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ONE, ONE QUICK QUESTION.I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE HAS THE UPDATED TALKING OF YES.
AND WE'LL, I'LL LEAVE MINE UPDATED.
[Austin Displacement Prevention Navigators Launch News Conference ]
GOOD MORNING, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.MY NAME IS ROSIE TRULOVE AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I'M PLEASED TO BE HERE TODAY TO ANNOUNCE A NEW PILOT PROGRAM WITH COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES AND COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, AS WELL AS MY COLLEAGUES FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT'S DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION OFFICE.
THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION NAVIGATOR PILOT PROGRAM WORKS TO HELP RENTERS AND HOMEOWNERS STAY IN THEIR HOMES AND COMMUNITIES BY CONNECTING RESIDENTS WITH HOUSING RESOURCES.
THE PILOT PROGRAM EVOLVED FROM THE DEPARTMENT'S 15 DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION STRATEGIES, AND IS DESIGNED TO ENGAGE DIRECTLY WITH COMMUNITIES VULNERABLE TO DISPLACEMENT AND CONNECT THEM WITH SERVICES.
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE RESIDENTS WHO ARE FEELING THE BURDEN OF DISPLACEMENT PRESSURES.
OUR GOAL IS TO HELP THEM REMAIN IN THEIR HOMES AND COMMUNITIES.
WITH THAT, I'LL HAND IT OFF TO NE TD JACKMAN, OUR COMMUNITY DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION OFFICER, TO SHARE MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
GOOD MORNING, AND THANK YOU, DIRECTOR TRULOVE.
UH, WE ARE HERE TO LAUNCH THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION NAVI NAVIGATOR PROGRAM, AND WE CERTAINLY NEED YOUR HELP.
UH, WE NEED DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION NAVIGATORS, AND IDEALLY, NAVIGATORS ARE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE C COMMUNITIES THAT THEY WILL SERVE IN.
THESE ARE PAID OPPORTUNITIES, AND NAVIGATORS WILL WORK ABOUT 10 TO 15 HOURS PER WEEK FOR APPROXIMATELY $25 PER HOUR.
AS A NAVIGATOR, YOU'LL WORK ONE-ON-ONE AND IN SMALL GROUPS TO HELP HOUSEHOLDS LEARN ABOUT THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE AND APPLY FOR AVAILABLE CITY AND OTHER COMMUNITY RESOURCES.
THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION NAVIGATOR PROGRAM WILL FOCUS INITIALLY ON TWO NEIGHBORHOODS, COLONY PARK, AND DOVE SPRINGS.
THESE TWO COMMUNITIES WERE SELECTED TO START THE PILOT PROGRAM BECAUSE COMPARED TO THE REST OF AUSTIN, COLONY PARK AND DOVE SPRINGS HAVE HIGHER SHARES OF COST BURDEN RESIDENTS AND RESIDENTS WHO HAVE ALSO LIVED IN THEIR HOMES FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
WE WILL BE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS THROUGH APRIL 30TH, UM, UNTIL APRIL 30TH.
UH, AND THEN BEGINNING THIS SUMMER, THOSE SELECTED TO BE NAVIGATORS WILL BE TRAINED ABOUT THE VARIOUS HOUSING RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
AND THEN IN THE FALL, NAVIGATORS WILL START GOING DOOR TO DOOR AND SPECIFIC, UH, TARGETED OUTREACH IN COMMUNITIES.
NAVIGATORS WILL GO BEYOND JUST INFORMING PEOPLE ABOUT THE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE, BUT THEY'RE GONNA PROVIDE A PERSONAL, CH A PERSONAL APPROACH AND TOUCH WORKING CLOSELY WITH PEOPLE TO CONNECT THEM TO AVAILABLE RESOURCES IN THE CITY.
OUR HOPE IS THAT THIS PROGRAM WILL HELP MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS, AND WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE COUNCIL SUPPORT, ESPECIALLY FROM COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES AND HARPER MADISON.
AND NOW I'LL TURN IT OVER TO COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, WHO HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO SEEING THIS PROGRAM COME TO LIFE.
MY NAME IS VANESSA FUENTES, COUNCIL MEMBER FOR DISTRICT TWOS IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN, AND PROUD REPRESENTATIVE OF DOVE SPRINGS NEIGHBORHOOD.
