service agency. This simulation provided participants with a perspective of how difficult it is to go to various agencies to obtain services and to experience poverty. It also showed that persons may have income well over the poverty level, but still struggle meeting their needs. Each role had a different response as no two poverty situations are alike.
Throughout the day, the participants could peruse the resource tables with information from various local agencies about the services they provide. 
After the simulation, there was a section on “Success in Action” where several local persons talked about how they overcame challenges with assistance from various agencies. Rocky, from Coffee Oasis, talked about the one thing that made a difference to him when he was a homeless youth was that “If he didn’t show up, they [Coffee Oasis] would come out and look for me.” Katherine, a single mom had her children removed by CPS. She got into treatment with Westsound Treatment and was able to get her children returned. Carly was a single mom who was having a difficult time keeping a job. Through Washington CASH and using her grandma’s old mustard recipe, opened a small business, “Fat Cat Mustard”. Jeff had worked in construction, had a home and wife and lost them all. He became homeless and was in “survivor mode” living on the streets. He got into Benedict House, went to school and is on a new career path.
At the end of the day there was some discussion on outcomes and next steps. The outcomes centered on how the participants felt during the simulation. Stress and panic, sense of distrust, variables unseen, no sense of community, no time, tough decisions, bad choices made in moments of desperation were some of the comments made. There were also some action steps identified. More flexible policies, provide more accessible services, have open-ended dialogue, be more compassionate were some of the steps identified.
The next step is to have a follow up event and talk about what differences have come out of this event. Have any of the action steps been implemented. If you are interested in helping with this follow up event, let Terry know.
Life on the Edge was a project that was part of Cathy’s Development Educator Program. She took first place in the Northwest Credit Union Social Response Program and then went on in the National and took second place.
Homeless Housing Plan – Kirsten Jewell: The subcommittee have worked the past six to eight months updating the Homeless Housing Plan. Last month, Kirsten presented information on the plan and asked for comments and had it reviewed by Building Changes. There are five main objectives, agency/system capacity, prevent homelessness, immediate housing stabilization, provide appropriate housing services, promote economic independence, focus on underserved populations. It opened for public comment on March 1. The final opportunity for public comment will be oral comment at the KRCC Board meeting at 10 am on March 26. Bev Kincaid moved and Darlene Cook seconded for the CoCC to endorse the plan and recommend approval through the KRCC. The motion passed.
Coordinator Report – Terry Schroeder: Terry reported that she has been continuing to input the information for the PIT count, which is going to be a bit lower than last year. There was discussion about the fact that DSHS numbers report 2500-2600 homeless persons in a year and that works out to be about 400-600 homeless persons on a single day, which is what our point-in-time count shows. 
AGENCY UPDATES
Housing Resources Board – Penny Lamping: They have met with North Kitsap Fishline and are partnering with them to offer a Home Share Program in the North Kitsap area. This program should be ready to start in that area soon. 
Habitat for Humanity – Ginny Duff:  They are just about ready to move into their new store and will have a grand opening on May 4. At the end of April, they will be dedicating three homes.      
YWCA – Jackie Brown:  There are a couple of openings at the Alive Shelter for persons who have had domestic violence issues and are homeless. They are in need of a new roof. There is an opening in their Home Plus program. Again, the person must have had domestic violence issues and have income of at least $800/month.   
Sound Grants – Bev Kincaid:  She is reviewing Kitsap Community Foundation applications. Kitsap Community Foundation is having a Celebration of Philanthropy on May 17 at 5:30 pm at the Kitsap Conference Center. They will be honoring three local philanthropists. 
StandUp for Kids – Susan Brown: They participated in the Bremerton St. Patrick’s Day event. They are working on getting their information out into the community.
Housing Solutions Center – Monica Bernhard: February was the first month with year to year data. They serviced 551 household in the first 2 months of 2013. The average income for the people coming in is $662/month, with 50% of them being literally homeless. They currently have rental assistance and homeless child care funding available.
KCR Housing – Jenell DeMatteo:  They have some openings in their Family Place and are hiring staff at Family Place.  The announcement should be going out soon.
Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council – Kirsten Jewel: The Coordinated Grant Program is coming up soon. The technical assistance will be May 30 at 9 am, with applications due on July 10. The full schedule will be on their site soon. Prior to that, priority setting needs to be done for the homeless housing grant program and Kirsten anticipates some changes. She will be scheduling a brainstorm session for the CoCC to start the priority setting process.
Bremerton Housing Authority – Sherryl Hawes: BHA is working with another agency in Mason County and opening eight project-based units. They are also working with DSHS to provide some public housing to youth exiting foster care. 
Kitsap Mental Health Services – Rochelle Doan: In May, they will be doing the first Youth Mental Health First Aid program. 
Kitsap Legal Services – Becky Boughton:  KLS has a new brochure, which Becky passed out. Columbia Legal Services is doing a Legal Financial Obligations clinic. All of the clinics are held in Seattle, but Columbia will assist persons to get there, if necessary.
Kitsap Community Resources – Darlene Cook:  They run a Kinship Care program for any person who has taken on the care of minor relatives. This program can help with transition costs in having those minor relatives in their care.
Parent-Child Assistance Program – Clara Ann Ness: They continue to have openings for women who are pregnant or have given birth in the last six months and were involved with alcohol/drugs during their pregnancy. They can work with the women for three years to help them stabilize.
Housing Kitsap – Julie Graves: With furlough days coming, there was a thought to have a way for them to connect with organization to volunteer on their furlough days.
 
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 pm.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
 
 
 
Sarah VanCleve, Secretary
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Minutes – February 2013

