* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:08] CALL IT A CALL. IT [CALL TO ORDER] STARTED AT 10 0 4. SO WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN WITH AN APPROVAL OF THE [Approval of Minutes] MINUTES. A MAYOR PRO TEM HARPER MEDICINE MOVES APPROVAL CHAIR, VICE CHAIR. FONTAS SECOND SET ALL IN FAVOR. AND THAT IS UNANIMOUS ON THE DIAS WITH MAYOR ADLER OFF THE DIOCESE. UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK TODAY. IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THINGS SLIGHTLY OUT OF ORDER TODAY. WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN BY TALKING [4. Briefing from the American Heart Association regarding their beverage campaign to promote healthy habits. (Part 1 of 3)] ABOUT THE AMERICAN. WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN WITH A BRIEFING FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION. FROM THERE. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO OUR BRIEFING ON HOMELESSNESS, AND WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN THE HOMELESSNESS BRIEFING WITH AN UPDATE FROM ECCO ON CHANGES TO THE HMS SYSTEM, HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM. I THINK THAT STANDS FOR, AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO HAVE, UM, AN UPDATE, A QUICK UPDATE ON HEAL AND THEN HAVE SOME OTHER GENERAL UPDATES FROM OUR HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY OFFICE STAFF. AFTER OUR BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION ON HOMELESSNESS, WE WILL BE GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS SEVERAL PERSONNEL MATTERS, INCLUDING SOBERING CENTER, LGC BOARD APPOINTMENTS. APPLICANT'S RATHER, UH, AND A SIMILAR CONVERSATION AROUND THE CENTRAL HEALTH BOARD OF MANNER MANAGERS. AND THEN WE WILL COME BACK OUT AND IF THERE IS ANY ACTION TO BE TAKEN, UM, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND TAKE THAT, THAT ACTION AS OUR LAST AGENDA ITEM. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR PLAN FOR THE DAY? OKAY. WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME OUR PRESENTERS FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION, WHO I BELIEVE ARE JOINING US VIRTUALLY IF YOU GIVE ME ONE MINUTE. OKAY. I BELIEVE OUR PRESENTERS TODAY ARE ALEC ALEC . IS HE ON THE LINE STUFF? WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE ON THE LINE RIGHT NOW WAITING. I WILL LOOK UP. OKAY. IS THERE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION HERE TO DO TODAY'S PRESENTATION? OKAY. MY APOLOGIES. WE WILL NOT BE BEGINNING WITH THAT THEN. AND I BELIEVE OUR HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE IS SCHEDULED TO PRESENT IN JUST A BIT. SO COLLEAGUES, I WOULD SUGGEST WE CHANGE THINGS YET FURTHER AND GO INTO EXECUTIVE [Executive Session (Part 1 of 2)] SESSION. NOW I JUST NEED A MINUTE TO FIND THAT SCRIPT PATIENTS ON THAT FRONT HYBRID MEETINGS ARE PROVING TO BE A, TO POSE A NEW SET OF CHALLENGES, BUT I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO THEM. THANK YOU TO OUR STAFF FOR MAKING THOSE POSSIBLE. [4. Briefing from the American Heart Association regarding their beverage campaign to promote healthy habits. (Part 2 of 3)] WE NOW DO HAVE OUR PRESENT OUR PRESENTER FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION. WELCOME. THANKS FOR, THANKS FOR STAYING ON THE LINE. APPRECIATE THAT WE FOUND YOU AND WE'RE ABLE TO BRING YOU INTO THE MEETING. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. I'M SORRY ABOUT THOSE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. WE'RE WE'RE GLAD WE WERE ABLE TO WORK THROUGH THEM ALL. SO, UH, COLLEAGUES, WE HAVE ALLOCATED, WE HAVE ALLOCATED ABOUT 20 MINUTES FOR THIS PIECE. UM, SO LET'S LET OUR PRESENTER, UH, DO HIS POWERPOINT PRESENTATION AND THEN WE'LL RESERVE SOME TIME FOR QUESTIONS. PERFECT. THANK YOU. UH, CHAIRED TOBO AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. UH, MY NAME IS ALEX . I'M THE STATE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS DIRECTOR FOR THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION. THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION IS COMMITTED TO REDUCING CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF ALL AMERICANS BY, UH, FUNDING, INNOVATIVE RESEARCH, EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT HEALTHY LIVING, FOSTERING IMPROVEMENTS IN CARE AND FIGHTING FOR STRONG PUBLIC HEALTH POLICIES. AND SO I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT ONE OF THOSE POLICY APPROACHES WE'VE IDENTIFIED TO BETTER SUPPORT FAMILIES AND PARTICULARLY CHILDREN GROWING UP WITH HEALTHY FOOD AND HEALTHY HABITS. AND THAT'S BY IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR CHILDREN AND KIDS' MEALS. SO WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE. THAT'S UP. OH, I'M SORRY. IS THAT POWERPOINT NOT UP HERE, MR. UNDERSTOOD YOU NEEDED, YOU WANTED TO PRESENT YOURSELF. SO I GAVE YOU PRIVILEGES IF YOU WANT TO SHARE IT ON YOUR END. SURE. LET ME PULL THAT UP VERY QUICKLY. [00:05:34] YOU KNOW, IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE I'M ABLE TO SHARE MY SCREEN. UM, BUT I CAN, UM, MAYBE WALK YOU THROUGH IT VERBALLY IF THAT'S OKAY. I THINK THAT MAY BE THE BEST PLAN. LET'S IF WE COULD JUST BRING UP THE PRESENTATION AND, AND JUST ASK MR. TO LET US KNOW WHEN THE SLIDE SHOULD ADVANCE. SURE, MR. TO INFORM YOU THAT I ACTUALLY DO NOT HAVE YOUR PRESENTATION ON THIS END. UM, BUT I'M HAPPY IF, IF WE GET THAT SOON, THEN I WILL ABSOLUTELY, UM, SHARE FOR YOU. ARE WE ABLE TO USE THE PRINTOUT? UM, LET'S SEE. I BELIEVE WE ALL HAVE IT DIGITALLY, SO WE CAN ALSO GET, IF YOU, UH, HAVE THE PRINTOUT OR THE DIGITAL VERSION, I ALSO HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME AND I'M HAPPY TO JUST WALK YOU THROUGH IT THAT WAY. AND I HAVE A COPY OF THE POWERPOINT DIGITALLY THAT YOU SENT OUT. SO IF, IF SOMEBODY TELLS ME HOW TO GET IT TO CTM, I CAN CERTAINLY DO. AND I JUST FORWARDED THAT AS WELL. OKAY. OKAY. I JUST SENT THAT IN THIS HALL COLLEAGUES. WELL, WE'RE WORKING OUT THESE LAST FEW DETAILS AND I APOLOGIZE. I THOUGHT WE HAD HAD THIS ALL READY TO GO HERE TODAY, BUT WHILE WE'RE, WHILE WE'RE DOING THAT, ARE [7. Identify items to discuss in future meetings.] THERE ANY TOPICS THAT ANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADDED TO NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA? WE'LL JUST TAKE OFF NUMBER SEVEN RIGHT NOW, IF THERE'S INTEREST IN, IN THIS ISSUE. UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE A REALLY PRODUCTIVE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT, WHAT THE NORMAL PROCEDURE IS. I THINK NORMALLY IT WOULD BE A RESOLUTION TO, UH, TO, UH, MAYBE PUT SOME, SOME MEAT ON THE BONES OF A PROPOSAL, BUT, BUT, UM, BUT YEAH, I'D LOVE TO TALK MORE SPECIFICALLY IF THERE'S INTEREST ABOUT HOW A POLICY LIKE THIS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN AUSTIN. THANK YOU. UM, CERTAINLY CERTAINLY THAT'S A CONVERSATION WE CAN HAVE HERE TODAY AFTER YOUR PRESENTATION, UM, COLLEAGUES, ARE THERE OTHER ITEMS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN UPCOMING MEETINGS? THANK YOU. I, I KNOW I HAVE SUGGESTED IN THE PAST DOING AN UPDATE ON CHILDCARE FUNDING AND OUR EFFORTS HERE AT THE CITY, JUST LOOKING AT THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE GOING IN THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE. UM, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF THAT, I THINK THAT MAY GOTTEN ADDED TO NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA, ALTHOUGH I'M NOT SURE. I THINK THAT'S, I THINK IT IS ON NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA, BUT THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT REMINDER. WE'LL MAKE SURE IT'S THERE. AND THAT WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE MEETING TO ASK. THAT'S A CONVERSATION WE MAY WANT TO HAVE AT A WORK SESSION, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE SEVERAL COLLEAGUES, INCLUDING COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR, WHO'S BEEN VERY ACTIVE OR WE MIGHT KEEP IT ON THIS MEETING AND MAKE SURE THAT WE LET HER KNOW ABOUT IT, BUT THANK YOU. I DO BELIEVE IT'S ON NEXT MONTH. AND THEN ANOTHER TOPIC THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST IS RELATED TO FOOD ACCESS, AS YOU KNOW, DURING THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, UH, CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD ON THE DOLLARS, THE FUNDING THERE. UM, AND EVEN WITH THE BUDGET, WE MADE SOME INVESTMENTS IN FOOD ACCESS, AND I KNOW THAT THAT WE HAVE KEY STAKEHOLDERS WORKING ON THE FOOD SYSTEM PLAN, THE REGIONAL PLAN. AND SO I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD WORK HAPPENING AND SO IT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE FOR US TO SCHEDULE THAT IN NOVEMBER, DECEMBER NEXT SPRING, BUT ANOTHER TOPIC FOR US TO CONSIDER. YES. SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. GETTING AN UPDATE ON THAT. UM, AND COLLEAGUES, WE DID HAVE A REALLY FRUITFUL CONVERSATION AT THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, AND AISD [00:10:01] AT OUR LAST MEETING ABOUT A WEEK, A WEEK OR SO AGO ABOUT THE RESILIENCE HUBS AND YOU KNOW, THAT IS A BODY THAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT WORK, ESPECIALLY SINCE A LOT OF IT RELIES ON THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AISD AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UM, BUT I'D LET THAT GROUP KNOW THAT WE WILL BE GETTING REGULAR UPDATES AT THIS COMMITTEE TOO, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REALLY A PRIZED ON HOW THAT WORK IS GOING WITH THE COMMUNITY ON DEVELOPING THOSE RESILIENCE HUBS. WE DIDN'T SCHEDULE IT FOR THIS MONTH IN PART, BECAUSE WE JUST HAD LOTS OF OTHER THINGS ON THIS, THIS MONTH'S AGENDA, BUT I EXPECT THAT THAT WILL BE ON NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA AS WELL. STAFF, HOW ARE WE DOING WITH THE POWERPOINT? GREAT. YES. I ACTUALLY HAVE ANOTHER ITEM THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE ON THE AGENDA. UM, SO LARRY WALLACE AND I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY CHANNON JONES, DEFINITELY. UM, UH, MR. LOFTON, OVER AT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH HARVEST FOUNDATION, THEY'RE WORKING ON, UM, AND HAD A BIG, UH, EVENT FOR THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN'S HEALTH CLINIC RECENTLY. I'D LIKE FOR US TO GET A BRIEFING ON THAT AND SEE HOW WE CAN BE SUPPORTIVE, UM, IN THEIR EFFORTS THERE, UM, THEY SORT OF PUT OUT THIS STATISTICAL DATA THAT'S REALLY STARTLING. YOU KNOW, HOW MORE THAN A THIRD OF BLACK MEN HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, UH, STROKES KILL 180% MORE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN THAN IT DOES THAN IT DOES. WHITE MEN LIFE EXPECTANCY FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN IS 7.1 YEARS, LESS THAN A WHITE MAN. UM, SO ON AND SO FORTH, IT'S JUST A LOT OF REALLY TROUBLING DATA AND I'D LIKE TO GET BEHIND THEIR EFFORT AND SEE WHAT IT IS THAT WE CAN DO TO OFFER SUPPORT AND JUST HEAR MORE ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE WORKING ON. GREAT. THANK