February 17, 2010
MINUTES
SHELTER MONITORING COMMITTEE
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
10:00 AM
City Hall, Room 408
San Francisco, CA 94102
Members present:
Chair Henry Belton
Vice Chair Aram Hauslaib
Committee Member Anthony Beliso
Committee Member LJ Cirilo
Committee Member Elihu Hernandez
Committee Member David Nakanishi
Committee Member Maxine Pauson
Committee Member Ramses Teon-Nichols
Committee Member Cindy Ward
Members absent:
Committee Member Diana Greer
The meeting was called to order at 10:05 AM by Chair Henry Belton.
I. MINUTES
Committee Member David Nakanishi stated that there was an error on page one of the Minutes noting him under both the Members Present and Members Absent section. Committee Member Nakanishi stated that he was absent from the December 2009 meeting.
Committee Member Cindy Ward stated that the public comment made by Tomas Picarello on page two was not reflective of his comments and that he had stated that the information she provided was helpful.
Public Comment
A person from Marin County said that he was interested in learning more about the Shelter Monitoring Committee.
Action: Approved Amended December 2, 2009 Minutes
m/s/c (Nakanishi/Hauslaib/Unanimous)
II. REPORTS
A. Department of Public Health (DPH)
Committee Member Nakanishi stated that he did not have an update on the budget at this time and referred the Committee and the public to the Department of Public Health’s web site for budget information.
Committee Member Nakanishi said that DPH had been conducting mass vaccinations of H1N1 in the single adult shelters.
Committee Member Elihu Hernandez asked which locations had not responded.
Committee Member Nakanishi said the only site that had not responded was United Council.
B. Shelter Status Report
Human Service Agency (HSA) Report
Briana Moore, Single Adult Shelters Programs Manager, said that the vacancy report was not reflective of the vacancies within the Episcopal Community Services shelters, Next Door and Sanctuary, based on a CHANGES glitch from July 2009 to present. Ms. Moore said that glitch had been repaired and would be reflected in future reports.
Ms. Moore stated that the Winter Shelter Interfaith shelters would be closing on February 28, 2010 with the last night of shelter on February 27, 2010. Ms. Moore stated that Interfaith staff contacted other shelters when clients were unable to get a bed within the Interfaith system. Interfaith staff provided clients with meals even if they [the shelter staff] did not have an available mat.
Committee Member Elihu Hernandez provided an overview of the Shelter Advocates information. Some clients had complained that the SF START were not providing them any case management services, specifically housing, citing that they [SF START] only work with clients who have a mental illness or a substance abuse problem. Committee Member Hernandez said that the Denial of Service information provided to them [Shelter Advocates] by the sites and the client who sought DOS services from them were still off.
Public Comment
Tomas Picarillo said that Committee Ward’s earlier comments regarding his December 2009 public comment were correct and that he hoped that future minutes of the Committee would be transcribed based on the ability to record the Committee meetings.
Viviana Martinez said that Teresa was now the site manager at Next Door and Rasheedah Blake was now the site manager at Sanctuary. She said that SF START only has 8 case managers and their priority is the disabled [clients].
Tammy from Hospitality House said that had been reporting Denial of Services to the Shelter Advocates and requested a hearing tally.
Ali Schlageter said that the SF START mission is to serve people with mental health and substance abuse challenges. Ms. Schlageter said that SF START’s mission should be discussed within that context when talking about case management services.
Charles Pitts said that the lack of policies and procedures was the primary problem [in the discrepancies between the Shelter Advocate reported DOS hearing data].
C. Standard of Care (SOC)
Committee staff Bernice Casey reported that there were 11 Standard of Care complaints in January of 2010.
Committee Member Ward requested that all future SOC reports be in writing and noted that the last two months staff had not supplied a written report.
Public Comment
Tomas Picarillo stated that the reports [SOC] needed to be in writing so that the information can be debated to determine if it is accurate. Staff is not taking phone calls or is not doing inspections. You are not doing your job.
Charles Pitts said that there are 1000 shelter beds and employees with a very checkered history. Shelters must submit their policies on how items are bagged.
III. PUBLIC COMMENT
Tomas Picarillo said he was disappointed that the Committee did not have quorum. Mr. Picarillo said that it was very troubling that Committee cannot find a quorum to meet for two hours a month.
Ali Schlageter from the Local Homeless Coordinating Board said there would be two planners from the 2010 Census at the March 1, 2010 LHCB meeting and discussing how the census impacts homeless services.
Charles Pitts said that the City has a right to a quality shelter system. He said that the Committee was losing Sunshine Ordinance hearings. He said that there needs to be leadership [on the Committee] to make it better.
Mr. Michael Wright said that he has received poor treatment at MSC South. He said the Board of Supervisors gave MSC South $173,000 and the director is undermining the City & County of San Francisco. He said the site is only using 60 chairs at the site.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
A. Election of Officers
The Committee reviewed the nominations for officers and discussed postponing the election and making changes to the Committee legislation allowing for two co-chairs.
Chair Henry Belton stated that this would be his last meeting and he would be resigning after this meeting.
Action: Approved Aram Hauslaib as Chair
m/s/c (Ward/Pauson/Unanimous)
Public Comment
Tomas Picarillo says that a person who runs a shelter should not be the Chair as the Chair set the agenda and runs the Committee.
Mr. Wright said that another example of a conflict of interest where an employee at 150 Otis works for both Providence and MSC South.