 
February 20, 2013 Meeting Minutes
 
1.                  Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Rochelle Doan.
2.                  Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Darlene Cook – Vice Chair, Sarah Van Cleve – Secretary, Chris Brunell – Member at Large, Terry Schroeder, Walt LeCouteur,        Penny Lamping, Jean Long, Monica Bernhard, Diana Gilman, Denise Solada, Jenell De Matteo, Ginny Duff, Linda Kerkes, Bev Kincaid, Dave Frederick, Susan Brown, Natika Shewry
3.                  Introductions were made around the table.
4.                  Agenda Review: No changes made.
Minutes:  There was a correction to the minutes: Under the presentation on Calvinwood, the word vocabulary should be vocational. Susan Brown moved and Darlene Cook seconded to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion was approved.
McKinney – Balance of State – Nick Mondau: Nick introduced himself; he works for the Department of Commerce in Olympia and his duties include coordinating the PIT count, the CHG (now ESG), and the McKinney grant. McKinney is now referred to as the CoC grant. He provided handouts on the HEART Act changes and on the Continuum of Care program. He provided some history of the CoC program, stating that there are a total of 7 CoCs in Washington. We are part of the Balance of State, which includes the 33 smallest counties in the state. Department of Commerce is the lead for the Balance of State CoC. They collect information from the counties and submit the application to HUD. HUD scores the applications and determines whether they receive funding. There is an increased emphasis on performance. $41 million comes into Washington State through the CoC funding; $5.1 million is to the Balance of State.
Each year there is a bonus competition. It is always for people who are chronically homeless and typically come out before the HUD application. The bonus funding available to Balance of State is typically about $360,000, based on population. An application receives more points if it serves individuals. Balance of State usually receives 5 to 10 applications. If an application is chosen by the review committee, then the applicant applies to HUD, along with the renewal applications. The Bonus funding is based on the strength of the CoC application and ours is typically strong enough to receive bonus funding. The CoC is a consolidation of HUD’s competitive grant programs (Supportive Housing, Shelter Plus Care and SRO). Applications receive points for good outcomes, which they get directly from the APR (Annual Performance Review). If Balance of State scores well, we may lose some renewals and may not get any bonus funding. If we score well, we are more likely to get our full renewal as well as some bonus funding. There are 5 projects that receive funding through CoC:
  •  Agape has three Shelter Plus Care projects – one project base, one tenant base and one sponsor base, serving about 40 persons total.
  • Bremerton Housing has a rental assistance that serves 25 families. The families receive a Housing Choice Voucher if they graduate from the program.
  • YWCA has 4 units of transitional housing for families.
The amount for administration was raised to 7%, but Balance of State decided to keep it at 5%, which will give us higher points. There are changes to how agencies relate to HUD. There is Collaborative Continuum Applicants and Unified Funding Agencies. Currently Balance of State is similar to the Collaborative Applicant. Balance of State is interested in applying to be a Unified Funding Agency, as there does seem to be some benefits to doing so. They have not applied to be a UFI yet, but may in 2013. Nick also provided some information about High Performing Communities based on length of time homeless, return to homelessness and first time homeless). HUD has not implemented the High Performing Communities, due to lack of funds. This would give Balance of State potential eligibility to use funds for prevention activities. In the APR, when an agency marks “Do not know” or “Refuse” on accessing mainstream resources, exiting to permanent destination and employment, it counts against them. The website, www.hudhre.info is a good place to get additional information.   
Homeless Housing Plan – Kirsten Jewell: The plan is almost done. Although it is large, each section can stand alone. The committee worked for the last seven months on the plan. It will be released for public comment on March 1, will come to the CoCC for a recommendation to send on to the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council for approval. The format is: Introduction, Progress Report, Current State of Homelessness, Action Plan including definitions, Appendix. Any suggestions for substantive changes need to be given to Kirsten by February 27. The action plan is a shift from how it was done previously. It looks at the stages of peoples’ journey from homelessness to permanent housing:
  • Maximize agency and system capacity
  • Prevent homelessness
  • Immediate housing stabilization
  • Provide appropriate tailored subsidized housing and supportive services.
  • Promote economic independence
  • Focus on homeless populations currently underserved
The plan does not prioritize any of these. It states that priorities will be determined with the Housing Advisory Team, Housing Funding Leadership Group and Kitsap Continuum of Care Coalition.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Outside Homeless – Walt LeCouteur: They discussed how well the removal of the homeless people who were living behind the East Bremerton Safeway. Some people were reconnected with family, some were able to get into permanent housing and some moved to another unsheltered location with permission of the owner. It was a great effort from several people in the community and is one that should be used again, should the need arise. 
Legislative Committee – Chris Brunell: A lot is happening in Olympia. They will be using CCS as a model for protocol for looking at and supporting legislative agendas. There were over 600 participants in the Housing and Homeless Advocacy Day last month.
Point in Time Count – Terry Schroeder: Terry is inputting the information into HMIS.
Project Connect – Terry Schroeder: The committee and executive committee will be meeting tomorrow to go over the Project Connect event. There were over 500 persons who attended the event.
AGENCY UPDATES
Bremerton Foodline – Patty Petersen: There were over 150 person served in the severe weather shelter from the first of November until now. They have been meeting with Real Change. The cost of the newspaper is going up to $2.00. She and her board are still interested in pursuing this. However, there needs to be a group of people who are interested in helping to plan. She would like to get a committee together. If you are interested, contact Patty at the Bremerton Foodline.
Habitat for Humanity – Ginny Duff:  They are opening their applications for seven homes. They will have the grand opening of their new store in East Bremerton on March 30. Approximately 2 weeks later, their administrative offices will move into another space in the same area.    
Catholic Community Services – Chris Brunell:  Benedict House currently has two beds open. They had three intakes this morning, so it is likely they will be filled. Their turnover is high, mostly planned and positive. The vocational services that are being done by Westsound Treatment have been invaluable. HEN is going great. They added an additional half-time person to assist. Chris will be attending a workshop on March 20 with other HEN providers to talk about what is/isn’t working. They are trying to work together with HEN and ABD. 
Sound Grants – Bev Kincaid:  YWCA’s Home Plus is doing fantastically well in housing retention, about a 90% rate. Because of the community partnerships, they were able to continue for an additional year.
StandUp for Kids – Susan Brown: They have a new Executive Director, Margaret Rodriguez. She is organizing StandUp for Kids into different focus groups and hopes to have a better presence in the community.
Housing Solutions Center – Monica Bernhard: They just finished their first year of operation. In January, they had their highest enrollment ever – 331. They are seeing the first of the pre-sequestration persons coming in. They may not meet eligibility requirements for the LIHEAP eviction prevention. They are trying to improve their process; let Monica know if you have suggestions.
Goodwill – Natika Shewry:  Natika brought information on their job training programs, where the focus is to get people into the work force. The classes are free and run for 8 weeks. They are mostly the same except Silverdale has a Retail class and Bremerton has an ESL class. Terry will put class information in Thursday Journal.
Coffee Oasis – Dave Frederick:  They had their first two youth in the shelter last night. One was arrested and the other is working with Coffee Oasis to reconcile with his father. They are working with Renaissance Alternative School on a Business Class. They will begin a similar coordination with Central Kitsap schools as well. Kitsap Regional Library received a grant to work with youth at Coffee Oasis. They have a technology van and will be teaching the youth various technology-related topics. They also are working on a partnership with Admiral, Sheridan Parks and Urban Life, with a focus on minority gangs.
Kitsap Recovery Center – Linda Kerkes:  The Guest House stays full, although there is some flux. Typically when one person leaves there is another person to fill that bed.
Agape – Diana Gilman: They have some openings at Sisyphus and have a 3 bedroom unit coming up. They will be moving into their new building in about three weeks.
Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council – Kirsten Jewell: They are doing their Program Review and have a survey online for persons to complete. Information with the link will be sent out. 
Kitsap Community Resources – Darlene Cook: LIHEAP energy assistance is open; call the Energy Line for an appointment, 479-1507. They have received the funding to build ten units of low-income Affordable Housing, which should be completed in August and available in September. 
DSHS – Jean Long: The best news is that there is no change. There will be information about health care starting in May.
Bremerton Housing Authority – Sarah VanCleve: BHA is very concerned about sequestration, but they think they will be ok and that no one with Section 8 will lose housing. They believe they will be able to deal with it through attrition, but that means that there will be no movement on the wait list. Construction of 84 units of senior (age 62+) housing (Section 202 subsidized) will begin soon in Bay Vista. They anticipate it opening in April 2014. 
Kitsap Mental Health Services – Rochelle Doan: They are just beginning to explore building 30 additional units.
 
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 pm.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
 
 
 
Sarah VanCleve, Secretary
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Minutes – January 2013

