[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:02]
I'M TRYING NOT TO TALK, TRYING NOT TO TALK ON IT LIKE THEY SAID LAST TIME.
UM, THE TIME NOW IS 6 31 AND THIS IS THE JANUARY 9TH, 2024 MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION.
THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION, UH, OF THE BOARD IS TO ADVISE THE COUNCIL IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO SERVE THE POOR AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS. UM, WE ARE READY TO CALL ORDER, AND THE FIRST THING WE HAVE ON OUR AGENDA IS OUR PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS IN GENERAL.
DO WE HAVE, UM, ANY SPEAKERS THAT ARE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY? WE DON'T HAVE OUR REGULARS.
UH, HEARING THAT WE HAVE NO SPEAKERS SIGNED UP, UH, FOR OUR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION PORTION, WE WILL MOVE ON TO
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
THE APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES.UH, COMMISSIONERS YOU HAVE IN YOUR, THAT ARE HERE ON THE DICE, HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU THE, UM, PACKET THAT INCLUDES THE DRAFT MINUTES FROM THE DECEMBER 12TH MEETING.
UH, THOSE OF YOU ONLINE, UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT THAT IS ALSO, UM, PART OF YOUR PACKET THAT WAS FORWARDED TO YOU.
TAKE A MOMENT AND LET ME KNOW IF WE HAVE ANY ADJUSTMENTS.
THIS IS, UH, COMMISSIONER BROWN.
I JUST WANNA MAKE A QUICK AMENDMENT.
IT, IT DOES HAVE ON HERE THAT, UM, I WAS ABSENT AH, FOR THE LAST MEETING AND, AND, AND THAT WAS NOT, THAT'S NOT TRUE.
SO I MOVE TO, TO APPROVE THOSE MINUTES WITH THE AMENDMENT OF, UH, OF ME BEING PRESENT.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, UM, I HEAR THE MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER BROWN, UH, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR, UM, SAY, AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? UM, COMMISSIONER BROWN, CAN I GET YOUR, YOUR VIDEO? THANK YOU.
WE, WE NEED YOUR VIDEO FOR THE VOTE.
I'M TRYING TO THAT'S TAKE YOUR TIME.
UH, CAN WE GET THAT VOTE AGAIN? COMMISSIONERS.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UM, APPROVING THE MINUTES WITH THE ADJUSTMENT THAT COMMISSIONER BROWN SO RIGHTFULLY POINTED OUT.
ALL IN FAVOR? CAN I GET THE VOTE AGAIN? AYE, RAISE YOUR HAND.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A UNANIMOUS, UH, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES WITH THE ADJUSTMENT.
UH, THE DISCUSSION ITEMS, 2, 3, 4, 5.
WE HAVE FIVE DISCUSSION ITEMS TODAY.
[2. Presentation and discussion on the Ending Community Homeless Coalition (ECHO) and Homelessness Response System (Kate Moore, Vice President of Strategy and Quiana Fisher, Vice President of Programs)]
ITEMS. THE FIRST ONE IS WE HAVE A PRESENTATION IN THE DISCUSSION OF THE ENDING COMMUNITY HOMELESS COALITION.UH, UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN, THEY HAVE BEEN REQUESTED, UM, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO.
UM, WE ARE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT IS THE, ARE OUR ECHO REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT? FABULOUS.
PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEAT AT THE DICE.
[00:05:05]
AND THIS IS KATE MOORE.WHICH ONE IS KATE? YOU'RE KATE.
UM, THANK YOU FOR INVITING US HERE THIS EVENING.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO COME TO THIS SPACE, UM, AND TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, ENDING COMMUNITY HOMELESSNESS COALITION OR ECHO, UM, AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
UM, SO WHAT IS ECHO'S ROLE? SO ECHO IS THE CO, UH, COORDINATING.
WE, WE COORDINATE A COMMUNITY-WIDE, UM, DATA GIVEN STRATEGIES, UM, AND FUNDING TO END HOMELESSNESS.
SO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR COMMUNITY IS THAT WE, UM, WE'RE A BIG UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION THAT, UM, COORDINATES, UM, SERVICE PROVIDERS AND, UM, GOVERNANCE AND PEOPLE THAT ARE, UM, UH, THAT, EXCUSE ME, THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED HOMELESSNESS.
WE COORDINATE THEM IN, UM, PROVIDING INSIGHT AND GOVERNANCE OF OUR HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
UM, AND THE, AND WE GET FEDERAL FUNDING, UM, THROUGH HUD, UM, TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, WE COORDINATE A ANNUAL NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, UM, THAT REALLY BRINGS THOSE FEDERAL DOLLARS TO THE SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT PROVIDE DIRECT SERVICE.
UM, SECONDLY, UH, ECHO CO COLLABORATES WITH DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDERS.
SO, ECHOED OUR AGENCY DOES NOT HA WE'RE NOT A DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDER.
WHAT WE DO IS WE COORDINATE WITH, UM, SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT ARE FEDERALLY FUNDED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, UM, SUPPORTED AND TRAINED AND, UM, THAT WE CAN ENSURE MINIMUM STANDARDS THROUGH ALL OF THOSE PROGRAMMING.
UM, AND WE PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO, UM, UM, TO TRAIN THEIR STAFF TO PARTICIPATE IN, IN ACTIVITIES THAT WILL END HOMELESSNESS, UM, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND WE ALSO, BECAUSE WE HOLD, UM, THE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS HAVE HEARD PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE, THE BY NAME LIST, THE LIST OF PEOPLE THAT ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY ECHO, UM, THROUGH THE COORDINATED ASSESSMENTS, UM, THAT INFORMATION IS STORED IN OUR, UH, HMIS HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM.
AND THEN THOSE, UM, INDIVIDUALS ARE, UM, THOSE NAMES ARE ON A LIST.
AND SO WHAT ECHO'S ROLE IN THAT IS, IS WE MAINTAIN THAT LIST AND THEN AS SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE CAPACITY TO SERVE PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, WE MAKE THOSE REFERRALS, UM, TO THOSE DIRECT SERVICE PRO PROVIDERS AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ENGAGING WITH THOSE, UM, WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UM, MOVE IN AND PROGRAM EXIT.
UM, THE, THE, THE FINAL KIND OF BIG THING THAT WE DO AS AN ORGANIZATION IS WE HOLD AND MAINTAIN THE SECURITY OF THE HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM.
UM, YOU, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT OF ACRONYMS AND I WILL, I WILL TRY KATE.
ALSO, WE'LL TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLARIFYING EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SO THAT DATABASE HAS, UM, THE INDIVIDUAL INFORMATION, UM, DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, AND IT ALLOWS US TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE REFERRED TO PROGRAMS AND AND SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT CAN, THAT CAN MEET THEIR NEEDS.
SO I AM GONNA GO THROUGH SOME DATA WITH Y'ALL.
SO AS KIANA MENTIONED, OH, BY THE, AGAIN, MY NAME IS KATE MOORE.
I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGY AT ECHO.
IT'S SO NICE TO SEE ALL OF YOU.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE IN FRONT OF YOU.
[00:10:01]
HOUSING DEPARTMENT ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO, LIKE IT GONNA DATE MYSELF.UM, AND SO IT'S REALLY NICE TO SEE SOME OLD FRIENDLY PHRASES I HAVEN'T SEEN IN A WHILE, AND SOME THAT I DO SEE A LOT.
SO, UM, IT'S NICE TO BE HERE IN FRONT OF Y'ALL.
UM, WE USED TO DO CDC AT THE OLD, THE STREET JONES BUILDING BACK WHEN I WAS THERE.
SO, UM, THIS IS MUCH FANCIER
UM, SO I AM GONNA GO THROUGH SOME DATA.
SO REALLY LOOKING AT THE SCOPE OF HOMELESSNESS, AND I REALIZE I CAN'T READ THIS SUPER WELL FROM WHERE I'M SITTING AND I DIDN'T BRING A COPY.
IS THERE A COPY HERE? GIVE HER, YEAH, GIVE HER A COPY.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GETTING THERE.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN SEE IS, IS THAT, UM, THE SCOPE OF HOMELESSNESS HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY.
RIGHT? YOU, YOU FEEL LIKE THE, THE, THAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS PARTICULARLY IS GROWING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I WILL SAY THOUGH, THAT WE HAVE DONE A LARGE INVESTMENT IN OUR, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN TRYING TO CAPTURE DATA OF PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
SO WE'RE NOT CLEAR ON HOW MUCH OF THIS INCREASE IS BASED OFF OF, WE'RE JUST DOING A BETTER JOB OF UNDERSTANDING THE NEED THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN THERE AND HOW MUCH OF IT IS BASED OFF OF A REAL INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF INCREASE IS THE UNSHELTERED PEOPLE THAT ARE ON OUR STREETS.
AND WE'VE HAD A FAIRLY CONSISTENT NUMBER OF SHELTER STAYS.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT AT ABOUT A THOUSAND.
UM, SO WE HAVE SEEN A LARGE INCREASE.
AND I'M GONNA GIVE THIS TO YOU BECAUSE I'M NOT GONNA DO A GOOD JOB.
SO, ANOTHER, UM, PIECE THAT, UM, IS UNIQUE TO AUSTIN IS OUR HIGH CHRONICITY NUMBER.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT IN HOMELESS SERVICES, ITY MIGHT BE A NEW TERM TO YOU IF YOU'RE IN HOMELESS SERVICES, IT'S AN OLD HAT TERM THAT YOU HEAR ALL THE TIME.
SO, CHRONICITY MEANS THAT SOMEBODY HAS EXPERIENCED HOMELESSNESS FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME, AND HUD HAS A VERY SPECIFIC DEFINITION THAT EVERYBODY AROUND THE COUNTRY HAS TO USE.
IT'S TYPICALLY SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS OR SHELTERED HOMELESSNESS FOR A YEAR, OR THEY'VE HAD, UH, MANY EPISODES WITHIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, UM, THAT WE HAVE TO CALCULATE.
SO ESSENTIALLY IT'S SOMEBODY WHO HAS, WHO'S BEEN ON THE STREETS FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME.
UM, WE HAVE EXTREMELY HIGH RATES OF CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO YOU CAN LOOK AND SEE THAT IT HAS STAYED FROM WHEN WE, THIS CHART FROM 2021 TO 23 AT AROUND 44%.
UM, THIS IS MOSTLY DUE TO OUR LACK OF INVESTMENT IN PROGRAMS THAT ACTUALLY HOUSE PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
WHEN WE, I DON'T HAVE A CHART FOR THIS, BUT WHEN WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO OTHER COMMUNITIES MM-HMM.
WE HAVE MUCH FEWER PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND RAPID REHOUSING, WHICH ARE THE TWO PERMANENT HOUSING TYPES.
OUR SYSTEM HAS JUST FEWER OF THOSE, UM, MUCH FEWER THAN THOSE OTHER COMMUNITIES.
AND SO THE RESULT OF THAT IS THAT THERE'S A BACKLOG, RIGHT? PEOPLE ARE FALLING AND INFLOWING INTO HOMELESSNESS IS WHAT WE, AND, UM, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO KEEP UP.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE IMPACTS THAT WE HAVE SEEN, UM, OF THE CRIMINALIZATION OF HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY IS, UM, THE LOCATION OF PEOPLE WHO ARE UNSHELTERED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THIS HEAT MAP, UM, DEMONSTRATES THAT.
SO SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF THE POINT IN TIME COUNT, SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE VOLUNTEERED FOR THE POINT IN TIME COUNT.
IF YOU HAVEN'T, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO THINK ABOUT IT.
NEXT YEAR, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING OUR NEXT ONE AT THIS TIME IN 2025 AS A COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, WHAT WE DO IS ESSENTIALLY A CENSUS WHERE WE GO OUT AND WE TRY AND FIND, AS A COMMUNITY, WE RECRUIT HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS, AND WE TRY AND TALK TO PEOPLE AND FIND OUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
WE COUNT FOLKS AND WE FIND OUT SOME DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ABOUT WHO IS IT THAT'S ON OUR STREETS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN 2020 BEFORE CRIMINALIZATION, THERE WAS A VAST MAJORITY OF CONCENTRATION AROUND DOWNTOWN AUSTIN OF PEOPLE WHO WERE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
AND IN 2023, WHICH WAS OUR LAST PIT COUNT ABOUT THIS TIME LAST YEAR, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT HAS STARTED TO SPREAD.
UM, WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF UNSHELTERED FOLKS ARE HAVING, ARE BEING FORCED TO GO AND LOCATE IN WATERSHEDS IN OUR PARKS, UM, OR JUST IN OTHER LOCATIONS WHERE THEY WON'T BE ARRESTED OR BE TOLD TO LEAVE.
UM, IT'S HARD TO FIND A PLACE TO BE WHEN YOU'RE UNSHELTERED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SEEING, UM, IS THAT SPREAD.
[00:15:02]
OKAY.SO ANOTHER PIECE THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT OUR HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE, I MEAN, ABOUT OUR SYSTEM AND PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN AUSTIN, IS, UM, THE, THE RACISM THAT, UM, INTERPLAYS WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT FALL INTO HOMELESSNESS.
THERE'S A DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE BLACK THAT ARE HOMELESS IN OUR COMMUNITY COMPARED TO ANY OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC.
AND, UM, YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT BY, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS, UM, SLIDE, UM, THE BLUE.IS, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY, AND THE RED.IS OUR SYSTEM.
SO, UM, NO, IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
THE RED.IS TRAVIS COUNTY, AND THE BLUE.IS OUR SYSTEM.
SO WHITE FOLKS MAKE UP ABOUT 27% OF OUR HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM AND ABOUT 50% OF OUR, OF OUR, UM, COMMUNITY, AND IF YOU LOOK AT BLACK FOLKS, THEY MAKE UP ABOUT 9% OF OUR COMMUNITY AND ABOUT 32% OF OUR HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE, UM, THINK A LOT ABOUT AND CONTEMPLATE A LOT ABOUT WITHIN OUR HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
WE, UM, HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT, UM, AS A COMMUNITY, HOW CAN WE PRIORITIZE AND, UM, ADDRESS THE, THE RACIAL INEQUITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING AS PEOPLE ARE IN FLOWING INTO HOMELESSNESS.
AND, UM, OUR LEADERSHIP COUNCIL, WHICH IS THE GOVERNANCE THAT MANAGES ALL THE POLICIES FOR THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM, THEY CREATED A NEW PRIORITIZATION CALLED THE APAC, THE AUSTIN PRIORITIZATION ASSESSMENT TOOL.
AND THAT TOOL IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHOW THAT WE, WE ARE NOW REFERRING PEOPLE IN AN EQUITABLE WAY.
UM, BEFORE THE GLASS TOOL THAT WE HAD WAS UNINTENTIONALLY BUT STILL REFERRING WHITE HOUSEHOLDS WERE MORE LIKELY TO GET A REFERRAL INTO A HOUSING PROGRAM THAN BLACK FOLKS.
AND SO, UM, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE REAL RESULTS, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE THINK A LOT ABOUT, UM, AS AN ORGANIZATION.
ANOTHER WAY THAT WE THINK ABOUT IT AS AN ORGANIZATION IS WE'VE JUST CREATED OUR FIRST STRATEGIC PLAN AT ECHO, WHICH WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
AND ONE OF THE, UM, KEY PIECES THAT'S A GOAL FOR US IS TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT, UM, BLACK AND BROWN LED ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO BE, UM, PROVIDERS IN THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
AND WE JUST HIRED OUR FIRST CAPACITY BUILDING MANAGER, WHOSE ROLE IT WILL BE, UM, TO CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT SUPPORTS IN, UM, IN WAYS THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO, TO BRING THOSE ORGANIZATIONS INTO THIS SYSTEM.
SO, UM, MANY OF THESE AS THE CDC, THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE IN FRONT OF YOU PROBABLY ALL THE TIME.
UM, AND YOU THINK ABOUT THE HOUSING MARKET, RIGHT? YOU CAN THINK ABOUT THAT.
THE HOUSING MARKET IS SOMETHING THAT IF YOU HAVE THE MOST CHALLENGES, RIGHT? LIKE YOU HAVE BEEN UNSHELTERED, YOU PERHAPS HAVE, UM, PHYSICAL DISABILITIES, MENTAL HEALTH, UM, DISABILITIES, PERHAPS YOU'RE STRUGGLING WITH A SUBSTANCE ABUSE ISSUE.
YOU HAVE PERHAPS CRIMINAL BACKGROUNDS.
PERHAPS YOU HAVE POOR LANDLORD, UM, HISTORY, PROBABLY NO OR BAD OR HORRIBLE CREDIT, IF YOU HAVE ANY CREDIT.
UM, THOSE ARE GONNA BE THE HARDEST BARRIERS PROBABLY FOR PEOPLE, UM, COMING OUT OF, OUT OF HOMELESSNESS, RIGHT? AND THEY'RE OFTEN IN THE SAME RENTAL MARKET THAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS IN THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR RESOURCES, WHEN I TALK ABOUT HOUSING FOR PEOPLE EXITING, HOMELESSNESS ARE RELIANT ON THE RENTAL MARKET JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
SO THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A, A PLACE THAT WILL RENT TO THEM, THAT WILL SIGN A LEASE WITH THEM, THAT WILL TAKE THEIR SUBSIDY AND WILL, AND WE'LL, AND WE'LL BE OKAY WITH LOOKING ASIDE FOR ALL THAT STUFF THAT HAPPENED IN THEIR BACKGROUND, RIGHT? AND THAT'S A REAL CHALLENGE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY, RIGHT? LIKE LACK OF AFFORDABILITY.
LIKE WE'VE ALL SEEN THAT LACK OF AFFORDABILITY, BOTTLENECKS.
UM, PEOPLE HAVE TO WAIT MONTHS NOW.
SO WE HAVE A THOUSAND PEOPLE RIGHT NOW WHO ARE CURRENTLY UNSHELTERED AND THEY HAVE A HOUSING SUBSIDY.
THEY'VE BEEN ENROLLED IN A PROGRAM.
AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PROGRAMS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AGENCIES.
YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF LIFEWORKS, CARITAS, FAMILY ELDER CARE, RIGHT? URBAN LEAGUE.
LIKE THESE ARE OUR PROVIDERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THEY SAID, OKAY, WE HAVE THE RESOURCES WE WANNA HOUSE YOU, AND IT'S TAKING THEM A LONG TIME TO FIND THEM A PLACE TO RENT.
SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY UNSHELTERED, A THOUSAND OF THOSE, WE HAVE HAD COMMITTED AS A COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO HELP HOUSE THEM, AND WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO HOUSE THEM.
SO THAT'S A HUGE BARRIER THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY DEALING WITH.
AND WE BUG OUR FRIENDS AT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT ALL THE TIME,
SO IF YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, AS I COULD, WOULD BE REMISS
[00:20:01]
IF I DIDN'T MENTION THAT.WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT TO HELP US FIND ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL UNITS FOR THOSE PEOPLE BECAUSE IT'S A HUGE NEED.
SO THIS ONE IS JUST TALKING ABOUT, AND THIS IS PROBABLY A NUMBER THAT AS THE HOU AS THAT Y'ALL HAVE SEEN BEFORE IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT HAS TALKED TO YOU ALL ABOUT.
THIS IS JUST AVERAGE RENT IN AUSTIN.
AND IT'S JUST A BARRIER, LIKE I MENTIONED FOR OUR FOLKS.
JUST IT IS LIKE, IT IS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST SIMPLY LIVING IN POVERTY OR WHO ARE LOW INCOME, UM, AS, AND PROBABLY ADDITIONALLY MIDDLE INCOME FOLKS AS WELL, IS THAT RENT IS JUST SKYROCKETING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THAT JUST SHOWS YOU WHAT THAT IS.
DO YOU WANNA HEAR ME THAT? YEAH.
WE HAVE A SYSTEM GOING ON HERE.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE TALK ABOUT KIND OF WHAT THE CAUSES OF HOMELESSNESS ARE.
UM, EVERYONE HAS A CERTAIN LEVEL OF RISK.
UM, LIFE CHALLENGES ARE JUST, ARE LIFE, BE LIFE IN, UM, LIKE MEDICAL BILLS, UM, SUBSTANCE USE OR ABUSE, JOB LOSS, UM, UH, CHANGES IN YOUR, UH, FAMILY COMPOSITION, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
ALL OF THESE ARE RISK FACTORS.
UM, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF US THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED THESE LIFE CHALLENGES AND NEVER EXPERIENCED A HOUSING CRISIS, NEVER, UM, FIND OURSELVES, UM, NEEDING HOUSING RESOURCES FROM THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
UM, EVERY INDIVIDUAL AND THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES ARE DIFFERENT.
UM, BUT WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE CAUSES OF HOMELESS, UH, THE CAUSES OF HOMELESSNESS ARE LINKED TO A LACK OF HOUSING.
UM, SO, UM, THE LACK OF HOUSING, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, THE LACK OF HOUSING, WHAT WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT IS ACCESS TO THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, THIS IS, I I THINK KATE DID A REALLY GOOD JOB TALKING ABOUT AND, AND SHOWING THAT CHART AROUND THE, THE RISING, UM, RENTS.
WE ALSO, UM, KNOW THAT OCCUPANCY IN OUR CITY, UM, NOT JUST OUR CITY, BUT IN OUR CITY, UM, OCCUPANCY RATES ARE REALLY HIGH.
THERE'S A VERY SMALL, UM, PERCENTAGE OF THE UNITS THAT ARE, ARE VACANT AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
AND, UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I WANT TO BE SURE TO TALK ABOUT IS THAT WAGES ARE, ARE, HAVE STAGNATED, UM, ARE STAGNANT.
AND SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT, UM, WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT LACK OF HOUSING.
THERE ARE APARTMENTS, UM, AND HOMES GOING UP EVERY DAY.
IT'S THE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, THAT, THAT IS REALLY, UH, THIS CAUSE OF HOMELESSNESS.
UM, AND THAT'S KIND OF EXTERNAL TO THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
THAT'S LIKE, UM, PART, LIKE SOMETHING THAT, THAT YOU GUYS AS COMMISSIONERS, UM, SIT AND KIND OF GRAPPLE WITH.
UM, THOSE OF US THAT ARE WORKING WITHIN THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM, UM, REALLY GRAPPLE WITH AND, AND PROBLEM SOLVE AND SOLUTION FIND AROUND THE FACT THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF UNITS AS KATE AS, AS KATE DISCUSSED FROM WHAT WE NEED TO, THERE'S A THOU THOUSANDS OF UNITS DIFFERENCE.
AND SO THAT GAP, UM, REQUIRE SOME CREATIVE THOUGHT PARTNERSHIP OR REQUIRE, EXCUSE ME, UM, CALLS FROM REALLY SOME INTENTIONALITY AROUND HOW WE'RE PRIORITIZING AND, AND, UM, CREATIVE WAYS TO, UM, LIMIT THAT GAP BETWEEN, UM, WHAT WE, THE UNITS THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO AND WHAT WE NEED, UM, UH, BE BEFORE YOU MM-HMM.
MOST OF THE UNITS OR MOST OF THE PROGRAMMING THAT IS FUNDED WITHIN OUR SYSTEM IS SCATTERED SITE.
SO THE SERVICES AND THE SUBSIDY FOLLOW THE, THE, UM, THE HOUSE, THE INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLD.
UM, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE ARE LOOKING,
[00:25:01]
UM, CASE MANAGERS AND SUPPORT SERVICE STAFF ARE LOOKING FOR HOUSING IN THE SAME WAY EVERYONE ELSE IS.AND SO, BECAUSE SO MUCH OF OUR SYSTEM RELIES ON THAT TENANT-BASED RESOURCE, UM, IT IT, IT MAKES THAT, UM, IT, IT CREATES THAT BOTTLENECK THAT KATE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
SO I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T, UM, TAKE A LITTLE TIME TO KIND OF DISCUSS, UM, HOW SYSTEMIC RACISM, HOW THAT, WHAT THE IMPACT THAT HAS ON, UM, HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, BLACK AUSTINITES ARE SIX TIMES MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE HOMELESSNESS.