YOU. WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT GETS ADDED TO AN UPCOMING AGENDA AS WELL. [4. Briefing from the American Heart Association regarding their beverage campaign to promote healthy habits. (Part 3 of 3)] OKAY. I THINK WE NOW HAVE BOTH A PRESENTER AND A PRESENTATION, SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, MR. , IF YOU COULD TALK US THROUGH HEALTHIER KIDS MEALS, ABSOLUTELY. YOU AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR PATIENCE. AS WE HAVE FIGURED THAT OUT, AS I SAID, I'M ALEX , I'M THE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS DIRECTOR FOR THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION. AND, UH, I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT ONE OF THE POLICY APPROACHES WE'VE, UH, IDENTIFIED TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF KIDS' MEALS. AND I UNDERSTAND WE'RE ON AN AGENDA TODAY, SO I WILL DO MY BEST TO EXPEDITE THIS FOR YOU. WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO BEFORE I TELL YOU MORE SPECIFICS ABOUT THAT APPROACH, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU MORE BACKGROUND ABOUT THE ISSUE ITSELF. UM, AS YOU KNOW, PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS ARE BUSIER THAN EVER. AND OFTEN THAT WILL MEAN, UH, GRABBING THEIR MEALS FROM DRIVE-THROUGHS OR TAKEOUT. AS A RESULT, CHILDREN ARE CONSUMING MORE AND MORE OF THEIR DAILY CALORIES FROM RESTAURANT MEALS. AND THAT OFTEN INCLUDES A, UH, SWEET DESSERT OR A SUGARY BEVERAGE. AND SO HERE YOU SEE SOME OF THE HIGHLINE STATS ABOUT THAT TREND. WE'RE SPENDING MUCH MORE OF OUR BUDGETS EATING OUT THAN WE ARE AT HOME AVERAGING ABOUT FIVE MEALS OUT PER WEEK. AND AS WE KNOW, ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD IS AN ONGOING ISSUE, BUT MANY OF THOSE SAME AREAS ALSO HAVE A HIGHER THAN AVERAGE PREVALENCE OF FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS. SO THAT'S ALSO A HEALTH EQUITY ISSUE BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THESE ISSUES PARTICULARLY AFFECT OUR LOWER INCOME AND OUR MINORITY RESIDENTS. AND WE KNOW THAT, UH, WHEN THOSE MEALS INCLUDE SUGARS FAR BEYOND NATIONAL GUIDELINES, LIKE THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATIONS, WHICH REPRESENTS NO MORE THAN EIGHT OUNCES OF ADDED SUGAR PER WEEK, FOR MOST CHILDREN, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AND SO WITH THAT BACKGROUND, YOU CAN PUT SOME OF THESE FACTS AND FIGURES IN BETTER CONTEXT. UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, MORE THAN TWO OUT OF FIVE CHILDREN HAVE FAST FOOD ON ANY GIVEN DAY WITH THE AVERAGE AGE ORDERING OFF A, THE CHILDREN'S MENU OF BEING ONLY SIX YEARS OLD, THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION ALSO DID A COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF OUR REGION THAT WAS LED BY CATALINA BERRY, WHO SOME OF YOU KNOW, UH, ACCORDING TO THAT COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT, THE REGION HAS HIGHER THAN AVERAGE RATES FOR A LACK OF HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS ACROSS ALL ETHNICITIES, WHICH IS DEFINED BY THE USDA IS LIVING MORE THAN A HALF MILE FROM THE NEAREST GROCERY STORE OR LARGE SUPERMARKET. THAT MEANS MORE THAN A QUARTER OF OUR POPULATION. AND MORE THAN 20% OF OUR CHILDREN ARE CONSIDERED FOOD INSECURE. WELL, ACCESS IS A CHALLENGE IN ITS OWN, RIGHT? UH, WE ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE LOOK FOR WAYS TO SUPPORT HEALTHIER OPTIONS AT THOSE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE DO HAVE ACCESS AND THAT THEY'RE ALREADY USING TO FEED THEIR FAMILIES. CURRENTLY, CHILDREN CONSUME MANY MORE CALORIES WHEN THEY EAT OUT WITH MOST OF THOSE MEALS BEING FAR TOO HIGH IN CALORIES, SATURATED, FAT, AND SODIUM. I'VE HEARD THE TERM FOOD SWAMP USED FOR THESE AREAS WHERE THERE'S A DISTINCT LACK OF HEALTHY OPTIONS, BUT THERE'S PLENTY OF ACCESS TO FAST FOOD, JUNK FOOD AND SUGARY BEVERAGES. AND SO AS WE CONTINUE TO CONSIDER WAYS TO IMPROVE ACCESS ACROSS THE BOARD, UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T MISS THOSE AREAS WHERE WE CAN MAKE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT. WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO I JUST MENTIONED A FEW ISSUES RELATED TO JUNK FOOD, FAST FOOD, UH, GROCERY STORES. SO WHY, UH, FOCUSED ON SUGARY DRINKS SIMPLY PUT, THEY ARE THE TOP SOURCE OF ADDING CALORIES AND OUR CHILDREN'S DIETS AND REGULAR CONSUMPTION OF THOSE. [00:15:01] THAT'S OUR KIDS UP FOR A LIFETIME OF HEALTH CHALLENGES. A LOT OF THOSE HEALTH CHALLENGES INCLUDE THE THINGS, UH, THAT COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON WAS JUST MENTIONING THINGS LIKE OBESITY, HYPERTENSION, DIABETES, TOOTH DECAY. AND, UH, WE ALSO CAN'T IGNORE THE IMPACT OF COVID 19, FOR WHICH ALL OF THOSE ARE SERIOUS RISK FACTORS THAT INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF SERIOUS ILLNESS OR DEATH. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS IS ALSO A HEALTH EQUITY ISSUE. THESE FACTORS DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT LOW INCOME RESIDENTS AND PEOPLE OF COLOR CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, UH, CONSUME MORE THAN TWO TIMES THE AMOUNT OF SUGARY DRINKS THAN THEIR HIGHER INCOME PEERS AND BLACK AND LATINO CHILDREN ARE MORE THAN 50% MORE LIKELY TO DEVELOP DIABETES IN THEIR LIFETIMES COMPARED TO THEIR WHITE PEERS. AND FINALLY, WE KNOW THAT THIS IS AN APPROACH THAT WORKS BUSY FAMILIES STILL WANT TO EAT HEALTHY AND RESEARCH SHOWS THAT WHEN THEY ARE PRESENTED WITH A HEALTHY OPTION, THEY TEND TO STICK WITH IT MOST OF THE TIME, RATHER THAN SWITCHING TO A LESS NUTRITIOUS OPTION, WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AND SO JUST TO ADD A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT TO WHAT I SAID, I WANTED TO SHARE THESE INFOGRAPHICS THAT SHOW YOU HOW THESE SMALL HABITS CAN ADD UP OVER TIME. AS YOU WILL SEE A RANGE OF COMMON DRINKS, EVEN THOSE WE MIGHT CONSIDER HEALTHIER LIKE TEA OR ELIMINATE OFTEN HAVE MUCH MORE SUGAR THAN WE THINK. UH, THE HEART ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDS NO MORE THAN ONE OF THESE PER WEEK, BUT WE KNOW THAT CHILDREN ARE DRINKING MUCH MORE SO WHILE WE KNOW THAT IT MIGHT NOT BE A PROBLEM EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE WITH CHILDREN CONSUMING MORE THAN 10 TIMES, THE RECOMMENDED AMOUNTS, THAT'LL ADD UP TO MORE THAN 30 GALLONS, A YEAR OF SUGARY, LOW NUTRITION CALORIES. THAT'LL SET UP OUR CHILDREN FOR A LIFETIME OF HEALTH CHALLENGES. I GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO HOW SHOULD WE ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM? OUR SUGGESTION IS THAT THE DRINK OFFERED BY DEFAULT WITH THE CHILDREN'S MEAL SHOULD BE WATER, MILK, OR NUTRITIONALLY, SIMILAR MILK SUBSTITUTE, OR 100% FRUIT JUICE WITH NO ADDED SUGAR. WE KNOW THAT WHEN WE OFFER CONSUMERS HEALTHY OPTIONS, BY DEFAULT, THEY TEND TO STICK WITH THAT CHOICE. THAT APPROACH HAS BEEN APPROVED AND IMPLEMENTED IN SOME FORM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING STATEWIDE IN CALIFORNIA AND LOCALLY IN PLACES LIKE COLORADO, DELAWARE, OHIO, AND ALSO MARYLAND, WHICH I DIDN'T MENTION ON THAT SLIDE. UM, SOME, SOME LARGE RESTAURANT CHAINS HAVE VOLUNTARILY STAYED IN STEPS LIKE THIS AS WELL. UH WENDY'S FOR EXAMPLE, DOES THIS MCDONALD'S HAS GONE A STEP FURTHER AND OFFERS HEALTHY DRINKS AS WELL AS HEALTHY SIDES, LIKE SLICED APPLES INSTEAD OF FRENCH FRIES. AND ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS WALT DISNEY WORLD, WHICH OFFERS HEALTHY OPTIONS AND ALL OF THEIR THEME PARKS NOW. UH, AND SO I'LL GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THAT WORKS ON THE NEXT SLIDE WE CAN MOVE ON. SO HOW DO THESE POLICIES ACTUALLY WORK? UH, IT'S VERY SIMPLE IN THAT IF A RESTAURANT OFFERS A KID'S ME CHILDREN'S MENU, THE DRINKS OFFERED WITH THOSE MEALS SHOULD BE WATERED, DAIRY OR NON-DAIRY MILK WITH A SIMILAR NUTRITIONAL PROFILE, OR 100% FOR JEWS WITHOUT ADDED SUGARS. THIS WOULD APPLY ONLY THE BEVERAGES INCLUDED ON THE MENU WITH THE KID'S MEAL, AND NOTHING WOULD PREVENT A PARENT FROM ORDERING A DIFFERENT BEVERAGE FOR THEIR CHILD IF THEY CHOSE TO DO SO. WE KNOW THAT THESE BEVERAGES CAN BE ENJOYED AS PART OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE IN MODERATION. AND SO OUR AIM IS TO SUPPORT ACCESS COST AND CHOICE WHILE STILL SHIFTING THOSE HABITS TOWARDS HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES. THE SCIENCE ALSO VALIDATES THIS APPROACH, UH, EVIDENCE FROM A WIDE RANGE OF FIELDS GOING FROM, UM, CHOOSING RETIREMENT PLANS, DECIDING ON ORGAN DONATION AND ALSO NUTRITION LIKE THIS SHOW THAT SETTING BENEFICIAL DEFAULTS HAS HIGH RATES OF FOLLOW-THROUGH AT DISNEY THEME PARKS. LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, MEALS WITH HEALTHIER OPTIONS RESULTED IN MORE THAN 20%, FEWER CALORIES SERVED TO CHILDREN, WHICH IS VERY SIGNIFICANT. AND IN THAT SAME STUDY, PARENTS STUCK WITH THE HEALTHY OPTIONS ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THE TIME. I'M ONLY CHOOSING SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT A THIRD OF THE TIME. AND WE'RE OF COURSE, SENSITIVE TO THE CHALLENGES RESTAURANTS AND BUSINESS COMMUNITY HAVE FACED OVER THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF. AND, UH, WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT WHERE THESE POLICIES HAVE BEEN UNDERTAKEN. THEY DID NOT RESULT IN NEGATIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTS IN CALIFORNIA, IN DELAWARE. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S RESEARCH SHOWING THAT MANAGERS DO NOT REPORT LOWER REVENUES AFTER THE CHANGE, NOR DID THEY REPORT ANY CHANGE IN THE NUMBER OF KIDS MEALS SOLD BY ME. I THOUGHT THIS WAS REALLY INTERESTING THAT THERE ARE ACTUALLY STUDIES WHERE RESEARCHERS SURVEYED CHILDREN THEMSELVES TO SEE WHAT THEY WOULD ORDER AND WHAT THEY'D BE WILLING TO, UH, TO CHOOSE ON A, ON A MENU. AND THAT STUDY MORE THAN HALF OF CHILDREN THEMSELVES INDICATED THAT THEY'D BE SOMEWHAT OR VERY LIKELY TO ORDER A KIDS MEAL WITH A HEALTHIER OPTION. WELL, THOSE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES. WE DO HAVE MANY MORE STUDIES WE CAN SHARE THAT DEMONSTRATE THAT SUCH POLICY IS GOING TO HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMMEDIATE IMPACTS WITHOUT A NEGATIVE ECONOMIC EFFECTS. AND WE CAN MOVE ON TO THIS LAST SLIDE HERE. AND SO TO CLOSE, UH, I JUST WANTED TO LEAVE YOU WITH THIS GRAPHIC, WHICH KIND OF SHOWS OUR VISION FOR HEALTHIER KIDS MENUS. UH, WE KNOW THAT WHEN PARENTS AND CHILDREN ARE PRESENTED WITH HEALTHIER OPTIONS, IT CUTS DOWN ON THEIR REQUESTS FOR SUGAR FREE DRINKS, AND IT WILL ULTIMATELY CUT DOWN ON THEIR EXPECTATION THAT EVERY MEAL SHOULD HAVE A HIGH CALORIE [00:20:01] BEVERAGE NEARBY. ULTIMATELY, OUR GOAL IS FOR CHILDREN TO GROW UP, NOT VIEWING HEALTHY OPTIONS AS A RARE ONE-TIME EXCEPTION, BUT AS A NATURAL AND NORMAL WAY TO EAT AND TO THINK OF ADDING SUGARS, RATHER AS THE EXCEPTION AND SOMETHING TO BE ENJOYED IN MODERATION. AND, UH, WITH THAT, I WOULD BE, UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR YOUR TIME AND AGAIN FOR YOUR PATIENCE, AS WE FIGURED OUT HOW TO, UH, GET THIS PRESENTATION