Homeless Action Plan - February 2021 Lesar Development Consultants tet
City of Encinitas
Homeless Action Plan
Adopted by City Council
February 24, 2021
Contents
ExecutiveSummary................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4
Purposeof the Plan................................................................................................................ 4
The Extent and Needs of Those Experiencing Homelessness in Encinitas ................................ 6
Point-In-Time Count ............................................................................................................... 6
Addressing Homelessness in Encinitas.....................................................................................10
National Efforts to Address Homelessness............................................................................10
Local Efforts to Address Homelessness ................................................................................11
Key Insights Provided Through Community Engagement Efforts...........................................12
SystemGaps.........................................................................................................................13
City of Encinitas Homeless Action Plan Goals and Action Steps...............................................15
GOAL 1: Increase the Capacity of the City and the Community to End Homelessness in
Encinitas Through the Development a Collaborative Community Driven Approach ...............15
GOAL 2: Decrease the Number of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness Through Demand
Driven, Person-Based Homeless Response and Supportive Housing Services System ........19
GOAL 3: Increase the Availability of Temporary and Permanent Housing .............................23
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................28
Appendix A Glossary of Terms
Appendix B Funding Sources Table
Appendix C Homelessness in San Diego
Appendix D Community Partner Data
Appendix E Input from Service Providers and the Community
Appendix F Summary of Responses of Those Experiencing Homelessness
Appendix G National Efforts to Address Homelessness
Appendix H State, County and Regional Efforts
Appendix I Draft North County Homeless Action Plan
Executive Summary
The City of Encinitas (City) hired LeSar Development Consultants (LDC) to develop a Homeless
Action Plan for the City. LDC is a social innovation firm that provides strategic counsel, facilitation,
and technical expertise to clients to address housing and homelessness. The need for such an
effort arose as a result of an increasing number of individuals affected by homelessness and
because of the desire of City residents to further support individuals experiencing homelessness
with a process that provides clear and concise actionable measures.
According to initial community engagement surveys, City residents passionate about the issue of
homelessness identified with either: (1) wanting to expand services and support for persons
experiencing homelessness and (2) those that are concerned that services and support could
encourage the expansion of the population of persons experiencing homelessness. The ensuing
effort sought to gather information and develop measures that offered both a compassionate
means of providing support and services, while also attempting to place individuals experiencing
homelessness with viable housing options.
LDC looked at data on people experiencing homelessness in Encinitas and accessing homeless
services in Encinitas and surrounding areas. The City and LDC provided a virtual presentation
and included an opportunity to respond to an online survey on March 20, 2020 to gather input on
the development of the Homeless Action Plan. LDC developed draft strategies that were
presented to City Council on June 24, 2020. On August 17, 2020 a virtual community workshop
was held to introduce the draft Homeless Action Plan and gather community input. City staff,
service providers, both contracted and volunteer, and persons experiencing homelessness, both
sheltered and unsheltered, were interviewed. Notable clear patterns and needs emerged from
that work. Using those patterns and needs, LDC and the City developed actionable steps that
the City and its' partners can take to improve the effectiveness of the homeless response and the
supportive housing system in Encinitas.
A Picture of Persons Experiencing Homelessness in Encinitas
• The annual homeless Point-In-Time (PIT) Count numbers have fluctuated over the last
five years. The 2020 count has the lowest total count in the previous five years with 80
total people within the boundaries of the City. The sheltered numbers have remained
relatively level with slight differences year over year because of bed utilization on the night
of the PIT. However unsheltered numbers have the most variation. This might be in part
due to changes in the methodology related to street count methodologies which have
changed in recent years.
• In the City, the Community Resource Center (CRC), the City's largest homeless services
provider, served 572 households (860 persons) experiencing homelessness in fiscal year
2018-2019. This service provider served roughly 11 times the number of people
experiencing homelessness in one year than were counted on a single night in the PIT
count.
• Of individuals and families served annually by CRC, 11 percent were 65 or older, 35
percent were disabled, and eight percent were Veterans. Additionally, over the course of
seven months, CRC served 128 people who were living in their vehicles, the majority of
which had been homeless for less than a year while 55 percent reported being homeless
for three months or less.
• From June 2020 through December 2020, 110 persons experiencing homelessness were
receiving services and resources through the Homeless Outreach Program for
Empowerment (HOPE), a joint pilot program between the City, County Sheriff's
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Department, and County Health and Human Services Agency. Of the 110 individuals, 70
percent are male, seventy five percent are white, and 50 percent are over 55 years old.
• According to data from the Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH), 15 percent of
homeless persons served in the City are Black/African Americans whereas only 0.8
percent of the population that own or lease properties in the City identify as Black/African
American. This number is consistent with regional statistics which indicate that individuals
experiencing homelessness are disproportionately represented by individuals identifying
as Black/African American when compared to the larger residential demographic.
• Although percentages vary across datasets, a good portion of those experiencing
homelessness in Encinitas are elderly, have health complications and struggle with
affording rent on fixed incomes. On the other end of the spectrum, nine percent of the
population is made up of young adults age 18-24. There are also nineteen children under
17 experiencing homelessness, however according to a state auditor report, the total
number of children is most likely an undercount.
• In 2018, the majority of people accessing shelter services in North County stated that the
zip code of their last permanent housing was in San Diego (92%), and 80 percent recorded
a zip code in North County.' This is in line with results from most communities — the
individuals experiencing homelessness are, for the most part, from the community in which
they are counted.
Needs
1. Adopt guiding principles for addressing homelessness that takes into account the
perspective of those individuals who are experiencing homelessness and the residents of
the City, who may feel unsafe or concerned.
2. Partner to provide, purchase, build, or rent housing, both interim and permanent - Over
200 people living in Encinitas (including Solana Beach and Cardiff) called 2-1-1 San Diego
in 2019 requesting housing assistance. Half were homeless and half were in unstable
housing and needed assistance. There is a shortage of temporary shelter, low income
rentals, subsidized housing, rental payment assistance and homelessness prevention
resources. Due to COVID-19, this need has increased.
3. Integration of Service Coordination — Encinitas relies on CRC, it's main contracted
provider, and a number of volunteer/faith-based service providers to provide services
locally and regionally. Moving forward, the efforts of multiple organizations need to be
synced with the region, adjacent cities and within the city to more efficiently direct available
resources.
4. Additional services —Additional services including mental health, substance use, drop in
medical and case management are critical to address recurring experiencing
homelessness.
5. Identify and collect data to make data informed decision making — Encinitas lacks a way
to comprehensively look at system performance data because the information is not stored
at one location and there is a lack of completeness in data for an accurate analysis of the
need for housing and the number/scope of unhoused residents in the community.
Goals
The three main goals of this HAP are:
Alliance for Regional Solutions,"Shelter Provided to the Homeless in North San Diego County Bridge Housing Between 07/1/2017
06/30/2018,"https://03539ace-bd97-4e86-b633-
705253e7eafc.filesusr.com/ugd/618b75 72b5053273b04e01b39a11794afeb1b9.pa
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Goal One — Increase the Capacity of the City and the Community to End Homelessness in
Encinitas Through the Development of a Collaborative Community Driven Approach
Goal Two — Decrease the Number of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness Through Demand
Driven, Person-Based Homeless Response and Supportive Housing Services System
Goal Three— Increase the Availability of Temporary and Permanent Housing
Key Items for Consideration in the First Three Years Include:
Year 1:
1. Adopt the Homeless Action Plan, which will set forth a set of principles, courses of action
to address homeless would address the issue of competing visions.
2. Seek approval for a Housing Manager, who would take the lead in the implementation of
the Homeless Action Plan. Additionally, this position would be responsible for providing
consistent participation and advocacy on the Regional Task Force on the Homeless;
integration and coordination among all City agencies, faith based organizations, economic
partners (101 s and chamber), businesses and other city groups as part of a City-based
working group; and seeking grants and regional partnerships to leverage available
resources.
3. Allocate funding through the County or City general funds to expand outreach efforts with
a social worker and/or case worker.
4. Develop community education, engagement, and resources around homelessness for the
public including residents, business owners, and individuals experiencing homelessness.
Including, updating resource page on City website through collaboration with community
service providers, trainings with 101s and chamber on topics such as Crime Prevention
Through Environmental Design, and to the public at large on current programs.
Year 2:
1. Coordination efforts in full implementation:
a. Quarterly meetings with the Regional Task Force
b. Quarterly meetings with City Homeless Working Group
2. Actively seek out grants and establish partnerships to maximize resources to:
a. Provide additional transitional and shelter bed capacity.
b. Review opportunities for response (i.e. clean up and resources) given legal
restrictions that limit options for response.
c. Regional or Intercity mental and physical health services with a preference toward
mobile services that will go to the unhoused resident.
3. Develop a central information tracking system that documents local efforts to support
unhoused residents, the need, and the numbers of individuals served.
Year 3:
1. Assess whether sufficient resources exist to provide a shelter or day facilities.
2. Evaluate opportunities and resource availability for brick and mortar service centers.
3. Distribution of resources through internet and print options. Establish information centers
at public locations (e.g. City Hall, libraries, etc.) and online that provide service guide and
maps of available services within the City and other opportunities to secure support or
assistance.
4. Explore strategies to expand the Housing Choice Voucher program.
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Introduction
Homelessness in Encinitas has become, even though it is believed that the overall numbers have
decreased, an increasingly visible and polarizing issue. While the City of Encinitas and local
homeless service providers have made investments in addressing the symptoms of
homelessness, a lack of affordable housing, remains a challenge for the community. This
challenge is reflected in the goals of the 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan adopted by the City of
Encinitas this year and in the draft 2021-2029 Housing Element currently under review. Annually,
the City allocates around $200,000 through General Fund dollars and Community Development
Block Grants. In 2020, the City received a one-time assistance of $250,000 for Homelessness
Intervention and Prevention funds from the State.
Encinitas is a beach community in the North County Coastal area of San Diego County with a
population size of a little over 60,000 people.2 About 20 percent of City residents are under the
age of 18, and approximately 18 percent are over the age of 65.
Of all households in Encinitas, 36.8 percent rent their home, with over half of renters being cost
burdened, meaning that they pay 35 percent or more of their income toward rent. The median
rent in 2019 in the City was $1,886. The annual income required to afford the median rent, without
being cost burdened, is $67,896. This is the equivalent of a $32.64 hourly wage. The poverty
rate in the City of Encinitas is 7.6 percent.3
According to the Council for Community and Economic Research, the overall cost of living in
Encinitas is 36 percent higher than the average for California, and 90 percent higher than the
national average.4 The cost of housing in Encinitas is 268 percent higher than the national
average. Neighboring cities to the North and East, while still having a much higher cost of living
than the national average, are not as high as Encinitas, Escondido is 34 percent higher than
national average, while Vista and Oceanside-are 37 percent higher than national average.
Purpose of the Plan
This HAP serves as a guiding document for the City of Encinitas to address the needs of
individuals and families experiencing homelessness in partnership with non-profit homeless
services providers, faith-based organizations, businesses, staff, residents, and other
stakeholders, to strategically respond to and address homelessness. This plan is action oriented
and includes steps to address the systemwide gaps identified through data analysis, stakeholder
engagement and alignment with best practices in reducing homelessness. This plan includes
steps, timelines, roles and responsibilities to strengthen programs and interventions, reach
common goals and provide an elevated homeless system of care.
The Action Plan focuses on:
1. Highlighting the needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Encinitas.
Describing the extent of homelessness in the City, both at a daily snap-shot perspective
and by looking at the number of people who access homeless services over the course of
a year and having a more accurate picture of total population need is a critical first step in
2 US Census Bureau,"2018:ACS 5-Year Estimates Data Profiles—Encinitas,California,"https://www.census.gov/acs/www/data/data-
tables-and-tools/data-profiles/2018/.
3 US Census Bureau,"Encinitas, CA,"https://datausa.io/profile/geo/encinitas-cai.
4 Council for Community and Economic Research, "Encinitas, CA Cost of Living," https://www.areavibes.com/encinitas-ca/cost-of-
!Lng/-
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building a comprehensive response. Equally important is empathizing with unsheltered
individuals and families in Encinitas to understand their needs, which they believe are key
to more stable housing. This information will help to shape and coordinate regional and
sub-regional efforts and partners in leveraging resources.