 January 16, 2013 Meeting Minutes
 
1.                  Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Rochelle Doan.
2.                  Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Darlene Cook – Vice Chair, Sarah Van Cleve – Secretary, Chris Brunel – Member at Large, Terry Schroeder, Ruth Westergaard, Raelenea Rodriguez, Walt LeCouteur, Penny Lamping, Shannon Bauman, Gina Lindal, Monica Bernhard, Trudy Stacy, Becky Boughton, MaryAnn Smith, Manny Cruz, Leann Weaver, Jackie Brown, Julie Graves, Sara Marez-Fields, Brianna McNamara, Denise Solada, Jenell De Matteo, Sheryl Piercy, Linda Hollingsworth, Ginny Duff, Deanne Montgomery, Nancy Martin, Robin O’Grady, Linda Kerkes, Bev Kincaid
3.                  Introductions were made around the table.
4.                  Agenda Review: Moved Homeless Housing Plan information to be the first item on the agenda.
Minutes: Minutes were approved at presented.
Homeless Housing Plan – Kirsten Jewell: Kirsten described the stakeholders’ event that was held at United Way yesterday. This event will help provide information for the Homeless Housing Plan. New strategies came out of the meeting. There is another stakeholder meeting in Poulsbo at the end of the month, January 29th and is open to all. If you weren’t able to attend or want an opportunity for more input, attend the event in January. The subcommittee is also getting input from a provider survey that was sent out earlier and to gather input from elected officials. The goal is to update Kitsap County’s Homeless Housing Plan. There will also be information about the progress we’ve made since the last update in 2008. This update will take off from the 2008 update and be the creation of a new blueprint. Anyone interested in attending the next stakeholders’ meeting, please let Terry know. There were about 25 in attendance at the meeting on Tuesday.  
Calvinwood – Bev Kincaid/Robin Lund: Bev presented information about the Village at Calvinwood. Calvinwood is a former Presbyterian summer camp and is a beautiful, peaceful site. It is three miles from Highway 16 on Lake Flora toward Trophy Lake. The plan is to have most services on site and to serve men, some of whom would be veterans, who are chronically homeless. The Calvinwood site is a total of 118 acres, with Westsound Treatment Center interested in use of about 50 acres. There is a large recreation hall with cooking facilities, as well as a basement. The basement is unfinished and would be dedicated to clinical services.   The recreation center has a deck that overlooks the lake and there are bathrooms there. The plan is that meals would be self-prepared as well as some brought in from groups from the South Kitsap area.   The plan is that chronically homeless men will develop team work, vocabulary skills, work skills, and will take care of the property.   There is a cinder block building on the site and that will be transformed to a laundry with one shower and bathrooms. There are six cabins, which would each sleep four men. There is a need to upgrade the electrical and plumbing systems. Near the main entrance, there is a permanent residence on site, which is where an on-site manager would reside. They are looking at having organic gardening, aquaponics and similar outdoor activities. There are two goals of the program: 1) reduce the financial impact of chronic homeless men on public services (hospital, corrections, etc.) and 2) restore dignity, etc. to the men. They surveyed men throughout the county to determine if this would be the kind of project they would be interested in. The age range of those surveyed was 17-65, with the average being 39. Some have income, but about 50% have no income. Not all answered all questions, but 100% expressed interest in the project. The reasons given for them being homeless were largely job loss; mental health and substance abuse issues were high. Several had a criminal history. There were several that indicated health issues as being a concern; vision, dental, breathing, foot sores and overall poor health were the main issues. The men indicated that they did not want a hand out but were interested in employment. They are using the following models: harm reduction, motivational interviewing, WRAP model – certified WRAP clinician provides a holistic approach to providing services. 
Westsound is just starting the COMPASS vocational training program with those in treatment at Westsound, and will be offering it to other community agencies. It also will be available at Calvinwood. In COMPASS, their vocational navigator will work with the participants to assist them in building a career. A question was raised as to if they have a lease of the land, how long will that lease last? Bev responded that the county obtained the property through a land swap in the early 1990s. It was then leased to the state be used as a state park, but never was used as a state park. There have rarely been any visitors to the park. The plan is to ask the county for site control of about 50 acres for up to 25 years. They are unable to get any committed funding without site control, but do have some pre-committed resources from private individuals and a $50,000 challenge grant. They have received the expertise of two Housing Kitsap construction/maintenance persons and other electrical and architectural persons who have gone over elements of the site. The projected budget is $780,000 for development and $310,000 for operating costs. They are hoping to be in a position to apply for Balance of State Bonus Funding for Chronic Homeless projects next year. In the survey that they did, they identified 35 men who would meet the chronic homeless definition. The project would serve the entire county and they surveyed at organizations throughout the county. This will be a permanent supportive housing program. The men can live there as long as they want to. Typically, once they achieve the highest level they want to, they will move on. Anyone can stay as long as needed. The cabins are mostly open; it was stated that with mentally ill persons, that could be a big distraction to others. It is felt that this project would be an investment to people who are homeless with the outcome of lower costs to serve them. They are working on getting information on what is being spent in Kitsap County on things like hospital/emergency room visits and jail. These are the types of services that are typically lowered by permanent supportive housing programs. One challenge is that the money saved is not from the same pot as the money that is available for homeless services. How can we, as a community, try to capture that money to use toward the cost of projects like this? Cost benefit analysis has been done in other communities. 
There was a question as to whether there is another possible location for a similar project, if they are unable to get over the political hurdles. There may be other locations, but it is felt that placing these men in more urban areas, closer to the vices that contributed to some of the issues, may not be as good a match. Bev is in favor of a more rural setting. The Calvinwood location offers an opportunity for holistic work with the participants. They may try to schedule a separate study session with the commissioners to look at this project specifically.
1/10 of 1% – Kurt Wiest: Kurt was asked to explain this proposal by the Executive Committee. In 2005 a bill was passed to allow counties to set aside money for specific services. Twenty out of thirty-nine counties in Washington State have passed similar initiatives. The money that would come from this sales/use tax would need to be used for mental health and chemical dependency services and could include some housing. There is an action plan that describes how these funds would be used. The largest amount would be for capital (buildings) to house those with mental health and/or chemical dependency needs. A behavioral health screening would be a part. There would be a citizen advisory committee for the control and limitations on the use of the money. There is a request to various agencies to ask their board to support this tax via a resolution. Look at the resolution and evaluate whether this is important to your organization and ask your board to approve the resolution. There are two things to think about, 1) do I personally support this and 2) would I ask my agency/organization to support this?                                                                                                                                                                                                       The
The resolution for Calvinwood and the one for the 1/10 of 1% will be sent electronically to each member agency, with an opportunity to vote for or against. We need to votes before the meeting with the commissioner on January 23, 2013, when we have an opportunity to discuss homeless issues. 
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Outside Homeless – Walt LeCouteur: They discussed the 1/10 of 1% proposal as many of those people who are unsheltered have chemical dependency and/or mental health issues. For the past three months, they have been dealing with the people who are living in the woods behind the East Bremerton Safeway. The owner has stated that as of February 1, 2013, they will not allow people to live there and anyone on the property can be arrested for trespassing. Many of them have already relocated. There is a group of people who will be going out to meet with those still living there to determine if there is any additional ways that we can help. There is a talking paper that will be used in the discussion with the Commissioners that talks about the issues involved with the unsheltered homeless population. One issue that is in that talking paper talks about the 1/10 of 1%. If we do not get a positive response from members, then we will not include that information.
Legislative Committee – Chris Brunell: They are meeting on Monday to discuss issues. They have not met since November when they put together the piece on sequestration. They will also be looking at Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day, which will be February 11, 2013.
CoCC Coordinator Report – Terry Schroeder:  Terry reported that she has been working primarily on Project Connect and the PIT count. She has also been working with the HHP committee and assisting with both stakeholders’ meetings.
AGENCY UPDATES
Parent Child Assistance Program – Clara Ann Ness: The program has grown and they have some opening to serve women who are pregnant or post partum (6 months or less) and have had substance abuse issues.
Habitat for Humanity – Ginny Duff:  They will be opening applications so that they can fill their Harrison project in Poulsbo. Their store is moving to East Bremerton, in the old Stupid Prices store, which is next to Value Village. Their administration will be moving to the area next to the old Pat’s Restaurant.  
Catholic Community Services – Chris Brunell:  Benedict House currently has three beds open. The HEN pilot project with DSHS is going well.
Sound Grants – Bev Kincaid:  Kitsap Community Foundation grant cycle is open online, www.kitsapfoundation.org The requests can be up to $5,000. There will be a celebration of philanthropy in May.
Helpline House – Brianna McNamara: They have 30 families that were able to sign up for energy assistance thanks to KCR!
Housing Solutions Center – Monica Bernhard:  If anyone needs brochures and/or referral cards, let Monica know and she will get them to you.
WorkSource – Linda Hollingsworth:  Linda is the Veterans Specialist and works primarily with veterans who really want to go back to work. They usually are able to work with them.
Kitsap Legal Services – Becky Boughton:  The Housing Justice project is up and running; it is done every Friday. In 2012, the landlord/tenant issues doubled.
Kitsap Recovery Center – Linda Kerkes:  Their Director retired; currently there is an Acting Director. The Guest House is full.
Westsound Treatment Center – Robin O’Grady: They have a new office open in Bremerton at the Gateway Center. Their Vocational Navigation specialist is in Bremerton on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council – Kirsten Jewell: Agencies with grants from them need to get their reimbursement requests in by the end of January or they will lose it. They are doing program review for homeless housing and affordable housing programs. They are looking for feedback on how to improve the grant programs. It can be from agencies that received funding, that did not receive funding and/or did not apply for funding.
 
The meeting adjourned at 4:10 pm.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
 
 
 
Sarah VanCleve, Secretary
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Minutes – December 2012

December 16, 2012 Meeting Minutes
 
1.                  Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Phedra Elliott.
2.                  Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Chris Brunell – Member at Large, Walt LeCouteur, Monica Bernhard, Ruth Westergaard, Kol Medina, Bev Kincaid, Linda K. Joyce, Clara Ann Ness, Kirsten Jewell, Sara Marez-Fields, Phyllis Mann,  Terry Schroeder
3.                  Introductions were made around the table.
4.                  Agenda Review: No changes were made to the agenda.
Minutes: November minutes were not available. 
 
Life on the Edge Event: Rochelle Doan announced that due to illness, Cathy Brorson who coordinated the Life on the Edge event last May was unable to be here to update us on the outcomes from that event and future plans. We will reschedule with her. Terry Schroeder did announce that Cathy received first place for her event in the State Award for social responsibility at the state credit union convention. Because her event took 1st place in the state, it went on to the national completition. She was contacted by the Credit Union National Association that her project took 2nd place in the National competition for credit unions asset size $500 million to $1 Billion. Shewill be awarded at a winners reception at the Governmental Affairs Conference in February. 
Project Connect/Point in Time Count – Terry Schroeder: We are pleased to announce that the Kitsap Community Foundation(KCF) is interested in being our fiscal sponsor for the Project Connect event. United Way of Kitsap, who has been the fiscal sponsor for the past two to three years has agreed to transfer the money to KCF. Kitsap Community Foundation would like to see us look at other corporate sponsors as well. Kol Medina, Executive Director of KCF, will work with Terry Schroeder to develop a Memorandum of Understanding so that both groups understand what their responsibilities are. There is a need to make sure that we have plenty of interpreters for both the medical area as well as the survey area. Trudy Stacy indicated that she has a person who signs who may be able to attend. 
Homeless Housing Plan – Kirsten Jewell: Kitsap Continuum of Care Coalition volunteers have been working on an update of the Homeless Housing Plan. A provider survey was done and there will be two community stakeholder workshops in January. The Homeless Housing Plan will have four areas: Progress Report on progress we have made since the 2008 update, the state of homelessness in Kitsap County, an action plan or strategies, and attachments that are required by Department of Commerce. We need stakeholders to help us with the action plan/strategies. The Homeless Housing Plan guides the funding decision for the Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing grant programs. There will be one meeting during the day and one in the afternoon/evening. One will be in Bremerton and one in Poulsbo; dates and times will be sent out once they are finalized. The goal of the process is to have a draft completed by mid-February and the plan ready to be presented to KRCC by the end of March. There are two additional areas that the group has been working on:
  1. Developing a recommendation regarding case management and explore ways to make it more consistent across agencies.
  2. Develop a recommendation regarding how to increase housing first/rapid re-housing options in the county. 
COMMITTEE REPORTS: 
Outside Homeless – Walt LeCouteur:   At Sally’s Camp, they have served 13 families so far, with five being housed there now. Four families have transitioned to permanent housing. The decision was made to broaden the scope of persons they serve, so they are now serving couples without children as well as families with children. Georgia’s House has had some permitting delays. They will be serving women with children and single women. Information was also presented about a Veteran’s Bunk House that is being run by an individual. This is a large house with 42 beds available that the owner rents out to single veterans. 
Legislative – Rochelle Doan: e the “56 Ways to Help the Homeless” brochure. 
Severe Weather – Terry Schroeder: They continue to meet regularly and people are welcome to join the group. They have looked at different strategies in doing coordinated entry. The group feels that the quickest way would be an RFP using Homeless Housing Program funding. The next meeting is March 24 from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm in the BHA Executive Conference Room.
AGENCY UPDATES:
Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council – Kirsten Jewell:  There is an HMIS Users Group meeting tomorrow, March 17 at 10 am at KCR, 845 – 8th Street, Bremerton. There will also be HMIS training on April 24, all day at KCR, 845 – 8th Street, Bremerton.
Department of Health – Ruth Westergaard:  Ruth passed out an informational sheet about the potential risk of radiation exposure from the incidents in Japan. Terry will also send that information in the TJ.
Agape – Diana Gilman: They currently have openings at the women’s shelter for single women. This is clean and sober housing.
Kitsap Parent-Child Assistance Program – Clara Ann Ness: Clara introduced herself as the new PCAP Case Manager.  
Bremerton Rescue Mission – Walt LeCouteur: They have two distressed homes that they are using as Discipleship Houses for single men. These are homes that are in the process of being foreclosed, but the owner is allowing them to be used by BRM until the foreclosure is final. These homes are clean and sober housing. One of the homes is full and they are working on filling the second one.
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 pm.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
 
