Grand Jury City of Scotts Valley 2019-2020 Grand Jury Responses 1 message

The inaccuracy of the HUD PIT Count results in significant numbers of homeless adults and children not being counted and therefore not receiving needed services. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Agree. However, this is the HUD count methodology which we are required to utilize. While not ideal, the use of this consistent methodology allows for the ability to track progress over time. Our partners throughout Santa Cruz County have also successfully advocated for changes to the methodology in the past and we intend to support these continued efforts in order to better refine the tool.

The lack of coordination between key stakeholders is a significant barrier to the efficient and capable implementation of homelessness solutions. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Coordination between key stakeholders exists and should be improved. Work to that effect has been active in Santa Cruz County. Regional coordination exists through the Homeless Action Partnership (HAP) that acts as the HUD mandated Continuum of Care (CoC.) The HAP is a collaboration of the five jurisdictions in Santa Cruz County (the County and the Cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Capitola, and Scotts Valley) along with homeless housing and services providers. However, not everything related to homelessness and addressed in this report is under the jurisdiction of the HAP. There are regional efforts to develop enhanced regional homeless governance options and we are in support of those efforts continuing to move forward.

The public opposition to homeless solutions is partially due to a lack of education, engagement and political will by City and County leadership. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Homelessness is a complex challenge that cannot be solved with simple solutions or a one-size-fits-all approach. Homelessness affects youth, seniors, children aging out of the foster system, families in domestic abuse situations, people affected by rising housing costs, people with drug and alcohol addictions and mental health challenges, migrant workers and a host of other populations subsets. As the drivers of homelessness are multi-variate, solutions must be tailored to solve the underlaying causes of each person’s homelessness, which adds up to demand for a deep and complex network of solutions to fully address homelessness. The City and County leadership have been rigorously engaged in solution and system building to address and prevent homelessness in our County. This includes the HAP (the local HUD CoC), the 2015 “All-In Plan to Address Homelessness” and continuous work since then to craft solutions to rising homelessness in areas of our County. A common fallacy, however, is that this problem is able to be solved locally, only if local leaders were truly committed. As homelessness is a widespread and highly mobile social challenge affecting all corners of our country, a strong national and state commitment to its resolution is necessary. More resources, system changes and supportive legislation from the federal and state are imperative for lasting change. Another critical aspect of successful solutions is community engagement. The community must understand and support solutions, which include siting of housing and of services for all types of needs. There can be a conflation of all homeless individuals and concerns, which is why enhanced regional governance, accountability and transparency, and early community engagement are critical to all solution building.

Santa Cruz County elected officials have been unable to combat NIMBYism, which is a significant barrier to getting projects approved and built to support the homeless. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Elected leaders are responsible for making difficult policy decisions for our community. Difficult policy decisions, by their nature, involve tradeoffs between competing interests. Homeless issues often involve those difficult policy decisions and we agree that siting homeless related services has presented significant challenges in all jurisdictions. While a number of potential homeless programs or projects have not been implemented some have been implemented. Those decisions were made based on policy tradeoffs and competing community interests.

Inconsistent and unclear funding sources and processes inhibit the effective implementation of solutions that require long term planning and sustained operations. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree):

The Homeless Action Partnership (HAP) is not organizationally equipped with the appropriate authority, structure, leadership, staff, training or processes and as a result is ineffective in its mission of reducing homelessness. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The HAP is a federally required CoC for HUD recipients. Many of the homeless issues are outside the scope of the HAP. The ongoing work to develop a countywide governance structure for homelessness related policies is envisioned to strengthen local homelessness response and administration.

There are parcels of land throughout the county that appear to be unused or underutilized, and could possibly be used to build housing for the homeless. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): While there may be parcels of land that could possibly be used to build housing for the homeless, other land use issues such as zoning would have to be considered.

Santa Cruz County law enforcement response to homeless, addiction, and mental health issues has the potential to criminalize social, medical, and psychological conditions. This requires law enforcement to perform the role of social worker; a role for which they lack the resources and mental health training. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree):

There is a lack of leadership from County and City officials to engage the business community in exploring potential solutions to homelessness. AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion X DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Engagement has occurred and resulted in positive developments including the establishment of Downtown Streets Team in the City of Santa Cruz and expansion of that program into areas of the County. This program was spearheaded by the Downtown Santa Cruz business community and was successful because of positive engagement with government officials and City Managers. More engagement is welcomed and encouraged.

Santa Cruz County and Cities, despite owning numerous parking lots, choose not to utilize their parking lots for safe parking programs, which results in an underutilization of resources that could help reduce homeless parking in neighborhoods and business districts. AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion X DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Safe parking program are in place with the County and the City of Santa Cruz through state HEAP funds. There is an ongoing effort countywide to expand and develop the project further.

Faith-Based Organizations are an underutilized resource in the effort to end homelessness. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Faith-Based Organizations are and have been very engaged and partner strongly throughout the region. They have had roles in countywide and city committees and task forces to address the issue of homelessness and have brought solutions to the table that have been utilized including safe parking, temporary shelters, food, hygiene and clothing support in addition to other activities. As future opportunities arise, we welcome continued and increased engagement.

Santa Cruz County lacks an organization that is accountable for tracking the cost of homelessness, allocating funding, and measuring the effectiveness of funding which results in the inability to make progress toward solving the homeless problem. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree):

If underutilized parcels of land throughout Santa Cruz County were identified, such as the area near Coral Street in Santa Cruz, and the parcel adjacent to the County Government Mental Health Building in Watsonville, these parcels could potentially be used to increase the number of beds and services to support the homeless. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): There are underutilized parcels of land throughout Santa Cruz County not all of which could be used to increase the number of beds and services to support the homeless due to underlying zoning. The County and the City of Santa Cruz have partnered with Housing Matters to explore potential additional uses as well as reconfiguration and expansion of current services in the Coral Street area some of which have already occurred in response to COVID. The City of Scotts Valley has no land use control or regulatory authority over the examples cited in the finding.