2. Assessing the City's current efforts to address homelessness and providing
recommendations to ensure that the City is maximizing its resources and impact within
the community. The City is currently investing City and State funds to address
homelessness. A critical step is understanding the effectiveness and impacts of current
funding strategies. Included in this is identifying gaps in current efforts and determining
the best ways to address those gaps to create a substantial impact.
3. Ensure the safety and welfare of individuals experiencing homelessness, residents and
businesses. Recommended goals and actions will strive to improve quality of life for the
community, which includes assisting those who are experiencing homelessness and
mitigating public health and public safety impacts. Improving the homeless response
through the provision of services that meet the basic needs of individuals experiencing
homelessness, provide for both physical and mental health and other services as well as
offering a stronger supportive housing system will result in long-term solutions instead of
offering short-term solutions that often result in repeated experiences of homelessness.
4. Identifying, developing and improving homeless services and partnerships regionally and
throughout all facets of the community. Homelessness is not just a problem in Encinitas.
It is a multi-jurisdictional problem because persons experiencing homelessness will often
migrate across City and County borders. Partnerships across all levels of government
could provide a greater diversity of housing solutions and maximize the efficacy of a core
service group. However, understanding the feasibility of solutions and leveraging
community resources requires the City to coordinate the efforts of faith based
organizations, community groups, and the business community.
5. Identifying a Housing Manager Who Will Be Responsible for Operational Implementation
of the HAP. Because the City is utilizing a variety of efforts to address homelessness, a
City housing expert is needed to lead a comprehensive strategy that drives critical decision
points, allocates funding, and moves forward with addressing homelessness.
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The Extent and Needs of Those Experiencing
Homelessness in Pncinitas
A tool that can be used to understand the extent of homelessness in the City of Encinitas, is the
data from the annual PIT Count. The PIT Count numbers are limiting in that they only provide a
one-night snapshot. While the region is improving the count methodology, counting people
experiencing homelessness, especially those living on the streets, beaches, parks, and vehicles
is not a perfect science. The purpose of the PIT was to provide a picture of the extent of
homelessness as a point of reference. It is not intended to provide an all-encompassing or
comprehensive depiction of those experiencing homelessness. To increase the understanding of
the extent of homelessness in the City and to also begin identifying needs, data was collected
from community partners including CRC, local school districts, Scripps Memorial Hospital
Encinitas, and 2-1-1 San Diego which is summarized below with additional information available
in Appendix D.
Ooint-In-Time Count
When looking at the City of Encinitas, there were a total of 80 people experiencing homelessness
on the night of the 2020 PIT Count. Of those, 47 experienced unsheltered homelessness and 25
individuals were living in temporary shelter. This is a reduction from the previous count in 2019 of
120 people. Most of the decrease came from a significant reduction in the unsheltered count. Of
those experiencing unsheltered homelessness in 2020, 8 people were considered chronically
homeless. This is defined as having lengthy or repeated episodes of homelessness as well as a
disabling condition; either mental illness, substance use disorder, physical health condition,
cognitive impairment, or HIV/AIDS. Additionally, the unsheltered population included 11 women,
3 of whom were US Veterans, and 2 of whom were transition-aged youth age 18-24.
Of those who were in shelter the night of the 2020 PIT Count, 25 people were staying in an
emergency shelter bed at either the CRC Domestic Violence emergency shelter program or the
Interfaith Shelter Network rotating winter shelter program at area churches. Additionally, 8 people
were staying at the CRC Domestic Violence Transitional Housing program. It should be noted
that although the CRC Domestic Violence programs operate in the City of Encinitas, they do not
service Encinitas residents to ensure the safety of the clients. Encinitas residents fleeing a
domestic violence situation access shelter programs in other parts of San Diego County. Figure
1 highlights PIT Count trends in Encinitas over the past five years and includes data on all
persons, those experiencing unsheltered homelessness, and those in temporary shelter beds. In
general, the PIT numbers have fluctuated between a low of 93 and a high of 125 over the past
five years with sheltered numbers staying relatively stable. The largest fluctuations have come
from the unsheltered count.
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Figure 1. Five Year PIT Count Trend for the City of Encinitas
140
125
120 117 120
100
-0093
80 84 86
79 80
60
54
47
40 39- 39 41
33 33
20
0
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Total Unsheltered Sheltered
Community Resource Center
CRC is a well-known local organization that has deep roots in Encinitas going back to 1979. CRC
provides a variety of assistance to low-income and homeless individuals and families in Encinitas.
Since CRC is the main homeless service provider in Encinitas, data on individuals and families
they serve can provide a good understanding of the extent of the population and the needs for
which people are seeking assistance. From July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019, CRC provided
some form of assistance to 860 unduplicated people experiencing homelessness (representing
572 total households).
CRC also provided information on a subset of the total homeless population they served that were
residing in their vehicles. From July 2019 through the end of January 2020, CRC served a total
of 128 people who were living in their vehicle at the time of accessing services. The majority of
people living in their vehicles were homeless for less than one year with over half experiencing
homelessness for three months or less. Additionally, 25 percent were employed at some level
with 11 percent being employed full-time, and ten percent were retired. Those in vehicles were
also well educated with 25 percent having a high school diploma or GED, 38 percent having some
college or vocational training, 20 percent having a two year or four-year college degree, and five
percent having a graduate degree.
Volunteer and Faith-Based Providers
Volunteer and Faith-Based organizations provide a variety of free services to persons
experiencing homelessness in Encinitas including showers, temporary shelter, and food services.
The St Andrews Episcopal Church Saturday meal program reports serving breakfast to 60-70
persons experiencing homelessness each week; the church also hosts a food pantry that strives
to meet a large demand in the community. St Andrew's is also part of the North County rotational
shelter and hosts up to 12 individuals each winter for two weeks. Fill A Belly provides free lunches
and reported serving a similar number of individuals. The food pantry at St. John Catholic Parish
provides supplemental food to about 130 households a week.
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Regional Task Force on the Homeless Data Dashboards
The RTFH Annual Performance Dashboards provided additional information on persons served
by CRC in 2019. The RTFH dashboard includes data on three CRC programs based on data
captured in HMIS. In total there were 388 people who were provided homeless services in two
"Services Only" programs and one Rapid Re-Housing program. This data from 2019 shows 217
single adults, 166 people in families, and 5 unaccompanied minors.
_ncinitas School Districts
A critical sub-population experiencing homelessness in Encinitas are school-aged children. As
noted, above, over 20% of people who received homeless assistance in a year period were
children age 5-17. According to data from the 2016/2017 school year, there were 31 homeless
students in the Encinitas Union School District. Of those, 14 were counted as doubled up, 10
were in shelter, and 7 were in hotels/motels. An additional 28 homeless students were identified
in the San Dieguito Union High School District. 6 It should be noted that the definition of
homelessness for students is slightly broader than HUD's homeless definition and includes
children who are doubled up or living with two or more unrelated households in a single unit
because of economic circumstances. Additionally, in a recent report, experts state that accurate
homeless numbers in school districts should be between 5-10% of students who are defined as
"Economically disadvantaged" or basically those who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.6
The report states that having lower percentages in districts means that homeless figures are most
likely undercounted. For example, in the Encinitas Union School District out of the total enrollment
figure of over 5,000 students in 17/18, 1,003 were defined as economically disadvantaged, and
of those only 31 students (3%) were defined as homeless. San Dieguito Union High School
District identified 2 percent of its economically disadvantaged population as homeless. Cardiff
Elementary School District reported that 19% of their student population qualifies as economically
disadvantaged but none of them are experiencing homelessness.
Homelessness also affects college students. A 2019 report on California Community Colleges
identified that 50 percent of students were food insecure in the prior 30 days, 60 percent were
housing insecure in the previous year, and 19 percent were homeless in the prior year.10
Although MiraCosta College did not participate in the study, other San Diego County colleges
such as Palomar, Miramar, Mesa, and City College did, and it should be assumed that MiraCosta
may have similar figures as other community colleges across the state.
Survey data from MiraCosta College students collected by the district in Fall 2020 indicated that
over 2,500 students reported experiencing some form of basic needs insecurity. MiraCosta
College holds that these numbers are much higher than what was actually reported in the survey
due to the sample who completed the survey, factors around self-reporting and stigma, and
survey mechanics. Furthermore, throughout the 2020 calendar year, there were over 3,350
applications for MiraCosta College emergency grants ($500 per student, per semester) and
student concerns around housing insecurity increased following the onset of the COVID-19
pandemic.
e San Diego County Homeless Students: 2016-2017, https://data.inewsource.org/interactives/san-diego-county-homeless-students-
2018/
6 Auditor of the State of California(2019) Youth Experiencing Homelessness: California's Education System for K-12 Inadequately
Identifies and Supports These Youth
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Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas
With the passage of SB 1152, hospitals across California are now required to track homeless
patients, provide certain services, and ensure appropriate discharges for anyone who identifies
as homeless while in the hospital. To meet the state law, in January 2019, Scripps Memorial
Hospital Encinitas implemented a homeless patient discharge policy and protocol and began
tracking homeless patients. During 2019, Scripps Encinitas reported that a total 473 homeless
patients were served at the hospital including in the Emergency Room. The 473 homeless
patients accounted for a total of 1,004 hospital admissions. The hospital noted that 50 percent of
the patients were repeat patients during the year. It should be noted that not all homeless patients
who were provided healthcare services at the hospital were specifically from the City of Encinitas
as the hospital serves the larger North County region including other hospitals such as Tri-City
Medical Center in Oceanside and Palomar Hospitals in Escondido and Poway.
2-1-1 San Diego Housing Assistance Requests
2-1-1 San Diego is a resource available online and by phone that helps connect individuals in
need to resources. In 2019, 205 individuals living in Encinitas and Solana Beach called 2-1-1
San Diego for housing assistance. Nearly half who called were experiencing homelessness; about
half of those individuals were sheltered and the other half unsheltered. The other half of the
callers were in housing. Of those, 44 percent resided in stable permanent housing but still
needing housing assistance, and five percent were in unstable housing. Just over a third of callers
were families, with the remaining single adults. Of those, 45 percent were age 50 or above and
21% were age 60 or above. Nearly 60 percent reported a health condition, with 49 percent
reporting a physical health condition and 39 percent reporting a mental health issue. Eighty-four
percent (84%) reported they had health insurance, primarily Medi-Cal. Lastly, 33 percent of
callers needing housing assistance were employed at the time of calling, either full-time or part-
time.
Figure 2. Most Requested Housing Need of those who Called 2-1-1 San Diego
35%
31%
30%
25% 23%
z0% 18%
15%
10% 9%
5% F1
0%
Shelter/Temporary Low Cost Housing Subsidized/Public Rent Payment
Housing Listings/Locating Housing Housing Assistance/Prevention
Figure 2 highlights the most requested housing need by categories. Shelter including emergency
shelter, motel vouchers, and transitional housing was the most requested need with low cost
housing listings and subsidized and public housing coming next. Nine percent of callers were
asking for assistance with paying rent or homeless prevention assistance to remain in their home.
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Addressing Homelessness in Encinitas
Homelessness is a national issue that cannot be effectively addressed locally without
collaboration and partnerships across governments and throughout the City and County. The City
will need to partner, collaborate, and align its goals and strategies with federal, state, and local
policies, priorities, and actions. The following section provides an overview and summarizes
national approach and current efforts in the City of Encinitas. Summary of national, state, and
regional efforts to address homelessness is provided in Appendices G and H.
National r fforts to Address Homelessness
At the national level, much of the response to homelessness over the last decade has been a
result of implementing measures contained in the 2009 Homeless Emergency Assistance and
Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. Both the HEARTH Act and the federal plan to end
homelessness promote the idea of a systemic crisis response to homelessness. This is the
community structure that ensures that those who are at-risk of or are experiencing homelessness
can quickly access housing and services that best meet their needs.