Sarah Van Cleve, Secretary
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Minutes – November 2012

 

 November 21, 2012 Meeting Minutes

 

1.                  Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Rochelle Doan.

2.                  Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Sarah Van Cleve – Secretary, Chris Brunell – Member at Large, Terry Schroeder, Clara Ann Ness, Ruth Westergaard, Doreen Velverde, Bruce McCain, Roland Arper, Dave Frederick, Walt LeCouteur, Penny Lamping, Shannon Bauman, Gina Lindal, Monica Bernhard, Trudy Stacy, Becky Boughton, Siri Kushner, Shelly McAleese

3.                  Introductions were made around the table.

4.                  Agenda Review:  No adjustments made.

Minutes: Walt LeCouteur made a motion and Chris Brunell seconded to approve the October meeting minutes as presented.

Health District – Siri Kushner:  Siri presented information about the Health Indicators, which is designed to provide an overview of the health of Kitsap County residents. The report is an overview of the health of Kitsap County.  The information is self reported and the data quickly becomes outdated.   There are four chapters of indicators: who are we, how healthy are we, how healthy are our lifestyle and behaviors, how safe and healthy are our surroundings.  She provided information on two points in time; the earliest year the indicators were provided and the most recent year.  The trends overall were a little better from the earliest year (2000) to the most current year (2011).  Areas that were worse were civilian adults employed, residents living in poverty, youth (age 5-17) living in poverty, public school students enrolled in free/reduced lunch program, civilian births paid for by Medicaid, households spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs, kindergarten children with complete immunizations, Chlamydia rate, chronic hepatitis C rate, adults at a healthy weight, annual drug-induced death rate.  Adult education levels are improving, but high school graduation rate has stayed the same.  Dental health is improving and the tuberculosis rate has decreased.  Youth are more active, but adult activity rate is the same.    Less women report smoking during pregnancy and less youth report smoking.  Youth also report less alcohol and pain killer use and report less are riding in a vehicle driven by someone who has been drinking alcohol.  Our physical environment remains the same in many areas; more healthy air days, more shoreline miles open for shellfish harvesting, and annual crime rate is lower.

Compared to Washington State, Kitsap has fewer residents getting dental care or first trimester prenatal care.  There are higher rates of hepatitis C and lower rates of Chlamydia.  There are higher rates of smoking during pregnancy but lower rates of food-borne illness. 

The Kitsap Community Health Priorities group met and set the following priorities:

  • Access to medical care
  • Health of children and families
  • Kitsap 5210 Campaign – 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 hours of screen time, 1 hour of activity and no sugary beverages.

Bylaws:  There were not enough people to take a vote, so the approval of the bylaws will be done via email vote. 

Public Policy – Sequestration:  The Legislative Committee drafted a paper on information on local effects of sequestration, which was discussed. 

CoCC Coordinator Report – Terry Schroeder:  The Coordinator reported that she spent time completing a providers' survey for the Homeless Housing Plan. She worked on Project Connect, revising the poster and participating in a conference call to confirm planning, worked on the PIT count, contacting the agencies to have volunteers to have homeless persons complete the PIT survey. Training for the PIT count was set.   She attended the Kitsap Housing Coalition’s annual meeting.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Outside Homeless – Walt LeCouteur:  Walt reported that the people residing behind Safeway are an issue and the owners want them off the property.  The committee met and the Health District is asking the owner for 60 days to allow the community time to try to find some alternatives for these people.

Project Connect/Point in Time Count – Terry Schroeder:  The committee chairs met and the vendor request forms have been sent.  If you are interested in being a vendor at Project Connect, return the completed vendor form to Adonis Newkirk at Bremerton Housing Authority.

Severe Weather Shelter – Terry Schroeder:  The shelter is open and the busses have a message on them indicating that the shelter is open. 

AGENCY UPDATES

Parent Child Assistance Program – Clara Ann Ness:  Clara Ann stated that they continue to have some availability to serve women who are pregnant or newly parenting and have had substance abuse issues.  They work with the women for three years to help them become more stable.

Kitsap Rescue Mission – Walt LeCouteur:  On December 8th, there will be some photographers at The Hub (their Friday night meal site) doing professional family portraits.  Families must register with Walt.  Their Thanksgiving dinner will be at Coram Deo.  They will be giving away four gift certificates for a family dinner at the Red Apple.  On the fourth Friday of each month, The Westsound Free Clinic provides medical check ups from 5 pm to 8 pm.

Housing Solutions Center – Monica Bernhard:  Their wait list is growing a bit for both men and women.  Through October, they have served a total of 2160 household; 747 of those have been literally homeless.  They continue to do rental assistance as funds are available.  Together with Kitsap Legal Services, they are putting on a seminar on Landlord Tenant issues and encourage all to attend.  HSC brochures were passed out.

Coffee Oasis – Dave Frederick:  Dave reported that they are having a dinner on Friday for their youth ages 13-25.  They also will have a Christmas Eve dinner.  Construction is complete on the youth shelter.  They will have the grand opening for their Poulsbo site on December 15.

Bremerton Housing Authority – Sarah VanCleve:  Sarah reported that applications are still open for their public housing.  The Section 8 applications are still closed. 

Kitsap Mental Health Services – Rochelle Doan: They completed remodeling six units of their housing and hope to be able to do eight more.  Access to mental health care is difficult; they are looking at the possibility of having someone talk about that topic at a future meeting.     

Housing Resources Board – Penny Lamping:  They are working with Rae and Shannon to help Fishline establish a Home Share program.

DSHS – Gina Linda:  Their Customer Connection website is available to apply for benefits.  Replacement EBT cards are not being done through the local office.  Clients must call and order a replacement, which will be mailed to them. 

Kitsap Public Health District – Ruth Westergaard:  Free immunizations will be offered at the food banks in November.  Ruth will send information to Terry as to dates and times for each food bank. 

Kitsap Transit – Trudy Stacy:  The board approved their 2013 budget.  There are no additional service reductions or fare increases.  They also will be continuing the Homeless Free Fare program through 2013. 

Kitsap Legal Services – Becky Boughton:  Next Friday there is a Landlord Tenant workshop in conjunction with Housing Solutions Center It will be held at KCR, 845 – 8th Street, Bremerton.  They also continuing their Legal Clinics, but switching them to Wednesday evenings.  For all of their legal clinics, persons must go through CLEAR first. 

Catholic Community Services – Chris Brunell:  Benedict House is having their Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  They are collaborating with Westsound Treatment on assisting the residents in looking for employment. 

NK Fishline – Bruce McCain: Bruce introduced himself as a board member and stated that he is trying to be more involved in a lot of areas.  Fishline is working on stating a Home Share program for single adults in North Kitsap, modeled after the program done through Housing Resources Board. 

Lions Club – Roland Arper:  Roland reported that he is glad to get the information from the CoCC and the Lions will be participating at Project Connect and doing eye exams.  There is also discussion about getting the Lions van to Kitsap County at some event. 

