cindy ward human services agency division of housing & homeless programs february 9, 2007 san...
TRANSCRIPT
Cindy Ward
Human Services Agency
Division of Housing & Homeless Programs
February 9, 2007
San Francisco Homeless Families Services Redesign
Overview
Why did we undertake this process?
How did we do it?
Who was involved?
What happened as a result?
Goal
Explore transforming the current emergency system for homeless families into a proactive “Housing First” model.
Process Six-month process to elicit recommendations Advisory Committee met monthly to provide
direction to the sub-committees Three sub-committees each met twice per
month Eviction Prevention/Rental Assistance Emergency Shelter/Assessment Transitional/Permanent Housing
Community Involvement workgroup designed ways to bring family voices into the process
Impetus
Mayor issued a press release
Impetus
Based on the success of a Housing First model in the single adult population, interest in expanding Housing First to the family system
Before the Process Began Decided on subcommittee topics
Eviction Prevention/Rental Assistance Emergency Shelter/Assessment Transitional/Permanent Housing
Allocated staff Each subcommittee was staffed by one
Housing & Homeless staff member and one Planning Analyst
Developed list of initial invitees Decided on timeframe
Getting Started
HSA invited dozens of community stakeholders to participate, and encouraged them to invite othersLetters of invitation were sentFollow-up phone calls to all invitees
The process was kicked off with an Advisory Committee meeting
Who Participated? Service providers Advocates Housing developers School District Housing Authority Foundations Families Other City Agencies
Over 140 people participated overall!
StructureAdvisory Committee
Eviction Prevention/
Rental Assistance
Emergency Shelter/
Assessment
Transitional/ Permanent
Housing
Community Involvement Workgroup
Ground Rules
Housing First is the goal Translation is available for every meeting,
but HSA staff request 48 hours notice if translation will be needed
Meetings are chaired by co-chairs, who represent the agencies involved
Ground Rules
Agendas emailed to everyone before every meeting and posted on website
Meeting minutes written up and posted on website after every meeting
Meetings held at community locations
Discussion is great; Decisions are better!
Community InvolvementAlthough families were welcome to every meeting, we found that expecting them to come to meetings in the middle of the day was not realistic. A workgroup developed the following to better hear from homeless families: Survey of homeless families Focus groups Questionnaire of families living in SROs Provider survey Shelter benchmark data collection
How Decisions Got Made Subcommittees decided on their decision-making
process. All three made decisions by consensus, with minority
views offered space to voice other considerations
Subcommittees brought their recommendations to the Advisory Committee for a vote.
Advisory Committee decisions made by a straight majority. Each organization got one vote.
Advisory Committee members prioritized the recommendations.
Lessons Learned Staff intensive Getting family input is an extra step – plan for
it from the beginning (and provide incentives!) Identify and define the target population from
the beginning Big processes need consistent leadership
and vision Deadlines are difficult, but necessary Budget some money for the process and
provide guidelines about how it may be spent
Big Lesson Learned
Change is hard
Change is Hard
“And it should be considered that nothing is more difficult to handle, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage, than to put oneself at the head of introducing new orders. For the introducer has all those who benefit from the old orders as enemies, and he has lukewarm defenders in all those who might benefit from new orders.”
-- Machiavelli
Talking About Change
How you talk about the changes is important
The current system isn’t “broken” The new ideas will improve services in
ways that are definable
Results – Recommendations Subcommittees developed 19 recommendations Key themes emerged throughout the process:
Families need:Access to affordable housingAffordable/subsidized childcareCulturally and linguistically competent
servicesVocational/employment services that enable a
family to increase their income
Results – Implementation
Released an RFP to provide expanded rental assistance and temporary rental subsidies Community lobbied for increased funding for
these services - $3 million
Created a system for expedited access to childcare for families in shelters
Forming a Housing First workgroup
The full SF Family Redesign Report is available on the NAEH website.
Contact Info:
Cindy Ward
415-558-2847