A Plan to Address the Source of Unsheltered Homelessness
Presented to the Homeless Solutions Coalition by Ken Thrasher: 12/2/2024
For the last five years unsheltered homelessness has continued to grow in Portland and Multnomah County. Actions to date by the County and City have invested over $1 billion on a series of failed strategies that tend to focus on the “effect” of the problem, not the “cause”. Most efforts have thrown money at housing and shelters, including Metro’s bond funds.
It is time to get to the source of the problem and find and address the causes of unsheltered homelessness. Understanding who is being served, where they came from, their reasons for being unsheltered, and their needs, and having an IRP (Individual Recovery Plan) are critical to solving this problem.
Successful communities have embraced this person-centered and systemic approach, often called “coordinated entry”, to address inflow and outflow of persons experiencing homelessness. The basic concept is to stand up a “front door”, coordinating the community’s services that can assist someone to reach self-sufficiency. This more unified, intentional process puts us in a far better position to immediately address the needs of people on the street.
We strongly believe this can’t be solved by more government intervention at the Federal, State, Metro, County, and City levels. It needs to be guided by experts in many areas, including systems, data management, health (medical, mental health, substance abuse, dental, etc.), post-incarceration, veterans, children and family, housing, shelter, and financial (ROI). It needs to be a public/private partnership that is both strategic and outcome focused, with strong leaders, including a qualified executive director, who can remove barriers between the parties. This could be a new organization (ie 501(c)3), or could be evolved from an existing organization (ie Revitalize Portland Coalition).
Where do you start? It’s clear to us that the current system fails at the beginning. There is little knowledge of who the unsheltered homeless are, where they are from, what their issues and needs are, and what is the best IRP for them. The County and City fail to interview and create action plans for people living on the streets, often resorting to simply giving them tents, wagons, and an Oregon Trail Card. They also fail to follow-up on the few interviews they do. Often these individuals are just swept out of one area to show up in someone else’s neighborhood as unsheltered homeless persons. They are preyed upon for drug use, human trafficking, and often have to commit crimes to support their life styles.
Homelessness is not only a government problem. Therefore, the government can’t be the ONLY driver to solve it. The private sector and neighborhood residents can and should play a greater role in shared-leadership and solutions to our #1 community problem. The private sector and neighborhood residents in our region stand ready to support systems solutions and improved efficiency; however, they have not had an opportunity to participate.
So, what do we recommend as key strategies? Based on some of the best practices we have seen in Boise, Idaho and other communities where the unsheltered homeless issue has been effectively dealt with, and successful and well documented work on the street by organizations like the Northwest Community Conservancy (NWCC) and others, we recommend the following set of strategies and aligned tactics:
1. At a minimum do weekly interviews of unsheltered homeless individuals with recorded actions, starting with asking the following questions:
* why are you living on the streets?
* where are you from, and if from outside Portland, how and why did you come here?
* do you have a cell phone, what’s your name, and who is your closest relative and contact info?
* what immediate needs do you have (i.e. shelter, water, food, medical, substance abuse help, mental health services help, etc.)?
* are you willing to move immediately into a shelter, recognizing that under the recent SCOTUS ruling and Oregon HB 4002 you can’t live on the street and/or do drugs?
Following the questions:
* give them a contact cell phone number (hotline) and tell them they will be contacted regularly
* enter their information into an intake database
2. Create an intake database by person so they can be tracked in the system based on responses to #1, and:
* create a screening and action steps for each person based on needs and start an IRP
* determine if relatives or programs exist in their home city, if not Portland, and have a group that analyzes this for necessary actions in helping the person go home
* make an initial assessment on whether this person can go to a relative’s/friend’s home, move back to the city they came from, or whether they need to go into shelters or homes if capable.
* assume the standard is “100% leave unsheltered homelessness”
* determine if the person has outstanding charges and/or warrants
* track those by name who recidivate back to unsheltered homelessness after being sheltered or housed
* help determine which individuals are ready for permanent housing and capable of entering the workplace if not employed, including training needed and connection with job placement services
* create ten or fewer monthly reporting metrics that are easy to understand and show progress toward pre-defined goals
3. Provide oversight of the integration of government and private delivery systems and services that move the unsheltered homeless from the street to housing and jobs, where possible, and:
* determine through a gap analysis where connected services have capacity, quality or other issues
* work with providers to reduce service gaps and look at alternatives that have a human and financial ROI
* provide policy and other recommendations for changes needed and work with government and providers to create action
* report on effectiveness of the delivery system, through both measured and reported outcomes, and through independent public reporting
* provide financial, data, and systems management resources to ensure the delivery system is both efficient and effective
* develop a funding model to support this work that leverages both governmental and private resources
* produce an annual report on this work, with monthly and quarterly updates
We believe that creating a public/private partnership to oversee this work will result in funds spent more wisely, key results reported in a timelier manner, improved overall outcomes for the unsheltered homeless, and finally improved public perception of this important work.