The crisis response system includes various homeless interventions on the front of the system
including homeless prevention services, street outreach, diversion, and temporary housing
programs such as emergency shelter or transitional housing (Figure 3). The system also includes
homeless interventions such as Rapid Re-Housing and Permanent Supportive Housing in
addition to other types of permanent housing such as affordable and market rate units. The
Regional Task Force on the Homeless, the Continuum of Care for San Diego, is responsible for
allocating Federal Funds and reporting to the Federal Government on our regional response.
Figure 3. Overview of a Comprehensive Homeless Crisis Response System
Homelessness
Prevention
Diversion
Emergency Rapid Market Rate
Shelter Re-Housing Housing
Temporary Affordable
Street Housing Housing
Outreach Options
Permanent
Engagement Su ppartive
locations Housing
Committed leadership,Use of Best Practices,Aligned/Leveraged Funding,Voices of Lived Experience,
Community Input,Health/Behavioral Health Services Employment Services,Partnerships
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Local Efforts to Address Homelessnes-c
There are a variety of efforts underway to address homelessness in Encinitas. Some of these
efforts are directly funded by the City and others are funded by regional partners and operate
within the City and other areas of North County. The table below provides a summary of the City's
FY 19/20 direct investments in homelessness.
Figure 4. FY 19/20 City of Encinitas Funding to Address Homelessness
Organization Description
Community Resource Prevention, housing services, and motel $13,607 CDBG
Center vouchers
Community Resource Opening Doors Program-case managers to General
Center link people to housing, landlord incentives, $118,700 Fund
and move-in support
Interfaith Community Bridge to Housing Network $20,054 CDBG
Services
Encinitas Habitat Trash and encampment removal on city- General
Stewardship Program owned property with sensitive habitat. Fund
EHSP also performs other activities such as
graffiti removal, invasive plant removal, $65,000
erosion, and fire abatement. Also funded is
a partnership program to clean-up open
space owned by private property owners.
Total $217,361
Other fforts to Address Homelessness in the City
Community Resource Center: Although the City provides funding to CRC for some programing
such as the Opening Doors Program, CRC also provides an array of services funded through
other public sources as well as private funding/donations. Services include food assistance,
counseling, benefits support, housing assistance including referrals to North County shelters,
domestic violence services, and others. As mentioned earlier, CRC also operates a HUD CoC
funded RRH project that is available to homeless households county-wide, not just homeless
individuals and families in Encinitas.
Street Outreach: In 2020, the City in partnership with the County and the Sheriff's Department
began the Homeless Outreach Program for Empowerment (HOPE). This outreach pilot in
Encinitas pairs a County social worker with law enforcement to engage people experiencing
homelessness, connect them to services, and move them towards permanent housing. From
June 2020 through December 2020, 110 individuals have received services through HOPE with
36 individuals moving into permanent housing. Based on the data provided, it averages 2.4
contacts prior to an individual accepting service assistance and 3.6 contacts before accepting
housing assistance.
Temporary Housing: There are limited interim housing opportunities in the Encinitas area.
Interfaith Shelter Network operates a 12-bed rotational winter shelter program at area churches.
CRC provides case management for this program. The winter shelter program is not a low-barrier
model due to it mostly being a volunteer run operation. In order to use the shelter, people have to
be clean and sober. This is verified by testing administered by CRC. CRC operates a domestic
violence shelter in Encinitas but because of safety reasons, it does not serve individuals
experiencing domestic violence in Encinitas. As noted earlier there is no year-round, low-barrier
emergency shelter in Encinitas. Truly low-barrier shelters programs do not require sobriety or
Page 11
participation in services or case management. Rather than barring people who test positive for
drugs or alcohol, they manage their behavior. Rather than requiring participation in case
management or services, they offer an array of services and opportunities to which clients can
avail themselves when they are ready.
Safe Parking Program: Jewish Family Services operates a 25-space safe parking program for
people living in vehicles at the Leichtag Commons funded by a state Homeless Emergency Aid
Program (HEAP) grant through RTFH. The program started in February 2020 and has served 65
households (70 adults and three children) with 32 households exiting into permanent housing or
reunified with family. Of the individuals, 45 percent are 55 years or older and half stated being
homeless less than one year.
Volunteer and Faith-Based Partners: There are a number of volunteer and faith-based groups
that provide services to Encinitas residents who are experiencing homelessness. These groups
help to meet critical daily needs by providing food, meals, showers and access to shelter. These
groups include Showers of Blessing, which provides showers and haircuts every Saturday, Fill a
Belly that provides meals, two food pantries run by St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and St. John
the Evangelist Catholic Church, Saint Vincent de Paul Society, as well as other assistance at local
churches.
Key Insights Provided Through Community Engagement
Efforts
Through a variety of engagement methods, LDC collected information on the strengths, needs,
and challenges of current programs and services to assist those experiencing homelessness in
the City of Encinitas. The information of collected from volunteer and faith-based providers,
regional and local formal system service providers, and the community at-large. In addition, 32
individuals experiencing homelessness were interviewed by LDC or responded to a survey. The
following insights were developed from the community engagement efforts.
• There is an overall lack of infrastructure to address this issue.
• City staff and resources, non-profit providers, health care, shelter and housing, etc.
• Need for a comprehensive plan and local leadership to implement.
• Overall lack of dedicated outreach services.
• Strong opinions on homelessness in the community.
• There is compassion for people in need but expressed concerns on community
impacts with unsheltered homelessness.
• Some feel that more local housing opportunities are needed, while there is vocal
community opposition to siting services or housing within the City.
• More community engagement is requested and needed.
• The service needs of some high-needs populations are not being met.
• There continue to be substance use, mental health and safety challenges.
• Need for access center/drop-in facilities that also offer basic health care; need for
resources to provide street medicine or a pop-up clinic.
• Need for more comprehensive behavioral healthcare, residential and non-
residential options, in City and region.
• Some residents experiencing homelessness report feeling criminalized when they
cannot park or stay in any area for a long time.
• Many residents experiencing homelessness reported difficulty in accessing food.
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• There is a concern with better services attracting people from out of the area.
• There is a lack of short and long-term housing options.
• The high cost of living in Encinitas makes it unaffordable for working- and
middleclass households and those on a fixed income (such as seniors).
• There is a lack of interim housing options, including for those exiting medical
settings.
• There are no year-round shelters that are easy to access for various populations.
• There are no Permanent Supportive Housing resources or Permanent Supportive
Housing unit/bed inventory that is dedicated to the City.
• Residents experiencing homelessness report lack of housing as a top barrier to
ending their homelessness.
• The community should build upon its strengths.
• There are clear opportunities to build on/expand promising programs, such as
HOPE pilot program, safe parking, and seasonal shelter.
System Gapc
System gaps were identified through community engagement and system analysis. These gaps
serve as a basis for the goals and strategies. The gaps include:
• Lack of coordinated or accepted vision of how to address homelessness in the City
of Encinitas. The coordinated and accepted plan will focus resources and measure
progress in addressing homelessness.
• Limited capacity to lead and coordinate work to address homelessness. City staff
does a commendable job of trying to manage the multiple facets of addressing
homelessness in Encinitas. However, coordinating systemic response requires more
resources.
• Lack of comprehensive data on local efforts. Some providers enter data in regional
systems, others do not track or provide data at all.
• Lack of dedicated and coordinated street outreach. Dedicated staff to engage
chronically homeless in City.
• Lack of interim/shelter housing. Shelter beds are limited within the City. CRC offers
some shelter services for households fleeing domestic violence, Interfaith Shelter Network
offers rotational winter shelter for adults, and Jewish Family Services operates a safe
parking program for homeless families living in vehicles. But the only year-round
emergency shelter serving the region is in neighboring Carlsbad.
• Need for affordable and workforce housing. The high cost of living in Encinitas makes
it difficult for working-class and even middle-class people to remain stably housed. This
can put people at-risk of homelessness even for those who are employed full-time.
• Insufficient medical respite and step-down care. For people struggling with serious
mental illness, substance use disorders, or other disabling medical conditions, medical
treatment and hospitalization can be a necessity. For those who do not need intensive in-
patient care, but do not have a safe and adequate place to continue their recovery or
manage their condition, there need to be facilities available to assist with health care
needs as well as provide the housing navigation and counseling necessary to help
individuals access stable permanent housing.
• Need for more accessible drop-in centers and walk-in clinics. There is limited street
outreach happening currently in Encinitas. Outreach workers, law enforcement, and city
staff express that there needs to be a place people can easily access services and get
information. Those working directly with people experiencing homelessness also
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expressed the need for walk-in clinics or street-based medicine that can help people with
chronic conditions manage their care (such as medication management or other light-
touch medical care).
• Need for community engagement. Planning and implementing homeless services and
programs have been a contentious process in the City and the region. Impactful and
effective solutions require support and input from all sectors of the community as well as
policy leaders and local decisionmakers.
• Need for stronger regional partnerships. As noted above, homelessness is not just a
problem in Encinitas. It is a multi-jurisdictional problem that will require partnerships across
all levels of government, locally and across the region.
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City of Encinitas Homeless Action Plan Goals
and Action Steps
Below are recommended goals and actions for the City of Encinitas to implement in conjunction
with community members, local service providers, and neighboring communities. The goals and
actions are identified to prevent and reduce homelessness to reach functional zero in the City and
improve the quality of life for all.
GOAL 1 : Increase the Capacity of the City and the
Community to End Homelessness in Encinitas Through the
Development a Collaborative Community Driven Approach
The City of Encinitas has taken a number of steps to address homelessness. However, there is
a need for a large regional and local collaborative effort to implement common vision, framework
and dedicated internal resources including staffing and data on which to base funding decisions.
Action #1: Establish a set of community driven actions and tasks to address
homelessness.
Addressing homelessness is a complex issue that requires a coordinated effort. The work to
coordinate and strengthen efforts would benefit from the City officially adopting the Homeless
Action Plan and working with local and regional partners to implement the best practices
recommended in the Plan. Having an agreed upon conceptual and practical framework for the
provision of services that are person centered, collaborative, focus on data driven decision
making and grounded in regional partnerships will help local systems to focus on improving
services and outcomes.
Tasks: • Adopt the Homeless Action Plan.
o Measurement
- Plan is adopted by the City Council.
Suggested Community . Elected leaders
Partners: . City Manager's Office and City of Encinitas Homeless
Services Lead
• Service providers
• Law Enforcement
• Business community
• Persons with lived experience
• Community members
Timeline: Early 2021
Potential Funding Source
and Eligible Recipient:
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Action #2: Establish a Housing Manager to coordinate and manage homeless
services in Encinitas.
Currently, the task of coordinating the City of Encinitas response to homelessness are duties
assigned to existing staff. The ability to respond to the issue arising from a growing number of
unhoused residents is complex, complicated and requires a focused effort to leverage partners,
resources and strategies. New State and Federal funding initiatives to address homelessness
have been announced often with short timelines, the City of Encinitas needs to be able to
quickly and appropriately respond to those challenges and opportunities. In order to effectively
address the issue of homelessness and to be able to take advantage of opportunities to partner
and gain grant funding, an FTE is needed to prioritize implementation of the HAP.
This position would coordinate services provided by City Departments such as Development
Services, Public Works and Parks and Recreation as well as work with external partners to
ensure the effective delivery of coordinated and impactful services. The position would also
work with 101 organizations and the chamber, faith based organizations and other City or
community groups. At the regional level, the position would work with RTFH, neighboring North
County cities,the County of San Diego, healthcare systems and contracted and informal service
providers. The individual would focus on the coordination among all groups to implement those
actions described in this plan.
Tasks: • Allocate funds to create a new Housing Manager position
within Development Services Department.
• Develop a staff position description and complete hiring
process.
o Measurement
- Position is established and filled.
-A workplan for this position is developed and shared
with the public.
Suggested Community City Manager's Office
Partners:
Timeline: Initiate one year
Potential Funding Source General Fund
and Eligible Recipient:
CDBG
Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas
Uses: Planning activities and administration
Action #3: Establish working group(s).
Engaging the diverse sectors of the community is important to meeting HAP related goals to
address homelessness. The City should create an internal department workgroup to align City
practices and to monitor the progress on Homeless Plan goals and action. To enhance
collaboration and engage the community, a community working group should be created that
consists of the 101 s, Chamber, businesses, homeless service providers, people with lived
experience, community members and City staff that meets quarterly to review programs and
progress. By forming this group, it will broaden the base of community sectors involved in the
discussion. The group will also develop community engagement and education around
homelessness.