I'M SO EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY FOR THE LAUNCH OF OUR DIS DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION NAVIGATOR PROGRAM, AND TO BE JOINED BY ANNA GDA, WHO IS THE CHAIR OF OUR SOUTHEAST NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT, UH, COMMITTEE.
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
IN FACT, IN 2021, UH, MY FIRST YEAR ON COUNCIL, I BROUGHT FORWARD A BUDGET WRITER THAT DIRECTED THE CREATION OF THIS PILOT PROGRAM, KNOWING FIRSTHAND THE DISPLACEMENT THAT WE WERE SEEING IN OUR EASTERN CRESCENT COMMUNITY AND WANTING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
THIS HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, AND IT'S TRULY FOCUSED ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS,
THIS IS A COMMUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND BY OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS WHY I ESPECIALLY LOVE THAT THESE NAVIGATORS.
UM, WE HOPE WE GET RESIDENTS APPLYING, UM, FROM DOVE SPRINGS AND COLONY PARK, SO THAT THEY CAN BE THAT ON THE GROUND, BOOTS ON THE GROUND LIAISON, CONNECTING OUR RESIDENTS WITH CITY RESOURCES.
IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY FOR HOUSEHOLDS TO KNOW WHERE TO GO OR KNOW ALL ABOUT THE TONS OF CITY PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE.
SO THAT'S WHY THESE NAVIGATORS ARE KEY, BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THOSE IN-PERSON CONVERSATIONS, BILINGUAL CONVERSATION, POINTING
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AND DIRECTING FOLKS TO OUR HOUSING PROGRAMS. WE ALREADY KNOW THAT WE ARE IN A HOUSING CRISIS HERE IN THIS CITY, AND THAT COSTS ARE ON THE RISE.SO IT'S ON US TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
AND I'M EXCITED TO BE JOINED, UH, BY MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCIL MEMBER NATASHA HARPER MADISON, A LONGTIME CHAMPION IN OUR HOUSING ISSUES, AND, UH, A PROUD CHAMPION OF OUR ANTI-DISPLACEMENT PROGRAM.
TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW, BUT I'LL DO MY BEST.
YOU KNOW, GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY.
MY NAME IS NATASHA HARPER MADISON, I'M THE WAY TOO PROUD REPRESENTATIVE FOR DISTRICT ONE.
WE ARE INVITING COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
I'M SORRY, THESE ACTUALLY MIGHT NOT BE MY, HERE WE GO.
I'M SO EXCITED TO HELP LAUNCH THIS PROGRAM, AND I HOPE MEMBERS OF MY DISTRICT APPLY FOR THIS ROLE.
I'M GONNA GO OFF SCRIPT JUST A LITTLE BIT AND SAY, Y'ALL, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WHAT WE NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE TALK ABOUT ADVOCACY FOR OURSELVES.
PEOPLE KNOW WHEN YOU'RE PATRONIZING THEM.
THEY ALSO KNOW WHEN YOU EMPOWER THEM.
WE ARE TRYING TO EMPOWER COMMUNITY MEMBERS RIGHT NOW TO TAKE CARE OF WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
SO I'M HAPPY THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON COLONY PARK AND DOVE SPRINGS, BOTH PLACES THAT I'VE LIVED IN MY LIFETIME, WHICH IS HONESTLY A SOURCE OF PRIDE AND JOY.
UM, THESE RESIDENTS HAVE DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH DISPLACEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION, AND THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY THIS PROGRAM IS SO IMPORTANT.
THAT'S ALSO WHY NAVIGATORS WILL GO BEYOND JUST INFORMING RESIDENTS THAT SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE.
THEY WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH THE PEOPLE TO HELP THEM FIND THOSE AVAILABLE RESOURCES.
I OFTEN FOUND MYSELF AS A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE, REALIZING THE SERVICES WERE THERE, THE PEOPLE WERE THERE.
THERE JUST WASN'T A BRIDGE TO BRING THEM TOGETHER.
SO THAT CAN MEAN REACHING OUT TO RENTERS, HOMEOWNERS AT RISK OF BEING DISPLACED, WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH THEM TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATIONS AND THE RESOURCES.
I'VE WATCHED PEOPLE TRY TO GET 300 OR 300,000 IN GRANTS.
