What Does Success Look Like?

In recent meetings of the City Council, both the Council members and the City Manager have complained that they are unclear “what success looks like” in their planning and execution of programs funded to respond to the homeless housing crisis.  I’ve asked many within the homeless service and resident community what their successful outcomes would be to achieve the goals of the City’s Housing Action Plan, for both the short-term and longer-term.  Here are some ideas which have been suggested:

Short-term Homeless Program Successful Process Outcomes

1. A complete and detailed Scope of Work and Performance Outcomes for Catholic Charities contract, including sheltering and transitioning to permanent housing for residents of the Family Shelter, Sam Jones, Safe Parking, and Palms Inn for 2017-2018. For example, moving from temporary housing to permanent housing could be considered an upgrade, as could moving from shelters to transitional housing.
2. The expansion of use of CHAP and recently-approved Safe Parking Program funds to insure continuation of 80 safe parking spaces in the City.
3. The establishment of a legal support service which assists complaining tenants of rental housing and shelters to file grievances in appropriate public entities in a timely manner.
4. The collaboration of the Sonoma’s cities with the County of Sonoma on an application to California’s No Place Like Home funding, targeted at developing and supporting permanent housing models designed for chronically homeless, with serious mental illness.
5. The identification and establishment of a Safe Haven Outdoor Navigation Center with security and sanitation, with staff capable of assisting campers to improve their ability to qualify and be accepted in permanent housing.
6. Collaboration with the County and other stakeholders to produce 2200 or more units of homeless-targeted low and no income housing.
7. Convene the recipients of the Affordable Housing Pilot Project, recently awarded by the City, and strengthen their capability and interest in working with the City’s homeless service providers to insure that residents of the City’s shelters and encampments obtain access to the resulting housing units.
8. Securing additional Section 8 Housing Voucher landlords, especially for  VASH voucherholders.

Longer-term Homeless Program Successful Process Outcomes

1. The development of a system, in collaboration with the County of Sonoma Community Development Commission, to place Santa Rosa’s homeless population into the housing units which have been, or are currently being, developed with public funds.
2. The development and completion of a homeless community and service provider-engaged public planning process for the 2017-2018 City Homeless Service contract RFPs.
3. Strengthen the ability of Community Development and Housing Authority staff to work together to support private development projects to include the maximum financially achievable affordable units, as early in their planning process. 
4. The development and completion of a comprehensive set of performance impact outcomes for each of the contracts and scopes of work funded by the City and County which minimize service agency confusion and duplication, and maximize successful placement and retention of residents in permanent housing.
5. The expansion of the capacity of shelters and limited stay facilities to include pets.

Affordable Housing Successful Impact Outcomes

1.    The number of individuals contacted, enrolled, assessed, or receiving services from a particular organization by facility.

2.    The number of individuals whose housing is upgraded, the number of individuals in permanent housing, or the number of individuals whose days of homelessness in the preceding 30 days has decreased. This includes the average number of days residents stay in shelters, transitional facilities, or subsidized limited length housing.

3.    The number of homeless individuals enrolled with an organization who have earnings, increased their earnings, are employed full-time, or increase their number of hours worked over a given month.

4.    Measuring individuals who have no drug use, whose health has improved, or whose mental health status increases.

5.    The number of youth who are reunited with their families, attend school, or earn their GED.
6.  The number of those who continue their residence in permanent housing upon placement from a shelter or limited length facility for at least two years increases.  The average stay in permanent housing upon placement from shelters of limited length facilities increases.