 

The meeting adjourned at 4:00 pm. 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Sarah VanCleve, Secretary

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Minutes – October, 2012

October 24, 2012 Meeting Minutes
 
1.                  Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Rochelle Doan.
2.                  Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Sarah Van Cleve – Secretary, Terry Schroeder, Susan Brown, Leif Bentsen, Kurt Wiest, Chris Brunell, Clara Ann Ness, Robin O’Grady, Ginny Duff, Lori Wilson, Barry Johnson, Kirsten Jewell, Linda Kerkes, Ruth Westergaard,
3.                  Introductions were made around the table.
4.                  Agenda Review: No adjustments made.
Minutes: Leif Bentsen made a motion and Robin O’Grady seconded to approve the September meeting minutes as presented.
Advocacy – Sakara Remmu: Sakara has had a lot of experience working with advocacy in various organizations and in a number of positions. Washington Low Income Housing Alliance has led the state and federal movement for housing advocacy for many years in the state of Washington. Prior to the merge last year, they coordinated with the Washington Coalition to End Homelessness in advocacy for homelessness issues and now are the primary agency. They utilize their member organizations ~ 150 member organizations statewide, by education, organizing folks to take action. They work to represent the state fairly. They need to know how policy affects all the areas of the state in order to inform legislators. Today we will be talking about the difference between Advocacy and Lobbying, what non-profits can and cannot do, guidelines for community action partnerships, advocacy and government employees, housing alliance’s legislative agenda and possible next steps. Sakara also made sure that all realized that she is not an attorney or a tax professional, but that the materials provided have been prepared by those folks and those are the people who provide the training for advocates.
Resources that are available are: Alliance for Justice, state organization, CAPLAW. Nonprofit organizations can advocate and lobby. Advocacy is speaking up, pleading a cause, making a case for another, education and informing persons. If you talk to a representative about the increase of women experiencing homelessness and the role that domestic abuse plays in that, it is advocacy. If you use your newsletter to provide information about the increase of homelessness among women and the impact of domestic violence on that, it is advocacy. Use of newsletter to encourage the general public to take specific action on an issue that is grass roots lobbying. If you take this issue, increase of homelessness and impact of domestic violence and you are speaking to a legislator or their aide, there are two things that can happen: 1) education – tell them what the impact is in your community, the impact on the people you serve, tell them how specific legislation that they passed is impacting your program, if a lawmaker contacts you and asks you to provide testimony about something that is not working well; 2) lobbying – if you are talking to a lawmaker or their staff and you want something, i.e. pass legislation, oppose legislation, make a specific change in it. Handouts were distributed to help explain this information. If you are asking people to contact their legislators or staff about a piece of legislation, that is direct lobbying. Advocacy would be asking them to contact legislators and ask for support for programs that prevent homelessness. This is informing the legislators that there is a specific need that is not being met, but not asking them to support a specific piece of legislation. Summary – Advocacy is about informing, about speaking up about an issue. Lobbying is about a direct ask communication to legislators, their staff or the public about a pending piece of legislation or something they may be tweaking during legislation. General restrictions: non profits cannot lobby using federal funds, restricted funds. They generally cannot engage in partisan political activities, including voter registration. Lobbying cannot be a substantial part of any non-profit organization. Community Action Programs (CAPs) are not able to support any candidate, do voter registration or “Get out the Vote” campaigns or transport persons to the polls to vote. Other non-profits can do the above activities, as long as federal funds are not used. Non-profits and CAPs can advocate and lobby as long as federal funds are not used. Non-profits can do “Get out and Vote” campaigns, voter registration as long as federal funds are not used. Non-Profit and Government employees always have the right to educate to congressional/legislative staff. Public employees are subject to very stringent guidelines about contacting congressional/legislative staff.   Public employees cannot contact their lawmaker in their capacity as a public employee; they cannot use their work phone or email. But, they can use their cell phone and say, “My name is Jane Doe and I work for Public Health in Kitsap County and I am calling as a member of Kitsap Continuum of Care Coalition.” You must say all of that for it not to be compromising. When there is a call to action, it should show that it came from a non-profit organization. You can use examples, i.e. you can say, “A tool such as SB1234 would mean x y and z; therefore this coalition supports a tool SB1234.” You can also say, “Please let legislators know your opinion about SB1234.” There is no problem in passing along information from an advocacy program. Another way to do a call to action is to say, “Please contact your legislators and give them your opinion about SB1234”. You can also always contact legislators as a private individual. If you are well-known, it is best to put a disclaimer that you are calling as a private citizen. Everyone can and is encouraged to attend Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day. In 2013, that day will be on February 14. It is important to register early so that WLIHA can contact legislators and make appointments to see them. The earlier they contact legislators, the more likely that they will be able to get an appointment. WLIHA is always willing to go to any organization and provide this information.
WLIHA is working on their legislative agenda. The top four are the things that the WLIHA are leading on and the rest are ones that they are supporting on. The top four items are:
  1. Housing and Essential Needs Program – protect against cuts, ABD housing cuts, affordable care act implementation
  2. Fair Tenant Screening Act – made great gains last year; there is now a need to make it stronger
  3. Affordable Housing Equity and Infrastructure –Ensure whatever infrastructure financing mechanism is decided on supports affordable housing. If it substantially supports funding affordable housing, WLIHA will support it; otherwise they will oppose it.
  4. Housing Trust Fund – hugely important
  5. McCleary Decision – Need to fund public education at $4 billion over the next biennium. They want to be clear, however, that it is not social services vs. education. 
Housing Alliance is talking about sequestration at the federal level and members should be receiving an email about that today. Sakura’s power point will be sent out to all with the Thursday Journal.
Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council – Kirsten Jewell: There was a long discussion about the recommendations for the coordinated grants as recommended by the Grant Recommendation Committee. Ultimately, they ended up approving the awards for the City and County CDBG and HOME grants as they have a HUD required deadline to meet. At the November meeting they are planning to revisit the Homeless Housing and Affordable Housing CHG Incentive grant awards. Their Executive Committee will review the scoring process and some of the reasons why some of those projects didn’t get funded at the level that the board felt they should and why those recommendations were developed. Kirsten did state that she recommended that there be another public comment period if they do change any of the recommendations. The possibilities that could happen are: change the recommendations, not change the recommendations, or send back to GRC to come up with new recommendations. For those who would like to see exactly what was said, the KRCC Board meetings are televised on BKAT. There were two projects that different board members specifically spoke to: one that they thought should receive more funding – SK Helpline and one that was recommended for zero funding and some board members thought they should receive some and that was YWCA Alive. The question was asked about the set aside dollars. Kirsten replied that they had already approved both the Housing Solutions Center and Coordinator so those were already done.
Bylaws – Rochelle Doan: The bylaws have been sent out and were reviewed at last month’s meeting. There was not a quorum so a vote could not be taken. An email vote can be done.
Coordinator Workplan Benchmarks: No further comments so will be sent out for a vote.
CoCC Coordinator Report – Terry Schroeder:  The Coordinator reported that she spent most of the last month working on a providers' survey for the Homeless Housing Plan. Did some work on Project Connect, revising the poster, some work on the PIT count and will be contacting the agencies next week. Went to Kitsap Housing Coalition and a couple planning meetings on a Life on the Edge follow-up and have come up with a plan.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Outside Homeless – Leif Bentsen: Walt is still look for a building that he can use for an overnight shelter. He is hoping that perhaps a church or faith-based organization would be willing to do something similar to what was planned with Kitsap Applied Technology. 
Project Connect/Point in Time Count – Terry Schroeder: The committee chairs will be meeting next Friday. Each committee has started working on their respective areas and things are coming together. We’ll have more information next month. 
Homeless Housing Plan – Kirsten Jewel: The committee is awesome and has been working hard. They always welcome new members, so feel free to join. The HHP is an important document for the community as it does outline what our current situation is, outlines what progress has been made since the last update and lays out what our action plan for how we will address and end homelessness in the next five years. It also provides information about what our funding priorities will be for programs funded by the Affordable Housing and Homelessness housing programs. One committee has been working on a survey to gather information from stakeholders to gather information from providers re: what significant accomplishments your agency has made in reducing homelessness over the past five years, what you are planning to do in the future, what gaps you see, what kinds of things would be helpful to build your agency capacity. We hope to have a lot of feedback as it will directly impact what goes into the homeless housing plan. The other way to gather stakeholder feedback is through a half-day stakeholder workshop in January. The other two things we have been talking about is a standardized, better definition of case management and recommendations for development of Housing First. 
Legislative Committee – Chris Brunell: Have done a lot of research about various legislative agendas to cull something that could be reviewed and embraced by the full CoCC. It was felt that today’s program about advocacy provided us with a blueprint to start more advocacy. 
Executive Committee – Terry Schroeder: Sally has been working on updating the How to Help the Homeless brochure. Terry passed around a sample copy. It will go out in the Thursday Journal; please print and share. 
AGENCY UPDATES
Parent Child Assistance Program – Clara Ann Ness: Clara Ann stated that they have some availability to serve women who are pregnant or newly parenting and have had substance abuse issues.
Kitsap Recovery Program – Michelle Fleetwood: The Guest Program is almost full; there is one female opening. The treatment center is full and scheduling about a month out. That seems to be the status throughout the state of Washington. 
Kitsap Community Resources – Lori Wilson: Lori is the new Housing Manager, replacing Jim Stowers. She has a background working for a small public housing authority. She is amazed at the sources of support that is available in Kitsap County. 
StandUp for Kids – Susan Brown: Their program is in transition, due to Jo and Pat leaving at the end of this year.  They do not know what will happen and who will be replacing either of them, but it will be a big change for the program.
Bremerton Housing Authority – Kurt Wiest/Sarah VanCleve: Kurt reported that BHA purchased Shadow Creek, a 32-unit apartment building, located off Rickey Road in East Bremerton. This is part of the Hope 6 development of off-site replacement housing, so they have added 32 units of deeply affordable housing. Sadly, this is the last thing that they will be doing with their Bay Vista/Hope 6 project. Question re: registering people on their list. Sarah replied that they do not need to reapply. They do a purge every October, but are not doing one this month, as they are calling people who have just gotten on the list this year. If people have moved, they need to let BHA know.
Kitsap Mental Health Services – Rochelle Doan: They are working diligently with the Integrated Care Coordination grant they recently received to imbed substance abuse services throughout adult and youth programs. This is more deliberate so that they can work with co-occurring disorders. This also will assist them to really connect individuals with their primary care individuals on a regular basis, since persons with severe mental illness tend to die 23 years earlier than their peers. This is re-orienting their work with people working on care teams. Patients will be seeing a medical director, therapist, co-occurring treatment provider professional, nurse, and peer specialist. 
Veterans Assistance Program – Leif Bentsen: They have two standdowns scheduled for 2013, one on April 27 and one on October 5.
Area Agency on Aging – Barry Johnson: They are serving a lot of people. One thing of interest is that the ABD program participants are now being served through managed care and many are struggling with that change. There is also a lot of concern re: funding cuts due to sequestration. 
Kitsap Public Health District – Ruth Westergaard: Free flu shots and Hepatitis B & A combo and TDP will be offered at the food banks in November. Ruth will send information to Terry as to dates and times for each food bank. 
Habitat for Humanity – Ginny Duff:  They have entire group of new staff: a new Executive Director, new Family Services person, new Fund Developer hired in the last week, and a new bookkeeper coming on next week. The Bay Vista project is moving along rapidly, with 3 homes being done in the spring and 5 more being done in the outskirts of Bremerton, starting this spring. 
Catholic Community Services – Chris Brunell:  Benedict House is almost full with about 23 men now. They are seeing a lot more men with chemical dependency issues and are looking at working with chemical dependency providers in assisting the men in being able to look for work. Taste of Benedict House is happening on November 8th to promote recipes that volunteers have provided over the years. HEN continues to grow. Kitsap is the only program in the state to receive contact information from DSHS for people who qualify for HEN to do a pilot project to see what degree or percentage n impact on the number of people receiving assistance through HEN.
 
