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INTRODUCTION
<br />1. BACKGROUND
<br />In March of 2018, Lane County, in collaboration with the City
<br />of Eugene, secured the services of the Technical Assistance
<br />Collaborative Inc., (TAC) to conduct a public shelter feasibility
<br />study. As part of the study, TAC was to assess the current homeless
<br />crisis response and service system within Lane County, including
<br />resource capacity and gaps within various system components
<br />such as coordinated entry (CE), diversion, outreach, day shelters,
<br />emergency shelters (ES), transitional housing (TH), rapid-rehousing
<br />(RRH), and permanent supportive housing (PSH). Since that time,
<br />TAC has conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of Lane
<br />County’s homeless service and crisis response system, culminating
<br />in this report. The report outlines a number of recommendations
<br />related to Lane County’s homeless system overall, as well as
<br />specific recommendations for the creation of a public emergency
<br />shelter.
<br />2. METHODOLOGY
<br />TAC’s methodology to complete a shelter feasibility study focused
<br />on conducting a comprehensive assessment and analysis of all
<br />major system components within Lane County’s homeless system.
<br />While emergency shelters play a crucial role in addressing a
<br />person’s immediate housing crisis needs, it is important to note
<br />that shelter alone cannot be a community’s singular strategy to
<br />end homelessness. For this reason, TAC approached this study
<br />with a system-wide lens and ensured our analysis incorporated
<br />data and information from multiple sources within different
<br />system components.
<br />Below is a detailed description of our methodology and steps
<br />leading to the findings and strategic recommendations in this
<br />report. Over the course of seven months, TAC completed the
<br />following:
<br />Data and Information Collection
<br />TAC collected and reviewed data from the following sources:
<br />• Lane County’s Homelessness Management Information
<br />System (HMIS) including Annual Performance Reports for
<br />ES, TH, RRH, and PSH, and custom reports provided by Lane
<br />County
<br />• Coordinated entry system reports
<br />• Homeless Point-in-Time counts from 2011 to 2018
<br />• Housing Inventory Chart (HIC) from 2018
<br />• Federal fiscal year 2016 and 2017 system performance
<br />measures (SPM) reports
<br />• Lane County CE written standards
<br />• Poverty and Homelessness Board (PHB) Strategic Plan 2016-
<br />2021
<br />• PHB governance charter
<br />Stakeholder Interviews & Meetings
<br />TAC gathered information from a wide range of Lane County
<br />stakeholders. Over the course of six months, TAC staff conducted
<br />over 30 stakeholder interviews, participated in a Poverty and
<br />Homelessness Board Meeting, facilitated two focus groups,
<br />and presented at the joint public meeting of the Eugene City
<br />Council and Lane County Commissioners. Stakeholder interviews
<br />and meetings occurred both on-site and off-site, and included
<br />representation from the following groups:
<br />• Staff from Lane County and the City of Eugene
<br />• Emergency shelter providers, housing providers, housing
<br />developers, advocates, consumers, funders, and other
<br />community stakeholders
<br />• Eugene City Council Members and Lane County
<br />Commissioners
<br />• A list of the specific agencies interviewed is provided in
<br />Appendix A.
<br />Analysis & Assessment of Information
<br />Throughout the course of the data collection and stakeholder
<br />interviews, TAC continuously assessed the information obtained
<br />to understand each system component, how these components
<br />are accessed by clients, and how the components relate to
<br />or interact with each other. This analysis included evaluating
<br />demographic information of those experiencing homelessness,
<br />highlighting salient data points, identifying system gaps, evaluating
<br />performance issues, and identifying overarching themes. The data
<br />and information analysis provided the basis for the development of
<br />the system map, key recommendations, and the system modeling.
<br />Development of the System Map
<br />TAC drafted an accessible, easy-to-understand map of the Lane
<br />County homeless service system. The map illustrates the primary
<br />aspects of the homeless service system including emergency
<br />shelter, alternate shelter options, day access centers, outreach,
<br />coordinated entry, and the housing options available. The map
<br />highlights the myriad of “paths” an individual or family experiencing
<br />a housing crisis could take to address their crisis such as accessing
<br />PSH, RRH, TH, or other affordable housing and private market
<br />housing. The goal of the map is to present the system flow and
<br />illustrate where specific gaps within the system exist, as well as
<br />identify where households get “stuck” without adequate resources
<br />to address their homelessness crisis. The map of Lane County
<br />Homeless Service System is included in Appendix B.
<br />Development of System Modeling
<br />TAC created a scenario planning tool to model the impact of
<br />modifications to various aspects of the county’s crisis response
<br />system. The system modeling took into account factors such as
<br />the number of people experiencing homelessness, the amount
<br />of resources available within each system component, and the
<br />utilization and turnover rate for each of the system components.
<br />TAC used the system modeling to refine and “right-size” our
<br />recommendations. The system modeling analysis is included in
<br />Appendix C.
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<br />May 13, 2019, Joint Work Session – Item 1
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