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Tasks: . Create a City working group to monitor progress on
Homeless Plan goals and actions.
• Create a community working group made up of business
owners, homeless service providers, including faith-based
and volunteer groups, people with lived experience,
community members and City staff that meets quarterly to
review programs and progress.
o Measurement
- Working groups are established and have established
meeting schedules at least quarterly.
- Develop and execute multi-media and format
community engagement to educate and involve the
community.
• Review City codes that impact homeless and supportive
housing system responses to ensure that they reflect
current State and Federal laws and are aligned internally
Measurement
- City codes have been reviewed and updated as
required.
Suggested Community . Elected leaders
Partners: • City Manager's Office and City of Encinitas Homeless
Services Lead
• Service providers
• Law Enforcement
• Business community
• Persons with lived experience
• Community members
Timeline: Initiate 1 year; On-going
Potential Funding Source General Fund
and Eligible Recipient:
Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program
Eligible Recipient: CoC (City of Encinitas apply)
Uses: Systems support for regional partnerships
Actions #4 Identify, collect and utilize data to inform decisions.
The City will identify and collect homeless and/or transient related data from departments and
partners (transient camps cleaned up, number of homeless-related emergency calls) to set a
benchmark and track success of plan efforts. This will also help the City and the homeless
services system to identify sub-population needs and help guide the allocation of limited
resources based on documented need and performance.
In addition, the City of Encinitas will utilize an outcome based contracting processes for all
services contracted to address homelessness. This method of contracting will define success
based upon the number of individuals served or outcomes received.
HMIS data, national data collection system for homeless programs, is a key component to the
measurement of system effectiveness. Currently, only those programs that are funded by RTFH
funds are required to enter data in HMIS. This means that the system is not measuring outputs
and outcomes in a way that allows for cross system comparison. The City should incorporate
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that all future City contracted programs enter data into HMIS through and encourage services
providers, as appropriate, to enter for other programs. Once in HMIS, the City will be able to
access more consistent data given that the current situation requires the management and
analysis of different data sources, inputs and tracking tools.
Tasks: • Identify and collect data for homeless programs currently
funded or provided within the City.
• Adopt outcomes based contracting processes for all
services contracted to address homelessness.
• Require that all homeless service providers funded by the
City participate in the HMIS.
• Establish local standards or performance objectives for
City-funded programs and integrate into City funding
solicitations and contracting. Performance is factored into
future funding awards.
o Measurements
- All new and renewed contracts for homeless services
contain measurable outcomes identified based on
objectives of funding such as number of individuals
served or permanent housed.
- City Homeless Services Coordinator establishes local
standards and the systems by which to use those in
solicitations and contracting decisions.
• Regularly review data from HMIS, contract reports, (HUD
system performance measure data from HMIS;
performance reports by program type); City contract
reports; 2-1-1; Schools; Hospitals; and other sources as
identified.
o Measurements
- City Homeless Services Coordinator establishes
standards for regular review and reporting on HMIS
data at least annually.
- Report findings to working group(s) and/or task
forces and community.
Suggested Community • City of Encinitas Homeless Services Coordinator
Partners: • Regional Task Force on the Homeless
• Service providers
• Persons with lived experience
Timeline: Initiate one year to eighteen months as contracts are
proposed or renewed
Potential Funding Source Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program
and Eligible Recipient: Eligible Recipient: CoC (City of Encinitas apply)
Uses: Systems support for regional partnerships; up to 5%
total of CoC funds can be used for CES and HMIS
infrastructure development
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GOAL 2: Decrease the Number of Individuals Experiencing
Homelessness Through Demand Driven, Person-Based
Homeless Response and Supportive Housing Services
System
The City and homeless services providers in Encinitas have taken commendable steps to address
homelessness. However, as noted, there are still service gaps in the system. Developing more
demand driven, person-based homeless response and supportive housing services will decrease
homelessness and increase the feelings of safety for those experiencing homelessness, the
community and local businesses based upon annual/bi-annual surveys of these interested
groups. In addition to mobile outreach, brick and mortar locations provide certainty for persons
experiencing homelessness to access services so that there are reliable and known points of
entry to the service system. While the City would like to provide such "permanent" options, a
review of the feasibility of a brick and mortar location will be subject to resource availability and
will be evaluated in years 3-5 of implementation of this HAP.
Action #1: Ensure that outreach is empathetic to the condition of those
experiencing homelessness and that their basic needs are provided.
Person centered outreach led by persons with lived experience and/or specific training in
homeless and mental health services is shown by national best practices to be a key component
in creating effective system outcomes because such individuals are able to empathize with
those that are experiencing homelessness. Training is also needed for Law Enforcement who
are responsible for providing assistance to these individuals. This type of empathy-based
outreach will help to create a sense of trust and safety among individuals experiencing
homelessness as well as for the community and local businesses.
Through service providers and community groups to expand existing services including street
outreach, provide day centers or information centers and web resources to connect people
experiencing or at-risk of homelessness with critical services and information on shelter, food,
connection to benefits, basic medical care such as blood pressure testing and more. The key
to engaging homeless individuals is to meet them where they are in ways that meet their
needs. Doing so greatly increases to likelihood of positive outcomes from the engagement.
Tasks: • Create a permanent HOPE program with more outreach
workers to outreach and provide case management.
• Expand services by increasing partnerships with other
service providers throughout the region and the RTFH.
• Work with service providers and community groups to offer
day centers, information centers, web based resources
and/or create events to connect people experiencing or at-
risk of homelessness with critical services like shelter,
food, connection to benefits., and basic medical care.
• Strengthen connections with community-based services.
Work with service partners (including Faith-Based
organizations) to map available services, Eligible Recipient
and referral pathways (health, employment, outreach,
case management, etc.) across City for those
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experiencing homelessness. Develop a guide for service
referrals.
o Measurements
- City Council Approval and funding of HOPE Program.
- Document increased outreach capacity and the
addition of new HOPE Team members.
- Schedule at least one homeless connect events per
year.
- Service guide that includes volunteer and faith-based
services is developed and produced.
Suggested Community . City of Encinitas Homeless Services Lead
Partners: . Service providers
• Law Enforcement
• RTFH
• Business Community
• Person with lived experience
Timeline: Initiate Year Two; Ongoing
Potential Funding Source CDBG
and Eligible Recipient: Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas
Uses: 15% cap on public services components (e.g., health
services, homeless services)
Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program
Eligible Recipient: CoC (City of Encinitas apply)
Uses: Outreach, systems support for regional partnerships
Action #2: Enhance interim housing system capacity based on agreed upon
standards for the operation of emergency shelter that reflect national best
practices.
There is a need for more options for temporary housing for households experiencing
homelessness and a regionally coordinated effort to increase capacity. The current emergency
shelter system operates under a variety of approaches and standards. National studies have
shown that adopting a low barrier approach makes shelter more accessible to individuals
experiencing homelessness and makes it easier for them to enter the supportive services
system. To implement this action, a regional approach and partnership is needed with service
providers, the County and Regional Task Force for the Homeless.
Tasks: . Continue to participate in the efforts of the North County
Homeless Action Committee and Alliance for Regional
Solutions.
• Work with safe parking service providers, private
businesses, and neighboring cities to expand safe parking
programs to other areas in the City and region.
o Measurements
- Provide safe parking spaces to match at least 25% of
identified need provided in the PIT Count annually.
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• Review and update current emergency shelter policies and
procedures to have them reflect current national best
practices for low barrier shelters.
• Ensure that providers, both volunteer and contracted are
providing housing focused services. Consider funding
training for providers to help them further develop their
capacity of Encinitas.
o Measurements
- City Homeless Services Coordinator works with
providers at RTFH to update and adopt policies and
procedures.
- City Homeless Services Coordinator works with
RTFH to identify funding opportunities to train
providers on best practices.
Suggested Community • City of Encinitas Homeless Services Lead
Partners: • Service providers
• RTFH
• North County Cities
• Person with lived experience
Timeline: Initiate Year Two; Ongoing
Potential Funding Source CDBG
and Eligible Recipient: Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas
Uses: 15% cap on public services components (e.g., health
services, homeless services)
Permanent Local Housing Allocation
Eligible Recipient: Entitlement City of Encinitas and counties
Uses: Rental assistance, case management and supportive
services
Action #3: Enhance health care services for persons experiencing
homelessness.
Achieving safe, stable, affordable housing is particularly difficult for people with serious chronic
or acute health and behavioral health problems. Scripps Hospital and direct service providers,
both contracted and volunteer, identified a need for walk-in clinics or street-based medicine that
can help people with chronic conditions manage their care, including increasing access to
mental-health services. Providing these services will help to reduce the number of physical and
behavioral health crises that are addressed by emergency services and reduce return visits as
well as provide a safe space to go when a crisis occurs.
The City is need of additional behavioral health resources along with other health and human
services supports to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and those who
are in permanent supportive housing. The City must actively engage the County in providing
services for persons with severe mental illness, substance use disorders, and other behavioral
health resources, as these are provided by the County Health Department.
Tasks: Work with local healthcare providers and the County of
San Diego to establish a street medicine program and
Page 21
expand the availability of walk-in clinics to offer basic
medical care such as blood pressure testing and more.
• Explore partnerships with County and other providers to
expand mental health services in Encinitas.
• Work with RTFH, local healthcare and service providers to
establish medical respite or step-down care.
• Build upon discharge requirements, as defined by SB1152
in hospitals to provide supportive services.
• Connect housing navigation services to hospitals and
other medical settings.
• Leverage health care funding to sponsor respite care
and/or shelter beds for homeless patients leaving the
hospital.
o Measurement
- City of Encinitas Homeless Services Coordinator
creates a working group with Scripps, RTFH, County
of San Diego and local healthcare providers to identify
best methods to enhance services.
- Establish a walk-in clinic or street based medical
services program with local or county health
provider(s).
- Identify and partner with a respite care facility that will
accept individuals experiencing homelessness.
Suggested Community • Representatives from contracted and volunteer service
Partners: providers
• Scripps Memorial Hospital
• RTFH
• City of Encinitas Homeless Services Lead
• Health Plans
Timeline: Initiate Year Three; On-going
Potential Funding Source CDBG
and Eligible Recipient: Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas
Uses: 15% cap on public services components (e.g., health
services, homeless services)
CaIAIM
Action #4: Develop measures to address City's approach to Homelessness.
The current approach to Homelessness by the City departments and partners is often disjointed
with mixed messages to the community. The City needs to develop a cohesive message and
approach to homelessness throughout the community in partnership with the established
working groups. A better understanding of the legal limitations and requirements set by the
Federal, State, or local laws is needed and provided to the public.
Tasks: • Develop a city protocol to assist staff to serve homeless
residents at city facilities or in the community.
• Evaluate existing city ordinances: Noise, property
maintenance, open container, camping, parking, land
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use/zoning (e.g. churches — soup kitchens) that impact the
community and city response to homeless-related issues.
• Adopt a policy to address encampments.
• Develop educational materials for residents and
businesses on how to address or report homeless related
concerns
• Provide Public Works and Parks and Recreation staff
training in engagement and problem-solving approaches.
o Measurement
-Above strategies are implemented.
-Documented grassroots efforts among community
groups to advocate consistent messaging.
Suggested Community • City of Encinitas Homeless Services Lead
Partners: • Service providers
• Law Enforcement
• Public Works
• Parks and Recreation staff
• RTFH
• Person with lived experience
Timeline: Initiate Year One; On-going
Potential Funding Source General Fund
and Eligible Recipient:
Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program
Eligible Recipient: CoC (City of Encinitas apply)
Uses: Systems support for regional partnerships
CDBy
Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas
Uses: 15% cap on public services components (e.g., health
services, homeless services
GOAL 3: Increase the Availability of Temporary and
Permanent Housing
The high cost of living in Encinitas makes it difficult for working-class and even middle-class
people to remain stably housed. This can put people at-risk of homelessness even for those who
are employed full-time. Additionally, shelter beds are limited within the City. The only year-round
emergency shelter serving the region is in neighboring Carlsbad. The strategies to meet this goal
include construction, maximizing existing housing stock through shared housing strategies and
working to increase temporary shelter opportunities.