STARTED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STICK WITH IT AND YOUR PATIENCE AND, UM, TIME GENEROSITY WITH YOUR TIME TO BE HERE TODAY. COLLEAGUES, WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT THE, ABOUT THE PRESENTATION OR THE INFORMATION? YES, BEST TURF CONTESTS. THANK YOU. UM, AND THANK YOU, MR. FOR JOINING US TODAY AND FOR SHARING IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE CAN MAKE THE HEALTHIER CHOICE, THE EASIER CHOICE. THIS IS CERTAINLY A TOPIC THAT I'M SUPPORTED OF AND KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT MORE THAT WE CAN BE DOING AS A COMMUNITY TO MAKE IT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR, FOR PARENTS ON MAKING THAT A HEALTHY CHOICE ON BEHALF OF THEIR KIDS. UM, AND, AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE ROOTED IN AND IT'S ALL ABOUT CHOICES AND MAKING IT EASIER AND FOLKS WILL STILL HAVE OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THEM, BUT WE REALLY JUST WANT TO CREATE THAT HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENT TO CREATE HEALTHIER HABITS. UM, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US IF OTHER CITIES HAVE ADOPTED SIMILAR POLICIES AND I'M CURIOUS, UM, WHAT TYPE OF MOVEMENT THIS POLICY IS GAINING THROUGHOUT THE STATE OR EVEN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY? YEAH. UM, IN, IN THE STATE, UM, I, I, THIS WOULD BE, I THINK THE FIRST EXAMPLE OF, UH, OF IT BEING DONE, UM, IN THIS FASHION, I KNOW SAN ANTONIO DOES HAVE A, UH, I PRO I GET VOLUNTARY PROGRAM TO INCLUDE HEALTHIER OPTIONS FOR KIDS MENUS, UM, AROUND THE COUNTRY. I DID, UM, LIST A FEW EXAMPLES OF, OF, UH, LOCAL, LOCAL ORDINANCES EARLIER. THOSE ARE WILMINGTON DELAWARE. THERE'S ONE THERE'S PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY IN MARYLAND, UH, LONGMONT, COLORADO. UM, AND IT'S BEEN IMPLEMENTED STATEWIDE IN CALIFORNIA. UM, I STARTED AT THE COUNTY LEVEL AND I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHICH COUNTY IT MIGHT, MIGHT'VE BEEN SANTA CLARA, BUT, UH, THEY'VE, THEY'VE PASSED THAT AS A STATEWIDE LAW AT THIS POINT. THANK YOU. THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO HEAR THAT IT IS A STATEWIDE LAW IN SOME AREAS. SO CERTAINLY THIS IS A POLICY INITIATIVE THAT IS GAINING TRACTION. THAT'S GAINING MOMENTUM AS WE LOOK AT, HOW CAN WE CREATE HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. AND THEN I THINK ANOTHER THING I'LL HIGHLIGHT IS JUST BECAUSE IT HAS HAPPENED IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS, IN A FEW DIFFERENT PLACES, THERE'S, UM, WE DO HAVE THAT BODY OF EVIDENCE FOR HOW IT WORKS AND ALSO WHAT BEST PRACTICES WOULD BE. YOU KNOW, WHAT SORT OF, UM, WHAT SORT OF APPROACH ACTUALLY WORKS BEST. UM, WHEN YOU PUT THE DETAILS TO PAPER MAYOR PRO TEM HARPER MEDICINE THERE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION, ALEC AND COUNCILWOMAN FIND PLACE. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WAY YOU ARTICULATE THINGS. UM, UH, THE, THE CHOICES COMPONENT I THINK, IS REALLY WHAT'S GOING TO SPEAK TO PEOPLE. THEY DON'T WANT TO LOSE CHOICES. THEY WANT TO HAVE MORE OPTIONS. UM, SO TH THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT THE PRESENTATION, BUT JUST A THOUGHT THAT I HAD SOMETHING THAT WE DEAL WITH A LOT IN DISTRICT. ONE IS THE DIRECT RESULT OF SUGARY BEVERAGES ON OUR CHILDREN'S TEETH. AND SO I WONDER IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE FOR THE HEART ASSOCIATION, AND LET'S SAY LIKE A SMILE DENTAL CENTER, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY EXISTS IN NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE FOLKS WHO LIVE LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE COULD HAVE A MORE ROBUST PARTNERSHIP. UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, UH, CROSS CAMPAIGN OF SORTS TO BE ABLE TO ATTACK IT ON ALL FRONTS. JUST AN IDEA. ABSOLUTELY. I THINK THAT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WE OF COURSE WANT AS MANY STAKEHOLDERS AS WE CAN HAVE, AND I, UM, SHOULD LOOK MORE INTO THOSE THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN TOOTH DECAY, BECAUSE WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT THESE LONGER-TERM CHRONIC DISEASES WHILE A WHILE THROUGH DECAY KIND OF HAPPENS IN A MUCH MORE IMMEDIATE WAY. I APPRECIATE THAT YOU, THAT YOU SEE THE IMPACT THERE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER SORT OF A SHORTAGE IN GENERAL MEDICAL CARE, BUT WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT SEEMS LIKE SPECIALTY ITEMS LIKE DENTIST, UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO REALLY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO. THANK YOU. GREAT SUGGESTION. UM, ALEC, DO YOU HAVE, HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING WITH THE RESTAURANT COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN WITH THE RESTAURANTS ASSOCIATION OR ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER, UM, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS? SO INSTEAD OF, OH, I HAD JUST ONE, ONE UP QUESTION. YEAH. JUST, UM, I GUESS I'M THINKING THERE ARE MULTIPLE WAYS OF APPROACHING THIS AS YOU'VE INDICATED. AND ONE MIGHT BE TO GET VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION IN A EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN HERE IN AUSTIN, OR SOME KIND OF BRANDED BRANDED IDENTITY FOR THOSE [00:25:01] RESTAURANTS THAT PARTICIPATE IN, UH, IN A HEART HEALTHY AND HEART HEALTHY CHOICES. SO JUST WANTED TO INVITE YOU TO TALK ABOUT ANY EFFORTS THE HEART ASSOCIATION HAS MADE IT TO THAT END. YEAH. WE'VE WE HAVE DONE SOME, UH, INFORMAL OUTREACH TO THE BUSINESS AND RESTAURANT COMMUNITY TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING. UM, SO AS YOU KNOW, AS YOU MIGHT KNOW, THIS IDEA IS KIND OF HAD SOME STARTS AND STOPS DURING COVID. UM, BUT I DID MAKE THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION AWARE OF THE PRESENTATION TODAY AND, UM, INVITED THEM TO WATCH THE NINE TEND TO MEET WITH THEM MORE FORMALLY, UM, HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO. UM, NOW THAT THERE'S A, UM, I GUESS, A MORE SPECIFIC PROCESS UNDERWAY, IT'S JUST BEEN, UM, I THINK DIFFICULT TO MAKE SURE ALL THE THINGS KIND OF ALIGN AT THE RIGHT WAY, BUT, UM, I DID MAKE THEM AWARE OF THIS MEETING AND WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON, AND I'M HOPING TO, UH, TALK ABOUT MORE DETAILS ABOUT HOW IT MIGHT BE IMPLEMENTED SOON. I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY, IT COULD BE, UH, A NET POSITIVE TO HAVE IT BE AN INITIATIVE THAT COMES FROM THE RESTAURANT COMMUNITY ITSELF. UM, WORKING ALONGSIDE THE HEART ASSOCIATION, YOU KNOW, A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION AND OTHER SIMILAR INDUSTRY GROUPS AND THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION, THE RESTAURANT COMMUNITY WAS REALLY INVOLVED IN CRITICAL WAYS DURING THE PANDEMIC AND IN PARTNERING WITH, WITH THE CITY, WITH AISD, WITH OTHER GROUPS, UM, IN, IN HELPING KEEP OUR COMMUNITY FED AND IN A VARIETY OF OTHER REALLY IMPORTANT WAYS. AND SO THIS WOULD BE, IN MY OPINION, THIS WOULD BE A REAL NATURAL EXTENSION OF THAT KIND OF COMMUNITY WORK THEY'VE BEEN DOING AND, AND MIGHT BE, MIGHT REALLY HAVE BETTER SUCCESS IF IT'S AN INITIATIVE THAT COMES FROM THE RESTAURANT COMMUNITY ALONGSIDE THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION, RATHER THAN A, UM, UH, KIND OF, UH, MANDATE OR SUGGESTION FROM GOVERNMENT. SO LITERALLY I THINK TOO, TO YOUR POINT, THE KIND OF BODY OF EVIDENCE, WE HAVE DEMONSTRATES PRETTY WELL THAT WHERE THERE IS MORE, UM, BUY-IN TO, TO THE INITIATIVE, IT HAS MUCH MORE SUCCESS AND CAN OFTEN RESULT IN MORE DEMAND FOR HEALTHY OPTIONS RATHER THAN JUST NO, RATHER THAN JUST NO NEGATIVE IMPACT. SO, SO THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT THAT WE'LL TAKE THE WHOLE, THANK YOU. I HAD A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE INFORMATION, UM, YOU HAD CITED. I CAN, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER IF THIS WAS A S A STATISTIC FROM DISNEY OR FROM JUST MORE GENERALLY IN CALIFORNIA OR OTHER PLACES, UM, WHEN IT WAS THE STATISTIC ABOUT THE NUMBER OF THE NUMBER OF, UM, CONSUMERS WHO OPTED FOR US, SO TO DRINK WHEN IT WASN'T THE DEFAULT, WHAT WAS THAT PERCENTAGE? YEAH. OH, SO TWO THIRDS TEND TO STICK WITH THE HEALTHY CHOICE AND RESEARCH DONE ON DISNEY PARKS, WHERE THEY HAVE A SIMILAR POLICY. UM, I DON'T KNOW, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, WHAT THE NUMBERS MIGHT BE FOR SOME OTHER JURISDICTIONS, BUT WE DO HAVE, UM, QUITE A FEW RESEARCH PAPERS WHERE I COULD GET SOME BETTER, UM, NO BETTER RANGE FOR MAYBE WHAT THE HIGH AND LOW WOULD BE FOR THESE POLICIES. YEAH, THAT WAS THE STAT I WAS, I WAS, UH, THAT I MISSED THE FIRST TIME THROUGH. THANK YOU. AND ARE THERE ANY CONCERNS THAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM RESTAURANTS ABOUT COSTS? IS THE COST ABOUT THE SAME? IS IT COSTLY OR TO PROVIDE MILK OR APPLE JUICE? HOW DOES THAT, HOW DO THE COSTS COMPARE? UH, SO, SO THE, THE AIMS OF THE POLICY COULD BE MET WITHOUT NECESSARILY BUYING NEW DRINKS. AS I SAID, WATER IS ONE OF THE OPTIONS THERE. UM, THE CONCERNS WE'VE HEARD HAVE BEEN LESS ABOUT, UM, PROCURING THE, PROCURING, THE ITEMS, UH, COMPARED TO WHAT WE HAVE TO WOULD WE HAVE TO REDO OUR MENUS. UM, AND SO WE, UH, WE KNOW, LIKE IN OTHER PLACES, WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY'VE DONE HAS, UH, YOU KNOW, HAD A PERIOD OF IMPLEMENTATION EDUCATION BEFORE MENUS HAD TO BE CHANGED OR, YOU KNOW, HELP THE RESTAURANT HELPED PROVIDE RESTAURANTS WITH MAYBE LIKE A QR CODE OR A SIGN THAT EXPLAINS THE CHANGE OR THE THINKING BEHIND THE POLICY. AND, UM, AND YEAH. AND SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, MORE OF THE CONCERNS, THAT BEING WHAT IT WOULD MEAN FOR THE MENUS RATHER THAN WHAT IT WOULD MEAN FOR, UM, WHAT'S ULTIMATELY SERVED. I SEE. SO IN, IN YOUR CONVERSATIONS THUS FAR WITH INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES, THAT CONCERN HAS REALLY BEEN ABOUT THE COST AND TIME INVOLVED IN CHANGING MENUS VERSUS THE, THE RELATIVE THE CONCERN ABOUT BUYING DIFFERENT PRODUCTS MUCH. OKAY. THANK YOU. WELL, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS IS A REALLY INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN. I, I WILL HAVE TO THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE POLICY AGAIN. I, I REALLY DO THINK, I THINK THIS IS A DYNAMITE OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR RESTAURANT INDUSTRY TO, TO, UM, EXTEND, EXTEND THEIR COMMUNITY WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING AND PARTNER ON AN INTERNSHIP LIKE THIS. BUT THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS. WELL, THANK YOU, ALEX. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU FOR REACHING OUT. I KNOW MOST OF US HAVE RECEIVED MORE INFORMATION FROM ABOUT THIS. SO I WOULD JUST CALL MY COLLEAGUES ATTENTION. I THINK WE HAVE SOME OF THOSE STUDIES AND SOME OF THAT ADDITIONAL MATERIAL THAT'S BEEN FORWARDED TO US IN THE PAST. SO THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. ABSOLUTELY. AND I WILL WORK ON, UM, SOME OF THAT DATA YOU ASKED ABOUT, AND IF ANYBODY HAS ANY OTHER QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER FOR YOU, I'D BE HAPPY TO DO SO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY. SUPER, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. UM, [3. Briefing and discussion on issues related to homelessness.] [00:30:01] SO COLLEAGUES, WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO THE HOMELESSNESS BRIEFING AT LEAST. UM, WE'RE GOING TO TACKLE TWO PIECES OF THAT HOMELESSNESS BRIEFING. THEN WE'RE GOING TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND WE MAY HAVE AN UPDATE TOWARD THE END OF OUR MEETING OF OUR GENERAL MEETING. I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO SOME COMMUNICATIONS WE'VE GOTTEN THIS MORNING. THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL MATERIALS FOR OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION THAT HAD BEEN EMAILED OUT. SO IF YOU WOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THAT BEFORE WE, UH, BEFORE WE RETIRED TO EXECUTIVE SESSION, WELCOME MS. GRAY, GOOD MORNING, UH, DIANA GRAY, HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER. UH, SO WE HAVE TWO PORTIONS OF THE BRIEFING THIS MORNING BEFORE EXECUTIVE SESSION AT ONE WILL BE, UH, THE, UH, ON THE HEAL INITIATIVE AND THE PRELIMINARY, UH, UH, PRIORITIZATION OF ENCAMPMENTS, UH, FOR, UH, FOR TARGETING HEAL RESOURCES. THE OTHER ONE IS ON THE HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, AND THAT WILL BE PROVIDED BY OUR PARTNERS AT ECHO, WHICH IS THE ENDING COMMUNITY HOMELESSNESS COALITION. I THINK THIS IS REALLY CRITICAL. THIS WILL BE LARGELY AN INTRODUCTORY, UH, BRIEFING, UH, INTENDED TO FRAME, UH, THE, THE SYSTEM AS IT EXISTS TODAY AND WHAT SOME OF OUR OPPORTUNITIES ARE FOR IMPROVING IT AND STRENGTHENING IT. I THINK AS COUNCIL HAS MADE HISTORIC INVESTMENTS IN HOMELESSNESS, WE ALL KNOW THAT IT IS, UM, MORE THAN EVER REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO TRACK OUR OUTCOMES AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FUNCTIONING WELL. SO I'M NOT SURE IF WE'VE GOT, UH, OUR FOLKS FROM ECHO ON THE, ON THE LINE YET, BUT THEY SHOULD BE DIALING IN, UH, ANY MOMENT NOW, UH, I WILL LEAVE THEM IN A U IN THEIR GOOD HANDS. BEAUTIFUL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US, MS. GRAY, AND FOR YOUR, ALL OF YOUR WORK CTM, DO WE HAVE, DO WE HAVE OUR, WE HAVE A FEW WONDERFUL, THANK YOU. AND COLLEAGUES. WE HAVE A SHORT TIME FRAME FOR THIS PORTION OF THE MEETING. WE'VE RESERVED ABOUT 10 MINUTES, ONLY 10 TO 15 MINUTES ONLY. UM, AND OUR, BOTH OUR SPEAKERS AND OUR COMMITTEE HAVE A TIGHT TIMEFRAME. SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THEM UP FIRST, SO WELCOME. UM, SARAH AND AKRON FROM ECHO. I WILL TURN IT OVER TO YOU, SO WE'LL LET THEM DO THEIR PRESENTATION AND THEN WE'LL HAVE ABOUT FIVE MINUTES FOR QUESTIONS. WONDERFUL. UM, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE SURE CAN. WONDERFUL. UM, I'M SARAH DOES ZINSKY, UM, VICE PRESIDENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE THAT ECHO AND I HAVE HERE WITH ME TODAY. OCHRAM THE DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION AND WHAT YOU WRITE, AND SHE MIGHT ASK DIRECTOR, UM, TODAY'S PRESENTATION. WE'RE GOING TO GIVE A VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF, UM, EACH MY ASS, THE SYSTEM ITSELF, UNIVERSAL DATA ELEMENTS, SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES. AND THEN WE'RE GONNA TAKE THE REMAINDER OF THE TIME TO BRIEFLY, UM, SHARE THE ALMOST RESPONSES SYSTEM DASHBOARD WITH YOU WITH A VERY BRIEF PRESENTATION, UM, WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, UH, WHITNEY TO BEGIN THE ASIAN BIAS OVERVIEW AQUAMAN. YOU'RE ABLE TO ADVANCE THE SLIDE. YEAH. JUST SAY NEXT SLIDE. I'LL DO THAT FOR YOU. OKAY. UM, YEAH. CAN YOU GO TO PERFECT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO GOOD MORNING. UM, SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT THE HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM. SO OUR H MAYA SYSTEM, UH, THIS IS ALL LOCAL INFORMATION THAT IS, UH, PUT INTO THE SYSTEM THROUGH CASE MANAGERS, SHELTER, STAFF, OUTREACH WORKERS, PUTTING IN DATA, CLIENT LEVEL DATA INTO THE SYSTEM ABOUT OUR FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. THIS IS HISTORICAL DATA THAT WE'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT, UH, AND REFER BACK TO OVER THE YEARS, UM, GETTING INTO THE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES, WHICH IS ON THE NEXT SITE, WHICH YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO QUITE YET. UM, WE LOOK BACK AT OUR DATA WITHIN THE H MAYA SYSTEM FOR THE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES. UH, THERE ARE SPECIFIC DATA ELEMENTS. IF YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, CALLED, WE CALL THEM UDS OR UNIVERSAL DATA ELEMENTS. THESE ARE DATA ELEMENTS THAT ARE COLLECTED ON EACH AND EVERY CLIENT. UH, THESE ARE ALSO, UH, DATA ELEMENTS THAT CAN BE AND ARE ENCOURAGED TO BE UPDATED. UM, AS THINGS CHANGE WITH OUR CLIENTS, UM, THERE ARE ALSO WHAT WE CALL PROGRAM SPECIFIC DATA ELEMENTS, AND THOSE ARE ALSO REQUIRED. THEY GET INTO HEALTH INSURANCE, UM, NON-CASH BENEFITS SUCH AS SNAP AND TANIF, UM, AND A FEW OTHER THINGS AS [00:35:01] WELL. UM, IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO I'M GOING TO SPEAK INCREDIBLY BRIEFLY ABOUT THESE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES. UH, THERE ARE SEVEN IN TOTAL, UH, BUT WE ONLY LOOK AT SIX, UM, LENGTH OF TIME PERSON REMAINS HOMELESS. AND I WON'T READ ALL THESE OUT TO YOU AS YOU CAN SEE THE SPIKES ON THE SCREEN. UM, BUT THESE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE ALSO IMPACTED AND WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY DASHBOARD, IN WHICH AQUAMAN, SARAH ARE GONNA BE DEMONSTRATING FOR YOU GUYS IN A LITTLE BIT, SINCE WE'RE, WE'RE SHORT ON TIME, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND LET ALL CHROME, SO YOU ARE OUR DASHBOARD NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. SO JUST VERY BRIEFLY, UM, WE'RE AWKWARD IS GOING TO BE DEMONSTRATING THE DASHBOARD, BUT THERE WERE SOME KEY TEAMS THAT ECHO THAT WORKED ON THE DASHBOARD, THE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION TEAM AND THE HMS DEPARTMENTS. WE WORKED WITH KEY PARTNERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, CITY OF AUSTIN ADVOCATES WITH LYNDA EXPERTISE, UM, TO PUT OUT THIS PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD THAT USES OUR HMI S DATA. UM, WE LOOK AT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE, IDENTIFY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE SYSTEM FLOW EQUITY. UM, IT ENABLES US TO SET SOME TARGETED GOALS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND HIGHLIGHT SYSTEM SUCCESSES. UM, WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO AKRON FOR THE NEXT SLIDE THE MORNING. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. OKAY. SO AS SARAH MENTIONED, UM, AND WHITNEY, WE HAVE A, UM, ECHOES NOW HOSTING A PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD ON OUR WEBSITE, UH, THAT PROVIDES DATA AND CONTEXT FROM THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM. SO THE HMI'S DATA THAT WE HAVE ON PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, WE USE THAT DATA, UH, TO THEN PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT, UH, ON THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM AND, AND TO TRY TO TRACK, UH, EVALUATE, UM, PROGRESS, UH, TRACK OUTCOMES ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND IN SOME CASES ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. UM, SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE LET ME GO THROUGH, UM, SO JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE INDICATORS THAT WE ARE TRACKING RIGHT NOW ON OUR DASHBOARD. UM, AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS WE'RE TRYING TO ANSWER A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT QUESTIONS AND, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST IS WHAT DOES SYSTEM CAPACITY LOOK LIKE AND HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY MOVING INTO FROM AN A HOUSING UNITS ON A REGULAR BASIS. SO THAT'S REALLY THE FIRST SET OF INDICATORS THAT WE HAVE. AND IN THIS CASE, WE ARE TRACKING SYSTEM CAPACITY BY LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF BEDS THAT EACH PROJECT AND EACH AGENCY OR ORGANIZATION IN THE SYSTEM HAS CAPACITY FOR. UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO TRACKING THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVING INTO PERMANENT HOUSING, UH, UNITS. UM, THAT'S THROUGH EITHER RAPID REHOUSING, WHICH IS THE SHORT TERM, UH, PERMANENT HOUSING INTERVENTION OR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, WHICH IS A LONGER TERM SUPPORTIVE HOUSING TYPE OF INTERVENTION. THE, THE SECOND SET OF INDICATORS HERE ARE RELATED TO SYSTEM OVERVIEW, JUST GIVING US A SENSE OF AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL. HOW IS THE SYSTEM DOING, UM, HERE AND WE'RE TRACKING THINGS LIKE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ENROLLING ALL IN ALL OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMS IN THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM. UH, WE'RE ALSO INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF NEW PEOPLE THAT ARE ENROLLING IN THESE PROGRAMS, UH, TO GET A SENSE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS FOR THE FIRST TIME. CAUSE THAT'S AN IMPORTANT INDICATOR TO TRACK. THE THIRD BULLET POINT UNDER THIS SECTION SYSTEM OVERVIEW IS YOU'LL NOTICE HERE, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING SHELTERED AND UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS. UM, THIS IS TYPICALLY WHAT WE, WHAT WE DO WITH THE POINT IN TIME, COUNT ON A YEARLY BASIS, BUT WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOW START TRACKING THIS BASED ON OUR ESTIMATES, UM, OF HMI S DATA, UM, THIS ON A MORE REGULAR BASIS TO, UM, ON A MONTHLY BASIS. AND THEN A VERY IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE INDICATOR THAT WE TRACK TO REALLY ASSESS LONG-TERM HOUSING. STABILITY IS THE, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE OR PORTION OF THE PEOPLE WHO EXIT, UH, THE, THE, THE SYSTEM TO PERMIT HOUSING THAT RETURNED TO HOMELESSNESS. UH, AND SO WE'RE TRACKING THAT AS WELL. AND THEN THE THIRD SET OF QUESTIONS WE'RE ASKING ALL HAVE TO DO WITH AN INDICATORS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL HAVE TO DO WITH SYSTEM FLOW. UH, ESSENTIALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT THE EFFICIENCY OF THE SYSTEM, UM, FOR FOLKS WHO ARE BEING HOUSED IN A PERMANENT HOUSING PROGRAM, LIKE RAPID REHOUSING OR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, THEY OFTEN GO [00:40:01] GO THROUGH OUR COORDINATED ENTRY SYSTEM, UM, AND THE COORDINATED ENTRY PROCESS. UH, THEY TAKE A COORDINATED ASSESSMENT, BUT THEN THEY GET A PROGRAM REFERRAL AND THEY ENROLL IN THE PROGRAM AND THEN THEY ACTUALLY MOVED INTO A HOUSING UNIT. AND SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THE LENGTH OF TIME BETWEEN EACH OF THESE STEPS, REALLY TO ASSESS, UH, YOU KNOW, IF THERE ARE BOTTLENECKS IN THE SYSTEM THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT AT, AT A SYSTEM WIDE LEVEL. SO THAT'S A, A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT'S IN THE DASHBOARD. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE TIME TO REVIEW SOME OF THE, THESE IN THE DASHBOARD ITSELF. I'M HAPPY TO, IF I CAN SHARE MY SCREEN, UH, IF NOT, WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT AT A LATER TIME AT THIS POINT TO DO A TIME CHECK WITH FOLKS BEFORE MOVING ON. OH, WHY DON'T WE TAKE A FEW QUESTIONS? I KNOW YOU HAVE A TIMEFRAME, A TIME CRUNCH AS WELL. SO, AND WE DID, WE DID HAVE TO START A LITTLE LATE, SO WHY DON'T WE PAUSE HERE? THIS IS GREAT INFORMATION. LET'S PAUSE HERE AND TAKE QUESTIONS. AND IF WE HAVE A FEW MINUTES BEFORE 11, UM, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE THOSE SNAPSHOTS COLLEAGUES. WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR OUR PRESENTERS FROM ECHO? AND YOU SEE ME, KATHY? I CANNOT. NOW I CAN, I HAVE A MEDICAL QUESTION? SO, UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS. I THINK THIS IS A REALLY A GREAT SERVICE AND IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMUNITY. SO IF I'M A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY AND I WANT TO SEE THE DASHBOARD, WHERE DO I, WHERE DO I FIND IT? UM, ON AUSTIN, ECHO.ORG ON OUR MAIN WEBSITE. IF YOU GO, IF YOU GO TO THE PERFORMANCE MONITORING SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE, WE HAVE A LINK THERE TO THE DASHBOARD ITSELF. UM, AND, AND THAT'S THE BEST PLACE TO, UM, AQUAMAN. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU HAVE A SNAPSHOT OF? UM, I CAN SEND YOU THE LINK IF THAT'S WHAT YOU MEAN, OR, UM, BUT I DON'T HAVE A SCREENSHOT OF IT. OH, OKAY. YOU HAD, YOU HAD INDICATED YOU HAD SOME PREVIEW, YOU COULD DO A PREVIEW FOR US. YEAH. IF I'M ABLE TO SHARE MY SCREEN. I DON'T THINK I'M, I CAN'T, I DON'T THINK I CAN RIGHT NOW, BUT IF I'M ABLE TO, I I'M HAPPY TO, TO SHOW THAT I HAVE THAT PULLED UP ON MY WEB BROWSER. THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE ABLE TO DO CTM AND THIS THING IT WOULD TAKE. YES, I CAN ABSOLUTELY DO THAT. IF YOU JUST GIVE ME ONE SECOND. I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT CHAIR. IF, IF WE COULD, IF WE HAVE TIME TO DO THAT. SURE, MR. ACKERMAN, YOU SHOULD HAVE, UH, PRIVILEGES NOW. OKAY. DO YOU SEE MY SCREEN NOW? YES, WE SURE CAN. OKAY. UM, SO AGAIN, FROM OUR MAIN WEBSITE, UH, WE, WE HAVE A LEADING SYSTEM, LEADING SYSTEM, CHANGED BUTTON HERE AT THE TOP, AND THEN PERFORMANCE MONITORING LINK FOR DROP FROM THE DROPDOWN MENU. UM, AND THEN HERE WE HAVE A BUTTON TO THE DASHBOARD GIVES, WE PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT FOR THE DASHBOARD HERE, AND THEN YOU CAN GO TO IT DIRECTLY FROM THIS PAGE. UM, AND SO THIS LANDING PAGE HAS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CAPACITY AND MOVE INS. THESE ARE SOME OF THE MAIN INDICATORS THAT WE'RE TRACKING. UM, AND AGAIN, I CAN SHOW A FEW THINGS HERE IF WE HAVE TIME. UM, BUT I'LL, I'LL LEAVE THAT TO YOU ALL. MAYBE YOU COULD SPEAK TO HOW INTERACTIVE IT IS. SURE, SURE. UM, SO ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT ON THE TOP PANEL, THAT THIS IS TRACKING CAPACITY, UM, OVER TIME AND HERE, THIS IS THE NUMBER OF BEDS OR EACH OF THE DIFFERENT PROGRAM TYPES WE HAVE IN THE SYSTEM, EMERGENCY SHELTER, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, RAPID REHOUSING. YOU CAN CLICK ON ONE OF THESE TO SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, HERE, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASING THE NUMBER OF BEDS AVAILABLE FOR RAPID REHOUSING IN THE LAST, UH, YEAR OR SO. AND, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IS THAT WE ARE NOW STARTING TO TRACK THIS ON A QUARTERLY BASIS RATHER THAN A YEARLY BASIS. THAT'S TYPICALLY HOW WE'VE DONE IT IN THE PAST. WE ARE NOW REACHING OUT TO SERVICE PROVIDERS DIRECTLY TO GET THEIR CAPACITY NUMBERS ON THEM ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. SO WE CAN SEE THAT THOSE CHANGES MORE FREQUENTLY. UM, ON THE, IN HERE IN THE BOTTOM PANEL, YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBER PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVING INTO RAPID REHOUSING IN BLUE AND PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING IN ORANGE OVER TIME. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN IS, ARE MORE PEOPLE MOVING INTO THESE, UH, PROGRAMS THAN THEY WERE IN THE PAST. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THE DATA GOING BACK TO JANUARY OF 2019. AND WE WERE TRYING TO SH WE'RE SHOWING HERE A TREND LINE TO SHOW, UM, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE IF THINGS ARE INCREASING OVER TIME. HOPEFULLY THEY ARE. AND, AND YOU CAN ZOOM IN HERE [00:45:01] TO SEE, UH, FOR JUST FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU CAN ALSO LOOK AT THE, UH, RACIAL AND ETHNIC BREAKDOWN OF HOUSING. YOU HAVE BINS. UM, AGAIN, OVER TIME WE WANT TO LOOK AT AND SEE, UM, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE RACIAL BREAKDOWNS OF, UH, HOUSING MOVE-INS? SO FOR EXAMPLE, YOU CAN CLICK ON, UM, A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UM, WHAT DIFFERENT RACIAL GROUPS, UH, AND JUST TO SEE THOSE CHANGES OVER TIME. YOU CAN ZOOM IN IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE, UM, THOSE CHANGES OVER TIME AS WELL. UM, UH, ONE OTHER THING I'LL SHOW REALLY QUICKLY IS THERE ARE DETAILS NOW, UH, ON SYSTEM CAPACITY THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'D LEFT, THAT WE'RE SHOWING HERE. UH, YOU CAN, FOR EXAMPLE, SEE THE NUMBER OF BEDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, UM, BY PROGRAM AND BY AGENCY AND OUR HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM. YOU CAN, UM, FILTER THAT OUT. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING BATS THAT EACH AGENCY THAT PROVIDES PSH, UM, IS ABLE TO PROVIDE, AND YOU CAN DO THAT WITH THIS TABLE HERE. UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBER OF BEDS THAT ARE, THAT EACH PROGRAM HAS CONTRACTED FOR, UH, IN THE MOST RECENT QUARTER. YEAH, THIS HAS REALLY TERRIFIC. ARE THERE, I DO HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD AND, AND MY COLLEAGUES MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. IS EVERY SERVICE PROVIDER IN THE COMMUNITY REFLECTED IN YOUR NUMBERS? UM, THE SHORT ANSWER IS NO, UNFORTUNATELY NOT. UH, THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE NOT IN HERE. UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, ONE REASON WHY I WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THAT I THINK IT WOULD BE, AND I KNOW THAT THIS IS A GOAL OF ECHO TO CONTINUE TO REACH OUT TO SOME OF THOSE PROVIDERS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO SEND ALONG THEIR DATA, TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SYSTEM SO THAT WE CAN REALLY GET A VERY CONCRETE, VERY DETAILED VIEW OF, OF ALL OF THE WORK THAT'S GOING ON IN OUR COMMUNITY AROUND HOUSING AND PROVIDING SERVICES TO OUR NEIGHBORS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. UM, BUT IT IS. SO I, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAVE THE DATA HERE THAT LISTS, WHICH, WHICH PROVIDERS ARE REFLECTED IN IT. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO KNOW THAT THAT IT IS, UM, THAT IT IS NOT THE ENTIRETY OF OUR SYSTEM. SOME OF, SOME OF THE PROVIDERS ARE, ARE WORKING WITHIN THAT SYSTEM AND WORKING TOWARD THE SAME AIMS, BUT THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY FORWARDING THEIR DATA SO THAT IT CAN BE PART OF, OF THIS KIND OF, UM, SNAPSHOT COLLEAGUES. WHAT OTHER QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR OUR PRESENTERS? THIS IS SUPER TO SEE, AND THIS IS LIVE NOW, IS THAT RIGHT? RIGHT. GREAT. UM, I WOULD JUST ASK, UM, SO WHAT'S WHAT I KNOW YOU, UH, UH, CONTINUING TO WORK ON THIS, WHAT KINDS OF, UM, ENHANCEMENTS OR ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS ARE Y'ALL WORKING ON ADDING? UM, I MEAN, RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN THE, I'D SAY, I GUESS THE BETA PHASE OF JUST COLLECTING AS MUCH, UH, INPUT FROM COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS. UM, AS POSSIBLE, WE HAVE BEEN MEETING WITH, UH, PEOPLE WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE OF HOMELESSNESS TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK. WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN OFFICIALS AND OTHERS, UH, SERVICE PROVIDERS TO REALLY GET INPUT ON WHAT'S MISSING, AND WHAT'S WHAT COULD BE ENHANCED, WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED. UM, SO WE ARE VERY MUCH OPEN TO YOUR FEEDBACK. UH, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE SOME TIME TO PLAY AROUND WITH THE DASHBOARD AND THEN KIND OF GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK ON THAT. WE'D LOVE TO HEAR THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT LONG-TERM IS, UM, AND, AND THIS IN SOME WAYS MIGHT BE MORE FOR INTERNAL PURPOSES, BUT THERE MAY, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THESE PIECES MAY BE ON AN EXTERNAL PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD IS TO LOOK AT SOME OF THESE MEASURES BY PROGRAM AND BY AGENCY. UM, AND SO THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING WE'RE, YOU NEED TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS INTERNALLY TO, UH, BEFORE WE DO THAT, BUT, BUT THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT. LONG-TERM AND I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, I THINK YOU MAY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON, I'M NOT SURE HE MAY HAVE DONE THIS ALREADY, BUT, UH, THE, THE ABILITY TO ALSO STRATIFY BY GENDER THAT'S RIGHT. YES. UM, RIGHT NOW WE DO STRATA OR WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE BREAKDOWNS BY RACE, ETHNICITY, AGE GROUPS, UH, HOUSEHOLD TYPES, UH, AND, UH, GENDER BREAKDOWN AS WELL FOR A LOT OF THESE MEASURES THAT WE HAVE ONE, ONE FEATURE VERY QUICKLY THAT I WANT TO POINT OUT IS THE HOUSING MOVING, UH, DETAILS. UM, THIS IS FOR PEOPLE WHO REALLY WANT TO GET INTO THE WEEDS OF, UH, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVING [00:50:01] INTO PERMANENT HOUSING. UH, IT'S VERY INTERACTIVE. SO YOU COULD, FOR EXAMPLE, SEE THE GENDER DISTRIBUTION HERE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVING INTO RAPID REHOUSING AND PSH. UM, YOU CAN ALSO SEE SOME OTHER BREAKDOWNS AS WELL, BUT WE'D LIKE TO MAKE THAT A GENDER BREAKDOWN, UH, IN, WE'D LIKE TO ADD THOSE TO OUR OTHER, UH, FEATURES AS WELL. SO THAT'S GREAT. I THINK, THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO TELL, UH, TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH WOMEN IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE HOMELESS. WELL, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. THIS IS REALLY EXCITING WORK, AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO SEE HOW IT EVOLVES AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK. UM, THANK YOU FOR, FOR SOLICITING IT FOR SOLICITING THAT FEEDBACK. GREAT. WELL, THANK YOU TO OUR ECHO PRESENTERS. UM, ANY I'M