EVEN JUST THE RECONCILIATION PROCESS FEELS IMPOSSIBLE.
SO THIS ISN'T OUR, OUR OPPORTUNITY AS A MUNICIPALITY TO HELP PEOPLE GET THE RESOURCES THEY NEED AND WALK THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS.
WE REALLY WANT PEOPLE WITH CONNECTIONS TO DOVE SPRINGS AND COLONY PARK, AS WELL AS BILINGUAL ENGLISH SPANISH SPEAKERS TO APPLY TO BE NAVIGATORS BY RECRUITING HOUSING NAVIGATORS FROM THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE.
WE WILL REACH MORE FOLKS, PERIOD, POINT BLANK.
WE WILL BUILD THE BENCH AND THE COMMUNITY.
AND HERE WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY WITH THE HELP OF MY COLLEAGUES, COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE DEEPLY COMMITTED TO MAKING SURE THAT WE DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO FOR OUR PEOPLE.
NAVIGATORS, AS THEY SAID, WILL BE PAID $25 AN HOUR, WHICH Y'ALL, AND THIS ECONOMY, I RECOGNIZE IT COULD BE $45, IT STILL WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH, BUT IT'S NOT BAD.
THANK YOU TO THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT AND YOUR TEAM AND FOR LAUNCHING THIS PROGRAM, MS. JAMAN, THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DEEPLY COMMITTED TO.
THANK Y'ALL FOR FOCUSING ON COMMUNITIES THAT ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCING DISPLACEMENT.
I HOPE VERY, VERY MUCH THAT PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME, THAT PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE HER, PEOPLE WHO SPEAK DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, DECIDE THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL THAT WE ARE PART OF THE SOLUTION.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT AND YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAM.
OUR NAVIGATOR APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN BEGINNING TODAY AND THROUGH APRIL 30TH.
YOU CAN FIND THE APPLICATION ONLINE AT, I'M GONNA READ THIS WWW.BT.LY/ATX NAV VNAV UPPERCASE ATX LOWERCASE NAV.
NAV NAVIGATORS WILL BE TRAINED STARTING THIS SUMMER AND WILL BEGIN COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ASSISTANCE IN THE PILOT NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE FALL.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION NAVIGATOR PILOT PROGRAM IS ON THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT WEST WEBSITE@AUSTINTEXAS.GOV SLASH HOUSING.
AND AT THIS TIME, WE WILL TAKE QUESTIONS.
UM, I WANT TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THIS PROGRAM PRESUMES THAT, UM, PEOPLE, UH, THAT THE, THAT THE PROBLEM IS THAT PEOPLE DON'T
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KNOW WHERE TO FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.BUT, YOU KNOW, THE NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION SAYS THERE ARE JUST 42 AFFORDABLE HOMES FOR EVERY, YOU KNOW, FOR A HUNDRED LOW INCOME FAMILIES.
WE KNOW, UH, ALL THE DATA SHOWED US THERE'S NOT ENOUGH AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO I WANNA UNDERSTAND WHY THE FOCUS IS HERE ON FINDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND IS THERE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO BE CONNECTED TO? IS THAT THE REAL PROBLEM? SURE.
UM, THE PROBLEM IS, UH, A CHALLENGE IS LOCATING AND IDENTIFYING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THAT'S ONE OF THE CHALLENGES, BUT IT IS BROADER THAN THAT.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF RESOURCES, UH, ESPECIALLY AS YOU SEE IN COLONY PARK, IN DOVE SPRINGS.
THE NAVIGATORS WILL BE REACHING OUT TO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE IN HOMES, BUT THEY MIGHT NEED ASSISTANCE IN HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS. THEY MIGHT NEED, THEY MIGHT BE RENTERS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR, UH, EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE OR EVICTION REPRESENTATION, OR IT MIGHT BE A FAMILY WHO IS LOOKING FOR THEIR OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO PURCHASE THEIR FIRST HOME OR SECOND HOME.
RIGHT? SO THE SERVICES ARE BROAD AND IT IS, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS ONE OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE WILL BE CONNECTING RESIDENTS TO, BUT IT IS MUCH BROADER THAN THAT.
UM, AND SOMEONE MENTIONED GOING DOOR TO DOOR.