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 pm.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
 
 
 
Sarah VanCleve, Secretary
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Minutes – September 2012

 

 September 19, 2012 Meeting Minutes

 

1.                  Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Rochelle Doan.

2.                  Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Darlene Cook –Vice Chair,  Sarah Van Cleve – Secretary,  Terry Schroeder, Susab Brown, Sheryl Piercy, Monica Bernhard, Leif Bentsen, Kurt Wiest, Becky Boughton, Sally Santana, Chris Brunell, Michelle Fleetwood, Beverly Kincaid, Jackie Brown, Sara Marez-Fields, Dave Frederick, Gina Lindal, Clara Ann Ness, Penny Lamping, Brianna McNamara, Jim Stowers, Mary McKee, Kirsten Jewell, Denise Agee

3.                  Introductions were made around the table.

4.                  Agenda Review:  No adjustments made.

Minutes: Dave Frederick made a motion and Sarah VanCleve seconded to approve the August meeting minutes as presented.

Election of Officers – Denise Agee:  Denise presented the slate of officers for 2012-2013 and asked for any additional nominations from the floor.  After no further nominations came forward, Terry Schroeder passed around the ballots for voting.  Terry Schroeder collected the completed ballots and Denise Agee counted the ballots.  After counting, there was a tie between the nominees for Member at Large, Sheryl Piercy and Chris Brunell.  Sheryl graciously withdrew her name.  The Officers for the 2012-2013 year are as follows:  Chair – Rochelle Doan; Vice Chair – Darlene Cook; Secretary – Sarah Van Cleve, Member At Large – Chris Brunell.    

CoCC Coordinator Workplan Benchmarks – Rochelle Doan:  Rochelle went over the benchmarks that have been established for the CoCC Coordinator.  They will be distributed to members so that they can be approved in October.  If anyone has any comments, please send them to Rochelle Doan.

Bylaws – Rochelle Doan:  Rochelle went over the changes that were made in the bylaws.  They will be sent out to the membership and voted on in October.  Any comments can be sent to Terry Schroeder or Rochelle Doan.

Membership Survey – Rochelle Doan:  Rochelle explained that the CoCC will be doing a membership survey online in the near future.  She also went over the Strategic Plan that was developed by the Executive Committee during its planning meeting last June. 

CoCC Coordinator Report – Terry Schroeder:  The Coordinator reported that she spent most of the last month working on a providers survey for the Homeless Housing Plan. She also met with Health District personnel and Kathy Cooper regarding the possibility of having a Breast Cancer Screening van at Project Connect, after the question was raised at last month’s meeting. 

Outside Homeless – Sally Santana:  There was discussion regarding the possibility of starting a camp in Kitsap County similar to Camp Quixote in Thurston County. There are about five men who are interested.  It is felt that they need to do the work to get the camp started if it is wanted by those living outside. The Outside Homeless committee will help as needed.  The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday October 9.

Project Connect – Terry Schroeder:  After meeting with Health District personnel and Kathy Cooper, it was decided to not have a Breast Screening van, but that the Breast Screening Coordinator, Pat DeGracia, will be present at the Project Connect and be able to provide attendees with appropriate information.  Working with the van can be complicated and this will provide the information needed and give participants an opportunity to meet with someone from this community who can work with them.

Severe Weather – Sally Santana:  We have just learned that Kitsap Applied Technology will not be able to provide their building for an Overnight Shelter at this time.  The Severe Weather committee will be meeting next Monday to discuss other options and plan for a Severe Weather shelter at least.  Monica stated that the HSC is concerned about the lack of a winter shelter, especially without a Sally’s Camp this year.  They already have a waiting list and hate to see it grow.  They are looking at the possibility of a new site.  Bremerton United Methodist is one site that is a possibility.

Homeless Housing Plan – Kirsten Jewel:  The committee has been working on putting together a provider survey to get information on what agencies have done over the last four years and what they plan to do in the next four years.  It is hoped that the update to the HHP will be completed and ready to come to the CoCC and then to KRCC in March or April.  It is seen as a road map to what we should be focusing on.  Their next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday October 2.

Legislative Committee – Rochelle Doan:  They have secured agendas from other organizations and will be looking those over.  They also are working with the County Auditor’s office on a Voter Registration strategy.  They have 14 agencies that they will be working with to have Voter Registration available.  They also plan to educate the membership on advocacy and lobbying.  The process for developing our legislative agenda is to have the CoCC put together a few items that we support and then bring it to the coalition to vote.  The next legislative committee meeting is scheduled for Monday October 1, 2012.

 AGENCY UPDATES

YWCA – Jackie Brown:  October is DV Awareness month.  They are finalizing events that the YWCA will be doing this month.  The DV Task Force is having their annual summit on October 12.  The program wil be on treatment for perpetrators. 

The Salvation Army  – Sheryl Piercy:  They are having a Give Away on October 12.  They are making progress on the remodel and will be needing to move into a temporary location for about 6 months, once work actually starts.  Sheryl is not sure when that will happen.  They have changed their Clothing Bank to provide clothing and outdoor equipment for those persons who are living out of doors.

Parent Child Assistance Program – Clara Ann Ness:  Clara Ann passed out their brochure and stated that they have some availability to serve women who are pregnant or newly parenting and have had substance abuse issues. 

Westsound Treatment/Forward Bound – Michelle Fleetwood:  They always have a waiting list for their Forward Bound program.  They have had some turnovers, with some successful transitions.  Only 11% of the Forward Bound participants have not been successful.  Forward Bound has had 6 single fathers parenting children in their program.

Agape – Sara Marez-Fields:  They are getting ready to move into their new building.  They hope to be moved in by the end of this year or early 2013.

Kitsap Community Resources – Jim Stowers:  They currently have a couple vacancies in the Permanent Supportive Housing program for a homeless family with children.  Refer any families that may be eligible to the Housing Solutions Center.  Energy appointments have been scheduled through December 2012.  After October 1, anyone with a shut-off can come into the office for assistance.  ut the year.

Coffee Oasis – Dave Frederick:  They will have a grand re-opening celebration of their Coffee House on Burwell on October 13.  On November 10, they are planning the grand opening for their Poulsbo Oasis Center.  They hope to have a grand opening of their youth shelter.  They are in the process of hiring a manager for the youth shelter.

Housing Resources Board – Penny Lamping:  Their Rise & Shine Breakfast and Birdhouse Auction will be held on Saturday September 29.  The Birdhouse Auction will occur from 8:30 to 9:00 am and the program will be from 9:00 to 10:00 am.   