AND DUE TO THE RACISM THAT EXISTS IN THE, IN THE HOUSING PRACTICES AND HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION AND POLICING AND, AND EMPLOYMENT AND ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE WAYS THAT WE KNOW RACISM, UH, SYSTEMIC RACISM SHOWS UP, UM, ALL OF THOSE THINGS REALLY COME, UH, COMPOUND.
AND ALL OF THOSE SYSTEMS FEED INTO THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
SO A FAILURE OF EDUCATION AND, AND EMPLOYMENT OR HEALTHCARE AND, AND POLICING.
ALL OF THOSE, UM, SYSTEMS FEED INTO, INTO THE SAFETY NET THAT WE CALL THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
UM, UH, BLACK AND BROWN AUSTINITES, UM, EX EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS TEND TO BE YOUNGER.
UM, AND THAT, THAT REALLY, IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT WE TALK ABOUT WHAT, WHAT, UM, WHAT THIS INEQUITY AND WHAT THIS DISPARATE IMPACT, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT THE SERVICES THAT WE ARE FUNDING PAIRS WITH THE, UM, WITH, WITH WHO IS PRESENTING IN OUR, IN OUR, UM, IN OUR SYSTEM.
UM, I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME KNOWN SOLUTIONS TO HOMELESSNESS, UM, THAT WE'RE USING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I REALIZE, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE A SLIDE ON THIS, BUT I DO WANNA MENTION THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN HELPING US CREATE ADDITIONAL SITE-BASED PSH.
WE HAVE ABOUT A THOUSAND UNITS COMING ONLINE IN 23, 24, AND 25, AND MAYBE DUE TO CONSTRUCTION DELAYS, 26
UM, AND, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS MADE, UM, A LOT OF STRIDES AT PRIORITIZING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOSE UNITS AND FUNDING THOSE NONPROFITS WHO ARE, WHO ARE ALSO TAKING A HUGE RISK RISK AT, UM, BECOMING DEVELOPERS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
YOU SEE CARITAS AND FAMILY ELDER CARE AND LIFEWORK AND URBAN LEAGUE, ANDAL CARE, LIKE THEY'RE ALL STEPPING INTO THIS SPACE TO DEVELOP PROPERTIES WHERE THE WHOLE PROPERTY WILL BE DEDICATED TO PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
AND WE THINK, UM, THE CITY'S HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR PRIORITIZING THOSE FUNDS, AND WE ENCOURAGE, UM, THAT WE NEED MORE.
SO, UM, PLEASE KEEP IT COMING.
SO, UM, SO SOLUTIONS TO HOMELESSNESS, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE KNOW FROM A LOT OF EVIDENCE AND A LOT OF STUDIES IS HOUSING FIRST IS A NATIONAL BEST PRACTICE.
IF YOU'RE IN THE, IN THE HOMELESSNESS WORLD, YOU HEAR, UH, THIS TERM A LOT.
BASICALLY, THIS MEANS THAT SOMEBODY GETS ACCESS TO A UNIT WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS.
UM, AND THEN THEY ARE OFFERED AND PROVIDED, UM, SUPPORT SERVICES ONCE THEY'RE IN A UNIT.
UM, I SAW, UH, THE NEW YORK TIMES DID A QUOTE WHEN THEY FEATURED, UM, HOMELESS HOUSTON'S HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM, UM, IN HOUSING FIRST.
IF YOU WEREN'T HOUSING FIRST, IT'S LIKE SAYING TO SOMEBODY WHO'S DROWNING, LET ME TEACH YOU HOW TO SWIM BEFORE I RESCUE YOU.
RIGHT? IS THAT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S UNREALISTIC.
AND EVIDENCE SHOWS TO THAT SOMEBODY COULD DEAL WITH THEIR SUBSTANCE ABUSE, COULD FIND A JOB, UM, COULD DO ANY OF THE THINGS THAT WE HOPE FOR OUR, OUR OWN LIVES DEAL WITH OUR OWN MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, RIGHT? IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A PLACE TO SLEEP THAT NIGHT.
SO IT'S JUST, IT'S THE SAYING THAT THAT IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT.
UM, ANOTHER SOLUTION IS EMERGENCY SHELTER.
AND THE CITY HAS, UM, BEEN DEDICATED TO INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF EMERGENCY SHELTER IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS AN, AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE SYSTEM.
WE WILL SAY THAT SHELTER NEVER ENDS HOMELESSNESS, RIGHT? AND SO YOU CAN'T INVEST IN, IN SHELTER WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT HOUSING ON THE BACKEND BECAUSE IT'S JUST A TEMPORARY PLACE FOR SOMEBODY TO BE.
WE WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE OPTIONS OF, UM, SHELTER FOR TO GO, UM, EITHER TO, TO HAVE A PLACE TO SLEEP THAT NIGHT, TO GET OUT OF THE ELEMENTS.
UM, FOR THOSE WHO CHOOSE THAT WE ARE INVESTING AS A COMMUNITY IN MORE
[00:30:01]
NON CONGREGATE SHELTER.AND THAT HAS BEEN A POPULAR OPTION WITH PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
UM, THE OTHER ONE'S FOUNDATION OR TWO, FOR INSTANCE, HAS BEEN DOING A LOT AT CAMP ESPERANZA, UM, FOR DEVELOPING ADDITIONAL, UM, NON CONGREGATE SHELTER.
WE, UM, DID A LOT AS A COMMUNITY AND LEARNED A LOT DURING CVID.
IT'S STANDING UP OUR FIRST CONGREGATE NON CONGREGATE SHELTERS.
AND THE CITY HAS SHOWN REAL LEADERSHIP AT USING THOSE FOR THE HE INITIATIVE, UM, AND CONTINUING TO USE, UM, HOTELS AND MOTELS FOR, FOR BRIDGE SHELTER FOR NON CONGREGATE SHELTERS.
SO WE, WE, UM, THINK THAT THOSE ARE IMPORTANT.
OH GOSH, I HAVEN'T BEEN TO IT.
UM, SO THIS IS OUR LAST SLIDE.
UM, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ASK, BE HERE FOR QUESTIONS IF, IF, UM, IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY.
SO SCALING THE SOLUTION IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT.
UM, SO IT, THIS, THIS IS NOT INSURMOUNTABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
IT JUST TAKES A GREATER INVESTMENT.
UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SHOWING THE INVESTMENT THAT WE HAVE MADE.
WE HAVE MADE AN INVESTMENT, AND WE ARE STARTING TO SEE THAT.
UM, BUT WE NEED MORE, UM, IF WE, IF WE WANT TO SEE THE, THE NUMBERS GO DOWN, AND ALL OF US I KNOW DO AND ARE COMMITTED TO SEEING, UM, THE RATE OF HOMELESSNESS GO DOWN IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THIS IS SAYING, YOU KNOW, THAT REALLY, LIKE, WE, WE HAVE, WE HAVE ABOUT 4,000 RIGHT NOW.
I THINK THAT A LOT OF TIMES WHEN THE AVERAGE AUSTINITE SEES THE NUMBER OF UNSHELTERED FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY, THEY KIND OF THINK IS WHAT'S HAPPENING? IS ANYBODY DOING ANYTHING? IS ANYBODY GETTING HOUSED? RIGHT? AND WE ARE HOUSING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE EVERY YEAR, EVERY YEAR, EVERY YEAR.
AND WE, I DON'T MEAN ECHO, WE ARE JUST THE PASS THROUGH.
IT'S OUR AGENCIES THAT ARE ON THE GROUND DOING THIS.
UM, BUT WE NEED THOUSANDS MORE IF WE ARE GONNA, UM, TRULY MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING ON THE STREET RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT THIS LAST PIECE IS A LINK TO OUR DASHBOARD.
WE HAVE AN AMAZING RESEARCH AND EVALUATION TEAM AT ECHO.
THEY'VE CREATED A DASHBOARD THAT HAS, UM, A LOT OF MORE, UM, CURRENT DATA THAN SOME OF THE SLIDES HAD SOME, UM, I NOTICED A COUPLE QUARTERS OLDER.
UM, AND SO THAT'S A GOOD PLACE IF YOU'RE EVER JUST WANTING TO KEEP UP WITH, WITH THE DATA AND WHAT WE, UM, WHAT WE CURRENTLY KNOW ABOUT HOW THE SYSTEM'S FUNCTIONING.
I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR DASHBOARD AND I, I APOLOGIZE.
UM, FOR THAT AS WELL AS YOU KIANA.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, UH, I WILL PUT IT OUT TO YOU ALL.
UM, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO.
I'M GONNA PUT IT TO YOU FIRST SINCE THIS, UM, THESE ARE HERE ON YOUR REQUEST.
AND THEN I DO BELIEVE, UH, WE HAVE OTHERS THAT MAY HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT, THAT Y'ALL ARE HERE.
UM, THE REQUEST TO BRING YOU HERE WAS VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY HERE FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
UM, I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS BEFORE I GIVE SOME INPUT, AND THEN I ALLOW MY COMM MY REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS TO WEIGH IN.
BUT FIRST OF ALL, DO YOU HAVE A CORRECT, UH, AMOUNT OF POPULATION OF WHAT, UM, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HERE IN AUSTIN? DO, DO Y'ALL HAVE THAT? DO Y'ALL HAVE THE CORRECT, SO THE CORRECT, THAT'S A HARD, THAT'S, THAT'S A TERM I WOULD NOT USE
UM, WHAT ABOUT A BALLPARK FIGURE WE HAVE? YES.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT SLIDE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT NUMBER IT'S THE SCOPE OF HOMELESSNESS.
SLIDE TWO, IS IT SLIDE TWO? THIS ONE THAT IS TELLING YOU THE NUMBER? SO CURRENTLY WE'RE APPROACHING 6,000 PEOPLE.
MY QUESTION WAS THE, I'M SORRY, CITY OF AUSTIN POPULATION.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE, ARE IN AUSTIN? DO YOU, DO YOU ALL KNOW THAT? NO.
UM, I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
FIRST OF ALL, UH, JUST LOOKING AT THE PACKET, I DON'T SEE THAT NUMBER ON THERE.
UM, BECAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE GIVING US DATA, RIGHT? TO SHOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HOMELESS, BUT YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE IN AUSTIN.
SO WE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IN OUR DATA, JUST, UH, AN ADVICE TO YOU ALL.
NOW, IF WE LOOK UP OUR POPULATION, UH, ON, ON THE WEBSITE OF GOOGLE HERE IN AUSTIN, IT'LL SHOW AS OF 2020, A LAST UPDATE WAS 961,000, RIGHT? YES, MA'AM.
WE'RE OVER, WHAT, MAYBE ALMOST 2 MILLION
[00:35:01]
NOW.UM, THE CENSUS TRACK DOESN'T GIVE US AN ACCURATE DATA BECAUSE IT WAS DONE DURING A PANDEMIC AND A DURING A TIME OF IMMIGRATION REFORM.
AND PEOPLE, UH, WERE NOT PARTICIPATING IN CENSUS TRACK.
SO, JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE POPULATION OF AUSTIN, UM, IS NOT CORRECT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL SHOULD, SHOULD MAKE SURE Y'ALL HAVE, BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DATA NUMBERS AND THE LOSS OF PEOPLE'S HOMES.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL KNOW, UH, EXACTLY HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE IN AUSTIN.
UM, ANOTHER THING, I, I WAS LOOKING IN YOUR PACKET AND I, I ASKED THIS, AND I'VE ASKED THIS TO OUR STAFF.
UM, WHEN WAS THE CONTRACT SIGNED FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH ECHO AS BEING THE HUB, NAVIGATING A HOMELESS, UM, YOU KNOW, INITIATIVE THAT YOU ARE DOING? WAS THAT IN 2020 OR WAS THAT IN 2019? I'VE NEVER GOT A ACCURATE ANSWER.
SO I HAVE A COUPLE COUPLE WAYS TO ANSWER THAT.
I'LL, I'LL TURN TO KIANA TO YOU.
SO ACTUALLY, WE ARE DESIGNATED AS A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS, NOT ACTUALLY BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT HUD REQUIRES EVERY COMMUNITY WHO RECEIVES HUD CONTINUUM OF CARE FUNDS TO HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A CONTINUUM OF CARE BOARD IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT IS CALLED THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
AND LEADERSHIP COUNCIL HAS THE AUTHORITY, UM, AND RESPONSIBILITY TO DESIGNATE A LEAD AGENCY FOR THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM COLLABORATIVE APPLICATION, WHICH IS A HUD FUNDING SOURCE FOR CALLED CONTINUUM OF CARE.
THEY ALSO DESIGNATE A LEAD AGENCY TO ADMINISTER THE HOMELESSNESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, WHICH IS OUR DATABASE THAT WE MANAGE.
AND THEY ALSO DESIGNATE A LEAD, UM, AGENCY TO COORDINATE THE COORDINATED ENTRY SYSTEM.
SO WE ARE ALL THREE OF THOSE LEAD AGENCIES FOR THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT, UM, NOT EVERY COMMUNITY DOES IT THAT WAY.
UM, SOMETIMES THEY'RE SPLIT UP IN DIFFERENT AGENCIES OR DIFFERENT, UM, PLACES.
BUT THAT'S, THAT THAT AUTHORITY IS GIVEN TO LEADERSHIP COUNCIL.
WE DO HAVE CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR, TO PROVIDE SEVERAL DIFFERENT KINDS OF SERVICES.
AND, UM, I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND CHECK.
I THAT HAS NOT BEEN, WELL, THERE WAS ONE HISTORICALLY WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT CALLED THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT, WHICH WE ARE NO LONGER, SO WE NO LONGER HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
WE HAVE HISTORICALLY HAD A CONTRACT WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IS NOW MOVING TO THE HOUSING STRATEGY OFFICE, HOMELESS STRATEGY.
I'M HOMELESS, SORRY, YOUR STRATEGY OFFICE.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER CONTRACT THAT'S CALLED A HOUSING NAVIGATION CONTRACT.
UM, AND I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK UP I'M, I, I WASN'T PREPPED WITH THESE QUESTIONS, SO I WASN'T, IT'S, I'M NOT READYS.
I I KNOW I HAVE ASKED OUR STAFF TO LOOK INTO THAT.
ONLY BECAUSE, UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING, UM, WHAT THE CONTRACT STATES AND IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE NEED TO OVERSIGHT OR IF WE HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT, WE HAVE THE CONTRACTS TO REFERENCE TO.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR THIS COMMISSION, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE OVERSIGHTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO THAT IF YOU CAN PROVIDE THAT TO OUR CHAIR AND THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, ABSOLUTELY.
ALSO, ANOTHER QUESTION I HAD, UM, THE HMIS SYSTEM.
I WANT OUR COMMISSIONERS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, KNOW WHO YOU ARE, WHAT SERVICES YOU ALL PROVIDE.
UM, WHO HAS ACCESS TO THAT? IS THAT A LIMITED ACCESS TO JUST AGENCIES THAT ARE NONPROFIT OR PEOPLE WHO ARE RECEIVING FUNDING? THAT IS A WONDERFUL QUESTION.
UM, AND SO I WANNA BREAK THAT UP A LITTLE BIT.
SO PREVIOUS TO 2023, UM, SERVICE, ANY SERVICE PROVIDER THAT WAS, UM, PROVIDING SERVICES TO PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, UM, THAT WAS INTERESTED IN SHARING DATA WITH THE HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM, UM, COULD PURCHASE PURCHASE A-H-M-I-S LICENSE.
SO RIGHT NOW, THE VENDOR THAT THAT ECHO, UM, IS IN CONTRACT WITH TO PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TO MANAGE THE, THE SYSTEM, UM, IS WELL SKY.
AND SO WELL, SKY GIVES US AN INVOICE, AND THEN WE DISTRIBUTED THAT, UM, THOSE THAT, THAT, UM, GOD, THE COST
[00:40:01]
TO SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT WE'RE UTILIZING THE SYSTEM.SO IN 2023, UM, AFTER A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT WERE NOT, THAT WERE SERVING PEOPLE, EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, BUT NOT ABLE TO ENTER INTO HMIS BECAUSE THAT COST WAS A BARRIER.
UM, ECHO GOT A, UH, GRANT AND WE WERE ABLE TO ELIMINATE THOSE, UM, HMIS COSTS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS.
AND SO, UM, IN 2023, IN 2024, THOSE, UM, COSTS ARE BEING COVERED BY, UM, UH, UH, GOODNESS IN THE GRANT.
UM, BY A, A, A GRANT FROM INDEED.
UM, AND THEN IN 2025, WE HOPE THAT THOSE COSTS WILL BE, UM, THOSE, THOSE COSTS WILL BE PRIORITIZED IN THE CONTINUUM OF CARE GRANT, UM, THAT WE GET FROM HUD.
UM, ANOTHER THING WITH THAT COORDINATED ASSESSMENT MM-HMM.
SO HOW IS THAT HELPING THE AGENCIES ACTUALLY HOUSE A RECIPIENT IF THEY'RE ONLY ABLE TO CONDUCT THE COORDINATED ASSESSMENT BECAUSE THEY HAVE ACCESS TO IT, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
THE, THE TRANSITION OF, OF THE, THE SYSTEM I SEE THERE, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS WRONG WITH THAT.
I I WHAT'S A LIMITED ACCESS? WHY ARE THEY LIMITED IN ACCESS? YEAH.
LET ME, LET ME SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT.
SO, UM, WE HAVE SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT ARE FUNDED TO DO, UM, A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, COORDINATED ASSESS, DOING COORDINATED ASSESSMENTS IS ONE OF THOSE FUNCTIONS.
AND I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE THOSE COMMUNITY-BASED, UM, SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT ARE ABLE TO, UM, ASSESS ANYONE THAT COMES INTO THEIR, COMES INTO THEIR DOORS.
THAT IS A FUNCTION THAT ECHO STAFF USED TO DO, BUT IT IS MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE AND MUCH MORE, UM, TO BE HONEST, CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES IN THE COMMUNITY SO THAT THAT ABILITY, THAT FUNCTION THAT THE, THE COMMUNITY ASSESSORS PROVIDE THAT IS SEPARATE.
UM, AND BE, SO KATE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, LEADERSHIP COUNCIL AND THEM CREATING POLICIES.
SO LEADERSHIP COUNCIL HAS CREATED A POLICY THAT, UM, AND, AND HUD REQUIRES EACH COMMUNITY TO HAVE A PRIORITIZATION LIST.
SO, UM, YOU DO THE COORDINATED ASSESSMENT, YOUR, UM, YOUR NEEDS ARE ASSESSED.
YOU ARE GIVEN A SCORE ON THAT APAC, AND THEN BASED ON YOUR SCORE, YOU ARE ON THIS PRIORITIZATION LIST.
AND SO, WHILE, UH, THE, I THINK WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY IS THAT LIMITED ACCESS, SO IF A, JUST BECAUSE A AGENCY IS FUNDED TO DO THE COORDINATED ASSESSMENT PIECE, THAT FIRST, THAT FIRST ASSESSMENT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THIS PERSON IS AT THE TOP OF THE PRIORITIZATION LIST.
AND AS A COMMUNITY, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MOST VULNERABLE ARE SERVED FIRST.
DOES DOES THAT ANSWER THAT QUESTION? IT ANSWERS IT, BUT IT DOESN'T BECAUSE THE MOST VULNERABLE IS ASSESSED BY A POINT SYSTEM, WHICH DEPENDING ON THEIR SITUATION, PUTS THEM IN A CATEGORY.
SO GIVE US YOUR, GIVE OUR COMMISSION THE CATEGORIES THAT YOU ALL PROVIDE, AND THEY HAVE TO MEET THOSE CATEGORIES.
[00:45:01]
HOMELESSNESS, RIGHT? WHAT, WHAT DEFINES THAT? MM-HMM.SO WHAT I'VE SEEN IN THE COORDINATING ASSESSMENT AND THIS, AND THEN I CAN JUST JUMP INTO THIS INPUT SO I DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK AROUND, IS THAT IT'S NOT WORKING BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE CATEGORIES.
IN A MINUTE, PLEASE TELL OUR COMMISSION WHAT THESE CATEGORIES ARE, BECAUSE I FEEL THAT THE CATEGORIES, UH, DISTINGUISH YES.
WHO'S SUFFERING, WHAT TYPE OF HOMELESSNESS? NOT EVERYBODY'S SUFFERING.
UH, UH, THE SAME HOMELESSNESS.
NOT EVERYBODY'S LIVING IN THE CAR.
NOT EVERYBODY'S IN A, IN SALVATION ARMY.
NOT EVERYBODY IS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, LIVING WITH FAMILY ON A COUCH, RIGHT? AND A HOUSE THAT'S OVER, UH, YOU KNOW, CAPACITY, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO EACH CATEGORY IS THEY, WHEN YOU ALL PUT THEM IN THOSE CATEGORIES, CERTAIN PEOPLE ARE BEING PRIORITIZED AND CERTAIN PEOPLE ARE NOT.
BECAUSE THEY, AND I WANNA SAY WE ARE SO ON WAVELENGTH WITH YOU.
WE ARE IN HERE, IN EVERY SPACE WE CAN BE TO SAY, WE NEED MORE RESOURCES.
RIGHT? IS THAT, AND THAT AND THAT.
WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT SYSTEM IS WORKING.
I THINK THAT THAT'S THE PROBLEM THAT WELL, IT, SO THERE'S ALSO LIKE, THAT'S A, TO ME, WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS A SCARCITY ISSUE.
SO PART OF THE, THE BUCKETS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, LIKE THE CATEGORIES.
THAT'S FAIRLY COMPLICATED, RIGHT? SO YOU HAVE AN ORGANIZATION LIKE LIFEWORKS, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THEM, RIGHT? THEY SERVE AND THEY TARGET YOUTH, UM, THAT ARE TYPICALLY AGE 18 TO 24.
SOME OF THAT IS AN AGENCY DECISION, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SOME OF IT IS HUD HAS SAID, I'M GONNA FUND YOU TO DO THIS, AND YOU CAN'T SERVE ANYBODY THAT'S NOT 18 TO 24.
RIGHT? SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A SERVICE PROVIDER.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT.
SO THAT IS, THAT IS THE ASSESSMENT.
ALL WE DO IS ASSESS AND WE PUT IN PRIORITIES, AND WE TAKE THE CATEGORIES FROM THE PROVIDERS.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'M, I'M, I'M TRYING TO ELABORATE.
CAN YOU ELABORATE TO THE BOARD WHAT THE CATEGORIES ARE? SO IT DEPENDS ON, I DON'T KNOW IF WE COULD GIVE ALL OF THEM, BUT IT DEPENDS ON THE PROVIDER.
SO THERE'S LIKE, SAFE ALLIANCE, FOR INSTANCE, IS A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UM, PROVIDER.
THIS PROVIDER, I'M SO, I'M SORRY, BUT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THAT AGENCY.
I'M TALKING ABOUT ECHOES COORDINATED ASSESSMENT.
AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING.
SO FOR INSTANCE, SAFE ALLIANCE TELLS US WE HAVE A RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAM AND WE ARE READY FOR THE NEXT NAME.
BUT WE ONLY, THEY, THEY'LL SAY, WE WILL ONLY TAKE, UM, PEOPLE WHO, WHO HAVE, ARE MEETS THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THEIR AGENCY.
SO WE CAN'T SEND THEM ANYBODY ELSE.
RIGHT? I, SO IT'S NOT OUR DECISION, IT'S THE PROVIDER'S DECISION.
I THINK I'M MISUNDERSTANDING MY QUESTION.
SO I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE DIRECT AGENCY, THE LIST OF NONPROFITS THAT YOU ARE PARTNERED WITH.
I MEAN, THERE'S SO MANY, RIGHT? MA'AM? I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT.
I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT THAT WAS CREATED BY ECHO.
WE DID NOT CREATE, THAT WAS A COMMUNITY THAT A COMMUNITY CREATED, AND IT WAS ADOPTED.
THAT'S WHAT I MENTIONED WAS THE AUSTIN PRIORITIZATION ASSESSMENT.
THE COMMUNITY CREATED THE ASSESSMENT.
THE HOMEWORK, IT'S CALLED THE APA AND LEADERSHIP COUNCIL ADOPTED IT.