IS THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE PART OF WHAT THESE NAVIGATORS WOULD ACTUALLY DO, YOU KNOW, AS YOU SAID, KNOCKING ON DOORS? YES.
UH, WE ARE DEVELOPING THAT STRATEGY RIGHT NOW, AND THIS IS ONE REASON WHY EVEN THOUGH BOTH COLONY PARK AND DOVE SPRINGS ARE STILL VERY LARGE, WE ARE WORKING TO, UH, UH, MORE CLOSELY FINE TUNE THE AREAS WHERE WE WILL, UM, HIGHLIGHT WITHIN COLONY PARK AND DOVE SPRINGS.
BUT SOME OF THAT WILL BE GOING DOOR TO DOOR.
WE WILL BE HAVING MEETINGS, UH, WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS.
UH, NUMBER ONE, WE WILL, WE WILL LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE WILL BE COMING.
SO PART OF THIS, UH, TODAY'S, UH, PRESS EVENT IS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WE ARE COMING SO THAT THERE WON'T BE STRANGERS JUST SUDDENLY APPEARING IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
BUT YES, UH, SOME OF THAT IS DOOR TO DOOR, RECOGNIZING THAT, UH, SOME OF THE BARRIERS THAT OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE IS JUST KNOWING HOW TO ACCESS INFORMATION ON A WEBSITE.
SO WE NEED TO GO BEYOND JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, USING TECHNOLOGY AS A WAY TO COMMUNICATE TO THE PUBLIC.
HOW ARE YOU ALL GONNA BE MONITORING THIS OR TRACKING HOW SUCCESSFUL IT IS? UM, AND IF IT KIND OF GOES, HOW DO YOU HOPE, WHAT'S THE POTENTIAL FOR IT TO CONTINUE OR EXPAND THAT? YES, THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
A QUESTION THAT WE ARE ALSO, UH, WORKING ON, UM, TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE REALLY GOOD METRICS TO SEE HOW DO WE EXPAND THIS PROGRAM AND WHAT WILL BE NEEDED TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM.
UM, SO SOME OF THE THINGS WE WILL, UH, TRACK IS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO ACCESS RESOURCES BASED ON HOW MANY COME INTO THE PROGRAM, AND THEN HOW MANY ARE ULTIMATELY CONNECTED WITH SERVICES.
UM, AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO NOW WITH OUR OTHER PROGRAMS. MM-HMM.
UH, AFTER SPEAKING, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS A NUMBER OF SIMILAR PROGRAMS, NAVIGATOR PROGRAMS, AMBASSADOR PROGRAMS. AFTER SPEAKING WITH A NUMBER OF CITY DEPARTMENTS, WE RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, WE'RE GONNA START WITH 15.
THEY SAID IT'S VERY, UH, IT'S A HUGE TASK TO, UH, PROVIDE RESOURCES, MAKING SURE THE NAVIGATORS HAVE THE PROPER SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED.
SO WE'RE GONNA START IN THIS INITIAL PHASE WITH 15 NAVIGATORS.
AND WHERE'S THE FUNDING FOR THIS COMING FROM? THE FUNDING, UH, INITIALLY FOR THIS PROGRAM WILL BE THE HOUSING TRUST FUND, WHICH IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION OFFICE.
UH, IN THE FUTURE, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME QUESTIONS OR ARE WE USING PROJECT CONNECT FUNDS? IF THIS PROJECT IS EXPANDED, UH, BEYOND THIS INITIAL YEAR, WE WILL LOOK AT OTHER FUNDING SOURCES AND, UH, PROJECT CONNECT IS A PRIORITY OF OURS AS WELL.
IN THE FUTURE, THIS, THAT MIGHT BE A SOURCE OF FUNDING, BUT FOR THIS INITIAL PHASE, WE ARE USING HOUSING TRUST FUNDS, UH, DOLLARS.
JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, THAT MEANS THAT AS OF NOW, THIS PROGRAM WOULD ONLY BE IN EFFECT UNTIL JUNE OF 2024, DEPENDING ON HOW IT GOES AND HOW MUCH THERE IS OF A NEED.
THAT'S WHEN YOU GUYS WILL DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT TO ACCEPT THAT IS CORRECT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, ABOUT MAY, JUNE, YOU'RE CORRECT, OF, UH, 2024.
AND WE WILL BE ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS, UH, OF THE PROGRAM.
ALSO GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY.