Charles Pitts said that the officers need to have an understanding of the Standards of Care and Robert Rules of Order.
Committee Ward clarified that Committee Member Aram Hauslaib was the Director of Connecting Point, not a shelter itself.
Ms. Moore thanked Henry Belton for his work as chair. She said she really wanted to appreciate him and his advocating for clients and the disenfranchised.
Chair Belton said that Hank Wilson was his mentor and that he served with some of the Committee greats like Diana Valentine, Damian Ochoa, and Quintin Mecke. He said that it was important for the Committee to stick together and that the key is communication.
Action: Approved Ramses Teon-Nichols as Vice Chair and Elihu Hernandez as Secretary
m/s/c (Ward/Hauslaib/Unanimous)
B. Standard of Care Legislation
Executive Director of the Coalition on Homelessness Jennifer Friedenbach reviewed draft legislation, which would also make proposed changes to the Standard of Care legislation.
Committee Member Ward said that there would be a LHCB Policy Committee Meeting on February 22, 2010 to discuss the proposed changes and get feedback from the community, including shelter directors.
Public Comment
Tomas Picarillo said that there was an 18-month community process for the Standards of Care legislation and said that it was not an open process. He said that DPH will not enforce the SOC.
Tammy from Hospitality House said that clients have a way of manipulating they system and clients should be using emergency shelters as a way of getting on their feet and not staying for a year.
Mr. Wright said that case managers were selective about who they provided assistance to and that clients on welfare were getting professional help but other people had to stand in line at 4:00 am to get a bed in a shelter.
Wayne Garret from MSC South Drop In Center provides 7-day reservation when they are available in the system. He said the majority of clients have a disability.
Ms. Moore said that when a reservation is made by a CHANGES reservation agent for a disabled person and the only reservation is for an upper bunk, the agent contacts the shelter to make the accommodation.
Charles Pitts asked if the Committee had the capacity to check turn aways and count homeless deaths. He said that the CHANGES system did not function correctly and continues to break down.
The Committee did not action on the draft legislation but agreed to two components, turn away counts and allowing the Committee to initiate a SOC investigation.
C. Quarterly Report
The Committee reviewed the February 2010 Quarterly Report, covering the first two quarters of the 2009-2010 fiscal year, July through December 2009.
Chair Belton said that Committee members needed to communicate with their teams if they cannot make a site inspection.
Ms. Casey said that she would add the SOC data to the quarterly report.
Action: Approved Amended Quarterly Report
m/s/c (Teon-Nichols/Pauson/Unanimous)
Public Comment
Mr. Wright said that MSC South had eliminated 140 beds out of the first floor after receiving $175,000.00. He said the first floor had 140 to 150 beds and now there are 23 beds and frames on top of each other on the first floor.
Wayne Garret from MSC South said that MSC South had added 51 beds and has 70 chairs on the first floor. The chairs are kept to one side for safety.
Ms. Moore said the occupancy at MSC South is determined by the Department of Building Inspections. The occupancy rate is 410 and MSC South has 340 beds and 70 chairs.
Charles Pitts said that the Committee Members should be sure and do the shelter inspections. He said that Committee Member Diana Greer continually misses visits.
D. Turn Away Report
The Committee reviewed the Turn Away Report, documenting attempts at clients of accessing the shelter system in October and November 2009.
Action: Approved Turn Away Report
m/s/c (Hauslaib/Nakanishi/Unanimous)
Public Comment
Mr. Wright said that it should be part of the HSA policy to allow reservations to be made at MSC South. He said that the 70 chairs at MSC South and his treatment by rude and unethical staff at MSC South should be investigated.
Mr. Garret said that MSC South has a 410 person occupancy.
Explanatory documents-draft Turn Away Report
Public Comment will be heard before the proposed action.
Proposed Action: Approval of Turn Away Report
V. INFORMATION REQUESTS
A. Staff Report
Ms. Casey reviewed the monthly staff report to the Committee and submitted a copy in writing.
B. Information Requests
There were no Information Requests made at the February 2010 meeting.
C. Announcements
Committee Member Nakanishi pointed out that the September 2010 meeting conflicted with a scheduled Project Homeless Connect and suggested changing the Committee’s meeting date.
Adjournment
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.
City Hall 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.
The ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers, and similar sound producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. Please be advised that the Chair may order the removal from the meeting room of any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone, pager or other similar sound-producing electronic devices.
In order to assist the City’s efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illness, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees maybe sensitive to various chemical based scented projects. Please help the City to accommodate these individuals.
Know Your Rights under the Sunshine Ordinance(Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code)
Government’s duty is to serve the public, reaching its decision in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people’s business. This ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people’s review. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE SUNSHINE ORDINANCE, OR TO REPORT A VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCE, CONTACT THE SUNSHINE ORDINANCE TASK FORCE THROUGH:
Chris Rustom, Administrator
Sunshine Ordinance Task Force
City Hall, Room 244
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689
Phone 415.554.7724
Fax 415.554.7854
E-mail sotf@sfgov.org
Copies of the Sunshine Ordinance can be obtained from the Clerk of the Sunshine Task Force, the San Francisco Public Library, and on the City’s website at www.sfgov.org.
Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Requirements
Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance [SF Campaign & Governmental Conduct Code § 2.100] to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the San Francisco Ethics Commission at 30 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 3900, San Francisco, CA 94102; telephone (415) 581-2300; fax (415) 581-2317; web site: sfgov.org/ethics.
