2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 MINUTES
SHELTER MONITORING COMMITTEE
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
10:00 AM to 12:30 PM
25 Van Ness Ave., Room 70
San Francisco, CA 94102
Members present:
Chair Diana Valentine
Vice Chair Damian Ochoa
Secretary Quintin Mecke
Committee Member Henry Belton
Committee Member Kim Clark
Committee Member Diana Greer
Committee Member Judi Iranyi
Committee Member Cindy Ward
Committee Member James Leonard
Committee Member Maxine Pauson
Committee Member Hank Wilson
Members absent:
Committee Member Liz Olsen
Committee Member David Nakanishi
CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL/AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS
The meeting was called to order at 10:04 AM.
I. PUBLIC COMMENT
Member of public concerned about lack of safety net in city, concerned about system. There are too many red flags.
Vice Chair Ochoa thanked member for his comments and encouraged him to follow up off-line with Committee staff.
II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Action: Approved Amended January 9, 2008 Committee Meeting Minutes
m/s/c (Unanimous)
Public Comment
A member of the pubic asked the status of the quarterly report.
Vice Chair Ochoa responded that the publishing of the quarterly reports was delayed due to staffing.
III. REPORTS
A. Human Services Agency (HSA) - Cindy Ward
Committee Member Ward gave an update that the HSA budget will be presented to the Human Services Commission on February 13, 2008. Following up on the last SMC meeting, HSA and DPH reviewed the critical incident protocol and the verified that agencies are currently following existing protocol. The timeline for notification is 24 hours of an event occurring. An e-mail should be sent to SMC at that time.
Committee Member Judi Iranyi asked about the date of the budget presentation.
Committee Member Leonard asked if it was possible to get a copy of the critical incident report.
Committee Member Wilson asked if there was a provision for sharing information with residents noting that it is crucial that residents are informed of incidents within the shelters so that they can provide information if needed. The system should value transparency.
HSA Adult Shelter Program Manager Briana Wirrom said that debriefing does happen at the site after incidents occur.
Committee Member Ward presented a report on Shelter Vacancies. Committee Member Ward said it was difficult to separate the types of beds that were vacant because it would involve doing a manual count.
Vice Chair Ochoa asked how the City was able to determine a true vacancy rate if there were unable to categorize information.
Committee Member Wilson asked about vacancies at Next Door. He stated that he believed the real problem [in the shelter system] is access. One of the challenges of the system is the release time for beds.
Ms. Wirrom said that there are a large number of beds in the system; however, case management beds for women needed.
Committee Member Leonard said he was stunned at number of vacancies in the system and asked if the capacity of Ella Hill Hutch being utilized.
Committee Member Ward responded that the contract for Ella Hill Hutch is 100 beds.
Ms. Wirrom responded that mats are put out [at Ella Hill Hutch] according to need not by the contracted number.
Committee Member Pauson said that family shelters are not listed in the vacancy report and there was a huge waiting list for family slots.
Committee Member Ward responded that Interfaith & Family shelters don't use CHANGES system stating need flexibility for the system.
Committee Member Wilson asked for the time period covered within the contract for Bethel. He said that the 20% vacancy rate at Next Door did not make sense and stated [vacancies] are a management/leadership issue and we need to change regulations and access to address the problem of vacancies.
Committee Member Leonard said from his personal experience that there is a problem with management and said there was a need for accurate bed counts.
Secretary Mecke mentioned that the problem of vacancies facing the system must be comprehensively addressed because it is unacceptable that in the middle of winter with bad weather that there are this many vacancies being reported.
Committee Member Wilson asked if there was information on the chronic subset of people, often found at Buster's Place.
Committee Member Leonard asked if the HMIS system is being used.
Committee Member Ward responded that the CHANGES system is part of HMIS.
Vice Chair Ochoa asked what happened to St. Boniface funding.
Committee Member Ward said that there will be no new RFP for the St. Boniface funding.
B. Department of Public Health
Committee Member Nakanishi was absent and there was no report.
C. Standard of Care
Secretary Mecke gave an update on the Standard of Care process. The hearing
will be Wednesday, February 20 at 1 pm before the Budget & Finance Committee. The Local Homeless Coordinating Board endorsed the legislation at its regular meeting on February 4, 2008
IV. Old Business
A. Distribution of Updated Shelter Monitoring Committee Schedule of Meetings
Schedule was distributed to the Committee members.