SO, OKAY, WE NEED TO GO BACK TO LEADERSHIP COUNCIL, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND LET THEM KNOW THAT THAT SYSTEM, THAT THAT SYSTEM, THAT IS AN ASSESSMENT THAT, THAT EVERY INDIVIDUAL HAS TO GO THROUGH.
SO THAT'S WHERE I NEEDED TO KNOW, WHO DO WE GO TO TO GET THAT CHANGE? YOU WOULD GO TO LEADERSHIP COUNCIL? YES.
THE LOCATION OF NAVIGATION SYSTEMS THAT YOU ALL HAVE, THAT Y'ALL DO, UM, THE COORDINATING ASSESSMENTS, Y'ALL HAVE ONLY THREE, CORRECT? WE DO NOT DO ANY COORDINATED ASSESSMENTS OURSELVES.
BUT WHERE DOES ECHO DO? WHERE'S YOUR NAVIGATION PLACE AT? WHERE, WHERE'S YOUR MAIN WE DO NOT, WE DO NOT PROVIDE ANY SERVICES.
SO SUNRISE COMMUNITY, WHO DOES THOSE SERVICES? SUNRISE.
SO ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO GET AN ECHO ASSESSMENT GOES TO SUNRISE COMMUNITY Y.
BUT THEY COULD, THEY COULD ALSO GO TO URBAN ALCHEMY.
STAFF HAS FUNDING TO, WE CAN NOW STAFF LIKE THOSE, THESE ARE COMM, INTEGRAL CARE, LIFEWORKS, THEY ALL HAVE STAFF THAT ARE IN THE COMMUNITIES.
THEY HAVE NORMALLY THEY'RE CONNECTED WITH, RIGHT.
BUT YOUR MAIN, WHEN YOU GO, I, YOU'RE TALKING TO A HOUSING COMMISSIONER OF EIGHT YEARS.
I'M OUT IN THE COMMUNITY STANDING IN THE HOMELESS LINES WITH THE HOMELESS PEOPLE.
I ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH THE COORDINATING ASSESSMENT AS WELL WITH MANY ELDERS.
[00:50:01]
I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT AS A COMMISSIONER OF EAST AUSTIN, IT IS A FAILING SYSTEM.AND HOW IT'S BEEN SET UP OUT IN THE COMMUNITY IS NOT WORKING.
SUNRISE COMMUNITY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES.
WHEN YOU'RE OUT THERE, LIKE I HAVE, NOT JUST ADVOCATING FOR RECIPIENTS, BUT THE FACT THAT IT IS UNSANITIZED, IT IS UNHEALTHY FOR OUR PEOPLE TO BE STANDING OUT THERE IN LONG LINES FOR HOURS, WHILE THERE'S ONLY THREE OR FOUR PEOPLE DOING COORDINATING ASSESSMENTS FOR ECHO THROUGH THE ECOSYSTEM.
YOU ARE NOT DOING IT, BUT IT'S YOUR SYSTEM AND YOU'RE REPRESENTING AND PUSHING THE SYSTEM.
THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE AN INCREASE OF HOMELESSNESS.
SO ALL I'M SAYING IS THAT THE SYSTEM OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY IS NOT MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE RECIPIENTS.
ANOTHER THING THAT WE SEE IS THE TIMEFRAME.
BY THE TIME IT GETS TO AN AGENCY, THE HOMELESS PERSON IS DEAD, GONE, OR THEY CAN'T FIND EXACTLY ON THE SAME PAGE.
SO AGAIN, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT RECIPIENTS ARE GOING THROUGH, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
WE AS COMMISSIONERS CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH.
WE MEET ONCE A MONTH FOR THIS LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
WHAT IS OUR SOLUTION? AND HOW ARE WE, WHAT SOLUTION HAVE YOU ALL HAVE, HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE THREE TO FOUR YEARS? 'CAUSE Y'ALL CAN'T GIVE ME A TIME WHEN YOU ALL WENT INTO A CONTRACT, BUT LOOKING AT YOUR DATA, IT'S FROM 2020 TO 2024, WE'RE, WE'RE NOW GONNA BE ON OUR FOURTH YEAR, AND YOU'VE ONLY HOUSED OR HELPED 4,000 PEOPLE WHEN WE'RE AT ALMOST 2 MILLION.
AND THEN WHAT IS IN OUR WAITING LIST? YEAH.
I JUST SEE THAT THE VOUCHERS THAT HAVE BEEN GIVEN OUT TO THE PEOPLE, THE NUMBERS ARE NOT MEETING THE NEEDS.
WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE SUFFERING OUT HERE.
WE HAVE SECTION EIGHT WITH THE, A LARGE WAITING LIST.
WE HAVE PUBLIC HOUSING WITH A LARGE WAITING LIST.
HOMELESSNESS CONTINUE TO, CONTINUES TO INCREASE HERE.
AND EVERYONE'S ECHO, ECHO, ECHO, ECHO.
AND WE HEAR YOUR, WE SEE YOUR, YOUR DATA, WHICH I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED TO SEE THAT 49% OF WHITES ARE BEING SERVED.
BUT YET AGAIN, THE MINORITY PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED AND LOST A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF HOUSING DUE TO DISPLACEMENT.
AND BECAUSE OF EVICTIONS AND THE LOSS OF, OF JOBS DURING THE PANDEMIC.
SO THE WHOLE RECOVERY OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AS A WHOLE, AS A TEAM, WE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT MEETING, WE'RE NOT MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR PEOPLE.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND YOUR DATA, BUT I WANNA SEE SOLUTION.
I WANNA SEE, UM, I, I WANNA HEAR, YOU KNOW, MORE ABOUT WHAT, WHAT, WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO BREAK THE BARRIERS.
I REALLY, I, I JUST SAY, I, I SO APPRECIATE YOUR PASSION AND YOUR INTEREST IN THIS.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF, I THINK THAT YOU'RE THINKING THAT SOME OF THIS IS ON ECHO WHEN IT'S REALLY A COMMUNITY RESPONSE.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME INTO ECHO AND MEET WITH US.
I WOULD LOVE TO INVITE YOU TO COME TO LEADERSHIP COUNCIL.
WE NEED MORE PASSIONATE ADVOCATES TO HELP US.
WE DO NOT HAVE THE SINGULAR, SINGULAR ANSWER.
AND WE DO NOT COME TO YOU TODAY SAYING THAT WE DO.
NO, YOU, YOU CAME BECAUSE I REQUESTED IT.
I DON'T REMEMBER WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU CAME, BUT I REQUESTED IT, AND I ALSO REQUESTED FOR AN AUDIT.
AND I'VE ALSO REQUESTED FOR AN AUDIT.
I, I, AS A COMMISSIONER, I'M HERE TO DO A JOB, AND MY JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING ALL WE CAN TO BE THE VOICE OF THE, OF NOT JUST THE POOR.
BUT THE DISABLED, THE ELDERS AND THE CHILDREN THAT ARE SUFFERING OUT.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
AND I DO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS GONNA BE AN ONGOING, UH, CONVERSATION.
SO, UH, THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS IS THE START OF THE CONVERSATION.
UM, AND, UM, ALSO THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE CONVERSATION.
SO WE, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO COME BACK AS MANY TIMES.
UH, LET ME MAKE SURE THAT I, UH, UH, OPEN UP FOR OTHER, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
UM, AND COMMISSIONER DELGADO HAD THE, UM, LION SHARE, UH, BECAUSE THIS WAS IN FACT SOMETHING THAT SHE HAD REQUESTED.
SO EVERYONE ELSE KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONER DELGADO FOR BRINGING ECHO IN TODAY.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PRESENTATION.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WAS, YOU KNOW, I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN SINCE 2016, AND I THINK IT'S STILL REALLY HARD TO KIND OF GRAPPLE WITH HOW BIG OF A, OF AN ISSUE THIS, THIS HAS BECOME FOR US, ESPECIALLY WHEN SO MANY ARE, YOU KNOW, THRIVING, UM, IN THE CITY AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, I WANTED TO GET YOUR OPINION ON AND YOUR THOUGHTS IS
[00:55:01]
RIGHT AS, AS, AS THE COMMISSION, RIGHT.THINKING ABOUT HOW WE HAVE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO SOME OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONS AND YEAH.
AND THE COMMUNITY, RIGHT? I THINK YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS IS A COMMUNITY EFFORT.
AND IT'S A EFFORT TO KIND OF THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, INCREASE THE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
UM, MY QUESTION IS IN THE PAST, OR HAVE YOU SEEN OTHER CITIES KIND OF WHAT KINDA ADVOCACY IN THIS SENSE HAS REALLY WORKED TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, RIGHT? THESE ARE DOLLARS THAT NEED TO YEAH.
GO INTO, YOU KNOW, THE CREATION, THE BIDDING, ALL OF THIS STUFF.
BUT LIKE, WE'RE, WE'RE, I GUESS IF WE WANTED TO, TO ADVOCATE ON, ON THE BEHALF RIGHT, OF, OF OUR CITIZENS, WHAT, WHAT, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON WHAT WOULD BE MOST USEFUL HERE? YEAH.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND WE, WE CERTAINLY ARE NOT TRYING TO REPRESENT EITHER THAT WE, WE KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS, UM, THAT EVERYBODY'S PROBABLY GOT DIFFERENT IDEAS OUT THERE.
SO THESE ARE JUST MY PERSONAL IDEAS, IS THAT I THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE A CITY COMMISSION, THE CITY COULD DO A LOT MORE TO COORDINATE WITH EACH OTHER.
FOR INSTANCE, WE PUT THE ONUS ON PROVIDERS.
SO WHEN THEY DEVELOP PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, THEY HAVE TO GO OUT AND FIND THE CAPITAL FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, AND THEN THEY HAVE TO GO OUT SEPARATELY AND FIND THE SERVICE FUNDING FROM THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND THEN THEY HAVE TO GO SEPARATELY AND FIND VOUCHERS TO OPERATE THE, THE FUNDING FROM THE, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO IT'S VERY, UM, INEFFICIENT IN OTHER COMMUNITIES SUCH AS THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WHICH, UM, TOOK REAL STRIDES AT REDUCING THEIR AMOUNT OF UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS.
SO I WOULD SAY LIKE, AS A, AS A CITY COMMISSION, I WOULD THINK THAT COULD GO A HUGE WAY BECAUSE WE END UP DOING A LOT OF WORK ON OUR END HELPING TO ADVOCATE FOR THAT COORDINATION AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE ENTITIES ARE ACTUALLY SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER.
I THINK, UH, I, I REALLY LOVE THIS QUESTION BECAUSE I THINK THAT, UM, IF YOU HAVE A ROOM FULL OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, THAT ARE BOTH KNOWLEDGEABLE, UM, EXPERIENCED AND, UM, PASSIONATE ABOUT FIXING, ABOUT SOLUTION FINDING, YOU'RE GONNA GET A SYNERGY.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS QUESTION.
UM, AND TO ME, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT IS MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY SERVICES THAT ENSURE THAT, UM, ANYONE ENROLLED IN THEIR PROGRAMMING GETS AN INDIVIDUAL SERVICE PLAN THAT, UM, MOVES THEM TOWARDS SELF-SUFFICIENCY.
AND SO WHEN THEY EXIT SOMEONE FROM THAT PROGRAMMING, THAT PERSON IS, UM, CONNECTED TO INCOME.
WHETHER, UM, EMPLOYMENT INCOME OR, OR FROM BENEFITS OF SOME SORT IS CONNECTED, YOU KNOW, INTEGRATED BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY, FEEL SAFE AND SECURE, UM, IS CONNECTED TO HEALTHCARE.
SO MAKING SURE THAT THOSE SERVICES ARE ROBUST ENOUGH, UM, TO MEET THE NEEDS OF EACH HOUSEHOLD THAT'S EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND I WOULD BE REMISS IF WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT, LIKE THIS INCREDIBLE BOTTLENECK AROUND GETTING ACCESS TO THOSE AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES DO THIS DIFFERENTLY.
UM, KATE TALKED ABOUT HOUSTON, AND THEY'RE REALLY TRYING TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF THEIR CITY DOLLARS ARE GOING TO A VERY SPECIFIC, OOPS, EXCUSE ME, GOING THROUGH A VERY SPECIFIC PROCESS AND THAT EVERYONE IS IN LOCKSTEP.
UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE HOUSING, UM, VARIOUS TYPES OF HOUSING, UM, THAT WILL MEET THE NEEDS OF EACH HOUSEHOLD.
UM, SO HAVING PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING WITH ONSITE SERVICES, I THINK IS SUPER IMPORTANT.
BUT ALSO HAVING, UM, ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE AND SAFE RVS WHERE PEOPLE CAN, UM, BE A LITTLE BIT LESS INTEGRATED INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD OR A COMMUNITY.
ALL ALL, I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, ONE SIZE IS NOT GONNA FIT ALL, AND THAT WE HAVE TO, OUR SYSTEM HAS TO BE ROBUST ENOUGH TO, TO, TO MEET THE NEEDS OF EACH HOUSEHOLD.
YOU KNOW, JUST, I GUESS I HEARD FOUR THINGS.
I JUST WANNA REITERATE, REQUIRED COORDINATION, UM, ADVOCATING FOR MORE NUMBER OF UNITS.
[01:00:01]
UM, AND THEN, WELL, I GUESS THREE AND THEN THE THIRD BEING, RIGHT.
NOT JUST HOUSING FIRST, BUT MORE OF LIKE A, A PERSONALIZED APPROACH TO HOUSING FIRST.
TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT AFTERWARDS, BUT WE'RE MEETING THEM WHERE THEY'RE AT.
UH, COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO, UM, OTHER COMMISSIONERS, OR, OH, ORTIZ, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, AND, UH, I, ALONG WITH MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR COMING.
UM, UH, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO HAD ACTUALLY ADDRESSED A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS WONDERING.
UM, BUT I, THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT I ACTUALLY SAW YOU MORE AS A, UM, AS A DATA COLLECTION TYPE GROUP, WHICH GAVE ME A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO ALONG WITH THE ITEMS THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER BERTHA, UH, DELGADO HAD MENTIONED, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, HOW OFTEN DO Y'ALL AUDIT THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE IN Y'ALL'S Y'ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS? 'CAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THAT Y'ALL PROVIDE FUNDS FOR, AS WELL AS, UM, AN AUDIT OF HOW OFTEN THEY'RE REVIEWED AND MAINTAINING THE QUALIFICATIONS TO BE A PART OF, UH, OF Y'ALL SERVICE.
SO, UM, IF WE CAN ADD THAT TO THE LIST OF ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN REQUESTED, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
SO I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS SUPER IMPORTANT THAT, UM, THAT WE SHARE WITH YOU IS THAT AUSTIN IS A REALLY UNIQUE COMMUNITY AS FAR AS OUR HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
UM, THE CITY INVEST MORE THAN THE FEDS INVEST IN THE SERVICE PROVIDERS, UM, WHICH IS, WHICH IS AMAZING.
UM, AND SO IN MOST COMMUNITIES, THE, UM, MOST OF THE FUNDING TO THE PROGRAMS COME THROUGH, UH, COME THROUGH THE COLLABORATIVE APPLI APPLICANT OR THE, THE, THE ECHO OF THAT COMMUNITY.
UM, IN, IN AUSTIN, WE HAVE AMAZING, UM, PARTNERSHIP WITH A PH AND THOSE, THOSE, UM, ESPECIALLY LAST YEAR, 23, UM, WHEN THE ARPA MONEY WAS SOLICITED OUT AND SEVERAL, UM, NEW RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAMS WERE FUNDED.
UM, AND SO I THINK I CAN SPEAK TO HOW WE SUPPORT AND MONITOR AND, UM, HOLD ACCOUNTABLE THE SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT ARE FUNDED THROUGH THE CONTINUUM OF CARE.
UM, AND, BUT I CAN'T SPEAK A LOT TO WHAT THAT MONITORING LOOKS LIKE FROM THE CITY PROGRAMS. I WILL SAY THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK MORE COLLABORATIVELY, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT BOTH, UM, WE CALL IT A PERFORMANCE SCORECARD, UH, A QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE SCORECARD.
THOSE, THOSE SCORECARDS THAT THE, THAT CITY THAT CITY PROGRAMMING, UM, HAVE TO COMPLETE.
UM, AND THE CITY PRO AND THE COC FUNDED, UM, EXCUSE ME.
THE, UM, YOU WANT ME TO TAKE MY GOSH, DO YOU WANT ME TO TAKE IT? YEAH, GO AHEAD.
TO SEE WE HAVE CONTINUUM OF CARE FUNDED AGENCIES THAT HAVE TO COMPLETE THOSE AS WELL.
BUT I GUESS TO WRAP IT UP, WE DON'T HAVE AUTHORITY AS MUCH AS WE MAY HAVE INTEREST IN MONITORING AND, AND PROVIDING SUPPORT TO THE CITY FUNDED PROGRAMS. THERE'RE STATE FUNDED PROGRAMS THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY AUTHORITY OVER.
UM, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY SHARE WITH Y'ALL THE ONES THAT WE DO HAVE AUTHORITY OVER, WHICH IS THE CONTINUUM OF CARE FUNDS.
UM, SO WE COULD, WE COULD SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? ALL RIGHT.
IN THE INTEREST OF MOVING ON, I HAVE COMMENTS YOU DO NOT NEED TO ANSWER.
BUT I DO WANT TO SAY A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE, IN REFERENCE TO COMMISSIONER DELGADO'S COMMENT ABOUT THE POPULATION, UM, I DO FEEL THAT THAT'S MERIT HAS MERIT, BECAUSE WHEN I THINK OF 40%, AND YOU'RE TALKING OF 40%, UM, VERSUS OTHER CITIES, 40% OF, WHAT ARE WE TALKING 40% OF JUST THE AUSTIN OR JUST THE TRAVIS COUNTY? OR ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE GREATER AUSTIN? UM, YOU KNOW, 40% OF 2 MILLION IS DIFFERENT THAN 40% OF IT'S 40% OF, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
IT'S 40% OF THE, OF THE PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
[01:05:01]
OUR 6,000 NUMBER, UM, THAT ARE, ARE CHRONICALLY HOMELESS.SO THIS HERE, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SCOPE OF HOMELESSNESS YES, MA'AM.
THAT'S THE 40% OF THE YES MA'AM.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
UM, DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDERS, I'VE BEEN ON ONLINE WITH YOUR, ON YOUR, ON YOUR WEBSITE, AND I'M NOT FINDING ANY PLACE, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT LOOKING FOR ANSWERS.
UH, I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING THAT.
UM, I DO APPRECIATE, UH, KIANA TALKING ABOUT THE BLACK AND BROWN, AND SHE SAID THAT SHE WOULD BE REMISS IF SHE DIDN'T BRING IT UP.
AND I, I DON'T MEAN TO, UM, NITPICK, BUT THERE WAS A CONVERSATION THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT ECHO IS THINKING ABOUT THESE THINGS.
AND I THINK THAT WE'RE AT A POINT THAT WE, WE HAVE TO BE ABOUT ACTIONING THEM.
THINKING ABOUT 'EM IS NOT GONNA BE WHERE WE NEED TO STICK AROUND.
WE CAN THINK AND THINK AND THINK AND GET NOTHING DONE.
SO I WANT US TO MOVE BEYOND THE THINKING ABOUT, WHICH IS GREAT.
AND I DO WANNA SAY THAT THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL, WHICH COMMISSIONER YOU PROBABLY WOULD BE GREAT.
WE HAVE TAKEN, UH, AND, UM, AND SO, UM, THE DOCUMENTS THAT ARE GUIDING DOCUMENTS, THERE'S A GOVERNANCE CHARTER THAT DOES TALK ABOUT THE COC, WHICH IS THE COCOM CONTINUING OF CARE.
THERE IS IN FACT THE ROUND, UH, THE ROUND, UH, THE ROADMAP THAT THEY HAVE FOR THE 20 23, 24, UM, THE SHARED VALUES AND GROUP AGREEMENTS, THE COMPENSATION, THE COMP COMPENSATION POLICY FOR GOVERNANCE PARTICIPANTS.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS AN INTERESTING DOCUMENT WHEN I OPENED IT UP.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
I DO BELIEVE THAT, UM, THE WEBSITE DOES HAVE INFORMATION AND WE CAN, UM, MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF THAT.
UM, BUT I DO, UM, THAT, THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH ALL I WANTED TO SAY.
THIS, THIS, I, I, WE APPRECIATE, I'M REMISS BECAUSE I DIDN'T START WITH THE THANK YOU.
SO LET ME START WITH, I APOLOGIZE.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE, YOU'RE SAYING, BUT THIS IS THE ELEVATOR SPEECH, AND IT'S NICE.
BUT WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE INTO THE, THE MUD.
WE, WE, LET'S, LET'S FIGURE OUT WHERE THIS CAN BE GOING ON.
AND FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, YOU AND I, I MEAN THE CITY IT'S DOING, THE CITY IS THE CITY.
AND, UM, YOU APPLAUD THE CITY BECAUSE THEY PARTICIPATE MORE THAN THE FEDS AND IN OTHER PLACES.
THE ONLY THING I'LL SAY AS WE WRAP UP WITH YOU ALL, IS THAT WHEN I APPLAUD SOMEBODY FOR DOING AND PARTICIPATING, I'M EXPECTING BETTER RESULTS.
I MEAN, IT DOES, OUR RESULTS DON'T SEEM, I MEAN, IF WE HAVE THIS CHART HERE THAT YOU HAVE THAT CAUGHT THIS ONE HERE, I MEAN, IF THE CITY IS REALLY HELPING OUT, AND THIS IS WHERE WE ARE, WELL, MY GOODNESS.
AND SO I'M JUST SAYING, UM, WE'VE GOT TO, WE'RE ENTIRELY TOO INTELLIGENT OF A, OF A, OF A, OF A POPULATION TO NOT HAVE A BETTER HANDLE.
OTHER CITIES HAVE A BETTER HANDLE THAN WE DO.
WHY IS THAT RHETORICAL? ABSOLUTELY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING, UH OH.
OH, COMMISSIONER BROWN HAS, HAS I, I RAISED HIM REAL QUICK.
UM, THANK YOU GUYS AGAIN FOR Y'ALL'S PRESENTATION.
AND I REALLY LIKE THE FACT THAT MS. FISHER TALKED ABOUT THE PRIORITY INDEX.
UM, I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION THAT I WANT CLARITY ON, WHICH IS, UM, I HEARD A COUPLE TIMES THERE WAS A MENTION OF 6,000 HOMELESSNESS OR 6,000 BEDS, UM, AFTER WE JUST HAD A HOMELESS SUMMIT.
I GUESS THAT'S BEEN ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF NOW.
THERE WAS A NEED FOR 3000 BEDS.
HOW, HOW, HOW MUCH CLOSER ARE WE TO, TO LIKE HAVING THAT DONE? IS IT, HAS THE NUMBERS GROWN TO 6,000? DO WE NEED 6,000 BEDS NOW? OR IS IT STILL AT THREE? THIS, THAT'S, THAT'S A COMPLICATED, BUT VERY GOOD QUESTION.
UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY CONTRACTING, UM, WITH SOMEBODY TO DO SOME SYSTEM MODELING.
THE CITY CONTRACTED WITH SOMEBODY, UM, BOTH BARB POPPY AND ASSOCIATES, UM, TO DO, UH, A, A GAPS
[01:10:01]
ANALYSIS.AND THAT'S ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
UM, AND, UM, WE'RE, WE ARE HIRING THE, THE PERSON WHO DID THAT ANALYSIS, UM, TO REDO IT FOR US SO WE CAN DETERMINE, UM, EXACTLY WHAT RESOURCES ARE NEEDED SO WE CAN HAVE THAT INFORMATION FOR POLICY FOLKS LIKE YOURSELVES.
WELL, I'D JUST LIKE TO, YEAH, I GUESS WE CAN FOLLOW UP LATER AND, AND GET THAT CLARIFICATION ON, IS IT, IS IT 3000 OR 6,000 BEDS? UM, WE'RE IN NEED OF, YES.