Bremerton Housing Authority – Sarah VanCleve:  Sarah passed out a schematic showing the number of units that Bremerton Housing Authority had pre-redevelopment and what they have post-redevelopment.  This shows a net increase of 320 affordable housing units.    Sarah is also in Leadership Kitsap this year.  Her group is interested in doing a homeless housing project.  If anyone has an idea, let Sarah know, svancleve@bremertonhousing.org

Housing Solutions Center – Monica Bernhard:  They saw 270 families in August; since February 1, they have served 1700 non-duplicated families.  Monica is very concerned about not having a winter shelter and no family shelter.  Their wait list at the end of August was 15 families.

Department of Social and Health Services – Gina Lindal:  As of October 1, the CSO will no longer issue replacement EBT cards.

Helpline House – Brianna McNamara:  In the month of August, they had a record number of food bank clients, 409.  They are preparing for Project Wishbone for the holidays.  They have finished Project Backpacks, providing almost 200 backpacks filled with school supplies to youth.

Veterans Assistance Program – Leif Bensen: This Saturday, September 22 is the fall Veterans Stand Down at the Sheridan Parks Community Center in Bremerton.

St. Vincent de Paul – Denise Agee:  They are feeling the lack of food drives and not having as big a supply of food.  Their needs are increasing, especially for laundry vouchers and identification cards.  They are gearing up for the holidays.  The shelter is full.  There was discussion about working with Suds Eezz again

Bremerton Foodline – Terry Schroeder:  Patty asked Terry  to report that she has not heard anything back from the “Real Change” contact.  Her Board of Directors is interested and Patti is trying to contact Real Change to discuss the parameters.

Kitsap Interfaith Network – Sally Santana:  There will be a Hunger Walk on November 11 as part of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  It will benefit, St. Vincent de Paul (Bremerton), The Salvation Army, Bremerton Foodline.  The walk will go from Star of the Sea Church to Norm Dicks Government Center. 

Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council – Kirsten Jewel:  The Grant Recommendation Committee just finished making their recommendations for the Consolidated Grant Program.  Those recommendations will be posted on the KRCC website sometime this Friday, September 21, which will open the public comment period.  The recommendations will be presented to the KRCC Board at their meeting on Tuesday September 25.  Public comments will be received until October 23, when the KRCC Board will take action on the recommendations.  Feedback about how the process worked will also be accepted.

0Catholic Community Services – Chris Brunel:  Benedict House is full with 14 out of the 24 men living there currently employed.  The HEN program will be starting a pilot project with DSHS to get phone numbers and addresses of HEN-eligible participants so that they can contact them and provide them information about the HEN program and what CCS can do for them.  They are able to help with housing for an additional three months and reasonable storage costs now.  They moved into their new office, which has more space.  They are looking forward to being able to reach people who may not be aware of the HEN program, provide them information and provide services to more persons.

 

The meeting adjourned at 4:10 pm.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Sarah VanCleve, Secretary



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Minutes – August 2012

August 15, 2012 Meeting Minutes
 
  1. Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Rochelle Doan.
  2. Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Sarah Van Cleve – Secretary,  Terry Schroeder, Walt LeCouteur, Sheryl Piercy, Monica Bernhard, Becky Boughton, Chris Brunell, Michelle Fleetwood, Greg Alkire, Beverly Kincaid, Lynn Beckwith, Robin O’Grady, Diana Gilman, Linda Hollingsworth, Ruth Westergaard, Penny Lamping, Angela Del Grosso-Thompson, Katy Sheehan
  3. Introductions were made around the table.
  4. Agenda Review: No adjustments made.
Minutes: Sarah Van Cleve made a motion and Diana Gilman seconded to approve the July meeting minutes as presented.
Fair Housing Center of Washington – Katy Sheehan: Information was provided regarding the fair housing agencies in Washington State. The Fair Housing Center of Washington is the agency that would primarily deal with Kitsap County issues. The other agencies are: US Department of Housing & Urban Development, Washington State Human Rights Commission, King County Office of Civil Rights, Seattle Office for Civil Rights, Tacoma Human Rights & Human Services Department and Northwest Fair Housing Alliance. Disability laws were discussed. Any building built after 1991, must be accessible.  The website, www.fairhousingfirst.org has specific information on accessibility. Reasonable Accomodation is defined as, “a change in standard policies, procedures or practices that is necessary because of a tenant’s disability.”   If someone’s disability it obvious, a written statement is not needed to verify it. If a person has a disability, there needs to be a relationship between their disability and the accommodation.  
Service Animals: The animal does not need to be trained. No pet fees, deposits or additional fees can be required for a service animal. Companion animals are covered under the rules for service animals. The animal is covered as long as the person who own it requires it for their disability. If a person has more than one service animal, the verification should say why they need more than one.   Service animals can be denied to stay if there is an act of aggression.
Katy discussed some of the rules that must be followed. Common areas must be available for all to use. There cannot be child-only curfews. Use CPS guidelines for setting rules for parental supervision. Use WACs for information on age limits for use of amenities (such as pools). Sex discrimination in housing is illegal. Residents may not be separated by sex unless they have shared sleeping areas, bathing areas/bathrooms. DV, or other programs cannot deny women with teen boys unless there are not shared sleeping or bathing areas or bathrooms. Providers should consider if there is any way to modify floor plans to provide privacy and allow teen boys. If a family is turned away because of teenaged sons and they are not provided with alternative lodging/necessary services, the family would be considered a victim of discrimination. It is illegal to say that you cannot accept males unless they are under a certain age. If you can’t accept them into your shelter, you must provide an alternative. If a person requires care beyond an agency’s capacity, they can deny services for that person. The Fair Housing Center of WA can also assist with landlord problems.
Low income tax credit housing and section 8 vouchers do not qualify as federal funding. Protected classes are race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, disability. In Washington State, the following are additional protected classes: marital status, sexual orientation, gender, veteran/military status. A dwelling is defined as, “any building, structure or portion thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families.”   Non-traditional housing that is covered under fair housing laws includes group homes, SROs, residential motels/hotels, transitional housing, homeless shelters, clean and sober housing, social service providers who deal with housing (like housing authority “special programs”). 
Common types of discrimination include: saying, “We don’t take people like you”, misrepresentation of availability, failure to make reasonable accommodations, disparate impact policies. Some Disparate Impact/Unintended Consequences situations were discussed. You are not allowed to require someone who is transgender to stay with their gender of origin. Unless you are a religious organization AND you don’t take any federal funding, you must accept anyone who is LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning). There is a lot of fear around the transgender population, but statistics show that they are the most likely to be raped/abused on the streets. A person cannot be denied due to the medical equipment they need or that they are unable to work. Reasonable accommodation must be made. Families with children are protected. They cannot be denied unless the unit is too small (check occupancy levels), the housing is designated as a retirement community, or housing that is designation for persons coming out of a correctional institution. For housing that is for persons age 55 or older, only one person in the family must be 55 in order for them to qualify. Always consult legal counsel if you are unsure of a situation.
Fair housing complaints must have jurisdictional merit (complainant has to be in a protected class), person must file within one year, investigators are a neutral party and do not represent the complainant, complainant has the burden to show that discrimination occurred, investigation/conciliation is done in a structured time frame. Katy also went over some practices that have been shown to be helpful in preventing fair housing complaints.    
Nominating Committee – Ruth Westergaard: Ruth presented the slate of nominees at this point: Rochelle Doan – Chair, Darlene Cook – Vice Chair, Sarah VanCleve – Secretary, Sheryl Piercy and Chris Brunell – Member at Large. Nominations can still be taken; contact Ruth.  
Project Connect – Terry Schroeder: Terry has made arrangements for the Mobile CSO to participate in our Project Connect. There was discussion about the possibility of getting the Mammogram truck to come. Ruth will check with Pat DeGracia on that or other suggestions she may have. Terry also updated the poster with this year’s date. A poster with different pictures also needs to be developed. 
Outside Homeless – Walt LeCouteur: There was discussion regarding the possibility of getting a panhandling ordinance. The committee decided, after much discussion, to not pursue such an ordinance at this time. 
Legislative Committee – Rochelle Doan: Sally, Chris and Rochelle me and the only thing that they are definitely doing at this time is to work with voter registration. There is also discussion about getting a speaker to talk about advocacy vs. lobbying. Sarah heard a good speaker and will get that person’s information.
 
The meeting adjourned at 4:10 pm.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
 
 

Sarah VanCleve, Secretary

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Minutes – July 18, 2012

 

July 18, 2012 Meeting Minutes

 

1.                  Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM by Chair Rochelle Doan.

2.                  Attendance: Rochelle Doan – Chair,  Sally Santana – Member at Large, Sarah Van Cleve – Secretary,  Gina Lindal,  Terry Schroeder, Jim Stowers, Walt LeCouteur, Sara Marez-Fields, Sheryl Piercy, Daryl Daugs, Denise Solada, Monica Bernhard, Becky Boughton, Chris Brunel, Phedra Elliott, Michelle Fleetwood, Julie Graves, Brianna McNamara, Shannon Bauman, Denise Agee, Trudy Stacy, Patti Petersen, Ada Moore De La Cruz, Linda Kerkes, Cassandra Elowski, Brian Nielson

3.                  Introductions were made around the table.

4.                  Agenda Review:  An adjustment was made to the agenda to have the celebration for Phedra and Grace (her baby’s name) after the Nomination Committee.   No other changes were made to the agenda.

