body,date,page,text,path
SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard,2021-12-09,1,"City of Alameda, California
SOCIAL SERVICE HUMAN RELATIONS BOARD
THURSDAY, December 9, 2021
APPROVED MINUTES
1. CALL TO ORDER
President Sarah Lewis called the meeting to order at 6:07pm.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: President Sarah Lewis, Vice President Kristin Furuichi Fong, Priya Jagannathan,
Samantha Green, Scott Means, and Dianne Yamashiro-Omi (joined late).
City staff: Lois Butler, Veronika Cole, Lisa Fitts, and Eric Fonstein (Secretary to the Board).
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
3-A October 28, 2021 Draft Minutes
A motion to approve the minutes of October 28, 2021 was made by Vice President Furuichi
Fong and seconded by Boardmember Means. Ayes: President S. Lewis, Vice President
Furuichi Fong, Boardmembers Jagannathan, Green, and Means. Nays: none. Note:
Boardmember Yamashiro-Omi abstained due to absence from meeting. Motion passed 5-
0 with one abstention.
4. PUBLIC COMMENTS
None.
5. AGENDA ITEMS
5-A Continuation of Social Service Human Relations Board (SSHRB) Retreat and
Working Session to Discuss: Current SSHRB Priorities, Revision to Draft 2022
Work Plan Outlining Priorities and Draft 2022 Work Plan.
Staff member Eric Fonstein announced the SSHRB priorities and listed the
Boardmembers assigned to each subcommittee.
Community Needs Assessment: Boardmember Jagannathan and Green
Human Relations/Alamedans Together Against Hate: Vice President
Furuichi Fong and Boardmember Yamashiro-Omi
Infrastructure (e.g., future work groups): President Lewis and
Boardmember Means
President Lewis stated the need for each subcommittee to develop a work plan, with a
clear timeline and realistic deliverable's, to be presented to City Council in March, 2022.
President Lewis then introduced Renato Almanzor, the retreat facilitator, and asked for
input on next steps.",SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard/2021-12-09.pdf
SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard,2021-12-09,2,"Mr. Almanzor presented a sample worksheet as a tool to collect ideas pertaining to
SSHRB priorities and work plan development. President Lewis opened the floor for
discussion. Following is a summary of comments/recommendations by Boardmembers:
Community Needs Assessment
Review the previous need assessment, determine consistency from year
to year, and SSHRB's needs
Clarify area of curiosity: culture, structures, programs and populations
Decide methodology (e.g., protocols, community engagement, minimum
number of respondents)
Community outreach, such as possible focus group meetings with
seniors, people with disabilities, and homeless individuals and advocates
Determine timeline for completing survey and presentation of findings for
CDBG process in November
Incorporate previous individuals that participated in 2017 Community
Needs Assessment
Human Relations/Alamedans Together Against Hate:
Define Human Relations and vision (with key informants, such as, faith-
based organizations, immigrant communities, elders, etc.,)
Create an action plan to realize the definition
Possibly have the community needs assessment address some of these
issues
Collaboration with community
Town halls that are facilitated toward healing and a place of
understanding; mutual respect
Develop a sense of proactive rather than reactive to build relationships
and sense of community
Infrastructure (e.g., future work groups):
Identify optimal resources
Establish subject matter experts
List of committees where SSHRB0 is currently involved
Shift from ""Committees"" to ""Action Groups"", to maximize production
Rethink what it means to be a SSHRB member and time commitments
5-B Community Needs for Community Development Block Grant FY 2022-23
Staff member Lisa Fitts presented on the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Community Needs for FY 2022-23 Action Plan, highlighting the following key segments:
What is CDBG? Federal funds to assist low - and moderate - income persons by
providing; decent housing, suitable living environment and expanded economic
opportunities.
In 2020 the City of Alameda submitted the five-year strategic plan, outlining the
housing and community development needs. Priorities submitted by SSHRB
included; affordable housing, fair housing, food security, food services, homeless
services, mental health services, safety and crime prevention, and transportation
and pedestrian safety.
As part of the Annual Action Plan, there are a few key dates for SSHRB where
individual actions will be required.
December 14, 2021 - SSHRB Needs Letter Finalized
January 4, 2022 - City Council hears public comment and adopts the
Needs Statement for the FY2022-23 Action Plan",SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard/2021-12-09.pdf
SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard,2021-12-09,3,"February 3, 2022 - RFP responses due
February 21, 2022 - Public scoring due from SSHRB
March 24, 2022 - SSHRB Meeting to Review Proposed Funding Levels
Spring 2022 - SSHRB Kicks off Community Wide Needs Assessment
Ms. Fitts stated that representative from the following companies, have attended
this meeting to provide a brief update. Family Violence Law Center, Eden
Information and Referral (I&R), Legal Assistance for Seniors and Village of Love.
She asked individuals to raise (virtually) their hand if they would like to speak.
Gitanjali Rawat, Director of Programs with Eden I&R, highlighted the following
key segments:
Eden I&R is the operator for Alameda's 211-Line, which is the 24/7
multilingual phone line that connects individuals and families to critical,
health, housing and human services.
Last fiscal year Eden I&R processed1824 calls and two-way text
message conversations, 2611 health, housing and human service
referrals. This included screening for eligibility and the transfer of 64
callers to the Mid-County West Housing Resource Center, through the
County's, coordinated entry system.