WE CAN DEFINITELY SHARE THAT ANALYSIS ONCE IT'S COMPLETE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ECHO FOR BEING HERE.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU, KATE AND KIANA.
[3. Presentation and discussion on the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health)]
AND WE DO STILL HAVE A LARGE, UM, UH, QUITE A FEW DISCUSSION ITEMS, GUYS, BUT I DO WANT TO SAY OUR NEXT ONE UP IS THE BLOCK GRANT.THAT'S GONNA BE OUR, OUR FAVORITE, WELL, MINE ON HELL,
UH, WELL, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AGAIN, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA START BY THANKING A COMMISSIONER OR VICE CHAIR ELIAS, UH, COMMISSIONER ALDO AND, UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES.
WE MET BEFORE THIS, UH, I THINK THEY'RE ON A RENT ASSISTANCE WORK GROUP.
SO WE HAD A REALLY GOOD CONVERSATION, VERY ROBUST, AND I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT.
I'LL TRY TO BE BRIEF SO WE CAN GET TO OUR CNA, UH, PRESENTATION.
UM, JUST TO REMIND EVERYBODY, THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT FUNDS, UM, THE DELIVERY OF SERVICES TO LOW INCOME TEXANS.
AND HERE IN AUSTIN, WE PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE PROVIDE BASIC NEEDS SERVICES, PREVENTIVE HEALTH CASE MANAGEMENT, UNEMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS AT OUR SIX NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS AND TWO OUTREACH SITES.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE ONE, OUR BUDGET, UH, THROUGH NOVEMBER 30TH, WE'VE EXPANDED $677,000 OF OUR 1.1 MILLION.
AND THIS FUNDING, AGAIN, REMINDER, GOES TO OUR PERSONNEL TO PROVIDE THE BASIC NEEDS SERVICES.
IF YOU GO TO PAGE TWO, I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS LAST MONTH.
UH, IN TERMS OF THE TRANSITIONS OUT OF POVERTY GOAL, UH, THE GOAL WAS 43.
YEAR 23, THAT'S A 60% SUCCESS RATE, UH, NOT GOOD.
UH, WE'LL TRY TO DO BETTER THIS YEAR.
WE HAD SOME, UH, SENT ON VACANCIES, THE JOB MARKET, UH, FOLKS WHO WERE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH MULTIPLE ISSUES LIKE CHILDCARE AND, UM, OBTAINING SKILLS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, WE WILL DEFINITELY, UH, DO BETTER, AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO REPORT AS WE MOVE ON MONTH TO MONTH.
UH, FOCUSING ON A COUPLE OF OUTCOMES HERE.
OUR TARGET FOR THE, UH, HELPING HOUSEHOLD TO AVOID EVICTION WAS 400.
THAT COMES FROM THE CAP THAT I PRESENTED TO YOU GUYS LAST FALL.
UM, WE ACHIEVED 410, SO THAT'S 103% SUCCESS RATE THERE.
UH, CURRENTLY WE'RE OUT OF FUNDING, UH, OF RENT FOR RENT ASSISTANCE, BUT WE'RE STANDING UP A PROGRAM THAT'LL HOPEFULLY GO LIVE IN MID-FEBRUARY.
I HAVEN'T TWEAKED THIS AS MUCH AS I WANTED TO.
I KNOW THE CHAIR ASKED LAST MONTH IF WE COULD SORT OF INCLUDE SOME DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR TO GIVE YOU GUYS AN IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHAT WE DID A YEAR AGO COMPARED TO TODAY.
SO I'LL FOCUS ON OUR IMMUNIZATIONS AS PART OF OUR PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING SERVICES.
UM, THEY DO THEIR, UH, SHARE, SHARE TO HELP PEOPLE AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER CENTERS WITH, UH, FLU SHOTS THIS YEAR.
UH, THEY PROVIDED 355 FLU SHOTS, OR ADMINISTERED THOSE, AS OPPOSED TO LAST YEAR, ABOUT 216.
UH, THEY WERE STILL DEPLOYED TO THE COVID RESPONSE AND THE MONKEY PX RESPONSE LAST YEAR.
SO, AGAIN, THIS IS, UH, REFLECTS THAT.
OUR FOOD DISTRIBUTION, UH, THE FIVE JJ SERVICE, THE NUMBER SERVED THROUGH NOVEMBER IS 72,276 INDIVIDUALS.
THAT WAS, WE SERVED, SERVED 30,378.
SO, AGAIN, IT DOES SHOW, AS I MENTIONED IN DECEMBER, THE, THE HUGE NEED THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS.
WE HAD A COUPLE OF, UH, TV STATIONS COME OUT AND DO A COUPLE OF NEWS STORIES.
I'LL SHARE THAT DURING THE MAIN PART OF THE REPORT AT THE END, AND I'LL SHARE THE LINKS WITH YOU GUYS AFTER THIS
[01:15:01]
MEETING.AND THEN ANOTHER ONE HERE, THE EMERGENCY CLOTHING.
WE SERVED ABOUT 1,151 PEOPLE THROUGH NOVEMBER, A YEAR AGO, 99.
SO AGAIN, IT SHOWS, UH, THE, THE NEED OF OUR COMMUNITY FOR FOOD, CLOTHING, RENT ASSISTANCE, ET CETERA, AND NURSING SERVICES.
IF YOU MOVED TO PAGE THREE, I'LL FOCUS ON FORD TODAY, THE HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM.
SINCE LAUNCHING THIS PROGRAM IN JUNE OF 22, WE'VE MADE OVER 50,000 DELIVERIES.
USUALLY I JUST KIND OF FOCUS MONTH TO MONTH DATA.
BUT I WANTED YOU GUYS TO SEE THE IMPACT, UM, THAT THAT PROGRAM HAS HAD.
NUMBER FIVE, THE COMMUTER NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
OUR GRANTOR, THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, UH, DICTATES THAT WE DO THIS EVERY THREE YEARS.
GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THE NEEDS ARE IN THE COMMUNITY.
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT ALREADY.
IN TERMS OF HOUSING UNHOUSED PEOPLE.
UM, WE WILL HAVE, UH, WALER NICHOLS AND TORRES CONSULTING WILL BE DOING THAT.
THEY'LL BE REACHING OUT TO, TO ALL OF YOU OR SOME OF YOU FOR INTERVIEWS AND JUST FOR FEEDBACK FROM YOUR LEVEL.
THEY'LL BE REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY TO OUR CLIENTS, UH, SERVICE PROVIDERS.
AND, UM, KELLY NICHOLS IS ON BOARD AFTER MY PRESENTATION TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THAT.
UM, IF YOU GO BACK TO PAGE, THE PREVIOUS PAGE, BOLDED AND YELLOW, YOU MIGHT MISS IT MONTH TO MONTH.
THE TOP FIVE NEEDS THREE YEARS AGO WHEN THEY DID THIS ASSESSMENT WAS NUMBER ONE, HOUSING TWO, HEALTH THREE, EMPLOYMENT, FOUR BASIC NEEDS, FIVE EDUCATION.
THAT'S FROM OUR COMMUNITY, OUR SERVICE PROVIDER FEEDBACK, THE DATA, UM, ET CETERA.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT, WHAT THOSE FALL, UH, THIS TIME AROUND.
AND THEN WE WILL PLAN AROUND THAT IN TERMS OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, OUR COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN.
NUMBER SIX WAS THE, UH, THE KXN STORY.
I KNOW A LOT OF TIMES IT SEEMS VERY NEGATIVE.
ARE WE DOING ENOUGH? PROBABLY NOT.
AND, UH, THESE TWO NEW STORIES KINDA HIGHLIGHT THAT FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO, TO SEE WHAT WE DO AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
AND NUMBER SEVEN, OUR FINANCIAL FIND STABILITY FUNDING WITH CATHOLIC CHARITIES IS ENDING PRETTY SOON.
THEN WE'RE GONNA START UP OUR OWN PROGRAM.
LIKE I MENTIONED, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT PAGE, I'LL FOCUS ON NUMBER 11 THIS TIME AROUND, UH, DOVE SPRINGS NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER UPDATE.
I THINK I TALKED ABOUT THIS TO YOU GUYS ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO.
BUT, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, AUSTIN PUBLIC WORKS, THE CONSTRUCTION IS GOING VERY WELL.
STRUCTURAL STEEL FRAMING HAS PROGRESSED QUICKLY.
ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL, ET CETERA.
UH, WE ARE HOPING TO HAVE IT DONE BY SUMMER, BUT I'M THINKING PROBABLY THE END OF THE YEAR IN TERMS OF THE CONSTRUCTION AND DELAYS AND THEN OUR STAFFING.
BUT IT'S GONNA BE REALLY, REALLY GOOD.
A HIGH QUALITY CHILDCARE CENTER, I THINK 75 SLOTS, UM, WHICH IS REALLY ROBUST.
WE'LL HAVE THE IMMUNIZATIONS PROGRAM.
WIC WILL BE THERE, FOOD PANTRY, OUR BASIC NEEDS, SELF-SUFFICIENCY, CASE MANAGEMENT, ET CETERA.
SO VERY EXCITED TO, TO HAVE A NEIGHBOR CENTER THAT FAR SOUTH.
AND THERE'S A PICTURE, NOT VERY EXCITING, BUT AT LEAST IT SHOWS A BUILDING AND IT'S GETTING THERE.
NEXT YEAR, I'LL BRING, NEXT MONTH I'LL BRING SOME PICTURES OF WHAT THE ARTIST PREDICT IT'LL LOOK LIKE.
SO THAT'LL GIVE YOU MORE OF AN IDEA OF WHAT IT REALLY WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN IT'S DONE.
UM, SO THAT'S THE END OF MY REPORT.
IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, FEEDBACK, I CAN TAKE THEM NOW.
COMMISSIONERS, UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BASED ON THE, UM, BLOCK GRANT REPORT THAT ON HILL HAS PRESENTED? YES.
SO, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY, 'CAUSE DOVE SPRINGS IS MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND A COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER.
AND SO WHEN THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT GETS DONE, THE PROGRAMS THAT'LL BE PUT INTO PLACE IN DOVE SPRINGS WILL FOLLOW WHAT THE OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS DO, RIGHT? IN TERMS OF PROGRAMMING? CORRECT.
AND THEN SHOTS FOR TOTS, THE FAR SOUTH LOCATION IS MOVING IN THERE, IS THAT CORRECT? I'D HAVE TO ASK.
I HAVE NOT HEARD WHEN WE LOOKING AT THE BUILDING PLANS IN THE OFFICE, BUT I HAVEN'T MISSED THAT.
YEAH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED IN DEAF SPRINGS.
[01:20:01]
WAITING.UM, SHOTS FOR TOTS COMING FROM THE SOUTH AUSTIN.
ARE THEY, IF THAT IS GONNA BE MOVED OVER, ARE WE MOVING FROM ONE TO JUST MOVING TO THE OTHER? OR ARE WE, ARE WE DOING LIKE THE MYOSIS AND SPLITTING UP THE TYPE OF THING? I DON'T KNOW.
I'LL FIND OUT IN TERMS OF THE SHOTS FOR TALK QUESTION.
WELL, I WORK FOR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, SO I KNOW YOU DO.
BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE MAJORITY OF OUR CLIENTS COME FROM ANYWAYS.
AND THERE'LL BE A BUS STOP THERE AS WELL.
UH, CAT METRO IS WORKING ON MOVING A BUS STOP CLOSER TO THIS, TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER, SO IT'LL MAKE IT EASIER TO GET TO.
THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING INTERNALLY.
I'LL FIND OUT FOR SURE NEXT MONTH.
BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S ALWAYS, UM, SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU'RE IN LEADERSHIP AND, AND, AND IN SERVICE IS THAT WHEN YOU TAKE AWAY FROM SOMEBODY, THEY NOTICE IT.
THEY MAY NOT HAVE USED IT A LOT, BUT THE MINUTE YOU TAKE IT AWAY, THAT BECOMES AN ISSUE.
YOU KNOW? NO, NONE OF US LIKE TO LOSE ANYTHING.
THE LAST THING FOR ME, FOR YOU ON HELL IS THE CLOTHING DEAL.
HOW DO, HOW DO YOU ALL GET THE CLOTHING? WHERE IS THIS CLOTHING COMING FROM? IT'S COMING FROM DONATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
SO YOU ALL ACCEPT DONATIONS NOW? HOW DOES THAT WORK? YES.
EXCEPT, YEAH, UH, THERE'S THE STANDARD MM-HMM.
BUT YEAH, THERE'S, WE DO ACCEPT DONATIONS.
YEAH, WELL, IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT, BUT CAN I ASK HIM? YEAH.
UM, I, I HAD JUST REALLY QUICK BECAUSE ON OUR VACANCIES, 'CAUSE THEY ALWAYS SAY WE HAVE TO COME TO YOU TO ASK, UM, HAVE WE GOTTEN ANY APPLICANTS, UH, FOR THE THREE VACANCIES THAT ARE STILL VACANT? I'M, UH, I'M IN CHARGE OF THE, UH, DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED VACANCY.
THE ROSEWOOD BLACKLAND, THE OTHER TWO.
I AM NOT, I THINK THAT'S THE PLAN DEPARTMENT.
WELL, THAT'S THE ROSEWOOD ONE IS THE ONE I'M ALWAYS ASKING FOR BECAUSE IT'S MY, WELL, THERE WAS, UH, THE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATION IS NOW, UH, NOT ACTIVE.
SO WE HAVE TO FIND A NEW RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATION.
SO NOW WE HAVE TO KIND OF TALK TO CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AND GET THEM VETTED AND ON BOARD.
I THINK THAT HAS TO GO TO COUNSEL.
CAN YOU TELL ME THE, UM, THE, THE AGENCY? 'CAUSE WE HAVE SOME POTENTIAL APPLICANTS.
UM, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER BROWN CAN, CAN, UM, CAN AGREE THAT WE HAVE AN APPLICANT THAT'S INTERESTED.
AND IF SHE, IF SHE'S NOT APPOINTED, THEN I WANNA SEE IF WE CAN GET HER, UH, TO CONNECT WITH YOU ALL SO WE CAN GET THAT.
UM, HER NAME'S NIKA ARNOLD, UH, SO WE CAN GET HER, UH, APPLICATION SUBMITTED IN THE CORRECT DEPARTMENT.
THE NEXT STEP IS GETTING THAT RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATION VETTED.
ONCE THAT HAPPENS, THEY'RE A NEUTRAL SPACE.
AND THEN WE WILL COME AND DO THE ELECTION.
BUT, WE'LL, YOU GUYS WILL DEFINITELY HERE WAY BEFORE THAT HAPPENS IN TERMS OF THE DATES.
I THINK THEY'VE BEEN BAKING THREE YEARS NOW.
UM, I DON'T
SO WE'VE HAD, WE'VE HAD SOMEBODY IN THAT SEAT.
BUT I DON'T THINK THEY'RE HERE FOR LONG.
AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT,
UM, AND COMMISSIONER, UH, DOUG, I, I DO BELIEVE THERE MAY BE SOMETHING IN OUR EMAILS THAT DEALT WITH THE, THE FACT THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER AGENCY.
I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TERMINOLOGY, BUT I'M GONNA, UH, SHARE WITH YOU ON THAT.
AND THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE BEFORE THEY CAN START ACCEPTING, UH, CANDIDATES.
SO WE NEED TO GET THAT, UH, NEW, UH, UH, AGENCY, AGENCY, AGENCY GOING.
IS THAT CORRECT? THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT PART.
AND THEN WE'LL LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ELECTIONS.
AND, UH, TO ADDRESS WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT THE OTHER TWO, COMMISSIONER, UH, S AND I ARE WORKING ON THOSE TWO, ON THOSE APPOINTINGS, UHHUH
BUT NO, WE'LL DEFINITELY TALK ABOUT IT.
[4. Presentation and discussion on the CSBG Community Needs Assessment for the Neighborhood Services Unit (Kelly Nichols, Partner, Woollard, Nichols, and Torres Consulting)]
NEXT UP.WE HAVE ALREADY COMING TO THE TABLES, KELLY.
OH, IT'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE.
THIS IS GONNA BE OUR CSBG, UH, NEED COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YES, WE DO.
WE HAVE IT ALSO IN OUR PACKET, BUT YES, WE DO.
I'M GONNA MOVE, UM, PRETTY QUICKLY.
[01:25:01]
SLIDES TO GIVE, UM, YOU ALL AN OVERVIEW OF THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT, WHICH AN ANGEL SAID, UM, NEEDS TO HAPPEN EVERY THREE YEARS.BUT, UM, LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF.
I AM KELLY NICHOLS, PRINCIPAL WITH WILLARD NICHOLS TORRES CONSULTING.
UM, WE'RE HONORED TO DO THIS WORK ON BEHALF OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, AND THE, UM, AND THIS, UM, CITY AND COUNTY AS THE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY.
UM, WE'VE DONE THIS TWICE BEFORE, ACTUALLY, SO, UM, HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE.
AND, UM, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'LL JUMP IN IF THAT'S OKAY? YES, PLEASE.
UM, SO REAL QUICK, JUST GONNA COVER A TINY BIT OF BACKGROUND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN AROUND, UM, FOR A PREVIOUS COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
AND THEN I WANNA SPEND MOST OF THE TIME, UM, SHARING WITH YOU OUR PROPOSED DATA COLLECTION PROCESS AND OR A METHODOLOGY AND THEN, UM, INVITING THE DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS, UM, OR FEEDBACK THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE, UH, FOR US.
UM, SO JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
UM, I THINK, UH, ON HILL ACTUALLY COVERED THIS FIRST POINT, UM, THAT A PH IS IDENTIFIED AS THE TRAVIS COUNTY'S COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY RECEIVING THESE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT FUNDS.
THEY ARE FEDERAL FUNDS, BUT THEY PASS THROUGH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS.
AND SO T-D-H-C-A SETS ALL OF THE, UM, GUIDANCE AND REGULATIONS, UM, UM, THAT, UM, FOR THE REQUIREMENT TO DO THIS, UM, NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
UM, AND OF COURSE, UM, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, AS YOU ALL KNOW, IS, IS USED TO, IS USED TO DESIGN PROGRAMS THAT MEET COMMUNITY NEEDS.
SO THAT REVOLVING PROCESS THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PAY, TAKE PLACE EVERY THREE YEARS.
AND OF COURSE, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE CDC IS THE DESIGNATED CSBG COMMUNITY BOARD, UM, AND MUST BOTH APPROVE THE PLAN, UM, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT PLAN, AS WELL AS ACCEPT THE FINAL COMPLETED ASSESSMENT.
UM, BEFORE IT GOES TO T-D-H-C-A.
IT IS DUE TO T-D-H-C-A, UM, AT THE END OF JUNE THIS YEAR.
SO THIS IS JUST A REMINDER OF, UM, THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS THAT, UH, THE CSBG FUNDING, UM, CURRENTLY SUPPORTS AND WILL SUPPORT IN THE FUTURE WITH THE UPCOMING DOVE SPRINGS NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER.
UM, SO JUST A REMINDER, I THINK YOU ALL KNOW THIS, MANY OF YOU REPRESENT THESE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, UM, AND YOU KNOW, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, VERY MUCH, UM, TIED IN WITH, UM, PART OF THE REASON THE CDC EXISTS, RIGHT? IS TO SUPPORT AND OVERSEE THESE, THESE FUNDS AND, UM, THE CSBG, UM, ADMINISTRATION.
SO JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT C-D-H-C-A ASKS ITS COMMUNITY, UM, ACTION AGENCIES TO DO, UM, UH, EVERY THREE YEARS.
SO OBVIOUSLY, UM, CON CONDUCT THE ASSESSMENT EVERY THREE YEARS.
UM, IT, UH, IS, UH, FOCUSED ON, UM, ON, ON THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE IN POVERTY.
SO, UH, WE ARE REQUIRED TO COLLECT THAT CURRENT POVERTY DATA.
AND, UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S CONNECTION TO THESE KEY DEMOGRAPHICS, GENDER, AGE, RACE, AND ETHNICITY.
UM, THEY ALSO, UM, REQUIRE, THEY USE THE TERM QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE.
I, I ACTUALLY THINK IT'S A, IT'S A SLIGHT MISNOMER.
WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN IS THAT THEY'RE ASKING, UM, COMMUNITIES TO PROVIDE REALLY, TO USE SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA AND PROVIDE PRIMARY SOURCES OF DATA.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY SAY QUANTITATIVE, WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IS WE NEED TO BE USING CENSUS DATA, UM, AND OTHER, OTHER DATA, DATA FROM ECHO, FOR EXAMPLE, DA DATA THAT IS ALREADY BEING COLLECTED, UM, TO DESCRIBE, UM, OUR, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING CURRENTLY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT THEY ALSO WANT US TO GO OUT AND HEAR FROM PEOPLE DIRECTLY.
UM, AND SO THEY GIVE A NUMBER OF WAYS THAT WE CAN COLLECT THAT, UM, WHAT THEY CALL QUALITATIVE INFORMATION.
BUT REALLY HEARING FROM RESIDENTS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS THEMSELVES, THEY ALSO ASK US TO, UM, TO ANALYZE, RIGHT? SO TO INCLUDE, UM, KEY FINDINGS, UM, ON WHAT THEY CALL THE CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF POVERTY, WHICH I FIND TO BE A VERY INTERESTING AND SOMEWHAT CHALLENGING EXERCISE.
AND REALLY, UM, DIGGING DOWN TO WHAT ARE THE CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF POVERTY IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, AND ALSO TO, UM, TO ACTUALLY RANK THE NEEDS AS ON HILL SAID.
UM, THEY EXPECT TO SEE A RANKING, UH, FROM, UM, ONE TO FIVE.
WE CAN LIST OTHER NEEDS IN THE FINAL REPORT, BUT THEY, THEY DO ANTICIPATE, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY DO WANNA SEE THAT RANKING.
UM, THEN, UM, THE GOVERNING BOARD, YOU ALL, UM, UM, NEED TO FORMALLY ACCEPT THE COMPLETED ASSESSMENT.
THEN THE ASSESSMENT INFORMS AN OUTCOME-BASED AND ANTI-POVERTY FOCUSED COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN, WHICH OF COURSE, GUIDES, UM, GUIDES HOW THE FUNDING IS SPENT AND THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE CONDUCTED.
[01:30:01]
ANOTHER EXPECTATION IS THAT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION DATA.SO, YOU KNOW, CLIENT DATA, UM, YOU KNOW, COMING FROM CLIENT SERVED IN NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS IS, IS A PART OF THE PROCESS AS WELL.
SO I WANNA WALK YOU THROUGH OUR, THE, OUR PROPOSED DATA COLLECTION PLAN, UM, OVER, OVER THE NEXT THREE MONTHS.
THIS IS RESPONSIVE TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, THE CITY HAD ASKED US TO DO, UH, WELL, AND NICHOLS TO RESPONDED TO, UH, UM, A REQUEST FOR, UH, QUALIFICATIONS.
AND, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, RESPONDED TO, UM, UH, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'M SAYING IS MANY, MANY OF THESE THINGS ARE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE CITY ASKED FOR.
UM, IN ALL HONESTY, THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF ROOM FOR CREATIVITY, UM, BECAUSE THE T-D-H-C-I GUIDELINES, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM A SMALL MENU OF OPTIONS, UH, FOR THE ACTIVITIES, BUT NOT A, YOU KNOW, NOT BEYOND THAT.
SO, IN TERMS OF THAT QUANTITATIVE DATA, OR AGAIN, THE, UM, THE SECONDARY SOURCES OF EXISTING DATA, UM, WE'RE GONNA USE THE COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT TOOL THAT T-D-H-C-A, ACTUALLY, IT'S A NATIONWIDE TOOL, UM, THAT THEY GIVE US.
IT BASICALLY JUST, UM, PULLS, UM, CENSUS DATA AS WELL AS AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY DATA FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND, UM, MAKES IT REALLY EASY FOR US TO INPUT THAT IN THE REPORT.
SO WE, WE'LL CERTAINLY USE THAT.