AND NAVIGATORS WILL ALSO, THEY'RE GONNA BE CLOSE TO THE GROUND TO THE NEIGHBORS, AND THEY WILL LET US KNOW, AND WE WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO FINE TUNE AND TWEAK THE PROGRAM, IF
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YOU WILL.UM, WHILE WE'RE, UM, WHILE IT'S STILL GOING IN THE PILOT PHASE, WHAT'S THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM? THIS, UH, PROGRAM IS, UH, 300,000.
UH, IT'S EITHER 300,000 OR 360,000, SO I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T KNOW THE, SO ROUGHLY ABOUT THREE, JUST OVER $300,000 FOR THIS FIRST YEAR.
AND THAT INCLUDES THE HOURLY WAGE.
WHAT ELSE DOES THAT INCLUDE? IT WILL ALSO INCLUDE INTERPRETER SERVICES, UM, THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM.
IT WILL ALSO INCLUDE IF CHILDCARE SERVICES ARE EVER NEEDED FOR THE NAVIGATORS, UH, WHATEVER.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE REMOVE ANY TYPE OF BARRIERS FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN ALSO IT ALSO INCLUDES, UH, PRINTING, UH, ANY INFORMATION DOOR HANGERS OR THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WILL BE TAKEN DOOR TO DOOR, UH, FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
YOU MENTIONED INTERPRETERS, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE HIRING THE ACTUAL NAVIGATORS, ARE YOU LOOKING FOR FOLKS WHO DO SPEAK OTHER LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
BUT FOR THE TRAINING PURPOSES FOR OUR STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, PEOPLE ARE GETTING INFORMATION REAL TIME.
UH, SOMETIMES WE MIGHT HAVE INTERPRETERS, UH, IN OUR CLASSROOMS IN THE WORKSHOPS, BUT NOT NECESSARILY WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO THE COMMUNITY.
ARE THERE OTHER CITIES WHO HAVE DONE PROGRAMS LIKE THIS AS THIS? UH, AND YOU MENTIONED NAVIGATORS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY MM-HMM.
BUT IS SORT OF THIS SPECIFIC PROGRAM MODELED OFF OF ANYTHING? UH, THE PROGRAM IS MODELED AFTER THE HEALTH NAVIGATORS, RIGHT.
UH, UNDERSTANDING HOW EFFECTIVE, UM, THOSE PROGRAMS WERE CONNECTING RESIDENTS TO, UH, THE AFFORDABLE CARE.
UH, AND THEN ALSO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE HAVE THE CLIMATE EQUITY AMBASSADORS.
UM, THERE WERE THE, I BELIEVE IN, IN WATERSHED, THEY ALSO HAD, UH, A PROGRAM VERY SIMILAR.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT VERY SIMILAR MODELS.
I AM NOT CURRENTLY AWARE OF ANY PROGRAMS IN OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE, UH, A FOCUS ON HOUSING.
I THINK WHAT YOU JUST SAID, ONCE AGAIN, WE ARE PROVIDING THE TEMPLATE FOR THE REST OF THIS COUNTRY.
AND THE HEALTH NAVIGATORS YOU MENTIONED THAT WAS SPECIFIC TO THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, SO I MEAN, THE NAVIGATORS ARE, THEY'RE NOT NEW.
THEY ARE CALLED BY DIFFERENT NAMES, BUT IT'S REALLY THAT DIRECT OUTREACH AND CONNECTION.
AND ONE THING WE SAW WHEN WE WERE DOING THE RENT PROGRAM, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, AND MY STAFF HELPED IN ASSISTED WITH THIS, ALONG WITH A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE EMAIL ADDRESSES, RIGHT? AND SO WE HAVE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, BUT PEOPLE COULD, COULD NOT ACCESS OUR PROGRAMS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SET UP AN, AN EMAIL ADDRESS.
SO WE SAW THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR, UH, A MUCH, UH, MORE, WHAT I CALL A VERY PERSONAL TOUCH.
AND FOR US TO SAY, WELL, I'M SORRY, YOU HAVE TO SET UP YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT FIRST.
I, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A LITTLE INSENSITIVE.
AND I KNOW WE COULD GO ABOVE AND BEYOND, AND OUR STAFF DID DO THAT.
AND SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THAT TYPE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AND OUTREACH.