Joint Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness and Community Partnership for Transition Solutions Meeting Minutes – March 1st, 2019

Welcome

· Nanette Borders - doing introductions

· James Pogue, Comprehensive Life Resources

· Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness – we are an action-oriented coalition – we bring up challenges and find solutions.  We have overlapping solutions with the Community Partnership for Transition Solutions, so hopefully we can work together.

· Homeless Coalition Listserv is super useful – there are lots of folks responding to needs.  Sign up for the listserv at http://www.pchomeless.org/Home/Listserv (if you don’t want lots of e-mail, we recommend the digest option, which gives you one e-mail per day –ed.)

· Information about the homeless meetings (and a few other resources around homelessness) is also available at http://www.pchomeless.org/

· Pierce County Community Partners for Transition Solutions (CPTS) - http://www.cpts.info/pierce_cpts.aspx -  piercecpts@gmail.com

o About making partners and learning what we can do to help our folks who are low income, justice involved, and coming out of jail. 

o One reason I come is to meet folks and learn what you do and take them back to our resource room

o Also on the Citizens to Hometown veterans networking committee

· Coalition to End Homelessness

o We have partners – shelters, non-profits, government, high education, advocates, employment, healthcare, and more – everything that meets the needs of the folks in our community. 

o We started meeting to address the Jungle encampment back in 2017.  We found a bunch of jungle residents interested in going into substance use treatment, but none would actually go.  We needed a way to get folks into housing when they exit treatment.  Worked on this a bit, and then the City’s Declaration of Emergency happened. 

o After about 6 months, we had the stability site up and running and had the emergency response figured out.  Then we decided to work on bigger items than just the state of emergency.

· In 2018 – we came up with some areas of need.  These became our working committees. 

o Workforce Development – folks with lots of barriers need a special approach.  Came up with some amazing things – Hire253 and Valeo Vocation being two notable efforts started by coalition members. 

o Advocacy – work to advocate for better resources and support

o Innovative Shelter Solutions – traditional housing often is not accessible, so we are working to add lower cost options

o Daily Meaningful Activity – support folks when they exit homelessness to housing.  We found folks exiting homelessness to an apartment were often leaving their friends and community and it was a challenge for folks because they were lonely and bored.  We wanted to build a pro-social environment for those newly exiting from homelessness.

o Evictions – working upstream to help people facing evictions avoid homelessness.  People who aren’t the most vulnerable and may need some assistance.  The Tiki Apartments really put this on the front page and pushed some resources to this work, as well as legislation supplying some additional resources.

· New committees for 2019

o Re-entry from incarceration – lots of folks working with people exiting homelessness.  We are building a whole system to create a safety net for folks exiting homeless.  Wanted to make that work a priority for 2019.  (are we really making a new committee, or were we just sucking up to the Community Partners for Transition Solutions Coalition?  Just curious. –ed.)

o Racial Equity – societal racial iniquities impact the homeless system – this group will work to address some of those disparities.

Goodwill’s Youthbuild Program

· Michaela Woodensee, Goodwill Industries, MichaelaW@goodwillwa.org

· Outreach for Youthbuild - https://www.goodwillwa.org/training/programs/construction/

· We start the next cohort on April 8^th – a good time for youth to get connected to me.

· State recognized pre-apprenticeship program for the trades, with a built in General Education Development (GED) program

· Open for young adults aged 18-24 who are interested in the trades and need a GED.

· If you are just looking for the GED, Goodwill and the Reach center have more appropriate programs

· This is focused on getting youth a livable wage job.  They work with our case managers, GED instructors, trade instructors and such (Michaela said other folks, but I didn’t quite catch all the names. –ed. 

· Will connect them to housing resources - about 1/3 are homeless when they enter the program, and we connect them with ACT at REACH (I was trying to figure out what ACT stands for, but I failed.  I do know they are continuing the efforts of the 100 day challenge to house youth and young adults experiencing homelessness, I just don’t know what the acronym stands for.  Alas, another mysterious TLA (three letter acronym…) –ed).

· Program provides breakfast and lunch

· Classes run Monday through Thursday from 8:30am-3:30pm – so participants have time to can work part time if needed.