UM, BUT THE OTHER, UH, WE'LL ALSO INCORPORATE ANY OTHER SOURCE, UM, SOURCES OF DATA THAT, UM, THAT WE HAVE IN OUR OWN COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, THIS IS WHERE I WOULD, I'D LOVE ANY, ANY SUGGESTIONS THAT, THAT YOU ALL HAVE.
I'LL TELL YOU, I THINK THE, THE ONE THING WE DID LAST TIME THAT WAS REALLY USEFUL, UM, OF COURSE WE WERE DOING THE CNA IN 2021, SO VERY MUCH, YOU KNOW, AS THE PANDEMIC WAS STILL UNDERWAY, AND WE WERE FACING, YOU KNOW, REALLY DOING, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT WE WERE GONNA HAVE CHALLENGES ENGAGING FOLKS VIRTUALLY.
SO WE WERE ABLE, UM, I THINK FOR THE FIRST TIME TO GET THE, THE, THIS NEEDS INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION ON FOLKS, UM, WHO ARE EITHER CALLING 2 1 1 OR WHO ARE ACCESSING CONNECT A TX THROUGH, UM, THE UNITED WAY WEBSITE.
AND UNITED WAY WAS ABLE TO GIVE US A REALLY HELPFUL REPORT THAT OUTLINED ESSENTIALLY WHAT WAS THE PRIMARY REASON THAT SOMEONE WAS CALLING 2 1 1 OR ACCESSING CONNECT A TX, WHICH IS REALLY USEFUL FOR US TO BE ABLE TO, UM, HELP, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIZE THOSE, UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THOSE COMMUNITY NEEDS COMING THROUGH.
SO, WE'LL, CERTAINLY, I'VE ALREADY BEEN IN TOUCH WITH UNITED WAY, THEY'RE ABLE TO DO THAT FOR US AGAIN.
UM, SO CERTAINLY LET'S TO INCLUDE THAT DATA.
BUT WE'LL WELCOME ANY OTHER IDEAS YOU ALL HAVE ON OTHER SOURCES OF COMMUNITY DATA THAT WE WANNA BE LOOKING AT AND PULLING FOR THIS REPORT.
IN TERMS OF THE QUALITATIVE DATA OR THAT PRIMARY DATA THAT WE WILL BE, UM, WE'LL BE LOOKING TO THE COMMUNITY FOR, THERE ARE FOUR PRIMARY, UH, WAYS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO ENGAGE.
ONE OF THEM IS UL, UM, AS KEY INFORMANTS.
UM, AND PARTICULARLY, UM, WE WOULD BE HAPPY AND, UM, WOULD LOVE TO SPEAK TO ANY OF YOU, UM, WHO WOULD, UM, BE WILLING TO GIVE US 30 MINUTES OR SO.
IN PARTICULAR, WE'D REALLY LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TALKING TO THE FOLKS WHO ARE, UM, REPRESENTING THIS, UM, SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW THOSE ARE, ARE OUR AREAS OF HIGH POVERTY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, UM, WE THINK THAT YOU ALL, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE, WE KNOW YOU ALL HAVE YOUR, UM, YOUR FINGER ON THE PULSE OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THOSE COMMUNITIES.
AND SO, UM, WOULD LOVE, LOVE TO SCHEDULE A TIME TO HAVE A BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH YOU, UM, TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF WHAT THOSE NEEDS ARE FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE PROPOSED TO DO THREE SURVEYS.
UM, WE WOULD DO, UH, A CLIENT SURVEY SO THAT WE ARE HEARING, YOU KNOW, DIRECTLY FROM NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER CLIENTS, WE WOULD DO A SERVICE PROVIDER AND CASE MANAGER SURVEY.
SO TO REALLY HEAR FROM THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, DIRECTLY SURVEYING ON FOLKS IN NEED.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE WOULD DO A RESIDENT SURVEY, UM, SO A SURVEY OPEN TO ANYONE IN THE, IN THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY.
BUT WE KNOW THAT WE WANNA FOCUS THAT OUTREACH IN THE HIGH POVERTY AREAS SO THAT WE ARE, UM, ENSURING THAT WE DON'T, WE DON'T OVERREPRESENT, UM, HIGHER INCOME AREAS.
SO, UM, REALLY LOOK, WOULD BE LOOKING TO DO FOCUSED OUTREACH, UM, THROUGH, UM, THROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS, COAL COMMUNITY COALITIONS, OTHER, OTHER GROUPS, UM, THAT YOU ALL CAN HELP US WITH.
SO THAT'S SORT OF A SECOND AREA, UM, LOOKING FOR YOUR HELP WITH ALL OF THOSE SURVEY, WELL, I SHOULD SAY THE CLIENT SURVEY.
WE'LL CERTAINLY MAKE SURE, UM, THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS ACTUALLY HAVE A TEXTING, UH, CAPABILITY NOW, WHICH IS SUPER USEFUL.
UM, SO FOR FOLKS WHO DO HAVE MOBILE, UM, THEY'VE, UM,
[01:35:01]
HAD PRETTY GOOD LUCK GETTING, UM, RESPONSES BACK.SO WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE AN ELECTRONIC VERSION, BUT WE'LL ALSO GO IN PERSON TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS AND TALK WITH FOLKS, UM, TALK WITH FOLKS WHO DON'T HAVE TECHNOLOGY OLDER FOLKS, UM, FOLKS WHO HAVE LITERACY CHALLENGES.
UM, SO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE INCLUSIVE OF THAT POPULATION.
SO, UM, DOING THAT SURVEY IN BOTH WAYS.
THE SERVICE PROVIDER SURVEY CASE MANAGER SURVEY WORKS PRETTY WELL ELECTRONICALLY.
UM, WE CAN WORK WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS ON THEIR LIST AS WELL AS THE C TOSS LIST SERVE.
UM, AND ANY OTHER PLACES YOU ALL THINK WE SHOULD, UM, BE GOING TO, TO GET, YOU KNOW, REALLY KIND OF THE, THE FOLKS WHO ARE THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND THEN AGAIN, THE RESIDENT SURVEY, UM, WILL WANNA, YOU KNOW, REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LIST FROM LAST TIME, BUT, UM, WELCOME ANY, ANY FEEDBACK Y'ALL HAVE ON, YOU KNOW, GETTING THAT OUT TO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, UM, MUTUAL AID NETWORKS, COMMUNITY COALITIONS, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, OTHER GROUPS, UM, THAT CAN HELP US.
THE, UM, THE SURVEYS ARE SHORT.
THEY'RE ABOUT FIVE MINUTES BECAUSE WE KNOW PEOPLE ARE OVER SURVEYED.
UM, SO WE WANNA MAKE THEM, YOU KNOW, REALLY SHORT, NOT A LOT OF OPEN-ENDED, UM, BUT JUST HELPING US RANK THOSE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
SO WE'LL DO ALL OF THAT, UM, DATA ANALYSIS, UM, MOSTLY IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, WE'LL GET STARTED THIS MONTH.
UM, CONTINUE THAT THROUGH FEBRUARY.
WE'LL TAKE MOST OF MARCH TO DO OUR ANALYSIS TO DO THE WRITEUP, UM, AND TO, TO GET TO THAT RANKING.
UM, WE SHOULD HAVE MOST OF OUR WORK DONE, UM, BY APRIL.
UM, AND WE'LL WORK WITH, UM, WITH HEL AND HIS TEAM, UM, TO FINALIZE AND THEN COME BACK TO YOU ALL, UM, TO SHARE, UM, UH, TO SHARE THAT DRAFT REPORT EITHER IN MAY OR JUNE, UM, SO THAT IT CAN BE SUBMITTED TO T-D-H-C-A, UM, BY THE DEADLINE AT THE END OF JUNE.
I THINK THAT SHOULD BE MY LAST SLIDE.
THIS IS JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE QUICK POINTS.
ONE IS I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM FOLKS IF, UM, PARTICULARLY, UM, COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE REPRESENTING GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, IF IT FEELS REASONABLE, UM, THAT, THAT WE MIGHT, UM, BE ABLE TO GRAB 30 MINUTES IN THE NEXT, UM, MONTH OR SO TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOU ALL.
AND AGAIN, UM, HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF THERE ARE OTHER COMMISSIONERS AT LARGE COMMISSIONERS, UM, WHO WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO YOU ALL AS WELL.
UM, ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL RESOURCES THAT YOU ALL THINK WE SHOULD BE TAPPING IN SOME IN TERMS OF DATA? AND HAPPY TO TAKE ANY OTHER FEEDBACK OR ANSWER, ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR, UM, THAT, UM, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO, BEFORE YOU LEAVE TODAY, TO HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING, UH, I MEAN A COMMITMENT FROM THE COMMISSIONERS THAT REPRESENT THE SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING OF.
AND I AM, I, DO YOU HAVE THE LIST OF, OF ALL OF THE COMMISSIONERS, I'M, I BELIEVE I KNOW WHO YOU WOULD NEED, BUT YOU TELL US WHICH COMMISSIONERS, UH, OR AREAS THAT YOU'RE MOST INTERESTED IN, AND WE WILL, AS A GROUP, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE AVAILABLE.
SO GO AHEAD AND LIST THEM OUT FOR ME.
I WOULD LOVE, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE, WOULD LOVE TO TALK WITH A, WITH A REP FROM EACH OF THE GEOGRAPHIC LEAD DESIGNATED AREAS, WHICH IS, UM, COLONY PARK.
I THINK THAT'S IT, BECAUSE WE KNOW ROSEWOOD IS, IS MEETING RIGHT NOW.
UH, COMMISSIONERS, YOU HEARD YOUR AREAS.
ARE YOU, UM, AVAILABLE TO COMMIT THAT IN THE NEXT, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE NEXT 30 TO 45 DAYS, OR WHEN? NEXT 30 DAYS? YEAH.
BUT IF WE COULD GET IT ANYTIME IN, IN FEB, YOU KNOW, BY THE END OF FEBRUARY.
UM, AND WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO THE VARIOUS, UM, ABSOLUTELY.
COMMISSIONERS TO SET THAT UP? SO IF YOU HEARD YOUR NAME AND YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT, LET ME KNOW.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, WE ARE GONNA EXPECT THAT, UH, KELLY'S GONNA REACH OUT TO US AND THAT WE'LL BE RECEPTIVE.
UM, SHE'S GONNA REACH OUT TO US ON OUR, OUR, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN EMAIL.
SO THAT MEANS WE ALL HAVE TO BE WATCHING THAT EMAIL FOR HER, UH, MESSAGE.
UH, PLEASE COPY, UM, MR. UH, ED WHEN YOU, UH, REACH OUT TO US SO THAT HE KNOWS, UH, EACH TIME, UH, THAT WE ARE, UM, BEING REACHED OUT TO.
SO, UM, COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR, SIR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRESENTING
[01:40:01]
TO US TODAY.UM, JUST, UH, TWO VERY QUICK, UM, THOUGHTS.
ONE, ONE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO, I'M NEW, AND THIS IS MY SECOND MEETING AND I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE, THE PRIOR PLAN.
UM, BUT ONE THING THAT I THINK WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT IS KIND OF THE STRATIFICATION OF FINDINGS BY POVERTY LEVEL.
YOU KNOW, LIKE A HUNDRED PERCENT POVERTY LEVEL, UH, INDIVIDUALS IN THAT SITUATION VERSUS INDIVIDUALS AT 200% POVERTY LEVEL ARE GONNA BE VERY DIFFERENT.
UM, AS WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE KEY AREAS WHERE THOSE, UH, INDIVIDUALS AND THOSE FAMILIES MIGHT ALSO NEED ASSISTANCE.
AND THAT WOULD, I THINK HELP, UM, DIFFERENT CITY PROGRAMS, UM, THAT ARE FOCUSING IN ON DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS BY POVERTY LEVEL TO ACTUALLY, UM, UM, MAKE USE OF THIS, OF THIS PLAN IN A VERY, UH, STRATEGIC WAY.
UM, THE SECOND THING THAT I JUST WANTED TO MENTION IS IN TERMS OF RESIDENT SURVEYS AND HIGH POVERTY LEVEL, UM, HIGH POVERTY AREAS, UH, I KNOW WE HAD OUR, OUR, UM, OUR FRIENDS FROM ECHO OVER HERE KIND OF PRESENTING THE DENSITY MAP OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF WHAT HOMELESSNESS.
AND, UM, I WOULD ALSO GUESS, YOU KNOW, POVERTY, YOU KNOW, IS, IS KIND OF MIRRORED AS WITHIN, THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, ONE AREA IN PARTICULAR THAT I THINK WOULD BE MOST USEFUL TO TALK TO PEOPLE THAT I, THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY ASSOCIATED OR TIED TO A, UM, A NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER, I THINK WOULD BE DOWNTOWN.
I THINK THOSE INDIVIDUALS, UM, EITHER, UM, YOU KNOW, UNHOUSED AND LIVING DOWNTOWN OR, UM, YOU KNOW, CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN THAT ARE ALSO, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO KEEP, UM, YOU KNOW, STAYING CLOSE TO THE, THE SERVICES AND AMENITIES THAT THEY ARE, UM, THAT THEY'RE BEING PROVIDED, I THINK WOULD BE HIGHLY IMPORTANT FOR US, ESPECIALLY AS WE LOOK TO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, MAKE, UH, STRATEGIC, UH, ACTION OFF THE PLAN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BOTH OF THOSE SUGGESTIONS.
UH, ESTEBAN DELGADO, I HAVE COMMISSIONER KEES, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
CAN YOU UNDERSTAND ME WITH THE MASK? YEAH.
UM, I JUST, AND I KNOW YOU, I'M SURE YOU HAVE YOUR, YOUR SCOPE OF WORK, AND I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS THAT MAY BE OUTSIDE THAT ARE NOT POSSIBLE, BUT I WANTED TO ASK ANYWAY, BUT, UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT, UM, UNMET NEED AND THE DIFFICULT WAY TO CHARACTERIZE THAT.
AND SO JUST ONE, ONE DATA SOURCE, I'M NOT SURE IF THEY CAN HELP WITH THIS, IS, UM, THE UNITED WAY, UNITED WAY SYSTEM.
I, I KNOW, I THINK THEY MADE IT A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM AND MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE DATA ON REFERRALS THAT WERE NEVER PICKED UP OR, OR FOLKS WHO, WHO FELL OFF WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO BE SERVED.
SO JUST CURIOUS IF THEY HAVE THINGS THEY CAN INCLUDE IN THEIR REPORT THAT WOULD HELP USPL OUT THAT UNMET NEED.
UM, CAN YOU SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME? I WANNA MAKE SURE I CUT IT.
REFERRALS THAT THEY MADE, BUT WERE NEVER FOLLOWED UP ON.
SO THE, THE QUESTION WE'RE TRYING TO ANSWER IS, WHAT IS THE NEED THAT'S BIGGER THAN WE HAVE RESOURCES RIGHT.
TO TAKE CARE OF? RIGHT? THAT'S THE ULTIMATE QUESTION.
SO JUST THE DATA POINTS THAT THEY HAVE THAT HELP GET TO THAT.
SO, SO YES, FOLKS WHO JUST DIDN'T HAVE ANYWHERE TO BE REFERRED TO BECAUSE WE RAN OUT, OR LIKE THAT WOULD BE.
UM, AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION JUST, UM, IS WHEN YOU DO THE RESIDENT SURVEY, IS ALL OF THAT THROUGH ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE CONNECTED TO RESIDENTS, OR WILL YOU BE HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS WHO AREN'T REFERRED TO YOU BY A DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDER OR OTHER KNOWN CONTACT? THAT RESIDENT SURVEY WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ANYONE IN THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, IT, IT'LL, YOU KNOW, IT'LL BE AVAILABLE.
UM, WE'LL MAKE SURE IT'S AVAILABLE TO YOU ALL.
WE JUST ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, TARGETING THE AREAS IN WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THE HIGHER POVERTY AREAS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT OVER REPRESENTING.
UM, AS WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, ELECTRONIC SURVEYS CAN'T DO, UM, OVER REPRESENTING HIGHER INCOME FOLKS.
SO IT'LL BE AVAILABLE FOR ANYONE IN THE COMMUNITY TO TAKE.
SORRY, MY, THE QUESTION I'M TRYING TO GET AT IS WHETHER, WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO THINK ABOUT ARE THERE FOLKS WHO HAVE NEEDS THAT AREN'T CONNECTED AND DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO, AND SO FROM A MARKETING STANDPOINT, DO WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT DIFFERENT REACHING OUT? SO I JUST WONDERED IF YOU WOULD BE, BUT ALSO LIKE GETTING A SURVEY TO THOSE FOLKS IS, SEEMS RATHER IMPOSSIBLE TOO, RIGHT? BECAUSE IF A NONPROFIT PROVIDES THEM THE SURVEY, THEN THEY HAVE SOMEONE TO REACH OUT TO.
SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT IF ANY OF YOUR OUTREACH WOULD BE REACHING FOLKS WHO AREN'T ALREADY CONNECTED SOMEHOW.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT IT, IT DOES.
AND I MEAN, I WELCOME, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE THAT YOU ALL THINK, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SEND AN ELECTRONIC SURVEY LINK AND A, YOU KNOW, QUICK INVITATION.
[01:45:01]
YOU KNOW, GOOD SUCCESS, UM, LAST TIME, RIGHT? I MEAN, THIS WAS THREE YEARS AGO.SOME OF THOSE MUTUAL AID NETWORKS WERE JUST STARTING TO LAUNCH.
UM, THERE'S A FEW FACEBOOK, UM, GROUPS THAT I'M BLANK, YOU KNOW, UM, I'M BLANKING ON EXACTLY THE, THE NAME OF THEM, BUT THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE PRETTY BROAD REACH.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE TRYING TO KIND OF BE CREATIVE, AS CREATIVE AS WE CAN AND PUSHING IT OUT THERE TO NOT, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST, UM, THE USUAL PLACES.
SO, WELCOME, YOU KNOW, IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER COALITIONS, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY NETWORKS, RIGHT? GROUPS WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, OF THAT WE, WE CAN HELP, YOU KNOW, KIND OF BE AT THAT GRASSROOTS LEVEL, THAT'LL BE REALLY USEFUL.
AM I, CAN I JUST EMAIL DIRECTLY TO OKAY.
UM, I, I'LL, I'LL MAKE, DO Y'ALL HAVE, DO YOU WANT ME TO GIVE YOU MY EMAIL ADDRESS? NO, YOU DON'T NEED TO, UM, PUT IT OUT RIGHT NOW, BUT WE CAN, YOU CAN MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO, UM, I'LL, I'LL GET IT.
WE'LL, WE'LL GET IT FOR YOU, BUT THANK YOU, KELLY FOR THAT.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? THE LAST ONE.
I'M, YOU GO ON AND THEN I'LL FINISH UP.
UH, THANK YOU, KELLY, FOR THAT.
I, I AM REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD ON THIS.
UM, QUICK QUESTIONS, UH, CENSUS A CS DATA.
SO CENSUS CENSUS DATA IS A LITTLE BIT OF THE INACCURATE DATA THAT WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT.
UM, IS THAT THE DATA THAT YOU ALL ARE GONNA GO BY AS FAR AS OUTREACH OR, I MEAN, I, CAN YOU KIND OF ELABORATE ON THAT REALLY QUICK BEFORE I ASK THE NEXT QUESTION? SURE.
KNOW THAT, UM, THAT THAT DATA WILL BE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF INCORPORATED, IT WON'T BE FOR THE OUTREACH PURPOSES.
IT'S, UM, THAT'S, I MEAN, THERE IS SOME RE YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY WE ARE FULLY RE REQUIRED.
WE'RE BOTH REQUIRED TO USE THEIR TOOL, WHICH WILL PULL CENSUS DATA.
IT'LL ALSO PULL THAT AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY DATA, WHICH IS DONE MORE OFTEN THAN THE, THE 10 YEAR CENSUS.
SO THERE'LL BE A, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF, YOU KNOW, THERE WILL BE, UM, A, YOU KNOW, THERE WON'T BE JUST ONE DATA SOURCE THERE, BUT THEY ALSO THEN GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE OTHER, THOSE OTHER SOURCES OF COMMUNITY DATA, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
ALL OF THAT IS JUST ONE FORM OF THE DATA THAT THEY'RE ASKING US, UM, TO INCLUDE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THEY, THAT'S, THEY WANT US TO DO THIS, WHAT THEY CALL QUALITATIVE RESEARCH, BUT REALLY PRIMARY RESEARCH WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY TALKING TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND HEARING WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY.
SO WE'RE DOING BOTH OF THOSE THINGS AND THEY, YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY RIGHTLY KNOW THAT COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCIES KNOW THEIR COMMUNITIES THE BEST AND THEY ALLOW COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCIES TO CHOOSE THE WAY IN WHICH TO ENGAGE THEIR, UM, TO DO THAT OUTREACH THEMSELVES.
SO THEY'RE NOT PRESCRIPTIVE NECESSARILY ABOUT THAT.
'CAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I, I WANTED CLARIFICATION ON.
NEXT QUESTION IS, UM, RESIDENT SURVEY WOULD FOCUS OUTREACH IN HIGH POVERTY AREAS.
UM, SO OUTREACH IS GONNA BE CONDUCTED IN THE SHORT AMOUNT OF PERIOD, RIGHT? YES.
UM, SO WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY PLAN ON THAT AS FAR, ARE YOU GOING TO NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS? ARE YOU GOING TO GONNA CREATE A TOWN HALL? ARE YOU GONNA GO AND POST UP AT THE RECS AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS? I MEAN, UM, I, I JUST DIDN'T SEE, I JUST SAW A BROAD, YOU KNOW, RESIDENT SURVEY WITH FOCUS OUTREACH IN HIGH POVERTY AREAS, AND I SEE THAT YOU'RE, WE'RE GONNA ALL TALK WITH YOU AND GIVE YOU SOME INPUT, BUT, UH, HOW ARE WE REACHING OUT TO THE RECIPIENTS, ESPECIALLY ONES THAT ARE, UH, DIGITALLY DIGITAL INCLINED, UH, THAT ARE, UM, ILLITERATE AS WELL AS DON'T HAVE ACCESS, UH, TO NAVIGATE A ONLINE SURVEY? IS THIS SURVEY GONNA BE A PAPER SURVEY? IS THIS SURVEY GONNA BE, UH, AVAILABLE TO THEM? YEAH.
THAT, THAT, THAT CLIENT SURVEY? ABSOLUTELY.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT THE, UM, WE, WE'VE GOTTA HEAR RIGHT FROM THE, THE, THE FOLKS WHO ARE UTILIZING THE SERVICES.
SO THAT CLIENT SURVEY, UM, WE WILL ABSOLUTELY BE, UM, UTILIZING THAT TECH SERVICE THAT HAS BEEN INTRODUCED FOR, FOR SOME CLIENTS.
SO, WE'LL, WE'LL PUSH IT OUT BOTH WAYS, BUT WE WILL ABSOLUTELY BE AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS TO, UM, TO, TO TALK TO EXACTLY THAT POPULATION THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO, UM, AND TO BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, CONDUCT THAT AS A, AS A ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATION.
SO THAT, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S NOT EVEN NEED FOR A PAPER SURVEY.
WE'LL JUST, WE'LL JUST DO IT ORALLY.
SO, JUST SO YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS AGO WHEN THIS, UM, MOST OF THE COMMISSIONERS WERE NOT HERE THREE YEARS AGO.
BUT THREE YEARS AGO WHEN THIS WAS CONDUCTED IN OUR CITY, UM, WE HAD A, UM, A, A GOOD AMOUNT OF VOLUNTEERS,
[01:50:02]
UH, THAT HAD THE OPTION TO VOLUNTEER FOR THIS TO HELP, UH, THIS DIVISION, UH, GET THIS, UM, THIS ASSESSMENT DONE, UH, CORRECTLY IN, IN A TIMELY MANNER.UM, I HOPE TO SEE THAT EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THAT THEY'VE HIRED A, A CONSULTING COMPANY LIKE YOU ALL TO ASSIST, UM, I DO HOPE TO SEE THAT YOU ARE ENGAGING, UH, WITH THOSE VOLUNTEERS THAT MAYBE WOULD WANNA HELP.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE CONTACT TEAMS, THE ASSOCIATIONS, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS.