SORRY. NO PROBLEM. SO WE WILL NOW COLLEAGUES TURN TO OUR R HEAL BRIEFING, WHICH IS, WHICH IS GOING TO BE INDEED BRIEF. UM, AND THEN, BECAUSE WE DO NEED TO MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION SESSION, AND WE DO HAVE SOME, SOME DECISIONS TO MAKE ON THAT FRONT. WELCOME BACK, MS. GRACE, THANK YOU, CHAIR. IF THEY COULD BRING UP THE PRESENTATION WE HAD IT FOR A MOMENT. SO WHILE WE WAIT, UM, UH, AGAIN, DIANA GRAY HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER, UH, WITH, UH, THE HOMELESS STRATEGY DIVISION, UH, WE BRIEF ON HE'LL ALMOST EVERY PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE MEETING. UM, IT, THIS MONTH WE ARE FOCUSING OUR BRIEFING ON THE WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING AROUND HOW WE WOULD SELECT FUTURE SITES FOR THE HEAL INITIATIVE. UH, AND, UM, WHILE I WILL BE GIVING THE BRIEFING, I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, TWO OF OUR HOMELESS STRATEGY DIVISION COLLEAGUES THAT ARE HERE TODAY, AS RESOURCES WHO HAVE DONE THE LION'S SHARE OF, UM, OF REALLY PULLING TOGETHER, UH, THE, THE VAST AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT EXISTS WITHIN OUR CITY AND, UM, AND OUTSIDE IT. AND THAT IS CHARLES LOOSEN, WHO IS OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST AND DR. MARIELLA NIAGARA, WHO IS A, UM, FUSE FELLOW. UH, SO SHE'S AN EXECUTIVE, UH, FELLOW ON LOAN TO THE CITY, THROUGH THE FUSE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. AND WE'RE THRILLED TO HAVE HER, UM, WHO COLLABORATE, COLLABORATED, I SHOULD SAY, AND WILL BECOME CLEAR WITH MANY, MANY CITY STAFF, UM, TO, UH, IN THIS PROCESS. SO WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO TODAY BRIEFLY WHAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT ARE THE DRAFT PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA FOR ENCAMPMENT SELECTION FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF HEAL, UM, WHAT THERE IS STILL TO BE DONE FOR US TO LAUNCH, UM, THOSE NEXT ENCAMPMENT RELOCATIONS, UH, AND THEN REALLY HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT FUTURE AND REFINEMENT AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT, UH, FOR THE SELECTION CRITERIA AND REALLY FOR HEAL OVERALL, NEXT SLIDE, AS YOU KNOW, COUNCIL ADOPTED THE HEAL INITIATIVE IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, UM, UH, WITH A GOAL OF, UH, RESOLVING EXISTING CAMPSITES, UH, THROUGH, UH, NON-ENFORCEMENT MEANS, BUT BY OFFERING, UH, DIRECT ACCESS TO SHELTER AND IMPORTANTLY TO PERMANENT HOUSING RESOURCES, UH, WITHIN THAT PHASE ONE, WHICH THE RESOLUTION ESTABLISHED, WE WERE DIRECTED TO TARGET FOUR ENCAMPMENTS, UH, THAT FIT PARTICULAR DESCRIPTIONS AROUND HEALTH AND SAFETY. UH, WE HAD A SIX MONTH TIMELINE THAT, UH, WE, WE EXTENDED, UH, WERE GIVEN A LITTLE BIT OF GRACE, UH, GIVEN THE DELAY RELATED TO WINTER STORM YURI, UM, AND EXPLICITLY ASKED TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL AT THE END OF THIS PHASE ONE, UH, WITH SOME INPUT ON HOW WE MIGHT MOVE FORWARD. UH, AND WE DID HAVE SPECIFIC BUDGET, UH, FOR THE SERVICES, UH, IN, UH, IN PHASE ONE, WHICH WE WILL DISCUSS IN A MOMENT IN PHASE ONE. EVENTUALLY WE, UH, RELOCATED APPROXIMATELY 150 INDIVIDUALS FROM FOUR ENCAMPMENTS, AND THOSE WERE AT THERESAS LIBRARY AT THE INTERSECTION OF BEN WHITE. AND MENCHACA WHERE THERE HAD BEEN CONSIDERABLE, UH, UH, DANGER, A PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICULAR ACCIDENTS, CONGRESS AVENUE. AND SESAR CHAVEZ REALLY JUST ACROSS THE STREET NEAR BUFORD TOWER AND 180 3 AND OAK KNOLL. UM, AS I'VE MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, WE, UM, HAD, UH, WELL OVER 90% ACCEPTANCE RATE, UM, FROM FOLKS IN THOSE ENCAMPMENTS TO RELOCATE TO SHELTER, UH, WHICH WAS, I THINK VERY ENCOURAGING IN TERMS OF PEOPLE'S WILLINGNESS, UM, TO, TO COME INTO NON CONGREGATE SHELTER. UH, WE DID OPEN TWO NEW BRIDGE SHELTERS OVER THE COURSE OF THE SUMMER. THOSE ARE BOTH IN CONVERTED HOTELS SO THAT [00:55:01] IT IS SHELTER, BUT PEOPLE HAVE PRIVACY. THEY DO HAVE THEIR OWN RESTROOM, ET CETERA. UM, THERE'S GREATER SENSE OF SECURITY AND STABILITY WHILE THEY ENGAGE WITH CASE MANAGEMENT TO FIND THEIR PERMANENT HOUSING RESOURCE. WE FUNDED, UM, A NUMBER OF SERVICE PROVIDERS DURING PHASE ONE, UH, FOR THOSE RAPID REHOUSING SERVICES, WHICH IS TYPICALLY MEDIUM TERM CASE MANAGEMENT AND, UH, RENTAL SUPPORTS. SO FAMILY ELDER CARE AND INNER CARE ARE BOTH OFFERING RAPID REHOUSING DURING PHASE ONE. WE ALSO IN, UH, BEEFED UP SOME OF THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE HOST TEAM FOR OUTREACH. AND WE HAVE A CONTRACT WITH FRONT STEPS TO RUN THE SOUTHBRIDGE SHELTER, CURRENTLY THE NORTHBRIDGE SHELTER, UH, WHICH IS IN DISTRICT FOUR, NEAR ST JOHN'S AND IS BEING OPERATED BY THE BY CITY STAFF. NEXT SLIDE. SO AS WE BEGAN TO APPROACH, UM, THIS PROJECT, UH, THE FIRST STEP WAS REALLY BROAD RESEARCH LOOKING AT WHAT OTHER COMMUNITIES HAD DONE LOOKING AT, WHAT AS IN THE ACADEMIC LITERATURE REVIEW, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR PARTNERS AND EXPERTS ACROSS THE NATION AND THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE TO END HOMELESSNESS, ET CETERA, BUT THEN REALLY DIGGING IN WITH OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND OF DATA THEY HAD ON HAND AND COLLECTED REGULARLY, AND HOW WE MIGHT LEVERAGE BOTH THEIR TOOLS AND THEIR EXPERTISE IN THIS AREA. AND SO, UH, DR. AND CHARLES, UH, SPEARHEADED THAT EFFORT AND, UM, AND CULMINATED IT WITH A SERIES OF MEETINGS WITH MEMBERS OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS, UH, FROM LATE AUGUST THROUGH LATE SEPTEMBER, AND THEN MULTIPLE FOLLOW-UP MEETINGS, UM, TO CLARIFY AND UNDERSTAND THE TOOLS THAT WERE BEING UTILIZED. NEXT SLIDE, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT HOW MANY DEPARTMENTS AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN TOUCH THE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS. AND I THINK THIS PROJECT REALLY HAS UNDERSCORED THAT, UM, WE HAD 10 DEPARTMENTS OUTSIDE OF, UH, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND, UH, THE HOMELESS STRATEGY DIVISION THAT WERE GATHERING SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT ENCAMPMENTS OR THE INDIVIDUALS IN THEM. AND SO JUST AS A VISUAL, I'VE INCLUDED THE CITY ORG CHART HERE ON HIGHLIGHTED, UH, THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS THAT HAD SOME TOOLS OR SOME PROCESSES, UH, THAT AIDED US IN, UM, IN, IN THIS ASSESSMENT. NEXT SLIDE, WHILE WE HAVE DATA COLLECTED ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT THEY HAVE ALL DEVELOPED THEIR OWN TOOLS FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES AND MISSIONS. AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT TYPICALLY THE DATA IS COLLECTED ON A UNIQUE PLATFORM, UM, ON, UH, A TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM THAT MAY NOT BE UTILIZED BY OTHER, UM, BY OTHER DEPARTMENTS. AND WHILE THERE IS SOME SHARING BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS, UH, VERY OFTEN THAT DATA IS ONLY VISUAL, UH, AVAILABLE TO THAT DEPARTMENT. UM, THEY CERTAINLY HAVE BEEN WILLING TO SHARE WITH US, UH, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT IN THE FUTURE. AND SEVERAL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE UTILIZING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO TAG LOCATIONS, WHICH I THINK WILL BE VERY USEFUL FOR US AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, REALLY TRENDS AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING, PARTICULARLY IN A FLUID SITUATION, SUCH AS WE'RE SEEING NOW, WHERE WE KNOW THAT SOME ENCAMPMENTS ARE MOVING, UH, PEOPLE ARE MOVING FROM EXISTING ENCAMPMENTS AND CREATING NEW ONES. IN SOME CASES, UH, SEVERAL OF THE DEPARTMENTS IN ADDITION TO COLLECTING INFORMATION, DID, UH, HAVE SOME SORT OF PRIORITIZATION. AND SO, AS AN EXAMPLE, PARKS AND REC, UM, RATES, THE ENCAMPMENTS THAT THEY DO OUTREACH TO IN TERMS OF THE ONES THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO RESOLVE OR CLEAR, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, RANGES FROM, AS WE'LL DISCUSS IN A MOMENT, EVERYTHING FROM THE CONDITIONS IN THE ENCAMPMENT TO THE IMPACT THAT IT'S HAVING ON OTHER USERS OF PARKLAND, FINALLY, MANY OF THE SYSTEMS ARE THREE, ONE, ONE CALL DRIVEN. UM, AND THE THREE, ONE, ONE IS A REALLY CRITICAL WAY FOR OUR CITIZENS TO COMMUNICATE WITH US ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE FIELD. BUT WHEN WE TALK TO OTHER COMMUNITIES AND INDEED TO OUR OWN DEPARTMENTS, ONE OF THE THINGS WE HEARD CONSISTENTLY IS THAT WE NEEDED TO USE A 3, 1, 1 SYSTEM AND INPUT FOR INFORMATION GATHERING, BUT NOT NECESSARILY PRIORITIZATION BECAUSE IF WE BASE OUR PRIORITIZATION ONLY ON VOLUME OF CALLS THAT CAN RESULT IN SOME GEOGRAPHIC INEQUITIES THAT TRACK TO INCOME LEVELS IN COMMUNITIES, ET CETERA. AND, UM, THE, THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES AND TIME THAT FOLKS HAVE, UM, [01:00:01] TO SPEND CALLING THE CITY AND COMMUNICATING ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO BE REALLY COGNIZANT OF. WE WANT TO LEVERAGE THE 3, 1, 1 SYSTEM. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE CAPTURING THAT INFORMATION, BUT THAT WE'RE BEING REALLY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW WE UTILIZE THE INFORMATION THAT WE GATHER THERE. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. SO I AM NOT GOING TO GO, UM, GO THROUGH THESE ONE BY ONE, BUT THIS IS GIVES SOMETHING OF A SUMMARY OR A SNAPSHOT OF THE DIFFERENT FUNCTIONALITY OF THE TOOLS AND INFORMATION THAT ARE BEING GATHERED BY OUR VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS. UM, SO MOST OF THEM ARE REALLY ABOUT THE SITES BECAUSE MOST OF OUR PARTNERS IN THIS REALM ARE, ARE AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY OR CODE COMPLIANCE OR PARKS AND REC. BUT OF COURSE, OUR HOST TEAM, WHICH IS THE HOMELESS OUTREACH STREET TEAM GATHERS INDIVIDUAL LEVEL DATA ABOUT THE INDIVIDUALS IN THOSE ENCAMPMENTS AND MAYBE, AND CAN OFFER A MORE NUANCED INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONDITIONS THERE AND THE SITUATION THAT PEOPLE FIND THEMSELVES IN. AND SO, AGAIN, WE LOOK AT THE PRIMARY REFERRAL SOURCES, 3 1, 1 9 1 1 IN SOME CASES. AND THEN IN SOME OF OUR DEPARTMENTS DO HAVE DEDICATED STAFF THAT DO OUTREACH TO ENCAMPMENTS OR, OR MONITOR THOSE SPACES. AND SO SOME OF THOSE STAFF ARE DIRECTLY INPUTTING, UM, INTO THE SYSTEMS, NOT DRIVEN BY A REQUEST FROM A CITIZEN OR ANOTHER, UM, ANOTHER DEPARTMENT. UH, AGAIN, WE HAVE WRITTEN TOOLS, RATING SYSTEMS, AND A COUPLE OF PLAYS, UH, CASES, GIS DATA. AND WE'VE BEEN JUST INCLUDED SOME NOTES OFF TO THE SIDE ABOUT THE KINDS OF RISKS THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPTURING, WHICH, UH, LARGELY ARE, ARE RELATIVELY LOGICAL. UM, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT IS REALLY CAPTURING DATA ABOUT FIRE RISK WATERSHED PROTECTION IS TRACKING A RISK TO, UH, UH, LIFE AND, AND SAFETY AROUND FLOODING, ET CETERA. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. DOESN'T WANT TO THEM, IS IT KEEP GOING, SHOULD GO BACK A COUPLE OF SLIDES. I THINK IT CAUGHT UP WITH YOU. ONE MORE. THERE WE GO. SO WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW WITH A PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA IS HAVING IDENTIFIED CRITERIA THAT WE WANT TO INCLUDE IN THE TOOL THAT WE BELIEVE ARE MEANINGFUL INDICATORS OF THE HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS THAT COUNCIL DIRECTED US TO UTILIZE WHEN SELECTING FUTURE SITES. AND SO OF COURSE, WE'LL BE, WE WOULD ANTICIPATE GATHERING SOME BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE SITES, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, TENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THERE ARE OCCUPIED VEHICLES, ET CETERA, AND THOSE ARE IN THAT LEFT-HAND COLUMN, BUT THEN REALLY LOOKING TO, UM, PUBLIC HEALTH CONDITIONS AND PUBLIC SAFETY CONDITIONS. AND SO MUCH OF THIS IS SORT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, UM, BOTH ABOUT THE VULNERABILITIES OF THE PEOPLE IN THE ENCAMPMENT AND THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE OBSERVED THERE. UM, AND IN TERMS OF PUBLIC SAFETY, SOME OF THOSE HIGH LEVEL RISKS, BOTH TO THE PEOPLE IN THE ENCAMPMENTS AND TO THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY AROUND FLOOD FIRE, UM, UH, RISK TO PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE. SO IN SOME CASES, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE HAD FIRES IN SOME CASES, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WERE ABUTTED, UH, LARGE BRIDGES, WHERE THERE WAS POTENTIAL DAMAGE THERE. THE OTHER THING THAT IS INCLUDED HERE THAT I THINK, UM, UH, IS OF INTEREST IS THAT AS WE TALK TO OUR DEPARTMENTAL PARTNERS, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY SPOKE TO WAS THEIR ABILITY TO ACCESS SITES. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT WHEN WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN A CAMP THAT IS, UM, IN THE WOODS OR, YOU KNOW, QUITE, UH, REMOVED, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, FOR EXAMPLE, TO GET IN THERE AND DO CLEANUP. AND THAT IN AND OF ITSELF THEN PROMOTES THE ACCUMULATION OF REFUSE OVER TIME, WHICH LEADS TO A HOST OF OTHER HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS AS AN EXAMPLE. AND THEN REALLY JUST FROM A PURE HEALTH STANDPOINT, OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS THAT ARE PART OF OUR HOST TEAM, UM, YOU KNOW, INTERACT WITH THESE ENCAMPMENTS DAILY. AND THE QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER, YOU KNOW, HOW FAR A FIELD, SOME OF THESE ENCAMPMENTS ARE, ARE, ARE COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS [01:05:01] ABLE TO REACH THEM, UM, SHOULD PEOPLE NEED SERVICES. AND SO I'M SURE YOU GUYS WILL HAVE, UH, MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE, BUT THIS IS OUR STARTING POINT. UM, LET'S GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. WE HAVE NOT YET APPLIED THESE. AND SO WHERE WE ARE NOW IS NEEDING TO ASSIGN A PRELIMINARY POINT VALUE TO THESE ITEMS. UM, WE, UM, HAVE SORT OF A MOCK UP OF A BASIC MOBILE TOOL THAT CAN BE UTILIZED. AND THEN WE WANT TO BETA TEST THIS IN SOME OF THE ENCAMPMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS AS LIKELY HIGH PRIORITY ENCAMPMENTS, WHERE CONDITIONS ARE VERY CONCERNING. AND I'LL TELL YOU HOW WE HAVE GOTTEN TO SORT OF THAT SHORT LIST OF, UM, OF ENCAMPMENTS. WE INTEND TO BETA TEST IN A MOMENT. UM, AND WHEN, ONCE WE HAVE DONE THAT, WE'D LIKE TO DO THAT IN SIX TO 10 AND CAMP MINUTES. CERTAINLY WE WOULD ANTICIPATE REFINING THE TOOL A BIT, UM, FOR THIS NEXT PHASE, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO OUR STAFF ASKED THE 10 PARTNER DEPARTMENTS TO GIVE EACH OF THEM TO GIVE THEIR TOP FIVE AND CAMPUS THAT, THAT WERE OF CONCERN FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT EACH OF THEM WERE BRINGING THEIR OWN, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR OWN PERSPECTIVE AND THE VALUES AND MISSIONS OF THEIR DEPARTMENT. BUT WHAT WE CERTAINLY SAW WAS THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF OVERLAP IN TERMS OF THE ENCAMPMENTS THAT WERE OF CONCERN. SO THIS MAP SHOWS JUST GENERALLY, UM, THE LOCATION OF SOME OF THOSE ENCAMPMENTS. AND YOU'LL SEE, IN SOME OF THOSE CASES, WE HAD ENCAMPMENTS THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, IN THE TOP FIVE FOR AT LEAST FOUR DEPARTMENTS. AND, AND SO THOSE WOULD BE WHERE WE WOULD LIKE TO START BETA TESTING THE TOOL. WE KNOW THAT WE WILL EVENTUALLY WANT TO BE ASSESSING ALL ENCAMPMENTS THAT WE HEAR ABOUT, BUT GIVEN THE SHEER NUMBER OF ENCAMPMENTS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, WE THINK THAT THIS IS A REASONABLE FOR WAY, WAY FOR US TO START, UM, TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THOSE HIGHER PRIORITY ENCAMPMENTS, REFINE THE TOOL AND THEN ROLL IT OUT, UH, AS IT IS IMPROVED OVER TIME. NEXT SLIDE. SO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IN THIS NEXT PHASE, WE INTEND TO UTILIZE A, UM, I THINK A POWERFUL, BUT RELATIVELY SIMPLE MOBILE TOOL FOR THE ASSESSMENTS. WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY, UM, AND A LOT OF OPTIONS IN FRONT OF US IN TERMS OF HOW WE COULD UTILIZE A TOOL LIKE THIS AND POTENTIALLY INTEGRATE IT INTO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE SOFTWARE THAT OUR OUTREACH TEAMS ARE USING. SO HOST HAS ITS OWN, UM, TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM. WE COULD CONCEIVABLY, UH, ADD MEMBERS TO THAT, THOSE TEAMS, UH, THAT INTEGRATED THIS, UM, THIS INTERFACE INTO THE TOOLS THAT THEY'RE ALREADY USING, WE WILL WANT TO REGULARLY UPDATE. I THINK THAT WHETHER THAT'S QUARTERLY OR TWICE A YEAR, WE'LL HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE RHYTHM LOOKS LIKE IN TERMS OF BOTH HOW THE TOOL IS FUNCTIONING AND HOW, UM, HOW MANY ENCAMPMENTS WE'RE, WE'RE TARGETING THROUGH HEAL UNDER WHAT TIMELINE HAVE REGULAR OPPORTUNITIES TO PAUSE AND SAY, IS THIS DOING WHAT WE WANT IT TO IMPORTANTLY, IS IT TARGETING ENCAMPMENTS IN A WAY THAT IS EQUITABLE? SO I THINK LAST MONTH WE SHARED SOME EARLY DATA WITH YOU ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAD COME INTO SHELTER FROM THE FIRST FOUR ENCAMPMENTS. OUR NUMBERS WERE A LITTLE BELOW, BUT CLOSE TO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE PERCENTAGE OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS THAT WE KNOW EXPERIENCE HOMELESSNESS, BUT WE WANT TO BE REALLY CERTAIN GIVEN THE, THAT THIS IS REALLY ROBUST HOUSING RESOURCE. WE'RE BRINGING TO THE TABLE THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING AND NOT REINFORCING INEQUITIES IN THE SYSTEM. WE WOULD CERTAINLY LIKE TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN MAKE BEST USE OF GIS FUNCTIONALITY, UH, AND, UM, AND THEN JUST GENERALLY CONTINUE TO REFINE THE TOOL NEXT SLIDE. SO IN TERMS OF MOVING TOWARD, UM, HE'LL PHASE TWO, OUR IMMEDIATE NEXT STEPS INVOLVE, WE ARE IN THE HIRING PROCESS, UH, IN THE DIVISION GENERALLY, THANKS TO THE NEW POSITIONS THAT WERE, UM, THAT WERE APPROVED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 22 BUDGET. AND SO, UH, WE ARE IN THAT PROCESS ARE NOT FULLY HIRED UP YET, BUT ARE WORKING WITH HRD ON THAT FRONT. AND THEN WE, IN ORDER TO EXPAND OUR CAPACITY, DO ANTICIPATE EXPANDING SOME EXISTING CONTRACTS FOR HEAL PHASE ONE, IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT RAPID REHOUSING RESOURCE TO NEW ENCAMPMENTS, BUT WE DON'T ARE NOT GOING TO STOP THERE. WE [01:10:01] DO ANTICIPATE SOLICITING FOR ADDITIONAL RAPID REHOUSING PROVIDERS, UH, UNDER THE $6 MILLION THAT COUNCIL APPROPRIATED OR APPROVED, UH, DURING THE FISCAL YEAR 22 BUDGET DIRECTION EXPLICITLY FOR THE HEAL INITIATIVE. BUT BECAUSE WE KNOW SOLICITATION TAKES A WHILE AND WE WANT TO DO IT WELL, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND EXPAND, UM, ONE OR MORE OF OUR EXISTING, UH, UH, CONTRACTS TO MOVE FORWARD. ONE OF THE GOOD QUESTIONS THAT HASN'T BEEN ASKED IS GIVEN OUR CURRENT BRIDGE SHELTER CAPACITY, WE HAVE TWO SHELTERS, UH, THAT AT FULL CAPACITY WOULD OFFER ABOUT 140 ROOMS. WHAT WILL OUR RATE OF HOUSING PLACEMENT LOOK LIKE? AND WILL THAT BRIDGE SHELTER BE, UM, BE ADEQUATE? AND SO THAT'S, UM, WE THINK NOT A TERRIBLY COMPLEX BIT OF, OF ANALYSIS WE NEED TO DO, BUT SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK AT. AND THEN FINALLY, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY ARE LOOKING AT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE INITIATIVE AT EVERY LEVEL. UM, WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO TRACK THE, THE ACCEPTANCE OF PEOPLE IN TO MOVE INTO SHELTER AND HOUSING TO TRACK THE TIME IT TAKES THEM TO ENROLLED INTO PROGRAMS AND HOW LONG IT GETS THEM, UH, TO HOW LONG IT TAKES THEM, EXCUSE ME, TO BE PLACED INTO HOUSING. AND THOSE ARE REPORTS, UM, AND, AND INFORMATION, UH, AVENUES THAT I THINK WE WANT TO SOLIDIFY FOR COUNSELING FOR THIS COMMITTEE IN PARTICULAR NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. AND WITH THAT, I WILL TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THIS IS REALLY TERRIFIC INFORMATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRESENTING IT IN THIS FASHION. UM, VICE CHAIR. OKAY. I'M UP THERE. IT IS. PERFECT. THANK YOU. UM, I JUST WANTED TO GO THROUGH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. I, AS YOU KNOW, IT WAS OF INTEREST TO MY COMMUNITY, UM, REGARDING THE PRIORITIZATION FOR THE HEAL INITIATIVE, UM, AS I'M SURE THAT IS FOR EVERY COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THE CITY. UM, SO I APPRECIATE YOU LAYING OUT THE PROCESS AND WHAT YOU AND CITY STAFF HAVE GONE THROUGH AND RECOMMENDING. UM, HAVING DEPARTMENTS RECOMMEND THAT THEY'RE TOP FIVE ENCAMPMENT SITES, BUT I GUESS I'M TRYING TO GET A BETTER SENSE FROM THE MAP THAT YOU LAID OUT. UM, WHAT, WHAT SITES ARE YOU? CAUSE I SEE THE BIGGER CIRCLES, UM, THAT HAVE MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN? ARE YOU, ARE YOU SUGGESTING THOSE, LIKE, CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF WHICH SITES WILL BE PRIVATE, WILL BE INCLUDED IN THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. AND I THINK I COULD HAVE BEEN MORE CLEAR, SO WE ARE NOT YET AT A POINT WHERE WE ARE RECOMMENDING SITES, BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS SORT OF LIST OF, OF SITES THAT DEPARTMENTS HAVE SUGGESTED, WE LOOK AT AS PRIORITIES TRACK TO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CRITERIA THAT WE'RE ESTABLISHING, RIGHT. AND SEE WHERE THEY FALL. AND SO THAT IS THE NEXT STEP IS TO GO THROUGH THIS BETA OF TESTING THE TOOL AND LOOKING REALLY AT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SO MANY SITES ACROSS THE SEA, THE NEED IS SO GREAT. HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHICH ONES WE PRIORITIZE? AND SO WE ANTICIPATE OVER THE REMAINDER OF THIS MONTH, DETERMINING WHICH SITES WOULD BE PRIORITIZED FOR THE NEXT, UH, PHASE. UM, AND THEN AS WITH PHASE ONE, WE ARE NOT TYPICALLY NAMING THOSE SITES BECAUSE IT HAS, YOU KNOW, SOME, UM, PERVERSE SORT OF IMPACT OF POTENTIALLY HAVING PEOPLE MOVE TO PLACES THAT ARE NOT SAFE FOR THEM IN ORDER TO, UM, TO SECURE HOUSING. AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE COMMUNICATING WITH OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND WE'LL CERTAINLY DO THAT, UH, AS WE HAVE SITES THAT ARE EMERGING. THE OTHER THING THAT'S HAPPENING IS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN SOME OF THE SITES, UM, THAT WERE ON THE LIST OF, OF MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS, WHERE ARE SITES WHERE ENFORCEMENT HAS NOW HAPPENED WITHOUT HEAL, RIGHT? AND SO THEY COME OFF THE LIST, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THE LIST WILL BE SOMEWHAT FLUID AND WE WILL NEED TO BE MAINTAINING IT AND REVISITING IT ON A REGULAR BASIS. OKAY. SO WITH THAT, WE ALL ALSO BE CONSIDERING THE SIZE OF THE ENCAMPMENT, YOU KNOW, CAUSE I KNOW THAT WE WANT TO BE EQUITABLE IN OUR RESPONSE AND YOU WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE SHOWING, UM, PROGRESS AND ALL PARTS OF OUR CITY. AND, BUT THERE ARE SOME ENCAMPMENTS THAT ARE SMALLER THAN SOME OF OUR LARGER ONES. AND I KNOW WE'VE BEEN REALLY PRIORITIZING THE ONE THING CAN'T MISS OUR, UH, WITH HIGH VISIBILITY AND, UM, HIGHER NUMBER OF ARE UNHOUSED INCLUDED. SO WOULD THAT BE IN THE MIX OF WHAT IS PRIORITIZED? NO, I THINK, UH, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THE SIZE OF THE ENCAMPMENT, UM, IS NOT FUNDAMENTALLY A PLUS OR A MINUS BECAUSE FRANKLY, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE MANAGING OUR SHELTER CAPACITY. THERE MAY BE TIMES [01:15:01] WHEN WE'RE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE A SMALLER SITE AND GO AHEAD AND RESOLVE THAT SITE WHEN WE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE DON'T HAVE 50 BEDS OPEN AT ONE TIME. SO, UM, I THINK THAT THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT EVOLVES OVER TIME, BUT WE DON'T HAVE A, UM, A CONCRETE PREFERENCE, FOR EXAMPLE, ONLY FOR THE LARGER SITES OR THE, FOR THE SMALLER SITES. GOTCHA. THANK YOU. THAT'S HELPFUL. AND, AND LASTLY, BE SO BY THE END, YOU'RE REFINING THE PRIORITIZATION BY THE END OF THE MONTH AND THE TOOL. UH, SO BY EARLY NOVEMBER IS WHEN WE CAN EXPECT TO HAVE THE SECOND PHASE OF HEAL INITIATIVE LAUNCHED. UM, WE RECEIVED DIRECTION DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS TO PUSH TOWARD, UH, LAUNCHING, UH, PHASE TWO, UH, BY NOVEMBER 1ST. AND WE ARE PUSHING VERY HARD TOWARD THAT, FRANKLY, IT IS GOING TO BE TIGHT, BUT WE WILL KEEP YOU GUYS APPRISED AS WE DID WITH PHASE ONE AND, AND MOVE WITH ALL THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND YOUR HARD WORK IS CERTAINLY APPRECIATED AND NOTICED AND, AND, UM, THANK YOU FOR, FOR DOING ALL THAT YOU CAN TO MEET THAT DEADLINE. I APPRECIATE IT WELL, AND I, I, I CAN'T MISS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT WAS, UH, THE STAFF. AND WE'RE SO GLAD TO HAVE TWO MEMBERS OF YOUR TWO, REALLY THREE REALLY IMPORTANT MEMBERS OF YOUR STAFF HERE WITH YOU TODAY. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INCREDIBLE WORK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN. UH, YES, I KNOW WE'RE TIGHT ON TIME, BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY KUDOS TO ALL OF Y'ALL. THIS IS INCREDIBLE WORK AND VERY IMPORTANT WORK. AND SO THANK YOU FOR PRESENTING THIS INFORMATION. UM, UH, AND, AND, UH, I THINK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CUENTAS ASK A LOT OF MY QUESTIONS, SO THAT'S, THAT'S VERY HELPFUL. I'M GONNA, UH, DO ONE LITTLE PLACEHOLDER THAT I DON'T EXPECT YOU GUYS TO ANSWER NOW. IT IS NOT THE FIRST PRIORITY IN THIS PROCESS, BUT AT SOME POINT I'D LIKE TO HEAR BACK ON, ON Y'ALLS, UM, WHAT YOU'RE ENCOUNTERING IN TERMS OF THE USE OF THE PUBLIC SPACE AFTERWARDS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE PART THAT'S ONE PART OF HEAL IS, UM, IS, YOU KNOW, TAKING A LOOK AT THOSE PARTICULAR LOCATIONS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR, UH, FOR ADDRESSING THOSE LOCATIONS IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. UH, SO FOR EXAMPLE, ENHANCING, UH, THE AUSTRIAN AND BIKE AND OTHER, UH, ACCESS, UH, IN THE BIN WIDE AREA. SO AGAIN, I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO ANSWER THAT RIGHT NOW, BUT I THINK THAT OVER TIME IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO, YOU KNOW, ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, ENGAGE OUR, OUR, UM, APARTMENTS, PERHAPS ENGAGE OTHERS ON ACTUALLY, UM, ENHANCING THE USE OF THESE SPACES. SO, UM, BUT AGAIN, UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'VE PRESENTED SO FAR. I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR, UM, KEEPING YOUR EYE ON THAT NOVEMBER 1ST TARGET. I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS WILL DO THAT AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN. AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, AND I HAVE JUST TWO, TWO SUPER QUICK QUESTIONS CAUSE WE DO NEED TO BREAK FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION, BUT IT IS ESPECIALLY HELPFUL TO SEE THE PRIORITIZATION MAP AND TO SEE HOW THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS RANK, UH, RANK THE SAFETY ISSUES PRESENT. AND THE COMPOSITE OF THOSE IS JUST VERY USEFUL. SO, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WAY YOU CAPTURED THROUGH YOUR PRESENTATION HERE TODAY. THE EXTENT TO WHICH MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS ARE ENGAGED IN THIS EFFORT OF ASSESSING RISK AND HEALTH, AND THEN RESPONDING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, THAT'S REALLY USEFUL. UM, QUICKLY I NOTICED ON ONE OF YOUR SLIDES THAT TALKS ABOUT NORTHBRIDGE BEING PARTLY PARTIAL HILL. WHAT IS THE OTHER PART OF IT? SO IT IS CURRENTLY ONLY OCCUPIED BY PARTICIPANTS IN HEAL, BUT WHEN WE OPEN TO NORTHBRIDGE, UH, IN RESPONSE TO COUNSEL'S SETTING ASIDE OF RESOURCES, UM, AFTER THE PASSAGE OF PROP B TO CREATE ADDITIONAL CRISIS CAPACITY, UM, IT ALLOWED US TO COMPLETE THE HEAL INITIATIVE IN THE TIMELINE WE WERE GIVEN. WE, HOWEVER WE HAVE, UM, WITH SOUTH BRIDGE, WE SAID, WE'RE REALLY SETTING THIS ASIDE ONLY FOR HEAL. WE DO ANTICIPATE USING NORTH BRIDGE, UM, IN, UH, IN A COMBINATION OF WAYS. SO SETTING ASIDE ROOMS THERE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE HEAL INITIATIVE, UH, AND EVENTUALLY WE ARE TALKING WITH ECHO RIGHT NOW ABOUT ALLOWING THE SET ASIDE OF SOME ROOMS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING THROUGH THE MORE TRADITIONAL PROCESS OF SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE UNSHELTERED, BUT IS AT THE TOP OF THE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING LIST AND WOULD ALLOW CASE MANAGERS TO BRING THEM OFF THE STREETS, TO HAVE THEM IN A STABLE PLACE WHILE THEY GOT THEM IN A HOUSING. AND I THINK THAT'S EVEN MORE CRITICAL NOW, AS WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE BEING MORE FREQUENTLY DISPLACED, UM, IN THE SHORTER TERM, WE ALSO ARE PLANNING ON, WE ARE DEMOBILIZING THE FINAL PRO LODGE, UH, BY THE END OF THIS MONTH, WE THINK [01:20:01] THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE 50 OR SO PEOPLE WHO REMAIN THERE WILL HAVE SOMEONE TO GO SOME, EXCUSE ME, SOMEWHERE TO GO EITHER BE HOUSED OR HAVE ANOTHER TEMPORARY SITUATION AVAILABLE TO THEM, BUT WE WILL PROBABLY MOVE FIVE OR 10 FOLKS FROM THE PROLOGUE OVER TO NORTH BRIDGE UNTIL THEY ARE THERE FOR, AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT, UH, THE NUMBERS OR THE EXTENT TO WHICH INDIVIDUALS ARE BEING DISPLACED, I ASSUME PART OF THAT CONNECTION IS THEY ARE RISING TO THE TOP OF THE LIST FOR HOUSING. AND IF THOSE CASE MANAGERS DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND THEM, THAT THEY MAY, THEY MAY BE UNABLE TO USE CASES. THAT'S ONE OF THE REAL CHALLENGES OF, OF INDIVIDUALS BEING DISPLACED AT THIS POINT. I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO TALK ABOUT IT, CORRECT. THAT'S CORRECT. THE, YOU DID INDICATE THAT THE, AND THIS IS MY SECOND AND LAST QUESTION FOR THE MOMENT, UM, AT NORTH BRIDGE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS STAFFING THAT IS THAT THE LONG-TERM PLAN OR ARE YOU LOOKING TO GET A SERVICE PROVIDER? SO YOU MAY RECALL THAT, UM, THAT FACILITY, UM, WAS PURCHASED ORIGINALLY AND ITS INTENDED USE IS AS PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, WE PURCHASED IT, OR WE ACTUALLY WERE LEASING IT AND UTILIZING IT AS A PROLOGUE WHEN WE PURCHASED IT. UH, AND SO OUR PLAN IS STILL, UH, LIKELY TO, UM, ISSUE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR A DEVELOPER OPERATOR TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THAT AND TO HANDLE THE RENOVATION. UM, FOR THAT REASON WE ARE RIGHT NOW, NOT LOOKING TO CONTRACT WITH A THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDER BECAUSE IT WOULD BE FOR LESS THAN A YEAR AND PROBABLY NOT PARTICULARLY EFFICIENT TO DO SO. SUPER THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO I KNOW MS. GRAY, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT POTENTIALLY GETTING A BRIEFING, A SHORT BRIEFING ON THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO CRAFT A SPENDING PLAN. MY ASSUMPTION BASED ON THE TIME IS THAT WE'RE REALLY NOT GOING TO HAVE TIME FOR THAT TODAY. I, AND I APOLOGIZE. THAT'S FINE. UM, WHAT WE'LL DO INSTEAD IS BREAK INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND HANDLE THAT PORTION OF THE MEETING. AND I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN, AND I MAY TALK WITH YOU ABOUT WHETHER THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT SOME OF THAT INFORMATION AT, AT OUR WORK AT OUR UPCOMING COUNCIL WORK SESSION. WE'D BE HAPPY TO THANK YOU ANYWAY AGAIN, THANK YOU TO ALL, ALL OF YOU IN THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE. I THINK YOU'RE ONE OF THE BUSIEST OFFICES RIGHT HERE AT THE CITY RIGHT NOW. AND THANK YOU FOR THE TREMENDOUS WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING. THANK YOU. COLLEAGUES. WE ARE GOING [Executive Session (Part 2 of 2)] TO NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. VICE-CHAIR QUINTAS. DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION NOW? I WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE MY MIC WAS OFF, NOT OFF. I DON'T KNOW. SO THE COMMITTEE WILL NOW GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE UP TWO ITEMS PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 5, 5, 1 0 7 FOR THE GOVERNMENT CODE. THE COMMITTEE WILL DISCUSS PERSONNEL MATTERS RELATED TO ITEM FIVE ON OUR AGENDA, DISCUSS THE SELECTION OF MEMBERS TO THE SOBERING CENTER, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND SIX DISCUSS THE SELECTION OF MEMBERS TO THE CENTRAL HEALTH BOARD OF MANAGERS. IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE ITEMS ANNOUNCED HEARING AND SEEING NONE, THE COMMITTEE WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND PURSUANT TO OUR USUAL PRACTICES. WE WILL CONDUCT THAT VIRTUALLY. WE WILL THEN RETURN BACK OUT TO THE DIOCESE. I DON'T EXPECT WE'LL TAKE ACTION TODAY, BUT, BUT, UM, ONE OF US WILL COME OUT AND CLOSE OUT THE MEETING WHO DID AND ARE NOW OUT OF CLOSED SESSION. IN CLOSED SESSION, WE DISCUSSED PERSONNEL MATTERS RELATED TO ITEMS FIVE AND SIX, AND SEEING NO OTHER BUSINESS BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE, UH, WE STAND ADJOURNED AT 1212 ON OCTOBER 6TH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.