· Participants can enter the program with their GED already, but they do spend ½ of the program time working to complete the degree. 

· Questions - Is it direct entry to the carpenters union?  Michaela – no, but they get preferred interviews after completing the program (which seems pretty darn good – just sayin’ –ed.)  You can also connect you with the carpenters training program – starting mid-March – for individuals aged 18-24 who have their GED.

· Youthbuild is 7 months long, and 1 year of follow up with case management – try to connect them up with more education or a job as needed.

· Get $100 per month and some bonuses when they are making progress

· Will work with those with felonies and misdemeanors. 

· All genders are welcome.

· Questions - Do you have a support team for the students?  Michaela – yes, lots of things are going on in youth’s lives – we contract with Comprehensive Life Resources to  do group sessions, and will connect folks with Consejo and Comprehensive Life Resources for individual counseling.  And the YouthBuild staff is there to help out as well. 

· Information Sessions every Tuesday at 2pm at the Reach center (714 S 27^th St, Tacoma, WA) – where they can learn about the program and tour the construction lab (I feel youthful, maybe I can pass for a 23 year old and get one of those lab tours. My wife says I often act like a child, so I think I have a good chance of pulling it off…  –ed)

· If someone applies to the program, we’ll schedule a meeting for an intake and they’ll start on April 8^th (but done by 3:30pm, so you’ll be able to make it to the edges of McLane Creek for a candle-lit vigil for Kurt Cobain.  Or to Linda’s Tavern, to discuss the plausibility of the suggestion Mr. Cobain did not actually commit suicide, but was murdered. –ed.)

Interfaith Women’s Conference

· Kelly Blucher, Goodwill

· Put on by Associated Ministries ( https://associatedministries.org/iwc/ )

· Expected to be one of the largest women’s conference around.

· We all need self-care – this will be an amazing place to get that

· 3 sessions, with 15 speaker options per session - lots of great speakers. 

· $49 entry fee. 

· Having Elisabeth Smart come and speak – and talk about how we can serve the women affected by tragedy.

· Kids are allowed

· 50 different vendors at the conference – at Curtis Junior High School (my alma mater – although it is in a beautiful new building, not the rather bland array of buildings of seemingly random size and location from my youth. –ed.)

Hire253

· Kelly Blucher, Outreach Manager, KellyB@goodwillwa.org

· Fliers are out – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hire253-entry-level-job-fair-tickets-57234995412?aff=erelexpmlt

· April 3^rd, 2019  - Going bigger and better

o We are focusing on veterans, folks with disabilities, youth, and more (I don’t think you can actually focus on lots of groups at once – that isn’t how focus works - and yet I’m pretty sure you all will do just that and somehow be amazingly successful at it all. –ed)

· Brainchild of Sherri Jensen – help individuals find work.

· Started small with about 20 employers, and about 100 people came looking for work. 

· We wanted to do bigger and better.  Moved to the goodwill main  location at  27^th and Yakima - and we use the whole building. 

· We will have 70 employers – this will be our 3^rd round at goodwill.

· Had 650 people attend last time – 204 walked away with employment. 

· There is this amazing committee that meets every week.  We look at our data and try to figure out what we can do better. (yay data –ed.)

· We are choosy, only bringing in employers in that can interview and hire on site. 

· The event costs about $10k, but with the help of donations and other organizational support, the actual cost is nearly zero. 

· Served lunch to 750 people – turkey dinner last time – will serve more this time around.

· If you want to get involved – join the workforce development workgroup.  We are super open to how we can make this event even more successful

· We know that minimum wage isn’t the way to go for everyone, but it is good for some folks.

· 253Works Job Club – We help individuals prep for the hiring event. 

· Can also get on Kelly’s amazing newsletter – just e-mail her.  Also, send Kelly your flyers to be included in the newsletter - KellyB@goodwillwa.org

· Question – what if an individual doesn’t have a mailing address, can they still benefit from the employment fair.  Kelly – several organization will provide a mailing address.  TRM and nativity House and Salvation Army all will provide mail services for folks experiencing homelessness.

· Question – not just for youth?  Kelly – they must be over 16, but this is for everyone. 