Action #1: Develop strategies to maximize existing housing stock and potential
housing resources.
Like many communities in California, land values in Encinitas are high and developable land is
in short supply. Developing strategies to maximize the use of existing housing stock through
actively supporting the ADU program and other affordable units will be an important tool in the
Page 23
effort to increase the availability of housing. There are financial incentives available that could
support increasing the availability of affordable housing.
Tasks: • Evaluate alternate housing options to address high rent
rates and limited housing inventory: Tiny homes, motel or
apartment conversion, shared housing and shelters for
women and families.
• Implement Share Housing strategies being developed by
RTFH with Bridge to Housing and other potential entities.
• Encourage the development of ADUs, JADUs and other
affordable units through incentivized financing programs.
• Create citywide landlord engagement collaborative to grow
inventory of rental housing available to those experiencing
homelessness.
• Conduct feasibility study of City-owned and church-owned
land as potential opportunities for housing development.
o Measurements
- City Council Approval of shared housing program
implementation and allocation of funds.
- Implementation of incentive program for ADUs,
JADUs and other affordable units.
- Establish a landlord engagement collaborative in
collaboration with Development Services Department—
Housing Division.
- Complete analysis of City and/or church owned
properties.
Suggested Community • RTFH
Partners: • Development Services Department
• City of Encinitas Homeless Services Coordinator
Timeline: 3-5 years
Potential Funding Source CDBG
and Eligible Recipient: Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas
Uses: Acquisition, construction, rehabilitation of emergency
shelters or rental housing (see CDBG guidance)
Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program
Eligible Recipient: CoC (City of Encinitas apply)
Uses: Landlord incentives, Rapid Re-Housing, hotel/motel
conversion
Local Early Action Planning Grant
Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas and counties Uses:
Housing planning to streamline and accelerate housing
production (e.g., ADUs/JADUs, City-owned land. rezoning)
Local Housing Trust Fund
Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas and counties current on
their Housing Element and APR; public, joint public-private,
and nonprofit entities; requires 1:1 match
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Uses: Predevelopment, acquisition, construction, or
rehabilitation of income- and rent-restricted rental housing,
including Permanent Supportive Housing
No Place Like Home
Eligible Recipient: County (Housing developers apply)
Uses: Multifamily rental housing development of five (5) or
more units
Permanent Local Housing Allocation
Eligible Recipient: Entitlement City of Encinitas and counties
Uses: Predevelopment, development, acquisition, and
rehabilitation of housing, including ADUs
Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Program
Eligible Recipient: Public agency, for-profit or non-profit
developer
Uses: Acquisition and construction or rehabilitation of
affordable multifamily rental housing, including supportive
housing units, for veterans and their families
Action #2: Partner with the City of Encinitas Housing Authority to explore
strategies to expand the use of Housing Choice Vouchers to support households
at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
Households exiting homelessness often need financial support, either on a short-term or
continuing basis, to help them remain housed. Lack of adequate income makes finding and
keeping housing very difficult. People who are homeless may be on fixed incomes that are not
high enough to cover rent in high cost markets. Therefore, they often make the choice between
paying for rent, food or medical care. The voucher program ensures that housing is affordable
by guaranteeing that housing costs are no more than 30 to 40 percent of monthly income.
Tasks: • Explore partnerships with local service providers, 101 s
and the Chamber to identify and match high costs/high
needs individuals with full or part time jobs matching
skillsets, vouchers and supportive services.
• Identify long term funding sources to increase the number
of vouchers set-aside to support households experiencing
homelessness.
• Develop a partnership with local groups, faith based
centers, and other community groups for training and job
placement.
o Measurements
- City of Encinitas Housing Authority develops a
program to implement with local service providers to
match high needs individuals with vouchers and
supportive services.
- Implementation of a job training and placement
program.
Page 25
Suggested Community • City of Encinitas Homeless Services Coordinator
Partners: • City of Encinitas Housing Authority
• Service Providers
Timeline: 3-5 years
Potential Funding Source Homeless Emergency Aid Program
and Eligible Recipient: Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas and CoCs
Uses: Emergency housing vouchers
Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program
Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas apply to CoC
Uses: Rental assistance, Rapid Re-Housing
Action #3: Develop options to expand the number of year-round shelter beds
available to individuals experiencing homelessness in Encinitas.
There are not enough shelter beds or safe parking opportunities in Encinitas or North County
to meet the needs of the existing population experiencing homelessness. Providing
opportunities for households experiencing homelessness to sleep in protected and predictable
places will help to create a safer and more stable environment for individuals experiencing
homelessness as well as for the community and local businesses.
Tasks: • Work with faith-based and volunteer providers to
determine the feasibility of opening seasonal beds on a
year-round basis.
• Identify and contract with an emergency shelter in North
County to "reserve" a limited number of beds for
unsheltered homeless individuals in Encinitas who express
interest in entering shelter.
• Assess the need for interim or emergency shelter for
specific populations, such as youth, older adults or other
sub populations.
o Measurements
- Provide access to shelter beds specifically to
Encinitas unsheltered to match at least 25% of
identified need provided in the PIT Count annually with
a goal of 100%.
- City of Encinitas Homeless Services Coordinator
develops coordinated contract of faith-based and
volunteer providers to open seasonal shelters on a
year-round basis with service providers for case
management.
- City of Encinitas Homeless Services Lead has
identified additional sites for safe parking.
- City of Encinitas Homeless Services Lead has
worked with RTFH to determine need for population
specific shelters.
Suggested Community RTFH
Partners:
Timeline: Initiate Year Two; on-going
Page 26
Potential Funding Source Uses: Acquisition, construction, rehabilitation of emergency
and Eligible Recipient: shelters
Homeless Emergency Aid Program
Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas and CoCs
Uses: Services, capital improvements, or rental subsidies; use
with HomeKey to acquire buildings/units
Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program
Eligible Recipient: CoC
Uses: Emergency shelter
Local Housing Trust Fund
Eligible Recipient: City of Encinitas and counties current on
their Housing Element and APR; public, joint public-private,
and nonprofit entities; requires 1:1 match
Uses: Predevelopment, acquisition, construction, or
rehabilitation of emergency shelters and transitional housing
Page 27
Conclusion
A common refrain in many cities that are at stage at which Encinitas finds itself is that the
individuals experiencing homelessness in the area simply do not want to or will not partake in
services. What has been shown in a number of cities across the county is that offering person
centered services helps people to find a path from their circumstances to housing. Person-
centered services are an approach to service development and service delivery that focuses on
providing services in ways that are designed in collaboration with the individual(s) receiving those
services, that are respectful of, and responsive to, the needs and values of people experiencing
homelessness. Providing person centered services takes committed resources, patience and
trained outreach personnel and case managers. As noted in the Executive Summary,the majority
of unhoused residents are typically long-term members of the community and not migrant in
nature. The goal of this HAP is to help those residents of our community that are the most
vulnerable.
The Goals, Actions Steps and Tasks suggested in this plan reflect national best practices that
have been show in a number of cities to be cost and service effective approaches to reducing
homelessness. Barbara Poppe and Stephen Metraux, national experts on homelessness, with
funding from the Arnold Foundation issued a series of briefs based on their studies of nine areas
that have made significant strides in reducing homelessness'. Some of those areas, like
Southwest Minnesota and Rockford, Illinois functionally ended chronic and veterans'
homelessness employing strategies similar to those recommended in this plan. Furthermore, the
Action Steps and Tasks have been fully vetted by City staff and offer a meaningful and achievable
set of steps that gradually build upon a community and regionally based foundation of
partnerships and collaborative efforts.
The Arnold Foundation report states "Communities experience positive results when they adopt
solution-focused strategies to resolve unsheltered homelessness by aligning law enforcement
and support systems with person-centered objectives. Nevertheless, many communities still take
punitive approaches in attempts to drive away homelessness despite evidence this is ineffective,
harmful, and expensive."$ The plan provides an aggressive but manageable approach that
provides a City point of contact that would be charged with leading a collaborative effort that would
build common understanding and collective support for actions recommended and prioritized by
the established working groups. Tracking and reporting are key for the community to understand
the approach and identify what is working, identify resources to achieve goals when available,
and create a more transparent approach to homelessness to increase trust in the community.
These measures will provide transparent, visible and available information regarding the efforts
to address homelessness in the City. Through implementation, the City will achieve a positive
impact in the community as a whole.
7 Research&Results: Nine U.S.Localities Offer Human-Centered Approaches to Unsheltered Homelessness
https://www.arnoldventures.org/stories/research-results-ni ne-u-s-localities-offer-human-centered-approaches-to-unshelte red-
homelessness
s Current Research and Practices that Address Unsheltered Homelessness
https://craftmediabucket.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/AV-homelessness-highlights.pdf
Page 28
Appendix A Glossary of Terms
2-1-1 San Diego: 2-1-1 San Diego is a resource and information hub that connects people with
community, health and disaster services. Their mission is to serve as a nexus to bring the
community (organizations) together to help people efficiently access appropriate services, and
provide vital data and trend information for proactive community planning.
At risk of homelessness: Individual or family who will imminently lose their primary nighttime
residence. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has a formal definition of this.
Please see page 42 of the Emergency Solutions Grant Program Interim Regulations for the full
definition. https://www.povinfo.pov/content/pkp/FR-2011-12-05/pdf/2011-30938.pdf
Bed Utilization: Bed utilization rates—or bed occupancy rates—represent the percentage of
beds or units that are occupied on a given night or on an average night over a period of time. The
average daily utilization rate is calculated by taking the average number of people served over a
given time period divided by the total number of beds.
Chronically Homeless: People who are chronically homeless have experienced homelessness
for at least a year — or repeatedly — while struggling with a disabling condition such as a serious
mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability. The Department of Housing and
Urban Development has a formal definition of this. Please see page 11 of the Emergency
Solutions Grant Program Interim Regulations for the full definition.
https://www.govinfo.pov/content/pkp/FR-2011-12-05/Pdf/2011-30938.pdf
Coordinated Entry System: The Coordinated Entry System (CES) is a HUD mandated activity
for all communities across the country that seeks to ensure that any individual or family who is at-
risk of homelessness or is currently experiencing homelessness has efficient access to the
homeless crisis response system. CES also ensures that the community has an agreed upon
assessment process to determine the needs of each household, that there is an approved
prioritization process for resource allocation based on need, and that there is a streamlined
process and method for referring people to those resources
Diversion or Housing Problem Solving: Diversion, also known as Housing Problem Solving
assists households to identify their strengths, support networks, and link to community resources
to find housing. It is not necessarily a program but rather an approach or technique that uses a
conversation between skilled staff members to explore options that the household may not have
been able to identify or felt comfortable enough to explore on their own.
Domestic Violence Program: Domestic Violence Programs provide shelter, assistance and
specialized resources to domestic violence survivors.
Doubled up: Doubled-up households are defined as having one or more adults in addition to the
head of household and spouse or partner, such as an adult child living at home, two related or
unrelated families residing together, or a parent living with an adult child.
Emergency Shelter: Emergency Shelter programs generally provide a low-barrier safe place for
people to stay while awaiting housing placement.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix A
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS): A Homeless Management Information
System (HMIS) is a local information technology system used to collect client-level data and data
on the provision of housing and services to homeless individuals and families and persons at risk
of homelessness
Homeless: Individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
Homeless Prevention: Homelessness Prevention programs are targeted to individuals and
families who are in their own home but who are at-risk of losing that home and who have no other
housing options and are facing homelessness. The goal of homelessness prevention is to help
the individual or family remain in their current housing or move to another permanent housing
setting while avoiding homelessness.
Housing First: Housing First is a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing
permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and
serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life.
HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) Program: The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed
to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for
efforts by nonprofit providers, and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless
individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless
individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effect utilization
of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency
among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
HUD VA Supportive Housing (VASH) Vouchers: The HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive
Housing (HUD-VASH) program combines Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance for
homeless Veterans with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA). VA provides these services for participating Veterans at VA medical centers
(VAMCs) and community-based outreach clinics.
