San Francisco Youth Commission
Housing, Environment and City Services
 Minutes
Thursday, April 14, 2016
5:15-7:15 PM
City Hall, Room 345
1. Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl.
San Francisco, CA 94102

There will be public comment on each item.

Members: Giovanna Soto, Erica Kong, Lily Marshall-Fricker, Jarrett Mao
and Cris Plunkett

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

Chair Soto called the meeting to order at 5:25pm. Commissioners present: Giovanna Soto, Cris Plunkett, Jarrett Mao, Erica Kong, Lily Marshall-Fricker. Staff present: Leah LaCroix. There was quorum.

There was no public comment

2. Approval of Agenda (Action Item)

Commissioner Mao, seconded by Commissioner Kong, moved to approve the agenda. There was no public comment. The motion was approved by acclamation.

3. Approval of Minutes (Action Item)

A. March 24, 2016
(Document A)

Commissioner Plunket, seconded by Commissioner Mao, moved to approve the minutes. There was no public comment. The motion was approved by acclamation.

4. Public Comment on Items not on Agenda (Discussion Only)

Chair Soto asked for a round of introductions. The following members of the public were in attendance;

• Julie Leadbetter, Director of San Francisco Navigation Center
• Emily Cohen, Deputy Director of Mayor’s Office of Housing Opportunity, Partnership, and Engagement
• Maria, student at San Francisco State University, and reporter for Bay News.

5. Presentations (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

A. Presentation on San Francisco Navigation Center
Presenters: Julie Leadbetter, Director of San Francisco Navigation Center, and Emily Cohen, Deputy Director at Mayor's Office of Housing Opportunity, Partnership & Engagement

Emily Cohen gave an overview of the San Francisco Navigation Center. She informed that the Navigation Center is a housing focused, welcoming, short-term model which connects individuals who have barriers to tradition shelter systems. Ms. Cohen explained that San Francisco faces a significant challenge of homeless; of the 6,700 homeless population, over half are unsheltered living in on the streets. The Navigation Center was created to combat those numbers. To date, the Navigation Center has brought in over 420 highly vulnerable people off the streets, and 81% of their clients exit the program to stable housing.

Ms. Cohen explained that the Navigation Center is a new approach to shelter. Through identifying a target population of homeless individuals—long-term homeless, those without access to traditional shelter system, and those who live in encampments—and welcoming couples, pets, and possession, the center is able to reach those who would otherwise not be served by existing homeless services. Lastly, the Navigation center is focused on housing; the center includes benefits workers to connect clients to mainstream benefits, and emphasizes that housing is the top priority from day one.

Julie Leadbetter described the culture of the Navigation Center, a small community with the capacity to shelter no more than 75 people at any one time. The center has 24/7 staffing with a high ratio (1:5 during the day, 1:25 at night). Ms. Leadbetter informed that clients have 24 hour access to the community space and food/kitchen, thus providing clients more autonomy compared to traditional shelters. In addition to the physical components (dorms, showers, kitchen, laundry, etc.), the center provides a number of services such as housing assistance, counseling, onsite medical care, meals, and benefits advocacy.

Ms. Leadbetter explained that the average length of stay for all clients is 51 days, however, clients who successfully locater permanent housing stay an average of 89 days.

Ms. Cohen shared that moving forward, the Mayor’s office of H.O.P.E is exploring ways to incorporate learning into traditional shelters, and is seeking to responsibly and strategically expand Navigation Centers and permanent housing.

Commissioner Plunkett asked a series of follow up questions regarding how individuals are selected to participate in Navigation center, the average age group, and if they have considered reaching out to long-time homeless Transitional Aged Youth (TAY). Ms. Cohen and Ms. Leadbetter explained that the Homeless Outreach Team identifies individuals who fit the target population (encampments, long-term homeless, and those who have not accessed the traditional shelter system), and invite them to participate in the Navigation Center. Individuals can accept or turndown the invitation. The presenters explained that there is not a target age group but they are aiming to serve individuals who have been homeless for 5-10 years, and who cannot access other types of services. The presenters informed that of all clients served by the Navigation Center to date, the percentage of clients who are TAY is approximately 5%.

Staff asked if in future navigation centers, would it be possible to scale the number of years homeless specifically for the TAY population. The presenters informed that it is possible, but underscored the need for long-term housing solutions, especially for TAY, in order to make the navigation center model successful—ideally for every 1 Navigation Center bed there should be 2 permanent housing units available. They explained that housing is the goal; to expand and increase the number of Navigation Centers without sufficient amount of permanent housing options would essentially turn the navigation center into another shelter.

There was no public comment.

B. Presentation on Larkin Street Services and the Larkin Street Youth Advisory Board
Presenter: Allie Cannington, Youth Advisory Board Coordinator, Larkin Street Youth Services

Staff informed that the presenter regrets to inform that she cannot attend the committee meeting. This item was tabled. There was no public comment.

6. Business (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

A. Discussion and Research on committee policy priorities and resolutions

The committee discussed and finalized the items they would like to include in the commission’s budget and policy priorities. There was np public comment

B. Review and update on current pertinent legislation

Staff review with the committee the legislation introduced at Tuesday, April 12, 2016 Board of Supervisors meeting. There was no public comment.

7. Executive Committee Report

Commissioner Plunket informed the committee about the discussions at the April 13th Executive Committee meeting. There was no public comment.

8. Staff Report

Staff shared updates regarding Vote16, and encouraged the committee to promote the poster contest to their peers. Staff also shared that the commission will be having a joint meeting with the full board of supervisors on May 3rd to hear the voting age charter amendment, and to save the date. Staff informed that the commission is scheduled to present their Budget and Policy Priorities in late May. Lastly, staff informed that the commission has hired a third staff person who, and they their first day will be May 9th. There was no public comment.

9. Adjournment

 

The meeting was adjourned at 7:15pm.