· Question – what about transportation?  Kelly – provided 200 bus tickets for folks to get to and from work – this option is available again.  For transportation to the job fair – connect with Sheila – had three shuttles between local shelters, foodbanks and other locations.  We also gave folks bus passes to get to and from the fair.

· If they need ID, Associated Ministries has a resource center for folks experiencing homeless.  You can get ID and SSN and more at the document recovery center (more info at https://associatedministries.org/supportive-services/crcc/ )

· Kelly – Gerrit, do you have the list of barriers to housing that participants identified?  Gerrit – yep, below are the main barriers identified, and how many of the survey respondents choose it:

o Unemployment – 284

o Lack of college or technical education - 91

o Homelessness – 73

o Single Parent – 71

o Criminal Background – 66

o Older worker – 62

o Underemployment/working poor – 58

o Welfare Recipient – 41

o Lack of GED or HS diploma – 36

o Dislocated Worker – 33

o History of substance abuse – 32

o Other outstanding condition – 24

o LGBT – 12

o (I put the rest, as well as responses to a bunch of the other questions from the survey up at https://coalitionfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/Hire253.pdf -ed.)

· Dan – often the mentality of not wanting to do anything – when folks are down and out, it is hard to just get up – it is easy to get stuck in a rut.  Kelly – Valeo Vocation is formed around the folks with high barriers.  We may not be successful with the first touch or the second or the fifth or the tenth.  We just keep working with folks, the more we build up  their confidence and the more we can be a friendly person to talk to the easier  it is for our clients. 

· Theresa Power-Drutis – motivation can be difficult when issues are stacked against you.  There is a lot of society that paints people in poverty with the brush of a lack of motivation, which can be damaging.  In this coalition, we recognize the challenges homelessness presents and provide support for folks experiencing it (I didn’t quite catch this exactly, but this is what I remember as the gist of Theresa’s words – she did a much better job than I’ve captured. –ed. ). 

· James – if you  have someone work ready with some of our barriers, we have lots of folks that we work with.  But the challenges of homelessness are real.  It is often very unsafe for folks to leave their property behind – you can’t lock the door behind you when there is no door.  We’ll pack up folks belonging (as much as we can) and drive people to a community lunch or other events.  It is a lot more than just going to get your ID. 

· Mitch – my morning.  This morning on Tacoma and 13^th. I met one of our clients at 6:30am from the Beacon Center, got some boots for them, they took a shower, had some oatmeal – those small things add so much to the whole picture – everyone pitching in those small pieces adds up. 

Legislative Update

· Maureen Howard, Housing Advocate - maureenhowardconsulting@gmail.com

· Why talk about legislative things at a meeting like this?  Back in 1984, I was in Olympia pushing for a bill to address homelessness.  The bill failed, but money was put in the budget – $500k for shelter and $500k for food.  We made improvements happen.

· We want to fill in the housing end of the stream.  I pass on the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance ( https://www.wliha.org/ ) alerts to you.  You may not be able to responds to them in your job, but you always can as an individual.

· We are ½ way through the session, and there is lots of action

· As of today, bills not in Rules are dead, unless they have a financial aspect necessary to implement the budget. 

· Bill 1591 (https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1591&Year=2019&initiative= )– we had high hopes for this bill – based on martin vs. Boise, the bill started well, and got amended – the people experiencing homeless lost some rights.  The bill sponsors are committed to doing floor amendments – to ensure the rights of people who are homeless are preserved. 

· Tenant protections should pass.

· Just cause eviction may or may not pass – “just cause” being a business reason.

· $600M in the budget ask for affordable housing.  About $200M is in the state housing trust fund.  The other allows local communities to retain existing taxes that went to the state for housing uses.  Real estate excise tax would lower the tax for properties under $500K and scale it up for properties over $1.5M

· Alliance asking for increase of $69M for HEN – will be tough to get without a groundswell of support. 

· I’m a bit of a hunter gatherer of policy – I put them in Maureen’s Musing.  Ask to be added if you’d like to the mailing list - maureenhowardconsulting@gmail.com

· You have a voice and you’ve got to use it.

· We don’t take a political stance as a coalition – there is space for everyone here. Our goal is not to have a political or religious agenda – we don’t have to have beliefs going one way or another. 