B. Election of Officers
Committee Member Belton asked to recused due to his concerns over process and individuals
Action: Recuse Committee Member Belton from the Election of Officers
m/s/c (Wilson/Clark/Valentine/Pauson/Ochoa/Greer/Leonard/Iranyi)
Against (Mecke/Ward)
Public Comment
Local Homeless Coordinating Board staff Ali Schlageter supported Committee Member Mecke for Chair of the Committee based on his existing relationships with LHCB.
A member of the public, Tomas P., stated that Quintin [Committee Member Mecke] is the logical choice for Chair of Committee. Tomas P. also stated his support for Diana Greer as Secretary.
Action: Election of Committee Member Ochoa to Chair
m/s (Ochoa/Greer)
There was not a majority of votes to carry this action item.
Action: Election of Committee Member Mecke to Chair
m/s/c (Wilson/Clark/Valentine/Ward/Iranyi/Leonard/Pauson)
Committee Member Mecke was elected to Chair, term to end December 31, 2009.
Action: Election of Committee Member Leonard to Vice Chair
m/s (Leonard/Greer/Ochoa)
There was not a majority of votes to carry this action item.
Action: Election of Committee Member Ochoa to Vice Chair
m/s (Mecke/Valentine/Ward/Wilson/Iranyi/Clark/Pauson/Ochoa)
Committee Member Ochoa was elected to Vice Chair, term to end December 31, 2009.
Action: Election of Committee Member Greer to Secretary
m/s (Clark/Greer/Pauson/Leonard)
There was not a majority of votes to carry this action item.
Action: Election of Committee Member Olsen to Secretary
m/s/c (Mecke/Valentine/Iranyi/Ochoa/Ward/Wilson)
Committee Member Olsen was elected to Secretary, term to end December 31, 2009.
V. NEW BUSINESS
A. Review of Committee's Goals and Policies
Vice Chair Ochoa presented and reviewed outstanding goals and policies. He also encouraged members to take responsibility for helping with achieving the goals.
Secretary Mecke mentioned that while specific members have not taken specific roles, the Committee is moving forward on many goals.
B. Review of Information Requests
The Committee reviewed proposal to have information requests reviewed and tracked at each meeting on the agenda.
Action: Approved adding Information Requests
m/s/c (Wilson/Iranyi/Unanimous)
C. Review and Endorsement of Standard of Care legislation
The Committee reviewed and voted on an official endorsement of the Standard of Care legislation.
Public Comment
Tomas P. extended his thanks to the Shelter Monitoring Committee.
Action: Endorsed Standard of Care legislation.
m/s/c (Iranyi/Ochoa/Unanimous)
VI. COMMITTEE MEMBERS QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
Chair Valentine informed Committee that she will be stepping down from SMC after this meeting. She said she was happy with where things stand now and the work of the Committee.
Secretary Mecke thanked Chair Valentine for her years of service as Chair and said that she would be sorely missed.
Committee Member Judi Iranyi was impressed with conversation/discussion at Shelter Directors meeting. Directors want to treat residents well and were very supportive of SMC's Standard of Care legislation. Committee Member Iranyi reminded members to please be on-time for meetings and to respect people's time.
Committee Member Wilson said that two deaf people were turned away from Lark Inn and that it should not have happened. He believed that crystal methamphetamine use has increased amongst homeless individuals as well as the prevalence of Staphylococcus infections. He said there was a need to get seniors out of shelters. He said that some residents report going six weeks without case management contact.
Committee Member Pauson talked about lack of housing advocates within shelter system.
Committee Member Ward asked that a discussion about shelter complaint protocol be on the agenda for next SMC meeting which included the expectation for service providers and the role of using site's complaint process vs. external SMC one. She said that the SMC needs to make sure we encourage residents to use in-house process. She thanked Chair Valentine for her work.
Vice Chair Ochoa thanked Chair Valentine for her work.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 12:50 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.
25 Van Ness Avenue is accessible to persons using wheelchairs and others with disabilities. Assistive listening devices are available and meetings are open-captioned. Agendas are available in large print. Materials in alternative formats, American Sign Language interpreters, and other format accommodations will be made available upon request. Please make your request for alternative forma or other accommodations to the Shelter Monitoring Committee at 415.255.3642. Providing at least 72 hours notice prior to the meeting will help ensure availability.
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 Oak and Hickory Streets.
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Frank Darby, Administrator
Sunshine Ordinance Task Force
City Hall, Room 244
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689
Phone 415.554.7724
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