UH, THERE'S SEVERAL GROUPS OUT THERE, UH, THAT DO COMMUNITY WORK OUT THERE, UH, THAT YOU ALL CONNECT WITH THEM AND BUILD SOME TYPE OF BRIDGE ABSOLUTELY.
UH, SO Y'ALL CAN GET THE CORRECT, UH, DATA BECAUSE THIS NEED ASSESSMENT IS SO CRUCIAL.
UH, THE COMMISSIONERS SHOULD KNOW HOW CRUCIAL IT IS, UH, BECAUSE THIS IS REGARDING OUR FUNDING AND, AND THE NEEDS OF OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND IF WE'RE NOT UPDATED FROM THE BEGINNING OF PANDEMIC TO AFTER PANDEMIC, THEN WE'RE JUST NOT DOING OUR JOB.
YEAH, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT, COMMISSIONER.
AND REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN HELPING US HIGHLIGHT YEAH, THOSE, THOSE, UM, COMMUNITY GROUPS WE NEED TO BE CONNECTING TO.
COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO, UH, I HAD TOLD HER A MINUTE AGO THAT I WOULD BE THE LAST ONE, AND SHE ACTUALLY HIGHLIGHTED, UM, BECAUSE I HEARD YOU, UM, SPEAK, KELLY, THAT YOU WERE GONNA BE DOING, UM, THE ITEMS IN TERMS OF GOING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, DEALING WITH THE ELDERLY, THOSE WHO ARE, UM, NOT, UM, UH, UH, AS, UH, THAT MAY HAVE SOME LITERACY CHALLENGES OR CONCERNS, ET CETERA.
UH, THAT IS, I'M SO GLAD SHE HIGHLIGHTED THAT, AND THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO END ON.
SO, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT, THAT THAT POPULATION MUST BE IN THE FOREFRONT OF, OF, OF, OF THE DATA COLLECTION JUST BECAUSE OF, OF THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY EACH MAY HAVE.
SO, UH, SOME OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT SHE IN INDICATED WOULD BE, UM, GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO OBTAIN THAT INFORMATION.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COMMISSIONERS.
WE APPRECIATE Y'ALL SO MUCH THE, UH, YOU BEING HERE.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU SOON.
[5. Presentation and discussion on Summary of FY 22-23 Consolidated Annual Performance & Evaluation Report (CAPER) and Public Comments (Chris Duran, Housing Department)]
RIGHT.OUR NEXT ONE IS MR. CHRIS DURAN WITH OUR CAPER.
WE'RE GONNA BE OUR PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF A SUMMARY OF THE CONSOLIDATING ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION REPORT.
UM, YEAH, I'M NOT REAL SURE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
IF, UH, WE CAN PAUSE YOU, YOU DO HALF OF IT.
I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF THAT'S EVEN IN MY PURVIEW OF TO DO, BUT I DON'T WANNA RUSH THROUGH IT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO GO THROUGH THIS.
SO WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS, MR. BLAKE? I GUESS CHRIS, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO? WELL, I HAVE NO ABSOLUTE WANNA HANDLE THIS.
I MEAN, I ULTIMATELY DEFER TO YOU ALL, BUT WHAT I WAS THINKING WAS THAT, ESPECIALLY WITH SUCH A PACKED AGENDA, MM-HMM,
'CAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S PROBABLY TOO MUCH TO REALLY PROCESS IN THIS MEETING NOW.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, I'M AVAILABLE OUTSIDE OF THIS MEETING, BUT I'D LIKE TO, I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GO, TO GO THROUGH, GIVE SOME KEY CONTEXT TO HELP Y'ALL MAKE THE MOST VALUE OF THE SLIDES.
AND THEN MAYBE TAKE QUESTIONS AT THE END.
I, I, I, I WANTED TO CHECK HEAR FROM YOU, SO THAT'S FINE.
BUT I DO WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I KNOW THAT WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR NO 24 SLIDES IN DEPTH.
I'M, UH, OUR SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST OF THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT OVER FEDERAL REPORTING.
I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S TIME TONIGHT.
I KNOW IT'S A FULL AGENDA, SO I'M GONNA TRY TO BE WHAT I'VE SAID IN THE PAST, UH, THOROUGH BUT BRIEF.
UM, SO WE'LL GO THROUGH, LET'S SEE, DO I HAVE CONTROL HERE? I THINK I DO.
UM, LIKE I SAID, I'M GONNA TRY TO GET THROUGH THIS SOMEWHAT QUICKLY, AND THEN I'M REALLY, UH, COMMITTED TO BEING AVAILABLE OUTSIDE OF THIS MEETING FOR ANY FOLLOW UPS.
UM, I'M GONNA GO THROUGH SOME CONTEXT REAL QUICK, UM, ABOUT, UM, KIND OF HOW THE CAPER FALLS INTO OUR FEDERAL REPORTING SCHEME.
UH, THIS WILL BE A REPEAT FOR SOME OF OUR MORE EXPERIENCED COMMISSIONERS, BUT I DO WANNA GIVE THAT OVERVIEW FOR SOME OF THE NEWER ONES.
AND REALLY WE'LL JUST GIVE A, A SUMMARY OF A PRETTY, UM, SUBSTANTIAL DOCUMENT THAT I'VE TRIED TO JUST GET DOWN TO SNAPSHOTS, GIVE YOU A, A LOOK AT WHAT OUR CLIENT DEMOGRAPHICS LOOKED LIKE IN FY 2023 FOR OUR FEDERAL PROGRAMMING.
UM, WHERE WE ARE, WHERE WE WERE WITH OUR GOALS AND OUTCOMES, AS WELL AS, UM, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD SUMMARY.
UH, WE ARE REQUIRED PER OUR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN TO COME AND GIVE Y'ALL THIS SUMMARY
[01:55:01]
OF THE CAPER.UM, BUT WE'RE, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, WE'RE GONNA BE TAKING A, A LOOK AT THAT CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN THIS YEAR.
AND SO IF THIS IS A PRESENTATION YOU FIND VALUABLE, THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CONTINUE.
AND IF YOU THINK THIS COULD BE MORE SOMETHING THAT WE JUST SEND TO YOU, WE COULD DO THAT GOING FORWARD.
UM, SO MOVING FORWARD, THE CONTEXT THAT THIS COMES OUT OF, IF I CAN.
UM, SO THE, I JUST WANTED TO BRIEFLY, I, YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE BEFORE.
I WANTED TO REVISIT IT REALLY QUICK JUST TO KIND OF GIVE US SOME ORIENTATION TO WHERE WE ARE.
'CAUSE I KNOW I COME AND I TALK ABOUT THE CAPER AND THE CON PLAN AND ACTION PLAN.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE WRAPPED, WE'VE WRAPPED UP FY 2223, AND, UH, WE DID OUR FEDERAL REPORT ON THE, UH, THAT TO KIND OF GIVE A SUMMARY OF THAT YEAR.
IT'S A CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION REPORT.
OBVIOUSLY, WE DON'T WANNA BE SAYING THAT TOO OFTEN, SO WE CALL IT THE KEEPER.
UM, WE ARE IN OUR LAST YEAR OF OUR FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO, UM, FY 2324, THE LAST YEAR OF THE FY 1924 CONSOLIDATED PLAN.
SO I'LL BE HERE NEXT MONTH TO REALLY DIVE MORE INTO, UM, THE CONSOLIDATED PLAN BRIEF Y'ALL ON THAT, GET MORE INPUT ON THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES WE'LL PUT INTO OUR NEXT FIVE YEAR PLAN.
UM, BUT, UH, TONIGHT IS ABOUT THE CAPER TO GIVE Y'ALL A SUMMARY OF, UM, OUR FISCAL YEAR, UH, PREVIOUS, AND JUST A QUICK REVIEW.
UM, AND THIS SLIDE, UH, I APOLOGIZE, IT SHOULD
UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL A QUICK SNAPSHOT, A QUICK REMINDER OF WHAT GRANTS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE, I COME AND TALK ABOUT FEDERAL REPORTING.
IT'S THESE FOUR GRANTS, UH, THAT, UH, WE GET EVERY YEAR FROM HUD, OUR ANNUAL ENTITLEMENT GRANTS.
THESE ARE THE GRANTS THAT ARE FUNDING OUR FEDERAL PROGRAMMING AND THE GRANTS THAT WE'RE REPORTING AND, UM, OVERVIEWING TO Y'ALL.
SO, UM, A QUICK FISCAL YEAR, 23, 22, 23 SNAPSHOT.
UM, OUR FEDERALLY, UM, FUNDED PROGRAMS SERVED A LITTLE OVER 3000 HOUSEHOLDS.
THOSE HOUSEHOLDS COULD BE INDIVIDUALS OR THEY COULD BE FAMILIES.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT CONTEXT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THESE WERE JUST PROGRAMS, OR THESE WERE JUST, UH, PROJECTS THAT WERE COMPLETED, UM, IN FY 2223, AND THAT, SO THEY WERE COUNTED IN FY 2223.
BUT JUST THE WAY THAT SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS OPERATE, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, RO, AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE ARE PROJECTS THAT WERE COUNTED IN FY 20 THAT ARE BENEFITING FOLKS AND OTHER FISCAL YEARS BECAUSE WE'VE CREATED AFFORDABLE UNITS.
UM, WHEREAS SOME OF THE PROGRAMS ARE MORE YEARLY FOCUSED, LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE CHILDCARE SERVICES THAT WE'RE GIVEN, THAT'S KIND OF A MORE KIND OF IMMEDIATE ACUTE THING THAT DOESN'T GO YEAR OVER YEAR.
SO I DO THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT CONTEXT JUST 'CAUSE SOMETIMES I, I KNOW I'VE BEEN IN CONVERSATIONS WHERE FOLKS DIVIDE THE TOTAL WE SPENT AND THE TOTAL WE SERVED, AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GETTING.
BUT A LOT OF THESE PROGRAMS REALLY DO HAVE LONG YEAR IMPACTS, YOU KNOW, THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, KEEPING PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES, UM, YOU KNOW, FIXING UP HOMES SO THAT PEOPLE CAN STAY IN THEM.
SO, UM, WE COMPLETED A LITTLE OVER 3000 PROJECTS THIS YEAR.
THE ANNUAL ENTITLEMENT GRANTS, THOSE ARE THOSE GRANTS THAT WE GET YEARLY.
WHAT COMPLICATES THINGS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I MEAN, COVID COMPLICATED A LOT OF THINGS.
AND, UM, WHAT THE PANDEMIC COMPLICATED WAS OUR FUNDING STREAMS. AND SO CARESS ACT, UM, THE MORE, UH, EX THE COMMISSIONERS WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE, YOU'LL HAVE SEEN US COMING THROUGH AND REPORTING ON CARES ACT THE PAST FEW YEARS.
UM, YOU SAW MUCH LARGER NUMBERS IN THE PAST.
WERE FINALLY GETTING TO THE FINAL EXPENDITURES OF THOSE PROGRAMS. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE A SMALLER NUMBER THERE THIS YEAR.
AND, UM, WE ARE GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE ONE MORE PROGRAM THAT WILL CONTINUE INTO THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
AND SO I EXPECT NEXT YEAR I'LL BE BACK, UM, WITH A FINAL CARESS ACT REPORT THAT'LL HAVE A SMALLER NUMBER, BUT THE TOTAL WAS SPENT WAS A LITTLE OVER, UH, 13.31 MILLION.
SO, UM, JUST TRYING TO KEEP IT BRIEF.
I FEEL LIKE, I MEAN, WE COULD HAVE A GREAT DISCUSSION ON THIS, BUT, UM, THE, UH, CLIENT DEMOGRAPHICS THAT WE SERVED, UM, I KNOW OUR FRIENDS FROM ECHO EARLIER HIGHLIGHTED THAT THE BLACK AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, UM, EXPERIENCES AN OUTSIZE NEED WITH A LOT OF THESE PROGRAMS. SO WE DO SEE THAT IN OUR CLIENTS SERVED DATA.
UM, THERE IS, UH, I, I DON'T WANT TO JUST READ, READ OFF THE SLIDES HERE, BUT I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT WE SERVED 36.2% OF OUR CLIENTS, UH, IDENTIFIED AS BLACK OR
[02:00:01]
AFRICAN AMERICAN ALONE.UM, THEY COULD ALSO IDENTIFY AS MULTI.
AND, UM, WE HAD, UH, I, I UTILIZED THE 22, UH, 2022, UH, A CS FIVE YEAR ESTIMATES THAT GAVE US 7.9% OF BLACK AFRICAN-AMERICAN ALONE IN THIS CITY.
I, I, I NOTED EARLIER THAT ECHO SAID 9%.
I KNOW THERE'S DIFFERENT DATA SETS AND ESTIMATES, UM, BUT THAT, THAT'S WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, WE ALSO BREAK IT DOWN FOR ETHNICITY.
SO IT WAS PRETTY MUCH ON PAR THIS YEAR.
UM, THERE WAS A BIG JUMP LAST YEAR AND THEN IT CAME KIND OF BACK DOWN TO BE MORE ON PAR.
SO, UM, THAT THE, WHAT WHAT YOU SEE IS JUST THE POPULATION OF AUSTIN'S, UH, UH, ETHNICITY FOR THOSE WHO, UH, IDENTIFY AS HISPANIC OR LATINO.
AND THEN ON THE LEFT, THERE'S UM, OUR CLIENTS AND THE PERCENTAGE WE SERVE THAT IDENTIFY AS HISPANIC OR LATINO.
AND HERE'S WHERE I THINK I CAN OFFER SOME REALLY VALUABLE CONTEXT.
UM, SO THESE ARE OUR HOUSEHOLDS SERVED BY INCOME CATEGORY.
UM, THE, UM, LOWEST ONE, I JUST WANTED TO OFFER THE CONTEXT OF THOSE ACRONYMS EXTREMELY, HOW HUD HAS US, UH, DIFFERENTIATE THE DIFFERENT INCOME CATEGORIES.
WE'VE GOT EXTREMELY LOW INCOME THAT WHICH THEY CATEGORIZE AS LESS THAN 30% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
AND THEN AS YOU GO ON FROM THERE, UM, THAT'S WHAT MFI IS MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME.
AND I JUST WANTED TO OFFER SOME IMPORTANT CONTEXT HERE.
I THINK, UM, THIS DATA EXCLUDES EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANTS, UH, JUST BECAUSE I REACHED OUT TO SOME OF OUR PARTNERS WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, AND THEY TOLD ME THAT SINCE EMERGENCY SOLUTION GRAIN IS SO FOCUSED ON HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE, THAT'S NOT A INCOME IS NOT THE QUALIFIER.
SO FOR A LOT OF OUR PROGRAMMING, YOUR INCOMES ARE QUALIFIER.
WELL, FOR A LOT OF THE HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, IT'S, IT'S, ARE YOU HOMELESS? IT'S, AND THEN THEY'RE NOT GONNA SAY, WELL, HOW MUCH DO YOU MAKE? SO,
BUT THEY ALSO HIGHLIGHTED TO ME AS WELL THAT, UM, SOMETIMES SOME OF OUR IDEAS OF THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, THE FACT THAT THEY, WE THINK MAYBE THEY HAVE ZERO INCOME, IS NOT ALWAYS CORRECT.
YOU KNOW, GIVEN COST OF LIVING, FAMILY, DIFFERENT LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES.
THERE COULD ACTUALLY BE SOME PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS THAT ARE IN SOME OF THOSE, UH, HIGHER CATEGORIES.
SO I, I THOUGHT I SHOULD HIGHLIGHT THAT AS WELL.
BUT THIS IS GENERALLY WHAT OUR, UM, OUR HOUSEHOLDS, UH, SERVED BY INCOME LOOKS LIKE.
ALRIGHT, SO, GOALS AND OUTCOMES.
UM, I'LL LET Y'ALL DIGEST, UH, A LOT OF THIS OUTSIDE OF THE MEETING.
I'LL JUST, AGAIN, TRY TO ADD, UM, SOME IMPORTANT CONTEXT.
HERES, THESE ARE OUR SEVEN, UM, STRATEGIC PRIORITIES UNDER OUR CURRENT CONSOLIDATED PLAN.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR YOU ALL TO KIND OF BE REVIEWING THESE, THINKING ABOUT THESE, UM, BECAUSE AS WE GO INTO OUR NEXT CONSOLIDATED PLAN WILL BE, UM, UH, DECIDING WHICH OF THESE ARE GONNA STAY, WHICH OF 'EM WE WILL CHANGE.
UM, SO THAT'LL BE UNDER CONSIDERATION IN THE COMING MONTHS, BUT I'LL GO THROUGH EACH OF THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND JUST KIND OF HIGHLIGHT WHAT OUR PROGRAMMING WAS.
AND, UM, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS.
SO IN THESE SLIDES, WHEN YOU GO THROUGH, ON THE LEFT, YOU'LL SEE OUR ONE YEAR GOALS AND OUTCOMES.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF OUR PROGRAMMING FOR OUR STRATEGIC INITIATIVE OF HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE IS TENANT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
THAT PROGRAM IS SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE, UM, EXPERIENCING HOMELESS OR HOMELESSNESS.
SO IT, THIS PAST YEAR WE SERVED A LITTLE OVER A HUNDRED, UM, HOUSEHOLDS.
UM, THAT WAS A LITTLE OVER A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR GOAL AND EXPENDED OF, UM, 1 MILLION FUNDS.
AND THEN WHAT THE TABLE ON THE RIGHT IS REFERRING TO IS UNDER OUR FIVE YEAR GOAL.
'CAUSE WE HAVE THE ONE YEAR GOALS, AND WE HAVE THE FIVE YEAR GOALS.
SO RIGHT NOW, WE'RE FOUR YEARS IN TO OUR FIVE-YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN.
SO THE TABLES ON THE RIGHT WILL SHOW Y'ALL HOW MANY WE'VE SERVED IN THOSE PAST FOUR YEARS, NOW THAT WE HAVE FOUR YEARS OF DATA AND WHERE WE'RE AT WITH OUR GOALS.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT TENANT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UM, OR TENANT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 354 IN OUR, UM, SO FAR UNDER OUR CURRENT CONSOLIDATED PLAN, 55% OF OUR FIVE YEAR GOAL AND 3.3 MILLION, UH, EXPENDED.
SO UNDER RENA'S ASSISTANCE, AGAIN, I WON'T READ THE SLIDES OFF TO YOU, I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT THE PROGRAMMING.
YOU CAN REVIEW THE, THE NUMBERS, UH, THAT INCLUDES TENANTS, RICE ASSISTANCE FIGURES, AS WELL AS, UM, ARCHITECTURAL BURIAL REMOVAL.
OUR, UM, PROGRAMMING FOR HOME BUYER ASSISTANCE IS THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.
[02:05:01]
WE HAVE RENTAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AND OWNERSHIP HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.I THINK SOME REALLY IMPORTANT CONTEXT HERE IS THAT THESE PROGRAMS, AND I TALKED TO THE STAFF WHO WROTE WORK THESE PROGRAMS. RENTAL HAS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS ARE PROJECTS THAT TAKE MANY YEARS TO COMPLETE.
AND SO, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A, A, A FIGURE THAT SAYS ZERO ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF ACTIVITY GOING ON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ON THESE PROJECTS.
AND LIKE I HIGHLIGHTED IN A PREVIOUS SLIDE, SOMETIMES WE ONLY GET A LITTLE BIT OF A SNAPSHOT WHEN WE GET THE FISCAL, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY WERE COMPLETED.
SO WE'RE GONNA SEE A LOT OF THOSE UNITS COMING ONLINE AS THE, AS TIME GOES BY.
UM, I THINK THE TABLE ON THE RIGHT KIND OF, UH, EXEMPLIFIES WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
SINCE, YOU KNOW, IN THE FIVE YEARS WE'VE HAD 124 AFFORDABLE UNITS CREATED.
IT'S ACTUALLY ALREADY, IT'S 157% OF OUR GOAL.
UM, SO YEAH, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF IMPORTANT CONTEXT THERE.
AND I ALSO WANTED TO STRESS REALLY HIGHLIGHT THAT THESE ARE JUST FEDERALLY FUNDED UNITS.
UM, WE FUND A LOT OF THIS THROUGH LOCAL FUNDS AS WELL.
SO THESE ARE NOT THE ONLY AFFORDABLE UNITS THAT WERE FUNDED THROUGH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, JUST, UM, THAT WERE FUNDED FEDERALLY.
UM, I THINK SOME IMPORTANT CONTEXT HERE IS WE'RE GETTING TO THE END IS JUST THAT SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANCE.
I THINK THAT
WHAT WE ARE REFERRING TO BY SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANCE IS JUST UNIQUE NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT ARE NOT HOUSING BASED.
SO, UM, EXAMPLES OF THESE THAT ARE FUNDED BY CDBG ARE CHILDCARE.
UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT AS AN EXTREME NEED, UH, AFFORDABLE CHILDCARE.
SO THOSE PROGRAMS, UM, PROVIDE, UM, ACTUALLY COMPLETELY FREE, UH, CHILDCARE TO THOSE WHO, UH, NEED IT.
SENIOR SERVICES, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, AS WELL AS, UM, A, A UNIQUE GRANT.
WE GET, UM, HOUSING FOR PERSONS WITH HIV AIDS, UM, AND SERVICES THAT THEY GET.
SO THAT'S WHAT SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANCE REFERS TO.
AND LASTLY, OTHER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.
UM, THE FAMILY BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM IS, UM, OPERATED BY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTS.
AND WE ALSO, UM, SUPPORT COMMUNITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, UH, THROUGH EXPENSE GRANTS.
AND, YEAH,
UM, BUT CARES AT, I I JUST ALSO WANTED TO SUMMARIZE THE, UM, SO Y'ALL HAVE THIS FOR YOUR RECORDS CARES ACT PROGRAMMING.
UM, ALL OF THE CARES ACT PROGRAMS HAVE, UH, BEEN CONCLUDED THIS YEAR, EXCEPT FOR THE CHILDCARE SERVICES.
THAT ONE'S BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL, AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DEMAND FOR IT.
AS YOU SEE, IT'S ALREADY, UM, IT'S NOT EVEN CONCLUDED AND IT'S REACHED 172% OF ITS, UM, PROGRAM GOAL.
SO, UM, YEAH, JUST, JUST THE, THE DEBT.
I'VE TALKED TO SOME OF THE STAFF WITH A PH WHO HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERING THOSE PROGRAMS, AND THEY JUST SAID THERE'S JUST SUCH A EXTREME NEED FOR THAT, UM, THAT WE SEE A LOT OF DEMAND THERE.
AND THEN YOU SEE IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, THE COMPLETED CARESS ACT PROGRAMMING THAT, UM, WAS COMPLETED THIS YEAR.
AND SO LASTLY, WE HAD OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS, UH, PERIOD SUMMARY.
WE RECEIVED 543 VIEWS ON THE DEDICATED SPEAKUP AUSTIN PAGE THAT THE CAPER WAS ON.
WE RECEIVED ONE COMMENT THAT WAS FROM AN INDIVIDUAL ON BEHALF OF AN ORGANIZATION, UM, ADAPT OF TEXAS.
OBVIOUSLY NOT GONNA
AND WE ALSO HAVE IT IN THE CAPER.
ADAPTIVE TEXAS IS A DISABILITY RIGHTS GROUP.
THEY LEFT US A REALLY SUBSTANTIVE COMMENT.
UM, IT INCLUDED, UH, PRAISE, IT INCLUDED CRITICISM.
SO WE GOT A LOT OF, UH, INPUT FROM THEM.
I GUESS I'LL PROBABLY WANT TO END BY JUST, UM, EMPHASIZING THAT, UM, WITH THESE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIODS, I'M SO COMMITTED TO DOING WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO TRY TO REALLY GET THE PUBLIC INVOLVED, GET THEM ENGAGED, AND I'M VERY MUCH OPEN TO ANY INPUT THAT Y'ALL HAVE, ESPECIALLY GOING INTO THE CONSOLIDATED PLAN, THAT FIVE-YEAR PLAN THAT WE'RE GONNA BE EXECUTING.