· Rosemary Powers – 44k people are on the waiting list for HEN.  The $59M budget isn’t enough.  We’d need an extra $92M, the $69M won’t even be meeting that need. 

Community Partnership for Transition Solutions (CPTS) - http://www.cpts.info/pierce_cpts.aspx

· Kevin – CPTS – origins and why we are here:

· Started with in King County with a federal grant.  Now is state wide – 13 chapters across the state – Kitsap, Lewis, Thurston, King, Skagit, Island, Snohomish, North-Central Washington (Okanagan, Chelan, Douglas and Grant), Spokane, Yakima, Sniggler, and Otterhound (OK, I made up those last two, I just couldn’t find the 13 chapters he mentioned… -ed). 

· Every summer we have a summer institute – talk about a place for networking 

o 300 folks show up – government, non profit, share ideas and practices

o The conference is centered around reentry, it is all sorts of folks focuses on

o Each chapters has a mission and vision

o Don’t have advocacy workgroups.

o ½ of the agenda is providers sharing what they are doing, or new providers coming onto the scene. 

o We usually have a time for partner announcements. 

· Al - What is the clearest overlap between these two Coalitions?  NPR had a recent article on how the frequent flyers are all homeless.  Chris – there is 100% overlap of trauma informed care.  90% of folks going into jail have experience trauma in the last 12 months – 60% have experienced trauma of a sexual nature (including men).  There are similar statistics for folks experiencing homelessness.

· Sean – talking about jobs or housing, one of the easiest targets is to cut folks off, and the #1 reason to cut folks out is criminal history.  Often there will be a way around it.  You are talking about populations that aren’t protected –like sex offenders.  Many people not in that population or who don’t work with that population are not willing to advocate for them.  The biggest reason I’m in both of these camps is that it is very clear that the incarcerated voice is typically not represented. 

Speed Networking

· Chat with your group, then switch

Coming Attractions

· March 15^th – Joint meeting with the Coalition to end Youth Homelessness and Young Adults

· March 22^nd – Rapid Rehousing overview and Landlord Liaison Project update

· March 29^th – Committee Work Time

· April 5^th – Was George Washington’s first use of the veto, on April 5^th, 1792, really about math, fairness and constitutionality, or was he simply siding with the slave holding south (that opposed the bill) against the north (who voted to pass the bill).  We’ll hear from a constitutional expert, someone George Washington considered valued at 3/5^th of a human life, and a pundit who thinks American politics is more partisan now than ever, but really needs to read a few more history books so they can keep things in perspective. 

Restaurant Review

Restaurants with a view typically charge too much for mediocre service and food.  This is a reality I’ve experienced time and time again.  Oh, there are exceptions to be sure, but they are few and far between.  But I like waterfront dining, so I suck it up.  One spot that bucks the trend is Massimo Italian Grill (13802 Purdy Dr NW, Gig Harbor, WA - https://www.massimobarandgrill.com/ ).  The address says Gig Harbor, but I put it squarely in Purdy – about a 15 minute drive from Tacoma.  As the name might suggest, it is a pretty casual Italian restaurant.  I like their Pizza – it is thin crust and totally worth eating.  Other fare is pretty standard, although their pasta puttanesca is a standout (a dish heavy on flavor, with a few different origin stories, all of which are great tales).  The prices are reasonable, which is pleasant.  Recently, my son and I split the calamari appetizer, the crostini di prosciutto, the insalata mediterraneo, and a small margarita pizza – a quite enjoyable meal.  Like most restaurants, the appetizers and worth your attention.  This was a great destination when I had small kids.  First off, kids love pasta – no denying that.  And the restaurant is right on the beach next to the Purdy Bridge, so after you order, you can play around on the beach while you wait for your food.  I also love this restaurant at high tide on a  stormy day.  When our dominant Southwesterly wind comes howling up Carr Inlet at high tide, the waves crash on the bulkhead sending sea spray  onto the huge, South facing windows.  And there I am, Chianti in hand, appreciating nature’s fury from a toasty seat by the fireplace, both the wine, and me, nice and dry.  The restaurant has been a few things over the years – Pearls by the Sea when  I was a kid, a brief stint as The Beach House (a Gordon Naccarato effort), until finally the owners of Il Terracciano (an Italian place in Gig Harbor proper) decided to move to a waterfront location – and Massimo was born.  They also have a deck, for those balmy summer days.  So, make a little trek out of Tacoma to a relaxing lunch or dinner, with food you’ll enjoy, in a location well worth the drive.       