The number one reason for Alameda residents contacting 211 year after
year is housing (rental assistance, utilities assistance, emergency shelter
and transitional housing).
Eden I&R has partnered with Alameda County Public Health Department,
assisting with COVID-19 related calls.
Soft launched, the scheduling of Lyft and Uber rides (subsidized by the
City of Alameda) for qualified clients.
Erin Scott, Executive Director with Family Violence Law Center (FVLC), highlighted
the following key segments:
Provides 24-hour, crisis intervention services to survivors of domestic
violence and sexual assault. Free legal services, civil legal services,
family and housing law services.
Noted the City of Alameda has had the highest number of cases within,
Alameda County, specifically, a 45% increase in the number of survivors
served, and 117% increase in legal services provided, from July-
September 2021, compared to the same time period in 2020.
Alameda Policy Department continues to refer domestic violence calls to
FVLC. The number of cases has gone from an average of 35 calls, per
quarter, to 74 calls, from July-November 2021.
Joey Harrison, Executive Director with The Village of Love, highlighted the following
key segments:
Village of Love operates The Day Center (7 days per week), Safe Parking
Program, Overnight Shelter and coordination of FEMA Trailers.
Provide housing navigation and case management for individuals to
ensure needs are being met.
President Lewis opened for Board comment. Boardmember Yamashiro-Omi asked Ms.
Scott if she's seen an increase in cases from immigrant communities or from a specific
demographic. Ms. Scott, replied that she did not have the answer right now, however
will follow up with official demographic percentages. Boardmember Jagannathan asked
Mr. Harrison about the Safe Parking program and its current vacancy. Mr. Harrison",SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard/2021-12-09.pdf
SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard,2021-12-09,4,"confirmed, there are spaces available. President Lewis thanked everyone for their time
and presentation.
Boardmember Yamashiro-Omi put forth a motion for President Lewis to finalize the
SSHRB Needs Letter, seconded by Boardmember Jagannathan. Ayes: President Lewis,
Vice President Furuichi Fong, Boardmembers Yamashiro-Omi, Jagannathan, Green and
Means. Nays: none. Motion passed 6-0.
5-C Status of the 2022 Point-in-Time County Count of the Unhoused in the City of
Alameda
Staff member Veronika Cole introduced Katie Haverly with EveryOneHome. Together
they presented the report on the 2022 Point in Time Count for the unhoused in the City of
Alameda. Following were the highlighted key segments:
Point-in-Time (PIT) is a count and survey of sheltered and unsheltered people
experiencing homelessness on a single night in January
It is required by HUD; informs funding that the county will receive for homeless
services
This year the PIT count will be on Tuesday January 25, 2022 (complying with all
COVID-19 policies and procedures)
Outreach teams will be assigned census tracts. Areas with higher concentrations
of unhoused individuals will have teams that include an individual with lived
experience who is paid to be a guide for the count.
Still recruiting for guides and volunteers
Ms. Haverly thanked the Boardmembers for their time, and offered to leave her email
address if anyone had additional questions following the meeting.
5-D Approve SSHRB Meeting Schedule for 2022
Boardmember Furuichi Fong put forth a motion to approve the schedule without any
changes, seconded by Boardmember Means. Ayes: President Lewis, Vice President
Furuichi Fong, Boardmembers Yamashiro-Omi, Jagannathan, Green and Means. Nays:
none. Motion passed 6-0.
5-E Workgroup Reports
Homeless Action Plan Workgroup: No additional update.
Domestic Violence: Mr. Fonstein reported that Sgt. Mountain for Alameda Police
Department was unable to make the last quarterly meeting on December 9 due to
police training. Therefore, the meeting was cancelled and will be rescheduled after
the New Year.
Community Service Awards: The Awards were held on November 17. There was
no Workgroup report.
6. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
Staff member Butler provided the following updates:
Feed Alameda: Ms. Butler reported that the program has ended with no more
available funding.",SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard/2021-12-09.pdf
SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard,2021-12-09,5,"Transitional Housing Program: Ms. Butler confirmed that the HomeKey application
has been submitted. City staff submitted an application for approximately $12.3
million of Project Homekey Round 2 funding available through the State of
California Department of Housing and Community Development. A response is
expected from the State by mid-January. If awarded, Ms. Butler said that
construction of the temporary housing on the ""bottle parcel"", near the College of
Alameda, would need to be completed by October, 2022. This application was
very extensive with many staff hours contributed to its completion, along with
additional time spent from the co-applicants.
Encampments: Ms. Butler provided a status update for various sites.
Civic Center Garage-the person has moved away from the site.
Main Street-The Public Works Department is scheduled to clean up the
encampment on December 16 and the inhabitants will be relocated in the
area.
City Hall Steps-this site is also scheduled to be cleaned up by the Public
Works Department
Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) Funding: At this time, staff does
not have a timeline from the County. The City has been providing temporary grants
for overnight shelters, which will hopefully be reimbursed by the County.
7. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS, NON-AGENDA
None.
8. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
9. ADJOURNMENT
President Lewis adjourned the meeting at 7:54 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Eric Fonstein, Board Secretary",SocialServiceHumanRelationsBoard/2021-12-09.pdf