Minutes: Sarah Van Cleve made a motion and Sally Santana seconded to approve the June meeting minutes as presented.

Real Change – Tim Harris:  Real Change was founded in 1994 by the current director Tim Harris.  Tim had founded a similar paper in Boston in 1992.  He wanted to start a paper that would build for institutional power within a population that is by definition transient.  Real Change is close to having annual income of $1 million.  They have 13 staff and approximately 350 vendors/month.  Their weekly circulation is approximately 18,000 papers which is close to 80,000 per month.  This is considered a low threshold employment opportunity for the vendors.  They attend a one hour orientation, receive 10 papers free to sell, pay $.35/paper after the first 10 free ones.  Real Change has a 300 and a 600 club.  To get to the 300 club, a vendor must sell 300 newspapers and for the 600 club they sell 600.  They get an added benefit of having a reserved spot to sell their papers.  The 300 club vendors share a spot, whereas the 600 club vendor has their own spot. 

Real Change is a platform for doing advocacy as well.  Their mission is: Real Change exists to provide opportunity and a voice for low-income and homeless people while taking action for economic justice.”  Tim believes that Real Change has changed the way Seattle looks at its homelessness.  The most important thing about Real Change is that it creates an opportunity for a network of relationships between vendors and the people who purchase the papers from them.  It builds relationships.  People tend to have their favorite vendors who they will purchase the papers from and have a conversation each week. 

Real Change has won four awards from the Washington News Publishers Association and three awards from the Society of Journalism.  Their strategic plan has been regional expansion.  It is the most successful street newspaper in the country.  They have been looking at East King County, but would be interested in Kitsap County, if there is an agency interested in being the distribution site for vendors.  Vendors do not need a license to sell in public areas, but must have permission to sell on private property, such as in front of a grocery store.  Vendors do not need to be homeless; many are on fixed incomes and use this as a way to supplement.  The median age for vendors is 45.  If they came to Kitsap, it would not be an issue for them to do an insert into the papers, with Kitsap news.

Bremerton Foodline is interested in partnering with Real Change.  Patti needs to take it to the board to see if they will also support it.  It will take a while for anything to happen.  Patti will keep us updated on any progress.

Nominating Committee – Rochelle Doan:  In July, a Nomination Committee is needed to come up with a slate of officers for the upcoming year.  Rochelle asked for volunteers who would be willing to undertake this committee.  Elections will be held in September with Officers beginning their term in October.  Denise Agee volunteered to work on this committee. 

Project Connect – Phedra Elliott:  The date is set for January 23, 2013.  We have reserved Sheridan Park for the day.  Sally has agreed to coordinate getting donations of socks, scarves, back packs, etc.  Storage has been arranged through Peninsula Community Health Centers.  A Publicity Coordinator is still needed to work with Terry in updating the poster updated, work with the Kitsap Sun to get information in the newspaper and to get flyers/posters out in the community.  Another need is someone who is able to do some fund raising.  They would need to approach local businesses to get items and/or money to help support the event.  Leadership Kitsap has expressed an interest in assisting with the event in some way.  Connie Mueller, KMHS, has agreed to be the Volunteer Coordinator again. 

Coordinator’s Report – Terry Schroeder:  Terry reported that she has had a conversation with Brian Nielson who is interested in doing a survey for a class, Organizing Community Action for Health Education and Promotion, which he is taking for his PhD.  The survey is qualitative and shouldn’t be too difficult or time consuming to complete.  The survey is optional and only one person from an agency will need to complete it.  Terry will provide Brian with email addresses, unless someone asks to not be included.  Terry participated in the Outside Homeless and Homeless Housing Plan committees.  She, Sally and Siri are working on a provider survey for the HHP committee.  She has also been working on compiling information from those who attended Project Connect, but were not identified as homeless. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Executive – Rochelle Doan:  The Executive committee spent the last meeting completing the strategic plan that they started in June.  They identified dates when actions that had been identified as needing to be completed in the next year would be completed.

Homeless Housing Plan –:  The next meeting is scheduled for next week, July 24.  The members are working on various projects to collect information for the report.  Also, Terry is sending out the Report Card so that persons can complete with information that they have and return to Kirsten.    

Outside Homeless – Sally Santana: They met on July 10th.  After reviewing several documents and literature regarding panhandling, they decided that it is not something they would pursue at this time.  Gary Simpson, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, feels it would be difficult to enforce, cumbersome to engage and difficult to monitor.  Rules are in place to protect persons against aggressive panhandling.  It is up to the property owners to enforce those rules. 

Legislative Committee – Chris Brunell:  A legislative committee was developed to put together a legislative agenda, specifically for Kitsap, for the state legislators.    Sally, Chris and Rochelle are on the committee.  If anyone else is interested, let Chris Brunell know – chrisb@ccsww.org.  They will be having their first meeting sometime in August.

AGENCY UPDATES

Kitsap Mental Health Services – Rochelle Doan:  Mental Health First Aid training will be held at Norm Dicks Government Center on August 6 and August 10.  Contact Rochelle Doan or Ruth Westergaard for additional information.  Another session is planned for September. 

Kitsap County CDBG – Shannon Bauman:  She thanked the agencies for submitting their Coordinated Grant applications and for their patience with the online system this year.  They received 54 applications.  They recognize there was some difficulty with the online application and hope to make improvements for next year.  They are hopeful that CDBG funding will remain steady or increase a bit.  They anticipate a slight increase in HOME funding.

Kitsap Rescue Mission – Walt Le Couteur:  Nothing new to report; they just keep plugging on.

Legal Services – Becky Boughton: They are working on a new project, Housing Justice Project.  Clients still need to go through CLEAR to access services – Call the CLEAR Line toll-free at 1-888-201-1014, Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.    

Forward Bound – Michelle Fleetwood:  They are focusing on vocationalizing the clients they serve. 

Agape – Sara Marez-Fields:  Nothing new to report; business as usual. 

Kitsap Community Resources – Jim Stowers: The HPRP (Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program) ended last month.  ESG is now being used for HPRP.  However, the income limit has been lowered to 30% of AMI (was previously 50% of AMI).  Those who need assistance through HPRP should go to the HSC and they will refer to KCR.  They will only do so many per month so that the money lasts throughout the year.

Habitat for Humanity – Daryl Daugs:  They will be having 6 more closings this year.  They are having a big event in September to celebrate their 20 year anniversary.  “Save the Date” cards were passed around.     

Housing Resources Board – Phedra Elliott:  Their newest housing project, Ferncliff Village has completed 8 homes and they are working on 5 more, which will make it about half complete.  The income guidelines to purchase one of the homes in Ferncliff Village (a community land trust community) are to have income below 80% of the Area Median Income. 

Bremerton Housing Authority – Kurt Wiest/Sarah VanCleve:  They will probably close the public housing list at the end of September when their last section of Bay Vista is completed.  The PSE recycling program provided 58 refrigerators for the Firs Apartments(all but 2 units, which already had newer refrigerators) and will be providing 84 for Tamarack Apartments (all units).  BHA has two open houses planned for two projects that are almost complete.  On Aug 2, there will be an Open House for the Winfield Apartments (22 units) and on Aug. 29 for the completion of Bay Vista West.  They have some affordable homes for sale; they have sold 2 units so far. 

Housing Solutions Center – Monica Bernhard:  At the end of June, they had 1,165 face to face contacts.  30% of those persons indicated they had no income.  The households they are seeing are coming primarily from Bremerton – 65%.  Only 1% is coming from Bainbridge Island. 

Department of Social and Health Services – Gina Lindal:  No changes at this time. 

Helpline House – Brianna McNamara:  They are working on Project Backpack to get school supplies to children who need them.  Their numbers continue to increase each month.

Kitsap Recovery Center – Linda Kerkes: Their shelter program is doing well; they stay full most of the time.  Linda has an assistant, Sandy Elowski, and that is very helpful.

St. Vincent de Paul – Denise Agee:  They have been having some issues.  One of the problems is that they have had a lot of younger women who don’t like having a curfew.  They will be having a new coat giveaway in August.  A Fun Run to benefit both Stella Maris Shelter and Benedict House will be held this Saturday, July 21.  More information at www.running4shelter.org

Bremerton Foodline – Patti Petersen:  They have 1200 vouchers for food through “Feed the Children”.  PSE will replace pre-1992 refrigerators for those who qualify.  If the person is renting, the landlord must agree.  Terry will send additional information out in the TJ.

The meeting adjourned at 4:00 pm. 

 

Respectfully Submitted, 

 

Sarah VanCleve, Secretary

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Kitsap Continuum of Care Coalition: 1201 Park Ave , Bremerton WA , US , 98337 Call: 360-473-2028 Fax: 360-792-8708
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