Attendees

· Kelly Blucher, Goodwill

· Bruce Morris, Tacoma Transportation Commission and Chaplain, Tacoma Fire Department

· Daniel Howell, Community Member

· Sean Raybell, Department of Correction

· Pamm Silver, Molina Healthcare

· Justin Tillis, Tacoma Rescue Mission

· Andrea Seinz, Tacoma Rescue Mission

· CC Mendoza, Metropolitan Development Council

· Patricia Menzies, Tent City Tacoma

· Yvonne Ross, Making a Difference Foundation

· Eric Hasstedt, Safe Streets

· Stephanie Wright, Adonai Counseling

· Kari Cummings, Department of Corrections

· Al Ratcliffe, not sure what I am

· Emily Jones, Tacoma Community College

· Bill Harrison, Community Medicare

· Carrie Ching, Molina Healthcare

· Mel Leary, Comprehensive Life Resources

· Jeannette Twitty, House of Matthew

· LaVada Napier, Business Owner, construction and food service

· Bryan Green, Olive Crest – Safe Families for Children

· Larry Quintana, Tacoma Community College

· Karen Dhaliwal, Bates Technical College

· Chris Hansen, Bates Technical College

· RoxAnne Simon, Safe Streets

· Kara Koehn, Northwest Integrated Health

· Heidi Dorn, Department of Corrections

· Missy Patterson, Department of Corrections

· Glen Kelly, Multicare

· Menzina, looking to volunteer

· Samantha Huggins, DCS-Alternative Solutions

· Maureen Howard, Housing Advocate

· Anna Behrens, Coordinated Care

· Charleen Fitzgerald, Coordinated Care

· Rosemary Powers, New Connections

· Kevin Semler, Division of Child Support

· Steve McDaniel, Division of Child Support

· Michaela Woodmansee, Goodwill

· Morgan Denton, Food and Education Project in Puget Sound

· Emily Less, Tacoma Pierce County Health Department

· Monty Bakken, Destiny Riders

· Gerald Rosenbaum, Destiny Riders

· Richard Berghammer, Fellowship Bible Church

· Mitch Austin, Valeo Vocation

· Sherri Jensen, Valeo Vocation

· Greg Walker, Valeo Vocation

· Sid Sanstrom, The Coffee Oasis

· Pamela Narfleit, The Coffee Oasis

· Patrick Steele, The Coffee Oasis

· William Stinson, Catholic Community Services

· Delmar Algee, Catholic Community Services

· Elijah Moon, Department of Social and Health Services

· Theresa Power-Drutis, New Connections

· Jessica Means, New Connections and Numbers to Names

· Michael Meyers, Place for Restoration

· Kim Beckham, US Census Bureau

· Keith Galbraith, Family Renewal Shelter

· Dug, service dog in training

· LaKeda Sullivan, Concerto Health

· Breanne Willard, Happy Destiny House

· Robert Willard, Happy Destiny House

· Edison Willard, in nappies

· Matthew Jorgensen, City of Tacoma

· Scott, Citizen

· Judy, 28^th LD

· Sarah Appling, Pierce County Human Services

· Jeff Rogers, Pierce County Human Services

· Stephanie Glover, Comprehensive Life Resources

· Nathan Blackmer, Comprehensive Life Resources

· Dawna Bryant, Comprehensive Life Resources

· Timo West, Pierce County District Court

· Tammy Stewart, Associated Ministries

· Valentinya Germer, Comprehensive Life Resources

· Trisha, Greater Lakes Mental Health

· Jessica, Greater Lakes Mental Health

· Gerrit Nyland, Catholic Community Services

· Sheila Miraflor, Molina

Gerrit F. Nyland

Director of Client Information Systems, SW

Catholic Community Services of Western Washington

gerritn@ccsww.org

Mobile: 253-304-5105