UM, AND, UH, HAVE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT IN FEBRUARY AND THE FIRST HALF OF MARCH.
UM, I'LL BE BACK NEXT MONTH TO TALK ABOUT ALL WE'RE DOING TO PROMOTE IT, BUT I'M TOTALLY OPEN TO, UM, ANY ADVICE THAT Y'ALL HAVE ON HOW TO GET INTO THE COMMUNITY.
I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE YOUR DIFFERENT, UH, YOU KNOW, PLACES IN THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU HAVE A UNIQUE KIND OF REACH INTO.
AND SO MY, MY INFORMATION'S ON THE SCREEN AND I'D LOVE, UH, LOVE TO TALK ABOUT, UH, OUTREACH AND STUFF.
BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS FOR FOLLOW UP, THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU.
AND THE, THE, THE, THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE HERE, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, TOWARDS THE END THERE, UM, I
[02:10:01]
WOULD LIKE FOR US TO REVISIT IT.I'LL HAVE TO TALK TO STAFF AND JUST SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IF WHEN YOU COME BACK, IF, IF THIS COULD BE A SMALL REPEAT.
UH, JUST, JUST THE PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES, UM, UH, SLIDES.
I WOULD LIKE, UM, US TO BE ABLE TO HAVE TIME, UM, TO, TO, TO GO INTO IT.
COMMISSIONER ACHILLES HAS A, UH, HAS THE FLOOR.
AND I KNOW WE'RE
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS AND, UM, APPRECIATED LOOKING OVER IT LAST NIGHT, AND DEFINITELY ON THE MARKS THAT WERE UNDER A HUNDRED PERCENT READ ALL OF THE, THE REASONS AND, AND JUST TOTALLY UNDERSTAND STAFFING AND, AND CONSTRUCTION.
I MEAN, THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS IT MADE, IT MADE A LOT OF SENSE.
MY QUESTIONS, I THINK ARE, AND I CAN, IS MORE OF WHO WOULD I FOLLOW UP WITH JUST AS A REMINDER OF WHAT OUR RESPONSIBILITIES ARE IN TERMS OF THIS REPORT.
UM, SO I CAN REACH OUT TO STAFF JUST AS A REMINDER, JUST WHAT IS THE COMMISSION'S LIKE, SORT OF LEGAL OR LIKE, DO WE HAVE ANY KIND OF RESPONSIBILITY WITH IT AND WHAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND.
AND SO I'LL CIRCLE BACK WITH STAFF.
I DON'T NEED TO DO IT HERE, OR I CAN TALK TO YOU OFFLINE OR, UH, YES.
UH, I THINK CHRIS, CHRIS, COULD YOU ANSWER THAT? OKAY.
I THINK WE CAN TAKE THE TIME FOR THAT.
I, I CAN QUICKLY SPEAK TO, I MEAN, AS FAR AS MY UNDERSTANDING AND ANY FEDERAL REGULATIONS OR LEGAL, MY UNDERSTANDING IS OUR, OUR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN REQUIRES THAT WE GIVE YOU THIS REPORT.
BUT, UM, THE FOLLOW UP, THE HOW MUCH OVERSIGHT THE DI THE, THE DIVE YOU WANT TO DO INTO THE CAPER IS REALLY, I, I BELIEVE UP TO Y'ALL.
AND SO THAT LEADS TO ANOTHER QUESTION THEN POSSIBLY.
WELL, SO ANOTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS, DO WE WANNA THINK ABOUT, AGAIN, THIS IS A FUTURE, UM, A WORK GROUP FOR THE UPCOMING PLANNING AROUND THAT FIVE YEAR PLAN, SO THAT WE'RE NOT TRYING TO DO IT ALL IN A, LIKE, EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF IT IN A EVENING.
SO MAYBE HAVE SOME OF US THAT RUN POINT ON REALLY DIVING IN AND THEN COMING BACK.
AND THEN MY QUESTION WOULD BE, DO WE WANNA THINK ABOUT IN THE FUTURE TOO, THAT KIND OF A MODEL, JUST A COUPLE OF US THAT RUN POINT ON THE FINAL, ON THESE FINAL REPORTS, JUST TO MAKE SURE AND, AND TO UNDERSTAND LIKE WHAT WE WANT, HOW WE WANNA INTERACT WITH IT.
NOT TRYING TO HAVE US MAKE A DECISION TONIGHT.
MY ONLY, UM, I GUESS OTHER QUESTION FOR, FOR YOU, CHRIS, THIS EVENING IS WHEN YOU SUBMIT THIS, DO YOU GET FEEDBACK BACK FROM YOUR FEDERAL PROGRAM OFFICER OR WHATEVER THEY ARE AT THIS LEVEL? UM, WE DO.
OR DO THEY JUST SAY CHECK
OFTEN THEY MAY FOLLOW UP WITH, UM, CERTAIN THINGS THAT THEY WANT TO SEE DIFFERENT THAN THE WAY WE REPORT IT OR THE NUMBERS OR, OKAY.
UM, SO WE, WE GET A DEGREE OF FEEDBACK.
UM, IT'S DI THINK IT'S MORE, UM, IN DEPTH WHEN IT COMES TO, LIKE, OUR PLANS THAT LOOK FORWARD.
'CAUSE THAT'S THE PLANS THAT WE HAVE TO DO A CERTAIN WAY TO SECURE FUNDING.
THIS ISN'T, LIKE, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO CLAW BACK FUNDING, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE GET A DEGREE OF, UM, OF FEEDBACK, BUT I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S LIKE PARTICULARLY ROBUST WITH THE CAPER.
MORE FORMATTING THAN ANY SORT OF REAL CONTENT.
UH, MAYBE NOT FORMATTING, BUT WITHOUT GETTING TOO MUCH INTO THE WEEDS.
THERE'S JUST A LOT OF COMPLICATED REGULATORY REPORTING AND FIGURES AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND I GUESS ACTUALLY ONE OTHER QUESTION.
IS THERE ANY SYNERGY BETWEEN, IS THERE, BETWEEN THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, THE TWO DIFFERENT COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENTS THAT ARE REPORTING BACK TO US ALL AT THE SAME TIME? MM-HMM.
SO LIKE, WE JUST HEARD ABOUT A NEEDS ASSESSMENT MM-HMM.
AND I JUST WONDERED IF THERE'S ANY LIKE, CROSS INFORMATION SHARING THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE? AND THE ANSWER MAY BE NO, I JUST WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION AND AGAIN, DON'T HAVE TO HAVE AN ANSWER TONIGHT.
I'LL JUST SAY REALLY QUICKLY IN A FEW SENTENCES, I DON'T THINK THAT'S A SYNERGY THAT WE'VE RECOGNIZED.
AND I THINK YOU'RE SHINING A GOOD LIGHT ON IT.
AND WE HAVE A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH KELLY AND HER FIRM, AND SO THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING I'LL RAISE IN OUR DEPARTMENT.
UM, I LIKE THE ILLUMINATION OF, OF NOT BEING REDUNDANT.
QUICK QUESTION, WHEN IS THE, UM, I KNOW WE, WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE, THE DEADLINE THAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THIS? THIS IS A, A JUNE DEADLINE.
WHAT IS THE DEADLINE? WITH THE CAPER? YES.
OH, THE CAPER HAS ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO HUG.
SOMETHING THAT WAS SO WE'RE NOT UNDER A TIME CRUNCH? NO, NO, NO.
'CAUSE I, I THINK, UH, I, I'LL, I'LL BRING UP HOW WE'LL COME BACK TO IT.
I DO THINK IT WILL BE GOOD FOR, UM, NOT, NOT JUST THE WORKING GROUP COMMISSIONER THAT ALL OF US ARE, ARE INVOLVED WITH THIS PARTICULAR WORK.
[02:15:01]
UH, YES.THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, CHAIR, UM, CHRIS, RIGHT? YES.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US THIS EVENING, CHRIS.
AND I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LONG MEETING, SO I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE WITH US.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONSOLIDATED PLAN AND DOING THE EVALUATION OF THE CAPER.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS, AND I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO GO THROUGH IT ALL, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, I'M HAPPY TO HEAR IS THAT WITHIN, UH, THE REPORT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, I GUESS, UH, NARRATIVE DISCUSSION OF, YOU KNOW, THOSE AREAS WHERE WE MIGHT CURRENTLY FALL A LITTLE SHORT.
AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE ALL THE AMAZING AREAS WHERE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, MEETING GOALS AND PERCENTAGES.
I THINK ONE THING I'D REALLY LIKE, LIKE TO THINK ABOUT OR, OR DIGEST OR, UH, SEE MORE INFORMATION ON IS MAYBE THAT ASPECT OF THE REPORT.
LIKE, WHAT, WHERE ARE WE, WHERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR MEETING THAT GREATER NEED? AND WHAT ARE THE, MAYBE THE BARRIERS OR THE CHALLENGES THAT ARE FACED CURRENTLY BY THE CITY? I THINK THAT'LL HELP US REALLY DIGEST THE INFORMATION AS WE MOVE INTO THAT EVALUATION STAGE.
BUT, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ILLUMINATING MATERIALS AND FOR THE, ALL THE GREAT DATA.
AND I CAN TELL THAT Y'ALL READ THE REPORT, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT,
UM, UH, I HEAR NO, NO, THOSE WE'RE GOOD.
OH, NINI, YOU HAVE A COMMENT, PLEASE? YES.
I JUST, UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS, UM, NEFERTITI JACKMAN, UH, COMMUNITY DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION OFFICER, AND THANK YOU CHRIS FOR DOING A GREAT JOB.
OUR DEPARTMENT ALSO, UH, HAS A MEETING THIS WEEK AND WE'LL BE LOOKING AT SORT OF HOW WE CAN PROVIDE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW WE MIGHT BETTER USE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, UM, BLOCK GRANTS AND, AND WE'LL BRING THOSE TO YOU.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE WE KNOW THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING CONVERSATION AND WE WILL WORK WITH YOUR WORK GROUPS AND MAYBE HAVE A JOINT MEETING.
I DON'T WANNA SAY THAT WE WILL, BUT WORKING MEMBERS CAN COME TO, UH, SOME OF THE MEETINGS WITH THE STAFF.
BUT, UM, I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT.
BECAUSE THIS IS GOOD INFORMATION THAT, AND WE DO NEED TO DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE ON IT.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU MIGHT SEE ME AT YOUR RETREAT,
[6. Presentation and discussion on the I Belong in Austin eviction prevention program (Susan Watkins, Community Development Manager, Ursula Henderson, Program Manager I, Housing Department, and Dr. Rosamaria Murillo, El Buen Samaritano)]
WE HAVE OUR LAST PRESENTATION BY, I BELONG IN AUSTIN.UM, THEY'RE THE EVICTION PRINT, UH, PREVENTION PROGRAM.
SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY WANT TO HEAR ABOUT.
SO WE HAVE SUSAN AND URSULA AND DR.
THERE'S FOUR, THERE'S FOUR OF US THAT WE CAN SHARE.
DID I, WHO DID I OVERLOOK? I'M SORRY.
I DON'T THINK I HAVE THE OTHER DAY YOU JUST ADDED HIM HERE.
UH, YOU'VE ALREADY, YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING WE ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN.
UM, UH, BUT WE ARE IN FACT, UH, THE HOUR IS LATE.
BUT, BUT, BUT, SO GO AHEAD AND PROCEED.
UH, WE MAY HAVE TO INVITE YOU BACK FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE DISCUSSION BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN, SO YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
UM, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
I'M A MANAGER IN THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION DIVISION UNDER TD JACKMAN, UM, OF THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
UH, AS YOU MENTIONED, IT'S BEEN A LONG AGENDA.
WE'RE GONNA BE AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE TO GO OVER THIS INFORMATION.
UM, BUT WE ARE HAPPY TO COME BACK.
UH, WE WANTED TO GIVE THE COMMISSION AN UPDATE ON THE I BELONG IN AUSTIN PROGRAM.
UM, HIGHLIGHT WHAT THE INTENT OF THE PROGRAM IS, HOW IT WORKS, HOW IT SERVES, UH, THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE ALSO WANNA KIND OF LET YOU KNOW SOME OF THE TRENDS IN THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE ARE RECEIVING THAT'S GIVING US MORE INFORMATION ON THE DEMAND FOR EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE IN AUSTIN.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA START OFF, WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE SOME BACKGROUND ON THE PROGRAM, AND THEN, UH, DR.
MARIA AND HER TEAM ARE GONNA GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THE PROGRAM TO DATE.
AND SO, UM, URSULA HENDERSON IS GOING, SHE'S A PROGRAM MANAGER, UH, FOR I BELONG AUSTIN.
SHE'S DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, UM, ON EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE THROUGH COI, AND NOW IN THIS ITERATION OF, I BELONG IN AUSTIN.
UM, SHE WORKS VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE THIS IS SUCCESSFUL.
SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO URSULA, UH, TO TALK ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
ALTHOUGH YOU MAY SEE 25 SLIDES, I BELIEVE, OR 22 SLIDES FROM
[02:20:01]
LW ANO.IT'S NOT GONNA TAKE THAT LONG.
SO IT IS, YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S GOOD STUFF.
SO I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A, A QUICK OVERVIEW, UH, FOR I BELONG IN AUSTIN.
UM, THIS WAS OUR QUICK, THE, UH, FIRST ITERATION OF I BELONG IN AUSTIN WAS OUR QUICK RESPONSE, UM, IN THE RESPONSE TO THE EVICTION MORATORIUM BACK WHEN COVID, UM, UM, WAS VERY WELL ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY, THAT A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS LOST THEIR, LOST THEIR JOBS, WEREN'T ABLE TO PAY RENT.
AND SO JUST BEING, UH, PROACTIVE TO, UM, ANTICIPATE THE UPTICK IN EVICTIONS THAT WOULD HAVE COME ABOUT, OH, ONCE, OH, NO, THIS IS NOT THE PRESENTATION, SO NO, NO, NO, THAT'S OKAY.
IT'S JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW BEFORE WE GO OVER THAT, UH, TO RESPONSE TO THE EVICTION MORATORIUM THAT WAS SET ASIDE, UH, BY THE MAYOR THAT WAS GOING TO EXPIRE, UM, TO HELP THOSE THAT WERE GONNA BE IN NEED OF, UM, OF EVICTION REPRESENTATION, ASSISTANCE.
AND SO, BACK FEBRUARY, 2021, EL ELDON WAS AWARDED, UH, ABOUT $2.1 MILLION, UM, TO SERVE AS THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE VULNERABLE TO EVICTION.
UH, WITH THE HELP FROM OUR PARTNERS, TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID, VOLUNTEER, LEGAL, UH, SERVICES, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO SERVE 388 HOUSEHOLD, UM, AND PROVIDED ABOUT $1.8 MILLION IN DIRECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UH, USING THOSE FUNDING FOR MASS DISPLACEMENT, AS WELL AS, UM, RESIDENTS, UH, THAT NEEDED ASSISTANCE WITH RELOCATION, MOVING STORAGE AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
SO, THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND FROM THE FIRST, UH, I BELONG IN AUSTIN, UM, JULY, 2023 THROUGH A COMPETITIVE BID.
ELWIN WAS AWARDED, UH, SEVEN $8 MILLION FOR FISCAL YEAR 20 23, 1 $0.8 MILLION FOR FISCAL YEAR 24 TO, UM, TO GO AHEAD AND KEEP THE PROGRAM GOING.
THE ONLY OTHER COMPONENT TO THAT IS THAT WE DID ADD THE ABILITY FOR RENTERS TO DIRECTLY APPLY FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE IF THEY'RE VULNERABLE TO EVICTION.
AND SO, UH, RIGHT NOW I AM GONNA PASS IT OVER TO DR.
WE DO HAVE A PRESENTATION, UH, READY FOR YOU GUYS TO JUST LET YOU KNOW THE UPDATE OF HOW THOSE FUNDINGS HAVE BEEN EXPENDED THUS FAR.
I JUST DON'T HAVE THE BANDWIDTH.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING, CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? THANK YOU.
UM, I, I LIKE TO JUST DO A VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF WHO ELWIN IS AND, UM, TALK ABOUT IT, UH, DEMOGRAPHICS ON THE, THE IBIA, AND DEFINITELY WE ARE GLAD TO COME BACK.
AND I LOVE WHAT YOU SAID, UM, SHARE PERSON GETTING THE MUD MM-HMM.
UM, AND, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH WHEN ANO, AM I USING THIS RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S OUR CAMPUS.
UM, THE, OUR FOCUS IS TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND ESSENTIAL NEEDS.
AND ESSENTIAL NEEDS, INCLUDES ACCESS TO FOOD AND, UM, ASSISTANCE WITH FINANCIAL AND RENTAL, UH, AND RENTAL SUPPORT.
THIS IS A VERY HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY OF OUR PA OR FISCAL YEAR 23, UH, ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
SO, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 32 INDIVIDUALS, UH, HAVE BEEN SERVED THROUGH OUR FOOD ACCESS PROGRAMMING, UM, ALMOST, UH, 3000 NOW.
HEALTH, UH, INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN SERVED THROUGH THE, OUR HEALTH ACCESS PROGRAMMING.
A LOT OF IT INCLUDES THE ACCESS TO VACCINES, UH, NOT JUST COVID AND, AND, UM, FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
FOR FISCAL YEAR 23, WE DISTRIBUTED ABOUT $1.8 MILLION.
I WILL, UH, HIGHLIGHT THAT AS OF RIGHT NOW, ONE HAS DISTRIBUTED, UH, OVER $8 MILLION IN CASH AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO PROVIDE EDUCATION FOR BOTH ADULTS AND YOUTH IN INCLUDING A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
THIS JUST, UH, SUMMARIZES HOW THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE USE TO, UM, TO PROVIDE OUR SERVICES.
WE, UM, OUR FOOTPRINT IN TERMS OF SERVICES IS THE ENTIRE, PRETTY MUCH TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE SURROUNDING, IN THE SURROUNDING FOUR, FIVE COUNTIES.
A LOT OF WHAT WE DO IS DONE THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS.
[02:25:04]
THESE ARE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE OVERALL, THE CLIENTS THAT WE SEE, RIGHT? SO, UM, WELL CLOSE, UH, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHICS UNDER THE IBIA.SO THESE ARE JUST FOR THE, THE WHOLE, THE, THE UNIVERSE OF CLIENTS THAT WE SERVE.
UM, AND EIGHT, ABOUT 81% ARE LATINOS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 50%, 56% OF THE, OF THE FAMILIES THAT WE SERVE ARE BELOW 56, UM, 50% FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO, UM, WITH WHATEVER PROGRAM WE'RE, UM, WE'RE FACILITATING IS WE ASK, UH, FAM, UH, INDIVIDUALS, WHAT ARE OTHER SERVICES THAT YOU ARE NEEDING? AND THIS GIVES YOU A SNAPSHOT OF THE PRIORITIES.
AND OF COURSE, AT THE TOP IS FOOD ACCESS, ECONOMIC SUPPORT, AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND IF I'M GOING TO FAST, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO STOP ME.
UM, IN THE, THE, I BELONG IN THE AUSTIN PROGRAM, UH, I WANNA JUST BRIEFLY HIGHLIGHT, UH, WHO, UH, WHAT SERVICES ARE PROVIDED AND WHO'S ELIGIBLE.
UM, THIS IS FOR THE AUSTIN TRAVIS, UH, RESIDENTS FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION.
MAKE SURE I DON'T FORGET THAT HOUSEHOLDS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO $6,000 IN ASSISTANCE, AND ALL FEES ARE PAID DIRECTLY TO THE LANDLORDS AND THE VENDORS, UNLESS THERE IS, UM, AN OTHERWISE APPROVAL BY THE CITY TO, TO PAY DIRECTLY TO THE, TO THE FAMILIES.
AND IBIA COVERS RENTAL ASSISTANCE, MOVING STORAGE, RELOCATION, APPLICATION FEES, DEPOSIT FEES.
WE WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS, UH, TRIAL AND VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES, UM, ON THE NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT COST.
AND IN, IN ALL THAT WE DO IS, YOU KNOW, WE TAKE A, A TRAUMA INFORMED APPROACH.
YOU CAN IMAGINE THE STORIES THAT WE HEAR, THE EXPERIENCES THAT WE HEAR FROM THE FAMILIES THAT ARE, UH, IN NEED OF SUPPORT, UH, OF THESE, OF THESE SERVICES.
VERY HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY OF WHO IS ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS LIVING IN, UM, AUSTIN, FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION FACING MASS DISPLACEMENT, UM, IN EVICTION PROCEEDINGS, OF COURSE, AT RISK OF FACING EVICTION AND LIVING AT 80% OR UNDER THE, UM, AUSTIN MEDIAN INCOME FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS CAN ACCESS THE, UH, THE SERVICES THROUGH AN ONLINE PORTAL.
PEOPLE CAN GO THERE AND SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION.
BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY, DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY, HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS AROUND IT.
SO WE ALSO, UM, HAVE A CALL CENTER THAT PEOPLE CAN CALL.
AND WE, WE WALK 'EM THROUGH THE APPLICATION SO THAT THEY CAN SUBMIT IT ONLINE.
THEY ALSO CAN COME INTO, UM,
SO THE, THE OTHER WAY THAT, UM, INDIVIDUALS CAN ACCESS OUR, THE SERVICES IS THROUGH DIRECT REFERRALS FROM OUR PARTNERS, THE TEXAS, UM, RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID AND VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES, AS WELL AS, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHEN THERE ARE SOME EMERGENCY AND MASS DISPLACEMENT SITUATIONS.
THIS, UH, THIS SLIDE, UH, GIVES YOU A VERY HIGH LEVEL SNAPSHOT OF HOW, UM, THE FI THE ACCESS POINTS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE APPLICATIONS ARE COMING DIRECTLY FROM THE, UM, FROM THE ONLINE APPLICATION, WHETHER PEOPLE DIRECTLY SUBMITTED THEIR APPLICATION OR WE WORK WITH THEM TO, UM, TO SUBMIT THE APPLICATION.
AND THEN, AND THEN YOU SEE THE, THE NUMBERS THAT ARE COMING TO US FROM, UM, TRA AND VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THIS, UM, THIS MAP PROVIDES, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND, TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, IS, ARE
[02:30:01]
THESE FUNDS GOING TO THE FAMILIES THAT IT, AND THE INDIVIDUALS THAT IT'S INTENDED TO GO TO, RIGHT? AND SO THIS TELLS YOU THE ZIP CODES WHERE THE FAMILIES LIVE, AND, AND THE AMOUNTS THAT ARE GOING AS OF RIGHT NOW TO, TO THOSE ZIP CODES IN TERMS OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.THE NEXT MAP, THIS IS, THIS MAP IS NOT, UM, SO THE MAP, THE PREVIOUS MAP YOU CAN FIND IN OUR DASHBOARD, AND IT'S, IT'S LIVE.
THIS ONE IS NOT IN OUR DASHBOARD, BUT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US BECAUSE THIS ONE TELLS US TO THE ADDRESS AND THE RACE OF THE FAMILIES THAT, THAT WE'RE SERVING.
UM, AND IT'S HELPFUL FOR US WHEN WE COME BACK AND DO FOLLOW UP, UM, SERVICE WITH THEM, UH, AROUND, HOW ARE YOU, HOW ARE YOU DOING? DO YOU EXPECT TO HAVE A NEED, ONGOING NEED FOR, FOR, UH, RENTAL, UH, ASSISTANCE SUPPORT? THIS IS JUST ANOTHER WAY OF SHOWING THE, THE ZIP CODES THAT ARE RECEIVING WHERE THE FAMILIES LIVE, UM, THAT ARE RECEIVING FINANCIAL AND RENTAL SUPPORT IS REALLY SMALL FOR ME TO SEE FROM HERE.
SO I HOPE YOU HAVE, HAVE YOU HAVE A HARD COPYRIGHT.
UM, AND THEN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE, UM, BASIC DEMOGRAPHICS.
UM, YOU KNOW, 91% OF THE, THE FAMILIES THAT WE ARE SERVING, UM, ARE LIVING AT 30% OR BELOW THE, UM, A A MI.
