April 24, 2013
DRAFT MINUTES
SHELTER MONITORING COMMITTEE RETREAT
April 24, 2013
4:00 PM
San Francisco Main Library, Latino Room B
100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Members Present
Committee Member Caroline Caselli
Committee Member Julia D’Antonio
Vice Chair Keith Dennis
Chair Nicholas Kimura
Committee Member Jesus Medellin
Committee Member Charles Morimoto
Committee Member Matthew Steen
Committee Member Cindy Ward
Committee Member Caroline Woo
I. INTRODUCTIONS
A. Committee Members & Public
The current Committee Members introduced themselves and provided personal and professional background.
A member of the public said she had recently become homeless and made her way to San Francisco. She talked about some immigrant issues in homelessness that need to be addressed.
Debi Muise discussed her previous tenure on the Committee and her re-appointment to the Committee in May.
A member of the public talked about how when she first became homeless she first tried to stay in hostels but eventually ran out of money. She came to the retreat so she could better understand the Committee’s role in the shelter system.
Raija Freeman discussed her recent appointment to the Committee and her background in homeless services.
II. COMMITTEE SCOPE
A. Legislation
The Committee reviewed the legislation that created the Committee, the Standards of Care and the Information Request components.
The Committee discussed making some changes to the legislation, including changing term limits for seats to ensure that not all seats expire at the same time.
Committee Member Cindy Ward urged those Committee Members who had not yet taken the Shelter Grievance Training to do so.
Committee Member Matthew Steen says the Committee should review the Shelter Access Workgroups’ recommendations.
Committee Member Caroline Caselli said that there was a lot of punitive language in the Standards of Care.
Committee Member Charlie Morimoto said that DPH was not the contract holder for the majority of the site contracts; does the Committee want to look at fining programs that have limited funding. He suggested looking at the training requirements and developing a base curriculum that can be utilized by sites.
Committee Member Caselli asked that the Committee examine some of the requirements in the Standards, like CPR masks, to see if these requirements are still relevant.
Committee Member Ward stressed the importance of funding for the Standards.
Public Comment
A member of the public said that some shelters were in violation of federal laws and wondered when funding for these sites will be snatched.
Ms. Muise said that term changes would be an improvement. She encouraged the Committee to continue to check in with sites about their needs, particularly after the site visit.
Charles Pitts said that some stuff is still missing. He said that stronger enforcement tools were needed.
Ramses Teon-Nichols, a former Committee Members, wanted to learn more about the Policy Sub Committee. He suggested the Committee find better ways to work together with the sites and County agencies to improve outcomes with clients.
B. Site Visits
The Committee reviewed the site visit process and the numbers of visits required per year and discuss how to ensure the best Committee coverage.
Chair Nick Kimura suggested significant edits to the forms.
Committee Member Steen asked when the Committee would receive copies of all site forms.
Public Comment
Debi Muise said that when she was on the Committee she focused on the survey components of each site visit. She said that the surveys needed significant edits.
Will Daley, a former Committee Members, suggested that the forms be re-worked, particularly for smaller sites, where staff and site inspection questions can be merged in to one form.
Chair Kimura said that it was important to eliminate duplication during the visits for both staff and Committee Members.
Debi Muise said that taking pictures to document violations is important.
Chair Kimura said that the Committee should focus on outreach and said he would be working on a flyer to make it a bit more flashy.
A member of the public said that some sites were snatching benefits from a lot of people who don’t understand about public funding. There are also some political groups involved.
Charles Pitts asked who is doing inspections and how do we know that the site visits are anonymous. He asked what the Committee does when it finds a site out of compliance.
C. Standard of Care
Committee staff Bernice Casey reviewed the client complaint process and the Department of Public Health investigation process.
The Committee discussed the staffing challenge with currently only one staff.
Public Comment
Charles Pitts said that it needs to be considered how the Committee is addressing the violations. Are you contacting DPH, DPW or other appropriate enforcement bodies when needed?
A member of the public said that you are as only good as your leadership. You need to multi-task with multi-cultural and transgender issues.
A member of the public said that it took weeks for him to get a health card to visit a doctor.
Ramses Teon-Nichols, a former Committee Members, said the Committee should look at patterns of violation and make sure the problems are being responded to and followed up.
III. PUBLIC COMMENT
A member of the public asked who made rules and regulations for the shelters.
Committee Member Steen attempted to respond.
Charles Pitts said that the Committee is oppressing the voices of the people by using the timer. He has a desire for shelter to move forwards, but he feels like the poor and homeless voices are not being heard.
Ramses Teon-Nichols said that he wishes that there was direct contact to City Hall and its representatives. He said the Committee has the power to get into the chambers. He said to use public for support.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
A. Policy Sub Committee
Committee Policy Sub Committee Chair Caselli reviewed the policy recommendations from the sub-committee, including reviewing the imminent danger policy in the family shelters; defining case management & units of services; and exploring a pilot case management at a single adult shelter. Committee Member Caselli also said the Policy Sub Committee recommended that the Committee suggest that HSA provide tokens at the shelter manager meeting.
Chair Kimura said the Committee should also look at the Shelter Access Workgroup for cross-over recommendations.
Committee Member Caroline Wood said that she agreed with a definition of case management.
Committee Member Julia D’Antonio said that case management should focus on client care and not just housing.
Public Comment
Will Daley said that the imminent danger policy can sometimes be resolved in the Shelter Grievance process. He said that when families are denied services at a family shelter they are banned from using any family shelter.
Jennie Parilla, a former Committee Member, said that some clients have mental problems and don’t want help. She urged the Committee to be more engaged with the Latino community.
Charles Pitts said that the Committee should create a document on how you can help people get in housing and said to talk to SF HOT.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:19 pm.
To obtain copies of the agenda, minutes, or any explanatory documents, please contact Bernice Casey at 415.255.3653 or Bernice.casey@sfdph.org 72 hours before the meeting.
To obtain a disability-related modification or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services to participate in the meeting, please contact Bernice Casey at 415.255.3642 or Bernice.casey@sfdph.org at least two business days before the meeting.
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The nearest BART station is Civic Center Plaza at the intersection of Market, Grove, and Hyde Streets. The MUNI Metro lines are the F, J, K, L, M, and N (Civic Center Station or Van Ness Avenue Station). MUNI bus lines serving the area are the 47 Van Ness, 9 San Bruno, and the 6, 7, 71 Haight/Noreiga. Accessible curbside parking is available on Larkin and Grove Streets.
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