Interim Housing: Interim housing is a housing situation where a chronically homeless person
has: applied for permanent housing, has been accepted, a unit/voucher for permanent housing
has been reserved for them, but for which there is some other situation that prevents them from
moving immediately into housing (e.g. apartment getting painted, old tenant moving out, has a
voucher but is looking for the unit, etc.).
Low Barrier: Low barrier shelters remove the most common obstacles to homeless individuals
seeking housing, like the "no pets rule", drug tests, curfews, etc. Low barrier shelters accept
individuals that high barrier shelters would reject.
Permanent Housing: Permanent housing (PH) is defined as community-based housing without
a designated length of stay in which formerly homeless individuals and families live as
independently as possible.
Permanent Supportive Housing: Permanent Supportive Housing is a permanent housing
program that provides subsidized housing either in a designated PSH unit within a single location
or in a scattered site model within the existing rental market. In addition to the housing, PSH
provides voluntary intensive wrap-around supportive services including case management,
mental health, and substance use disorder services.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix A
Point-In-Time Count: A point-in-time count is an unduplicated count on a single night of the
people in a community who are experiencing homelessness that includes both sheltered and
unsheltered populations.
Project One for All (POFA): Project One for All is an extensive effort by the County of San Diego
and its partners to provide intensive wraparound services, including mental health counseling and
housing, to homeless individuals with serious mental illness.
Rapid Rehousing: Rapid Re-Housing programs are a permanent housing program that provides
housing search assistance, time-limited rental assistance for units in the private rental market,
and wraparound case management to promote housing stability and increasing income for taking
over of the rent.
Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH): The Regional Task Force on the Homeless
(RTFH) proudly serves San Diego County by leading the charge on our communities' efforts to
end homelessness.
Safe Parking: Safe Parking Programs allow organizations and businesses to open their parking
lots to homeless individuals at night who normally sleep in their car or RV.
Supportive Services Only (SSO) programs: The supportive services only (SSO) program
component allows recipients and subrecipients to provide services to homeless individuals and
families not residing in housing operated by the recipient. Agencies that receive SSO funds may
use the funds to conduct outreach to sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons and families,
link clients with housing or other necessary services, and provide ongoing support.
Sheltered: The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines
(HUD) defines sheltered homeless persons as adults, children, and unaccompanied children
who, on the night of the count, are living in shelters for the homeless.
Street Outreach programs: Street outreach is a homeless services intervention that focuses
primarily on supporting individuals with accessing permanent or temporary housing by building
trusting relationships and ongoing rapport. The primary and ultimate goal of street outreach is to
find affordable housing for each individual, with access to voluntary wraparound services needed
to stay healthy; including employment, substance use treatment and mental health care.
Subsidized Housing: Subsidized housing is government sponsored economic assistance aimed
towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate
incomes.
Temporary Shelter: Temporary Housing is a housing situation is intended to be very short-
term or temporary (30, 60, or 90 days or less). Examples of this are bridge housing and
emergency shelter.
Transitional Housing: Transitional Housing programs provide temporary shelter with more
support services and a longer length of stay that may be up to two years. Programs are focused
on addressing barriers that individuals and families may have that could include employment,
mental health, substance use, and other barriers prior to accessing permanent housing.
Unsheltered: An unsheltered homeless person resides in a place not meant for human
habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks, or abandoned buildings.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix A
USICH Home, Together: The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is
statutorily charged with developing and regularly updating a national strategic plan to prevent and
end homelessness. Home Together is the strategic plan adopted by USICH for Fiscal Years 2018-
2022 with the goal of ending homelessness in the US.
Volunteer and Faith-Based Partners: Volunteer and Faith-Based Partners are community-
based or religious groups that offer their resources to the effort to end homelessness, including
volunteering at shelters, raising money, offering their buildings as shelter.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix A
Appendix B Funding Sources Table
Name Originating Administering Uses Amount Emergency Additional
Agency Agency Use Information
SB89(Budget BCHA RTFH, City of . Medically $1,785,116— One-time The City of San Diego
adjustment for San Diego indicated services SD County Grant and Regional Task
COVID-19 and supplies Continuum of Force have allocated
homeless . New shelters Care these funds for
response) . Supplies for $1,642,354— convention center
shelters City of San shelter operations and
Street outreach Diego outreach
Acquiring
locations for
isolation motel
Homeless BCHA RTFH
Housing,
Assistance and
Prevention
(HHAP)
Homeless BCHA RTFH Homeless Shelter $18 million for One-time Service providers
Emergency Aid and Services: San Diego Grant apply for program
Program HEAP Region funding
CESH BCHA County of San Homeless Shelter Ongoing Service providers
Diego and Services: Grant apply for program
funding
State Homeless HCD City of Homeless Prevention $250,000(FY One-time To be allocated to
Prevention Encinitas and Intervention 20/21) Grant Community Resource
(assembly 76 Center
district
Emergency HUD County of San Homeless Shelter ESG-CV Ongoing Service providers
Solutions Grant Diego and Services: $1,257,717 Entitlement apply for program
ESG Cities of Chula Grant funding
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix B
Vista and • Homeless Not
Escondido prevention rental reimbursable
assistance for committed
• Case and expended
management funds
• Outreach
• Stabilization
services
Continuum of HUD Regional Task Homeless Services: Ongoing Grant Service providers
Care Force on the • Outreach Competitive apply for program
Homeless • Case Not funding
Management reimbursable
• Rental Assistance for committed
• Administration/Da and expended
tabase funds
Management
Community HUD City of Community $356,156(FY Ongoing
Development Encinitas Development& 2020) Entitlement
Block Grant Housing: grant
• Public Services Not
• Capital reimbursable
Improvements for committed
• Land acquisition and expended
for housing funds
• Housing Additional
rehabilitation $209,000 in
CDBG-CV&
$400,000
CDBG-CV3
Affordable Developme City of Affordable Housing $1.4 million Ongoing City has previously
Housing Fund nt Impact Encinitas and Support Housing committed Reimbursable allocated Affordable
Fees Element Programs Housing Funds for
collected acquisition and
under City's rehabilitation of
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix B
Inclusionary affordable units and
Ordinance new construction.
No Place Like HCD County of San Permanent Ongoing Developers apply for
Home Diego Supportive Housing: Loans individual projects
• New Construction
• Acquisition
• Rehabilitation
Permanent Local HCD City of Affordable Housing Approx. Ongoing City must apply and
Housing Encinitas Homeless Prevention $156,000/year Grant enter into an
Allocation(SB2) agreement w/HCD for
use of funds over a
five-year period
Application deadline:
July 27,2020
Section 8 HUD Encinitas PHA Rental Assistance Approx. Ongoing Encinitas PHA also
$980,000/year Entitlement receives funds for
Grant administration from
Not HUD
reimbursable Approximately 95
for committed households assisted
and expended Waitlist is 8-10 years
funds
HOME HUD San Diego Affordable Housing: Ongoing County of San Diego
County • New Construction Grant/Loan operates three TBRA
• Acquisition Not programs for:
• Rehabilitation reimbursable 1) Emancipated
Other: for committed foster youth
• Homebuyer and expended 2) Family
assistance funds Reunification
• Tenant Based County 3) Homeless
Rental Assistance These programs
(TBRA) provide rental subsidy
assistance for up to 24
months
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix B
Acronyms
BCSH-Business and Consumer Services&Housing Agency
RTFH-Regional Task Force on the Homeless
HUD-Housing and Urban Development
PHA-Public Housing Agency
HAP-Housing Assistance Payment
TBRA-Tenant-Based Rental Assistance
RRP-Rapid-Rehousing Program
ESG-Emergency Shelter Grant
CoC-Continuum of Care
HEAP-Homeless Emergency Aid Program
CDBG-Community Development Block Grant
CESH-California Emergency Solutions and Housing
NPLH-No Place Like Home
PLHA-Permanent Local Housing Allocation
Web links for more detail on funding sources
CDBG https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/cdbq-entitlement/
Homeless Housing Assistance Program https://www.bcsh.ca.gov/hcfc/hhap program.html
Permanent Local Housing Assistance https://hcd.ca.gov/qrants-funding/active-funding/plha.shtml
HomeKey https://www.hcd.ca.gov/qrants-funding/active-funding/homekey.shtml
Local Early Action Planning Grant https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/active-funding/leap.shtml
Local Housing Trust Fund https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/active-funding/lhtf.shtml
No Place Like Home https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/sdhcd.html
Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention https://hcd.ca.gov/qrants-funding/active-funding/vhhp.shtml
Homeless Emergency Aid Program https://www.bcsh.ca.gov/hcfc/aid program.html
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix B
Appendix C Homelessness in San Diego
Homelessness in San Diego County
According the 2020 homeless Point-In-Time (PIT) Count conducted by the Regional Task Force
on the Homeless (RTFH), on a single night in January there were a total of 7,619 persons
experiencing homelessness in San Diego County.' Just over half of the County's homeless
population was experiencing unsheltered homelessness — living outside on the streets, beaches,
parks, canyons, vehicles, and other places not meant for human habitation —while the other half
of the population was considered sheltered — staying in one of the regions temporary housing
programs including emergency shelters, transitional housing, domestic violence programs, and
temporary hotel or motel vouchers. It is important to note the annual PIT Count only represents
a single snapshot on a specific night and is viewed as a minimum number of who is counted by
volunteers on the night of the count. The PIT count is also just one gauge of understanding the
extent of homelessness in the region and the City. For example, while the PIT Count represents
a single night, the most recent data from the RTFH indicated that in 2019 over 31,000 people
representing 26,906 households accessed some form of homeless assistance in 2019.
Homelessness in North County
According to the 2020 PIT Count, 15 percent of the County's homeless population resides in North
County which includes 8.3 percent (623 people) in North County Inland and 6.7 percent (502
people) in North County Coastal. Figure 1 Highlights five-year trends of PIT Counts for all persons
(sheltered and unsheltered) in North County cities while Figure 2 highlights unsheltered figures.
Based on data from the PIT Count, total homelessness across North County has been decreasing
while results of unsheltered homeless figures are mixed. It should be noted that the RTFH did
adjust their methodologies of counting during the last two PIT Counts which may have had an
impact on the numbers reported.
Regional Task Force on the Homeless 2020 WeAllCount Results
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix C
Figure 1. Five Year PIT Count Trends of North County Cities —Total Persons Experiencing
Homelessness
700
600
500
400 •••'•
300
200
100 �•
0
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Encinitas •Carlsbad Oceanside
Vista -San Marcos Escondido
Figure 2. Five Year PIT Count Trends of North County Cities —Total Unsheltered Persons
400
350 "^•..
300 —
250
200 .
150
100
50 — `•
0
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Encinitas Carlsbad Oceanside
Vista San Marcos Escondido
As mentioned earlier the PIT Count provides a one-night snapshot and is not representative of
how many people experience homelessness over the course of a year. However, it is an
important and useful number. It is important because it is the number on which the Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) measures overall system impact and on which much
State and Federal funding is based. It is useful in that it provides a good representation of the
complexities and extent of homelessness at any given time.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix C
Figure 3 below comes from the RTFH data dashboards, which identified that in 2019 5,180 people
(representing 4,365 households) accessed homeless services across North County. Figure 4
highlights which type of homeless assistance program they accessed. These numbers are
generated from information submitted by homeless service providers through the Homeless
Management Information System and represents un-duplicated individuals and households. This
annual data is a useful addition to the PIT Count data shown above. However, it does not capture
both the households that do not meet the HUD definition of homeless and those that end their
homelessness on their own during the year.