Presented by: Homeless Solutions Coalition Steering Committee
Pilot High Touch Intake Center to Address Homelessness in Portland
Homeless Solutions Coalition- updated 12/5/2024
Brief Summary and Mission-
As a result of the work of the Homeless Solutions Coalition and the experiences of Northwest Community Conservancy and other leading organizations, we propose a pilot program in Portland’s District 4. The purpose is to address unsheltered homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, and other related problems that are having an enormous impact on our District 4 communities.
The central feature of the pilot is a high tech, high touch Intake Center where individuals’ needs will be assessed to create individual recovery plans for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It should leverage HUD information that is already available.
The ultimate mission of the pilot Intake Center is to help these individuals become productive members of society again, where possible, and to track measurable outcomes and costs so we can determine the effectiveness of this important work.
Governance Structure
The organization operating the Intake Center will be a public/private partnership that will be overseen by a Board of Directors, which will determine organization structure (non-profit or other) and will consist of 7-9 directors with the following skill sets:
1. A strong experienced CEO who has effectively run an organization
2. One representative each from Multnomah County and the City of Portland
3. A person with lived experience
4. A person with strong financial and systems backgrounds
5. A person who has a legal and Human Resources background in the human services area
6. A person with a strong operational systems background in the human services arena
The board will oversee governance matters, strategic planning in coordination with management, monthly outcome data and financial results, and will provide support to the Executive Director and team as needed.
Management and Staff Structure-
The Pilot Intake Center will be led by three lead individuals, with an estimated staff of 8-11 initially. Key positions include:
1. Executive Director experienced in running a human services program
2. Finance and Systems Director experienced in accounting systems, data systems, and measuring outcomes
3. A Human Resources and Operational Director to oversee hiring. staffing, and operations
4. A support person for administrative needs
5. 7-10 trained workers who provide humanitarian services on the street daily in meeting unsheltered homeless individuals where they are at, diagnose their needs, and begin the intake and tracking process (including determining if current warrants are outstanding). 1-2 of these people will work with unsheltered homeless people in the service area to help connect them with their families, if from outside of Multnomah County, to help them return home. One person should have nursing qualifications for health- related matters (which could also be partnered with a local hospital)
6. Consider partners like the District 4 Coalition (formerly Neighbors West Northwest) in sourcing staffing needed along with other employment services.
Budget and Funding-
It is estimated that the first year cost of operating this pilot program will be approximately $2 million, not including facility costs. We would want at least a 2–3-year pilot period before considering expansion, which would require a commitment of $4-6 million. Initially we would recommend that the City of Portland consider committing $2 million annually from its $25 million contribution to the Joint Office funding. If this is a non-profit, a portion of additional funding could be raised in the community; however, the pilot’s success requires a firm commitment of funding
Partnerships & Mapping County & City Services-
This plan requires strong partnerships with the County, City, and providers delivering shelter beds and services. A database will need to be established that looks at the number of shelter beds in the County, their location, how many are available at any given time, and any issues that may impede placement of individuals (i.e. lack of staffing, bed bug issues, etc.). This information should be updated at least weekly. The same applies to mental health services, substance abuse and detox services, sobering centers, the deflection center, health services, and dental care services. Our Data and Accountability Committee of the Homeless Solutions Coalition can help with establishing clear metrics, aligning terminology, and reporting standards
Individual Recovery Plan Systems-
A system to track individuals going through the intake system will need to be selected. The goal should be to select a current system already vetted by others, not modify it, and be sure standard manufacturer upgrades can be applied when available. Let’s not re-invent a wheel that already exists.
Identifying a Central Intake Facility-
As the unsheltered homeless population has grown exponentially in the past 4 years, it now requires a high-touch intake facility. A centrally located intake facility will be identified to serve as a hub for intake throughout the pilot project area. Key considerations in selecting an Intake Center facility would be having it in the downtown area, ability to minimize police time in dropping off persons (and avoiding emergency room drop-offs), and the length of time that individuals stay at the Center. If stays are during the day only before moving to a shelter or services, it may be wise to use the Gladys McCoy County Health Center next to Bud Clark Commons after surveying the facility and determining its appropriateness. If the stay is more than a day visit, then considering a transition location such as a FEMA type site would be an added possibility if due to a lack of shelter/services bed availability.
There will be cases where individuals have outstanding warrants that need to be considered, and require special handling based on the nature of the crimes (some may be expunged). Some of these scenarios would require larger transportation budgets, since the goal is not to leave people on the streets.
We believe many aspects of this approach are consistent with our new Mayor’s direction, and we think the pilot should align with his vision. The rehabilitation of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness will be a critical measure of success, where historical success rates have been low at 25-50%.