Agenda Packet 1-22-19 Joint Work Session

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January 22, 2019, Joint Work Session – Item 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Joint Work Session: Homeless Services Systems Analysis Report Meeting Date: January 22, 2019 ISSUE STATEMENT The purpose of this work session is to update City of Eugene and Lane County elected officials on work to develop a comprehensive homeless services system map and recommendations for a public shelter and other system improvements. Staff from Technical Assistance Collaborative will present their final report, highlighting their system-wide recommendations as well as their recommendation regarding a low-barrier emergency shelter (Attachments A & B). BACKGROUND On any given night, more than 1,600 Lane County residents are homeless and in excess of 1,100 are without shelter. Many have been homeless for more than one year. School districts in Lane County report that over 2,500 of their students were homeless during the last school year. Annual figures show that 15,454 individuals who sought services from local human services programs were homeless at some point during 2017. Both the City of Eugene and Lane County support a range of projects and programs to address homelessness (Attachments C, D and E). These efforts are guided by multiple plans for human services and affordable housing. However, despite these efforts and those of other community partners, there is a growing need for a systems-level analysis of homelessness and an examination of what future shelter options might be most viable in Lane County. The Lane County Department of Health and Human Services – Human Services Division, with the assistance of the Poverty and Homelessness Board, Shelter and Supportive Housing Sub-Committee and City of Eugene and Springfield staff, has worked toward implementation, support and oversight of homeless shelter and supportive housing programs and a shelter feasibility study. In the spring of 2018, Lane County, with the participation and additional funding support of the City of Eugene, selected the Technical Assistance Collaborative to conduct a shelter feasibility study for Lane County. TAC is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization with over 25 years of experience providing technical assistance and consultation to states, counties, municipalities and Continua of Care on conducting shelter and supportive housing systems analyses for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The initial phases of the study included interviews with an extensive list of key stakeholders in Lane County that are part of the system of homeless services (Attachment F) and synthesis of local