Figure 3. Number of People and Households Served in North County in 2019
Population Type People Served Households
-Served
Families 995 272
Single Adults 4,034 3,957
Unaccompanied Children 31 17
Unknown Household Type 120 119
Totals 5,180 persons 4,365 households
Figure 4. Number of People by Household Type Served in Specific Homeless Interventions
in 2019
Persons Single Unaccompanied
Intervention Type in Adults
Children
Emergency Shelter 166 652 10
Transitional Housing 12 353 0
Permanent Supportive 45 372 0
Housing
Street Outreach 67 1,087 8
Services Only 38 1,254 1
Safe Haven 0 13 0
Homeless Prevention 392 127 8
Rapid Re-Housing 275 176 4
It should be noted that there are some limitations with these figures. First is that the data only
includes programs in the cities of Encinitas, Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, and San Marcos who
enter data into the region's Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). There are
homeless services providers who do not enter data in to the HMIS system. The data does not
include the City of Carlsbad. Second, it only includes programs who have a physical address in
the area and people are only counted once, so that the numbers do not duplicate individuals who
may access multiple programs. For example, in the City of Encinitas, only CRC data is counted
since it is the only program with a physical address in Encinitas. And although people may access
multiple interventions throughout the year such as street outreach and emergency shelter, the
RTFH dashboards only count the person once based on the last program they accessed during
the year.
Although there are limitations with these figures, they can help shed some light on the extent of
the homeless population across North County, beyond just the numbers found in the annual PIT
Count. Key takeaways include the following:
• There are several thousand people who are considered homeless across North County
over the course of a year. Although the 2020 PIT Count identified a minimum of 1,125
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix C
individuals experiencing homelessness in North County, on an annual basis over 5,000
unique individuals are provided with homeless assistance.
• Majority of people experiencing homelessness and accessing services in North County
are single adults. People in unsheltered families only made up 19 percent of the total
people who accessed services. Although families were a smaller portion of the total,
families received more Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing assistance than single
adults. This could point to a potential gap in resources for single adults.
• In 2018, the majority of people accessing shelter services in North County stated that the
zip code of their last permanent housing was in San Diego (92%), and 80 percent recorded
a zip code in North County.2 This is in line with results from most communities — the
individuals experiencing homelessness are, for the most part, from the community in which
they are counted.
• The interventions most accessed were Street Outreach programs and Services Only
programs. It can be viewed as a good step that these programs are working with
individuals and families. Some of the least accessed programs were those that
permanently housed people, such as Rapid Re-Housing and Permanent Supportive
Housing or assisted people to stay housed such as Homelessness Prevention programs.
• Temporary housing programs such as emergency shelter and transitional housing also
had fairly low numbers. This is most likely because of the lack of shelter beds in the region
as compared to the need and that some shelter programs in North County do not input
their data into HMIS.
2 Alliance for Regional Solutions,"Shelter Provided to the Homeless in North San Diego County Bridge Housing Between 07/1/2017
06/30/2018," https://03539ace-bd97-4e86-b633-
705253e7eafc.filesusr.com/uqd/618b75 72b5053273b04e01b39a11794afeb1b9.pd
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix C
Appendix D Community Partner Data
Additional data from community partners can help provide a more accurate picture of individuals
and families experiencing homelessness beyond the PIT Count. The following sections include
data on individuals experiencing homelessness from CRC, volunteer and faith-based providers
RTFH Data Dashboard, local school districts, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, and 2-1-1 San
Diego.
Community Resource Center
CRC is a well-known local organization that has deep roots in Encinitas going back to 1979. CRC
provides a variety of assistance to low-income and homeless individuals and families in Encinitas.
Since CRC is the main homeless service provider in Encinitas, data on individuals and families
they serve can provide a good understanding of the extent of the population and the needs for
which people are seeking assistance. Figure 1 provides details on all homeless persons CRC
provided assistance to over the course of 12 months from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019.
In total they provided some form of assistance to 860 unduplicated people experiencing
homelessness (representing 572 total households).
Figure 1. Demographics of Homeless Persons Community Resource Center Assisted FY
18/19
70% 66%
6o%
50%
40%
33% 35%
30%
20%
11% ii%
10%o%
n [-'%] n
Male Female Age 65+ Veteran Disabled DV
Victim/Survivor
CRC also provided information on a subset of the total homeless population they served that were
residing in their vehicles. From July 2019 through the end of January 2020, CRC served a total
of 128 people who were living in their vehicle at the time of accessing services. Figure 2 highlights
the length of time individuals were living in their vehicles. The majority of people living in their
vehicles were homeless for less than one year with over half experiencing homelessness for three
months or less. Additionally, 25 percent were employed at some level with 11 percent being
employed full-time, and ten percent were retired. Those in vehicles were also well educated with
25 percent having a high school diploma or GED, 38 percent having some college or vocational
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix D
training, 20 percent having a two year or four-year college degree, and five percent having a
graduate degree.
Figure 2. Length of Time Homeless for Those Living in Vehicles
45%
41%
40%
35%
30% 28%
25%
20%
17%
15% 14%
10%
5%
0%
30 Days or Less 1-3 Months 4-12 Months 1 Year or Longer
Volunteer and Faith-Based Providers
Volunteer and Faith-Based organizations provide a variety of free services to persons
experiencing homelessness in Encinitas including showers, temporary shelter, and food services.
The St Andrews Episcopal Church Saturday meal program reports serving breakfast to 60-70
persons experiencing homelessness each week; the church also hosts a food pantry that strives
to meet a large demand in the community. St Andrew's is also part of the North County rotational
shelter and hosts up to 12 individuals each winter for two weeks. Fill A Belly provides free lunches
and reported serving a similar number of individuals. The food pantry at St. John Catholic Parish
provides supplemental food to about 130 households a week.
Regional Task Force on the Homeless Data Dashboards
The RTFH Annual Performance Dashboards provided additional information on persons served
by CRC in 2019. The RTFH dashboard includes data on three CRC programs based on data
captured in HMIS. In total there were 388 people who were provided homeless services in two
"Services Only" programs and one Rapid Re-Housing program. Figure 3 encompasses this data
from 2019 showing 217 single adults, 166 people in families, and 5 unaccompanied minors.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix D
Figure 3. Age of Persons Provided with Services in Three CRC Programs in 2019
16% 15%
14% 14%
14% 13%
12% 11%
10% 9% 9%
8%
8%
6%
6%
4%
2%
0%
0 to 5 5 to 12 13 to 17 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 61 62+
Additionally, the RTFH data dashboards provided information on the race and ethnicity of those
who accessed services. A majority of the population was white (74 percent), however 15 percent
identified as Black/African American. This is much higher than the percentage of Black/African
Americans in the general population in the City of Encinitas. This indicates racial disparities in
the homeless population in Encinitas that follow national trends. RTFH data also shows that 36
percent of those who accessed homeless services identified as Hispanic/Latino.
Encinitas School Districts
A critical sub-population experiencing homelessness in Encinitas are school-aged children. As
noted, above, over 20% of people who received homeless assistance in a year period were
children age 5-17. According to data from the 2016/2017 school year, there were 31 homeless
students in the Encinitas Union School District. Of those, 14 were counted as doubled up, 10
were in shelter, and 7 were in hotels/motels. An additional 28 homeless students were identified
in the San Dieguito Union High School District. a It should be noted that the definition of
homelessness for students is slightly broader than HUD's homeless definition and includes
children who are doubled up or living with two or more unrelated households in a single unit
because of economic circumstances. Additionally, in a recent report, experts state that accurate
homeless numbers in school districts should be between 5-10% of students who are defined as
"Economically disadvantaged" or basically those who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.4
Figure 4 displays the percentages of homeless students among each district's economically
disadvantaged student population.
3 San Diego County Homeless Students: 2016-2017, https:Hdata.inewsource.orq/interactives/san-diego-county-homeless-students-
4 Auditor of the State of California(2019)Youth Experiencing Homelessness: California's Education System for K-12 Inadequately
Identifies and Supports These Youth
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix D
Figure 4. The Proportion of Homeless Students Among Economically Disadvantaged
Population Per District in 17/18 School Year
16%
14% 14%
14%
12% 11%
10%
8% 7%
6% 5% —
4% 3%
n z
2% %I I n n n n
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.`°� $ a Q-°� k` °� k`°a k`�a � a okra
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The report states that having lower percentages in districts means that homeless figures are most
likely undercounted. For example, in the Encinitas Union School District out of the total enrollment
figure of over 5,000 students in 17/18, 1,003 were defined as economically disadvantaged, and
of those only 31 students (3%) were defined as homeless. San Dieguito Union High School
District identified 2 percent of its economically disadvantaged population as homeless. Cardiff
Elementary School District reported that 19% of their student population qualifies as economically
disadvantaged but none of them are experiencing homelessness.
Homelessness also affects college students. A 2019 report on California Community Colleges
identified that 50 percent of students were food insecure in the prior 30 days, 60 percent were
housing insecure in the previous year, and 19 percent were homeless in the prior year.5 Although
Mira Costa College did not participate in the study, other San Diego County colleges such as
Palomar, Miramar, Mesa, and City College did, and it should be assumed that Mira Costa may
have similar figures as other community colleges across the state.
Survey data from MiraCosta College students collected by the district in Fall 2020 indicated that
over 2,500 students reported experiencing some form of basic needs insecurity. MiraCosta
College holds that these numbers are much higher than what was actually reported in the survey
due to the sample who completed the survey, factors around self-reporting and stigma, and
survey mechanics. Furthermore, throughout the 2020 calendar year, there were over 3,350
applications for MiraCosta College emergency grants ($500 per student, per semester) and
student concerns around housing insecurity increased following the onset of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas
With the passage of SIB 1152, hospitals across California are now required to track homeless
patients, provide certain services, and ensure appropriate discharges for anyone who identifies
as homeless while in the hospital. To meet the state law, in January 2019, Scripps Memorial
5 The Hope Center(2019)California Community Colleges#RealCollege Survey
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix D
Hospital Encinitas implemented a homeless patient discharge policy and protocol and began
tracking homeless patients. During 2019, Scripps Encinitas reported that a total 473 homeless
patients were served at the hospital including in the Emergency Room. The 473 homeless
patients accounted for a total of 1,004 hospital admissions. The hospital noted that 50 percent of
the patients were repeat patients during the year. It should be noted that not all homeless patients
who were provided healthcare services at the hospital were specifically from the City of Encinitas
as the hospital serves the larger North County region including other hospitals such as Tri-City
Medical Center in Oceanside and Palomar Hospitals in Escondido and Poway.
2-1-1 San Diego Housing Assistance Requests
2-1-1 San Diego is a resource available online and by phone that helps connect individuals in
need to resources. In 2019, 205 individuals living in Encinitas and Solana Beach called 2-1-1
San Diego for housing assistance. Nearly half who called were experiencing homelessness; about
half of those individuals were sheltered and the other half unsheltered. The other half of the
callers were in housing. Of those, 44 percent resided in stable permanent housing but still
needing housing assistance, and five percent were in unstable housing. Just over a third of callers
were families, with the remaining single adults. Of those, 45 percent were age 50 or above and
21% were age 60 or above. Nearly 60 percent reported a health condition, with 49 percent
reporting a physical health condition and 39 percent reporting a mental health issue. Eighty-four
percent (84%) reported they had health insurance, primarily Medi-Cal. Lastly, 33 percent of
callers needing housing assistance were employed at the time of calling, either full-time or part-
time.
Figure 5. Most Requested Housing Need of those who Called 2-1-1 San Diego
35%
31%
30%
25% 23%
z0% 18%
15%
10% 9%
5%
0%
Shelter/Temporary Low Cost Housing Subsidized/Public Rent Payment
Housing Listings/Locating Housing Housing Assistance/Prevention
Figure 5 highlights the most requested housing need by categories. Shelter including emergency
shelter, motel vouchers, and transitional housing was the most requested need with low cost
housing listings and subsidized and public housing coming next. Nine percent of callers were
asking for assistance with paying rent or homeless prevention assistance to remain in their home.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix D
Appendix E Input from Service Providers and the
Community
Through a variety of engagement methods, LDC collected information on the strengths, needs,
and challenges of current programs and services to assist those experiencing homelessness in
the City of Encinitas. The information of collected from volunteer and faith-based providers,
regional and local formal system service providers, and the community at-large.
Volunteer and Faith-Based Providers
LDC and City staff held a focus group meeting with many of the volunteer and faith-based
providers on July 23, 2020. The purpose of that meeting was to gain insights from these providers
on system successes, challenges and needs. City staff sent a survey to 29 people representing
10 organizations. Staff received responses from six groups. The respondents identified the
following as system strengths, needs and challenges.