THIS IS THE, THE GENDER BREAKDOWN.
THE MAJORITY ARE, UM, UH, HEAD OF HOUSEHOLDS ARE FEMALE.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF RACE, ETHNICITY, UM, SO EARLIER I TALKED ABOUT THE OVERALL, UM, POPULATION THAT WE SERVE.
WHEN WE LOOK DEEPER INTO THE IBIA, UM, SERVICES AND THE POPULATION THAT WE'RE SERVING, WE SEE DIFFERENT PERCENTAGES, RIGHT? 53%, OR ALMOST 54% ARE HISPANIC OR LATINO FAMILIES.
AND 32, UH, 32% BLACK, FOLLOWED BY ABOUT 11% WHITE.
AND SO ON THE, THIS LAST SLIDE, I BELIEVE THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE.
IT, IT'S A BREAKDOWN OF HOW THE FUNDS ARE BEING SPENT.
SO 70, ABOUT 72%, I WISH I HAD BETTER EYESIGHT
UM, 27% TO NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT, WHICH IS THE FUNDS THAT WE WORK WITH.
UM, TEXAS LEGAL, UH, RIO GRANDE, LEGAL AID AND VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES.
AND, AND THEN MUCH SMALLER PERCENTAGES, UM, HELPING PEOPLE WITH MOVING AND STORAGE.
I WENT, I REALIZED I WENT VERY FAST.
ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS ONLINE.
AND, UM, YOU CAN HAVE ACCESS TO IT ON, UM, I'M SORRY.
UM, YOU CAN HAVE, YOU CAN FIND IT AT WWW.
ARE YOU GONNA TRY TO FIND IT WHILE, UH, HE'S FINDING IT? YEAH.
WHILE HE, WHILE HE DOES THAT, YOU WANT, WELL, HE DOES THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, ALLOWED ELWIN TO GET TO THIS LEVEL OF MANAGING, UM, IN ACCOUNTABILITY OF, UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, UM, GOES BACK TO SEPTEMBER OF 2020 WHEN THE CITY ASKED US, RE IF YOU RECALL, UM, THE FEDERAL STIMULUS CHECKS, RIGHT? THAT NOT EVERYBODY WAS ELIGIBLE FOR THAT.
AND THE CITY ASKED US WOULD WE BE INTERESTED IN DISTRIBUTING DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE TO FAMILIES THAT DID NOT QUALIFY FOR, UM, THE FEDERAL STIMULUS CHECKS.
AND AT THAT TIME, IT, WE WERE A, AN ORGANIZATION THAT WAS IN THE REBUILDING.
UM, BUT WE DID, WE DISTRIBUTE THOSE $500,000 WITHIN ABOUT A MONTH? CORRECT.
[02:35:01]
ABOUT A MONTH.UM, AND THE CITY CAME BACK, UM, AND SAID, WE HAVE A MILLION DOLLARS.
WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN DISTRIBUTING IT IN CASH? AND I SAID, OF COURSE.
AND THE CITY SAID, IN A MONTH, OF COURSE, IT ALMOST GAVE LUIS A HEART ATTACK, BUT WE DID IT
UM, AND SO IT WAS THOSE FUNDS THAT WERE MUCH NEEDED IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES THAT DID NOT, UH, QUALIFY FOR THOSE FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS.
THAT ALSO ALLOWED, UM, AN INVESTMENT FOR WHEN TO BEGIN BUILDING A VERY ROBUST TECHNOLOGY AND DATA INFRASTRUCTURE THAT CAN PROVIDE INTELLIGENCE, DATA INTELLIGENCE, UM, UH, ABOUT THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.
AND NOT JUST IN IBI, UH, IN IBIA, BUT ALL ACROSS OUR SERVICES.
DID YOU FIND IT? DO WE HAVE TIME TO, WE, UH, YOU'RE JUST LOOKING FOR, HE'S LOOKING FOR A WEBSITE, RIGHT? HE FOUND IT.
THIS IS JUST THE, THE DASHBOARD ON THE WEBSITE.
UM, BUT THE, YOU CAN FIND ALL THE INFORMATION.
IT HAS MOSTLY OF THE, THE MAIN DEMOGRAPHICS, THE, THE ZIP CODES THAT WE'RE SERVING, THE, THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT IT'S BEING, UH, AMOUNT OF, THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS AND THE UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE, THAT ARE BEING SERVED WITH THE, THE TYPE OF, UH, SERVICES THAT WE ARE, UM, DISTRIBUTING THE MONEY TOO.
AND, UH, PRETTY MUCH BY ZIP CODE.
I THINK THE ZIP CODE ONE, IT'S ONE OF THE MOST, UH, IMPORTANT ONES.
'CAUSE USUALLY IT'S, UH, IT'S, UH, IT CAN TELL US THE FULL STORY ABOUT THE, THOSE AREAS THAT ARE ESPECIALLY GETTING, UH, GENTRIFIED OR THAT, UH, WE SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE, UH, UM, FACING EVICTION ON, ON THOSE, UH, VERY COMMON ZIP CODES OR, OR NEIGHBORHOODS THAT, UH, THAT HISTORICALLY HAVE BEEN, UH, UM, UH, PEOPLE LIVING IN THERE.
IT'S, UH, PEOPLE COMMUN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
AND THAT, UH, UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT A SURPRISE FOR US TO SEE THAT MOST OF THE, OF THE, OF THE, THE APPLICANTS ARE COMING FROM THOSE, UH MM-HMM.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ABOUT 5,000 APPLICATIONS UNDUPLICATED APPLICANTS IN OUR, UM, IN OUR PORTAL.
UM, IF WE WERE TO PROVIDE THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WE PROVIDE FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE, WHICH IS ABOUT 46, 40 $7,000, I'M, I'M JUST SEEING YOU AWAKE.
THAT'S EVERYBODY'S STILL AWAKE.
UM, IT, IT WOULD, IT WOULD, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT'S JUST THE MAGNITUDE OF THE NEED.
UM, AND SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THE, UM, THE DAY TO DAY CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE, UM, AND SERVING, UM, SERVING THE COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU, UM, VERY MUCH FOR THAT DOCTOR.
AND, UM, ALL THOSE THAT ARE, UM, ARE THERE IN YOUR COMPANY.
UM, THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ITEM, COMMISSIONERS, AND I MUST APOLOGIZE 'CAUSE I DON'T RECALL.
AND ED, I, I'M NOT TRYING TO THROW ANYBODY UNDER THE BUS.
I'M PUTTING MYSELF UNDER THE BUS AND RUNNING OVER MYSELF AND BACKING UP.
AND, UM, I DID NOT REALIZE HOW PACKED THIS AGENDA WAS TODAY.
AND, YOU KNOW, AT THIS HOUR, THERE'S, AND, AND THE QUESTIONS I KNOW THAT I HAVE, AND I JUST KNOW YOU HAVE, UM, I KNOW YOU DO.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, IF YOU, EACH OF US CAN THINK OF TWO, NO MORE THAN TWO QUESTIONS.
TWO AS IN ONE, TWO QUESTIONS THAT WE MUST ASK NOW.
SO, I'M NOT GONNA ASK ANY, BECAUSE I'LL DEFER TO YOU GUYS, BUT COME ON, COMMISSIONER, YOU GET TO START US OFF.
I HAVE A FEW, BUT WE'LL WAIT TILL YOU BRING YOU BACK AGAIN, BUT,
[02:40:01]
OKAY.UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, SO, UH, GREAT CONCERN I HAVE WITH YOU ALL.
YOU, YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OUT THERE, UM, TO YOUR, YOUR BEST OF YOUR ABILITY.
BUT I DO, I DID HAVE SOME CONCERNS RISEN, NOT JUST THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, BUT AFTER THE PANDEMIC.
UH, EVEN MYSELF, I AM THE TYPE OF INDIVIDUAL THAT WILL GO, UH, IN, IN DISGUISE, UH, JUST TO SEE HOW, UH, RECIPIENTS ARE BEING TREATED.
WHAT'S THE, UM, HOW'S THE, UM, CONNECTION OF HOW ARE THEY, ARE THEY ABLE TO GET YOU ON THE PHONE? THE APPLICATION PROCESS? IS THE DOOR LOCKED? I I WANNA BE MUD ON THE GROUND, BOOTS ON THE GROUND, ALL OF THAT.
UM, SO I DID WITNESS AND HAD SOME COMPLAINTS.
AND SO JUST MY QUESTION IS, IS WHEN WE SEE A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF LATINOS BEING SERVED, UH, DON'T GET ME WRONG, I AM A VERY BIG ADVOCATE FOR THE IMMIGRATION COMMUNITY.
UH, BUT I'M ALSO A BIG ADVOCATE, UH, FOR MY, MY COMMUNITY, WHICH IS, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT IN THE IMMIGRATION COMMITTEE.
WE'RE THE WORKING CLASS AND THE POOR.
UM, AND, AND I DID, I HAVE SEEN THAT THIS AGENCY HAS SERVED A MAJORITY OF THE IMMIGRATION COMMITTEE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I DON'T SEE IT, UH, AN EQUAL BALANCE HERE.
UH, WHEN I WAS OUT THERE HELPING, UH, NON-IMMIGRANTS GET ASSISTANCE.
AND SO I, I'M GONNA WAIT ON ELABORATING MORE ABOUT THAT 'CAUSE IT IS THE LAST HOUR.
UH, AND WE DO OWE YOU ALL MORE TIME.
UM, BUT THAT IS ONE OF MY MAJOR CONCERNS.
UH, MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS ARE FROM MEXICO.
UH, MY PARENTS ARE FROM TEXAS, AUSTIN.
UH, AND I SEE THAT WE HAVE A DIVISION, UH, AND PEOPLE ARE BEING SERVED, AGENCIES ARE SERVING, UH, CERTAIN CULTURES, UH, CERTAIN, UH, ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS.
AND, UH, WE DON'T HAVE AN EQUAL, UM, YOU KNOW, TABLE HERE.
AND I'VE SEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE TRY TO GET SERVICES, SERVICES FROM YOU ALL, UH, AND THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO.
AND SO I'LL JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT.
UH, BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
WE'RE GLAD TO BRING YOU MORE DETAILED STATISTICS ON WHO WE SERVE.
COMMISSIONER DEL, UH, DEL BERTHA DELGADO COMMISSIONER, UH, ESTEBAN DELGADO.
UM, IT'S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE, DR.
I, UM, HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH, UH, L ONE WHEN I WAS AT THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION.
SO I, UH, HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE FOR, FOR YOU AND THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US TODAY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S A, THERE'S A WORK GROUP OF US THAT ARE KIND OF WORKING ON, UM, RENTAL AND, AND HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
AND, UM, AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMES UP FOR ME IS THAT THERE'S, UM, I LOVE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE, I BELONG IN AUSTIN WORK HAPPENING NOW.
I THINK THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF OTHER AMAZING, YOU KNOW, GOOD, UM, ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND NOT EVERYONE'S GONNA BE ABLE TO KIND OF GET THE FULL HELP THAT THEY NEED FROM ANY, ANY, ANYONE.
SOMETIMES THERE'S COORDINATION OF CARE THAT'S MM-HMM.
ONE IS, IN TERMS OF THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY, IF THERE'S NOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP THAT PERSON, IS THAT, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT APPLICATION TO GET FORWARDED ALONG TO, LET'S SAY THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT OR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH FOR WHATEVER OTHER ASSISTANCE MIGHT BE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS? AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION JUST IS, I KNOW THAT, UM, AS PEOPLE REACH OUT OVER THE PHONE OR REACH OUT OVER EMAIL, UM, IF SOMEONE, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, ISN'T ELIGIBLE RIGHT, BUT, BUT NOW KNOWS YOU AS THE PERSON IN THE COMMUNITY THAT'S ABLE TO, TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION, MM-HMM.
UM, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I REALLY WANNA SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE, FOR THE PLAN.
I KNOW IT'S, WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO, TO DIG INTO IT MORE.
AND, UM, I'M, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING FOR THE COMMUNITY, ALL OF YOU.
UM, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO, COMMISSIONER LAGUARDIA, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING HERE.
UM, THIS, THIS HAS BEEN LIKE THE GREATEST THING I'VE SEEN IN A LONG TIME.
UM, I THINK IT'S AMAZING THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
UM, I KNEW, I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHEN
[02:45:02]
UM, IT'S FASCINATING.UM, THIS BRANDING, UM, THE MARKETING, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE TARGETED, UH, IT'S FASCINATING.
I THINK, UM, LUIS, UM, THIS INFORMATION IS FANTASTIC.
CONGRATULATIONS WITH LIKE, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT, UM, YOU'VE BEEN GRANTED TO CONTINUE SERVING THE COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU FOR SERVING THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY, THE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT, UM, UM, IN THE SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME OR, OR AT LEAST WITH THE INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN GIVEN AND SINCE 2020.
LIKE, I THINK, UM, I COULD LEARN, I COULD CONTINUE TO LEARN A LOT FROM THIS INFORMATION.
UH, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UM, CAN LEARN A LOT FROM THIS.
I'M, I'M JUST, UH, I MEAN, I APPLAUD YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING.
COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, I WOULD TO YOU.
UM, I'M
UH, COMMISSIONER BROWN, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING OR ANYBODY ELSE? ONLINE COMMISSIONER WOODS.
WE REALLY DO NEED TO HAVE YOU BACK, UM, SO THAT WE CAN, UH, DIVE INTO THIS AND SPEAK ABOUT THE AUDIT OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, WHERE IS, WHERE THE MONEY'S GOING, HOW THE MONEY IS BEING USED.
WE CAN SEE SOME THINGS THAT ARE PRESENTED HERE, BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT THERE'S STUFF BEHIND THE SCENES.
AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, THAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN THE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES, SO THAT MM-HMM.
ON THE, ON THE OVERALL, UM, DEFINITELY THIS IS A NEED AND WE KNOW THAT IT'S A NEED.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU STICKING AROUND TO BE THE LAST ONE UP.
UH, NEXT TIME WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE DO SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT SO THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT YOU FIRST YEAH.
SO THAT IS, 'CAUSE THAT WAS, I, I DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT I WAS DOING, SO THAT WAS MY, THAT'S MY BAD.
UH, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOU ALL BEING HERE.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS, COMMISSIONERS.
[7. Briefing from the Working Group on Rental Assistance (Commissioners Achilles, Elias, and Estevan Delgado)]
THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE GONNA MOVE VERY RAPIDLY AND INTO OUR WORKING GROUPS ON OUR COMMITTEE UPDATES.WE DO HAVE OUR NEW RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UH, COMMITTEE, WORKING COMMITTEE, UM, UH, COMMISSIONER ALISE, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
AND THE OTHER
UM, WE ARE KICKING THINGS OFF.
WE HAD A REALLY GREAT CONVERSATION.
AS ANHILL SAID, UM, EARLIER TODAY, I THINK, UM, I HAVE NOT DIGESTED TO COME BACK AND SHARE, BUT IF, IF EITHER OF YOU, MY BRAIN IS
UM, BUT I, I THINK WE REALLY GOT, I KNOW I GOT A GREAT UNDERSTANDING, BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, OF THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING.
WE HAVE SOME MORE CONVERSATIONS TO HAVE AND WE'LL ABSOLUTELY COME BACK WITH, UM, WITH SUMMARIES FOR THE, FOR THE FULL.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO IT BECAUSE AGAIN, UH, JUST AS I SAID TO, UH, DOCTOR, UH, THAT IS, UH, THIS RENTAL ASSISTANCE ISSUE IS IN FACT A MAJOR CONCERN THAT WE DO HAVE.
AND, UH, AND, AND WE DEFINITELY NEED TO, UH, GIVE IT OUR TIME.
THE, THE ONLY THING I'LL ADD HERE, YOU KNOW, I THINK FIRST I WANT TO JUST SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UM, ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET TODAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IN TERMS OF THE, UM, I THINK IT'S ONE THING, RIGHT? FOR US, I THINK TO, UM, WELL, WHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY? I THINK THERE ARE MULTIPLE FROM, FROM WHAT I GATHERED AT THE MEETING TODAY THAT WE HAD RIGHT BEFORE THIS MEETING, I THINK THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF TOOLS IN OUR TOOLKIT THAT WE CAN USE.
BUT ALSO I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT, BUT I ALSO START, IT STARTED DAWN ON ME, AND I THINK IT WAS A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE, FROM THE, FROM THE MEETING TODAY, I STARTED THINKING ABOUT MAYBE HOW WE CAN BETTER ADVOCATE WITH OUR OTHER COMMISSIONS, RIGHT? IN TERMS OF THOSE, THE ISSUES THAT WE ARE SEEING AND HOW THEY, UM, MIGHT BE POINTS OF COLLABORATION MM-HMM.
I THINK, UM, THAT KIND OF GOES ALONG WITH WHAT MS. NEFERTITI WAS TALKING ABOUT, IS THAT PERHAPS WE CAN START LOOKING AT SOME OF THOSE OTHER, UM, OPPORTUNITIES, UM, SO THAT WE CAN COLLABORATE WITH OTHER COMMISSIONS.
UH, THAT IS, THAT, THAT WOULD BE WELL PUT.
SO, UH, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING FOR
[02:50:01]
YOUR RENTAL ASSISTANCE? UM, I JUST WANNA ECHO WHAT, UH, THE OTHER COMMISSIONER SAID.UM, ANGEL WAS A GREAT RESOURCE AND WE'RE GONNA GO FORWARD AND WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT, UM, THE OTHER GROUPS THAT PROVIDE RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND WE'RE COMING FROM THE POINT OF, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE A PERSON IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT NEEDS THAT RENTAL ASSISTANCE, HOW DO WE ACCESS THAT INFORMATION? IS IT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN MANAGE WHERE, YOU KNOW, UM, SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM.
I LIKED, UM, WHAT COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO SAID ABOUT THE, UH, MYSTERY SHOPPER.
I DEFINITELY FEEL THAT MYSTERY SHOPPING IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS, BEST WAYS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AND WHEN YOU'RE IN LEADERSHIP, UH, IF THERE CAN BE A MYSTERY SHOPPER, UH, THAT CAN REPORT BACK, UM, YOU FIND OUT A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE FOUND OUT, UM, IF YOU HAD ASKED FROM THE LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE.
SO, UH, KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WELL.
UH, THE THREE OF YOU ALL CONTINUE TO YOU.
I THINK WE ALL RECEIVED THE EMAIL REGARDING THE 96% ON THE EVICTION.
WE HAD ACTUALLY MOST OF, NOT MOST OF US, SOME OF US HAD RECEIVED THAT IN DECEMBER, ON DECEMBER 12TH, ED, IT DID COME OUT TO US ON DECEMBER 12TH.
NOT TO EVERYONE AT THAT MOMENT.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT IT HAS BEEN DISSEMINATED NOW TO EVERYONE, BUT, UH, ALTHOUGH EVERYONE HAS RECEIVED IT, THE WORKING GROUP IS THE ONE THAT MOST NEEDS TO, UH, DIGEST THAT AND TO, UH, CONSIDER WHAT THAT, UH, WHAT OPTIONS THAT MAY BRING TO US.
UH, AS WELL AS THE REPORT HERE FROM, UH, EL EL WAYNE.
[8. Briefing on the Austin Transit Partnership Community Advisory Committee (CAC) (Chair Thompson)]
IS THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.UM, CAC JUST WANT TO ADVISE ALL, ALL THE COMMISSION THAT, UM, GOING FORWARD, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE AN ACTIVE SEAT ON THE, ON THE CAC FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.
WE'RE GOING TO BE ASKING THEM TO REPORT TO US, UM, WHEN THERE ARE ITEMS OF CONCERN.
UH, AND THAT WAY WE WILL BE ABLE TO, TO BE, UH, KEPT IN THE LOOP AND INFORMED.
UM, BUT WE JUST WILL NOT BE GOING FORWARD, UM, UH, WITH AN ACTIVE ROLE ON, ON THE PARTICULAR, UH, CAC, UH, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
SO I DID WANNA JUST PUT THAT OUT THERE AND LET EVERYBODY KNOW, UH, THAT THAT WAS GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT WE WERE GONNA BE DOING, UH, DIFFERENTLY.
UM, I DO BELIEVE, UM, UM, UH, I'M AT THE END OF WHAT I HAVE AND BEFORE I ADJOURN, I WANT TO SAY TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU ALL, UH OH, I SEE A HAND.
'CAUSE I, WHEN I CLOSE OUT THE MEETING, THEY HAVE TOLD ME THAT I CAN'T HAVE ANYBODY SPEAK AFTER THAT CHAIR.
CAN I JUST MAKE A CLOSING REMARK? SURE.
UM, I DO WANNA THANK YOU OUR CHAIR FOR, UM, FOR YOUR PATIENCE, UH, WITH ALL OF US AS WELL AS CONTROLLING AND, UH, SETTING THE TONE AND KEEPING US ON TIME SO WE CAN GET HOME BEFORE 10.
I, I REALLY ADMIRE THAT FROM YOU.
UH, WE HAVE A GREAT CHAIR AND A GREAT VICE CHAIR.
I ALSO WANT TO JUST THANK EDWARD YEAH.
FOR ALL YOUR WORK, UH, THAT YOU DO TO KEEP US ORGANIZED.
AND, UH, WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA MISS YOU IN YOUR ABSENCE.
UH, BUT WE, UM, WE WISH YOU, UH, THE BEST OF RECOVERY AND WE'RE GONNA HOLD DOWN THE FORT WHILE YOU'RE GONE.
UM, BUT, UM, I HOPE TO SEE YOU BACK SOON.
SO, UM, KLRU OR DECIBEL, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC STATION.
THEY HAVE BEEN DOING A SERIES OF, UM, LITTLE FILMS AND INTERVIEWS HIGHLIGHTING DOVE SPRINGS AND SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE GOING ON IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND SO THEY HAVE ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER A RESOURCE GUIDE ON RENTAL ASSISTANCE OH, REALLY? AND UTILITIES.
AND I CAN FORWARD THAT TO THE GROUP IF YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO.
'CAUSE IT MIGHT BE A GOOD PLACE TO START.
SO ANYWAYS, THEY'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF REALLY GOOD WORK IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND IT'S HELPING TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT ABOUT WHAT OUR ISSUES ARE.
BE SURE TO COPY, UH, ED, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, MS. BROWN, JUST SO THAT, UH, THEY'LL HAVE IT.
BUT YES, PLEASE FORWARD IT TO THE WORKING GROUP, UH, MEMBERS PARTICULARLY.
UM, I WILL, UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ONE THING I REALIZED, AGENDA, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, WE WILL BE DISCUSSING, UM, THE HOURS LATE.[02:55:01]
BUT WE ARE WORKING ON A FORM SO THAT WHENEVER AS COMMISSIONERS WE HAVE, UH, REQUESTS FOR, UM, INDIVIDUALS FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME IN.BUT THAT SOMETHING THAT'S VERY, VERY, VERY BRIEF.
IT'S A, A FILL IN, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? A FILL IN THE, THE PDF THAT FILLS IN.
UM, BUT ALLOWS US TO, UH, PRETTY MUCH RAPIDLY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING WITH STAFF WHO'S DOING AN OUTSTANDING JOB.
AND, UM, WITH THAT, I DO WANNA LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT THAT IS, UH, IN THE WORKS.
UH, WE DO HAVE THE RETREAT, UH, SLASH UH, CALL MEETING, HOWEVER WAY, UH, IN THE WORKS.
DEFINITELY WANNA RECOGNIZE AS BERTHA DID ALL STAFF, INCLUDING, UH, LISA NEFERTITI, MS. BROWN, AND ED OF COURSE, UH, FOR, UH, SUPPORTING US.
AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, THE TIME NOW IS 9 27, A THREE HOUR MEETING.
I PROMISE NOT TO DO THOSE TOO MUCH MORE IN THE FUTURE.
BUT WHEN I SAY WE ARE ADJOURNED, I'M NOT ALLOWED TO SAY ANYTHING ELSE.
SO I WANNA SAY THANK YOU EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.