What's Working
Safe parking, programming provided by CRC in particular the domestic violence shelter, the
volunteer/faith-based efforts, the food pantries, the LGBTQ Youth Center, legal support from the
community law clinic partners with Saint Leo's Mission Church and the political will shown by the
City Council to take on these difficult issues.
Most Critical Needs
More shelter and showers, system coordination, affordable housing, more local supportive
services and resources, public education about homelessness.
Challenges
Cost of housing, public perception, lack of services, development costs and timeframes
One thing the City could do in the short or long-term
Coordinate services locally and regionally, invest in affordable housing, use vacant motels/bldgs.
for housing and services, open more safe parking, community outreach/education.
Formal System Providers
LDC staff interviewed the following homeless system providers to better understand their
perceptions of the City's strengths and challenges.
1. Tamera Kohler, Executive Director, Regional Task Force on the Homeless
2. Susan Bower, Administrator— Health and Homelessness, County of San Diego HHSA
3. John Van Cleef, Executive Director, Community Resource Center
4. Greg Anglea, Executive Director, Interfaith Community Services
5. Marylynn McCorkle, Alliance for Regional Solutions
6. Scripps Health —Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas
7. Carney Christenson, VP, 2-1-1 San Diego
8. Amy Denhart, Director, Funders Together to End Homelessness
9. Miranda Chavez, Community Resource Center
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix E
10. Dep. Kenneth Wells, San Diego County Sheriff's Department
11. City of Encinitas leadership and staff
The common themes that emerged from that reflect those from the volunteer groups. The
respondents highlighted the need for more coordination, more services, more community
engagement and education and the need for more interim housing options. Respondents also
expressed admiration for the City Council's willingness to engage productively around the issue.
Community Input
LDC staff initially planned on holding an in-person community meeting to gather input, more than
200 registered for that meeting. Due to COVID-19, the meeting was canceled. In its stead, LDC
posted a presentation online that included a link to a survey. We received 131 responses to the
survey.
The responses painted a picture of a polarized and frustrated community that has both
compassion for people who are suffering and concerns with community impacts by individuals
experiencing homelessness. Several respondents expressed concern about safety, drug and
alcohol use and the need for mental health services. Many also expressed concern about
programs in Encinitas attracting people experiencing homelessness from other areas.
Other comments reflected many of the same themes from the above two groups. People
expressed a desire to see more infrastructure and services to address homelessness including
healthcare, housing and public and non-profit staffing. There was also a clear theme expressing
a need for more community engagement and the implementation of a comprehensive plan.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix E
Appendix F Summary of Responses of Those
Experiencing Homelessness
The following summarizes input from 32 individuals experiencing homelessness on their
involvement with and desires for homeless programs in Encinitas. Eight of these individuals were
interviewed by LeSar staff over the phone and 24 individuals completed paper surveys
administered by a social worker at encampment sites. The information collected includes basic
demographics, desired homeless oriented programs, perception of how the City of Encinitas
currently addresses homelessness, as well as what the city could do to improve.
Respondent Profile
Most respondents (83.9%) were single adults, 9.7 percent were partnered, and 6.5 percent were
adults who had children with them. About one-fifth of individuals were veterans (18.8%). Among
all surveyed individuals, the time duration of homelessness ranged from two months to 25 years,
with a median homeless duration of 4 years. Most individuals (62.5%) have been homeless
between 2 and 10 years.
Sleeping Location
Most individuals reported sleeping in one regular location (84.4%), while 12.5 percent had two
primary sleeping locations, and 3.1 percent had three locations. The most common sleeping
location was outside with no tent (50.0%), followed by staying in the tent encampments (31.3%),
and thirdly, in their car (18.8%). None of the individuals reported staying in the Safe Parking Lot
when explicitly asked. The percentages of responses add up to more than 100% since
respondents could report more than one sleeping location.
Top 3 Desired Programs
Before being asked about any of the City of Encinitas' current homeless efforts, respondents were
asked to list their top three most desired homeless programs. The vast majority (75.0%) of
individuals listed housing in their top 3, followed by showers (34.4%), then medical assistance, a
category including both affordable medications and clinic visits (31.3%). It is important to note,
these surveys were collected in June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A few regular meal
and shower programs were shut down at the time of interviews due to CDC guidance and
volunteer organizations' safety concerns. This could explain the pronounced support for shower
services. The "Other" category included resources that less than six percent of respondents
mentioned. Some "Other' services included education (GED support), hotel vouchers, childcare
services, and physical disability assistance.
An Improved Response
When asked how the city could improve their homelessness response, respondents generally
reflected their original sentiments for desired programs. A majority of respondents (60%) voiced
affordable, secure housing, followed by 28 percent recommending food programs, and 24 percent
of participants wanting both medical care and some form of community center or shelter.
Lastly, respondents were asked what the most important aspect the city should include in future
homeless programs, 76 percent of respondents listed permanent affordable housing as the most
desired program, making permanent housing the majority response for all questions related to
wanted programs, ways the city could do a better job, and ultimate solutions. After housing, the
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix F
distant second most important issue (20.0%) was neighborhood affordability and addressing the
cost of living of the area. The third was food, and fourth is worth discussion: reframing the
perception of homelessness. Three respondents wrote in sentiments asking the city to treat
homeless individuals humanely and with kindness rather than as a problem.
Figure 1. Most Important Programs in Which to Invest
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40%
30%
20%
20% 16% 16%
12% 12%
10 8% 8%
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Overall, existing short-term efforts were praised, including meal programs, previously available
showers, as well as the City of Encinitas' emergency temporary hotel sheltering during San Diego
County's Stay-At-Home orders. However, homeless individuals are overwhelmingly in favor of the
City providing long-term solutions to homelessness. Respondents overwhelmingly identified
housing as the most important program in which the City should invest.
The individuals interviewed expressed greater need to increase the city's efforts to address
homelessness. Over two-thirds of respondents (68.7%) reported the City doing either a "bad" or
"terrible"job to address homelessness. Over 20 percent said the city was doing an "OK"job, while
nine percent said "good" or"great."
When asked to qualify their perceptions, the most common reasons for negative views included:
Not enough or any assistance from the city (75.0%), the inability to afford a place to live (28.1%),
followed by unfavorable interactions with law enforcement expected to tackle homeless issues
(18.8%). Regarding law enforcement, participants stated the city should not use police to assist
the homeless due to "police harassment" and history of arrests for non-criminal activity. Others
stated that non-law enforcement entities such as social workers, would be better for the delivery
of supportive services.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix F
Appendix G National Efforts to Address
Homelessness
At the national level, much of the response to homelessness over the last decade has been a
result of implementing measures contained in the 2009 Homeless Emergency Assistance and
Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. The HEARTH act radically changed the way the
country would move forward with addressing homelessness. The focus shifted to quickly providing
permanent housing first and then providing the right amount of support to meet each individual
and families' needs to sustain housing. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness
(NAEH), Housing First is defined as:
"A homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people
experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform
from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. This approach
is guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live
before attending to anything less critical, such as getting a job, budgeting properly, or
attending to substance use issues. Additionally, Housing First is based on the theory that
client choice is valuable in housing selection and supportive service participation, and that
exercising that choice is likely to make a client more successful in remaining housed and
improving their life."6
This change in approach has shaped policy decisions, funding, and resource allocation for
homeless assistance programs across the country to focus on prevention, Rapid Re-Housing,
and Permanent Supportive Housing. The HEARTH Act expanded the definition of homelessness,
streamlined funding and administrative processes, and placed a greater emphasis on
performance, not only the performance of individual programs, but also the performance for an
entire community's system. It also placed a more significant role and responsibility on
Continuum's of Care (CoC's), which are HUD geographic jurisdictions responsible for organizing
and coordinating the systemic response to homelessness. As part of the HEARTH Act, the CoC
Interim Rule provided specific details on the role of CoC, including having a representative
leadership board, organizing homeless PIT Counts, applying for HUD CoC funding, operating a
Homeless Management Information System, creating a Coordinated Entry System, and
promoting best practices and policies.
The HEARTH Act also promoted the creation of a federal strategy to end homelessness and
enhanced the role of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), a body
that coordinates the federal response to homelessness across 19 federal agencies and works
with governors, mayors, CoC's, and other elected officials. In 2018, the USICH released Home
Together, an updated federal plan to prevent and end homelessness that builds on the initial plan
from 2015, Opening Doors. Within the current federal plan to end homelessness, the following
goals are called out for communities to use as a framework and set ambitious targets
'National Alliance to End Homelessness,"Housing First,"https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-
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'United States Interagency Council on Homelessness(2018)Home Together:The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End
Homelessness
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix G
• To end homelessness among Veterans
• To end chronic homelessness among people with disabilities
• To end homelessness among families and children
• To end homelessness among unaccompanied youth
• To end homelessness among all other individuals
Within Home Together, the USICH defines what will be needed to end homelessness and what it
will look like:
"To end homelessness, every community needs to be able to implement a systemic
response that ensures homelessness is prevented whenever possible or, if it can't be
prevented, it is a rare, brief, and one-time experience. And that systemic response must
endure for the long term."
The plan includes several objectives and actions to achieve the outlined goals as well as key
areas of increased focus for the country to realize an end to homelessness which include the
following:
• Increasing Affordable Housing Opportunities
• Strengthening Prevention and Diversion Practices
• Creating Solutions for Unsheltered Homelessness
• Tailoring Strategies for Rural Communities
• Helping People Who Exit Homelessness Find Employment Success
• Learning from the Expertise of People with Lived Experience
Both the HEARTH Act and the federal plan to end homelessness promote the idea of a systemic
crisis response to homelessness. This is the community structure that ensures that those who
are at-risk of or are experiencing homelessness can quickly access housing and services that
best meet their needs. All communities must have a holistic and systematic response that has the
commitment of all leaders, stakeholders, and programs. Specifically, the system should:
1. Quickly identify and engage people at risk of and experiencing homelessness.
2. Intervene to prevent the loss of housing and divert people from entering the homeless
services system.
3. Provide immediate access to shelter and crisis services, without barriers to entry, while
permanent, stable housing and appropriate supports are secured.
4. When homelessness does occur, quickly connect people to housing assistance and
services, tailored to their unique needs and strengths, to help them achieve and maintain
stable housing.14
The image below provides an overview of the components of a homeless crisis response system.
The system includes various homeless interventions on the front of the system including
homeless prevention services, street outreach, diversion, and temporary housing programs such
as emergency shelter or transitional housing. The system also includes homeless interventions
such as Rapid Re-Housing and Permanent Supportive Housing in addition to other types of
permanent housing such as affordable and market rate units. An integral part of a region's crisis
response system is the Coordinated Entry process that ensures that individuals and families are
assessed based on needs and provided with the right intervention to meet those needs.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
Components of a Homeless Crisis Response System
The following includes descriptions of the various core components of a homeless crisis response
system. It should be noted that the City of Encinitas does not need to have all of these
components within the city limits as Encinitas because as part of the broader San Diego County
homeless crisis response system, the City only needs to ensure that its' efforts are connected
and contribute to the broader system to ensure that all core components are available to
individuals experiencing homelessness within City limits.
Homelessness Prevention
Homelessness Prevention programs are targeted to individuals and families who are in their own
home but who are at-risk of losing that home and who have no other housing options and are
facing homelessness. Services include housing stabilization services, relocation assistance, and
as needed financial assistance such as payment of rent or utility arrears or short to medium-term
rental assistance. The goal of homelessness prevention is to help the individual or family remain
in their current housing or move to another permanent housing setting while avoiding
homelessness.
Street Outreach (From the RTFH Street Outreach Standards)
Street outreach is a professional homeless services intervention that focuses primarily on
supporting individuals with accessing permanent or temporary housing by building trusting
relationships and ongoing rapport. Street outreach seeks to engage individuals living unsheltered
in a culturally competent and trauma informed manner, provide links to mainstream services, and
uses diversion and problem-solving techniques to connect people with safe housing options
whenever possible. The primary and ultimate goal of street outreach is to find affordable housing
for each individual, with access to voluntary wraparound services needed to stay healthy;
including employment, substance use treatment and mental health care. While this is ideally
accomplished quickly, outreach often requires time and multiple interactions with individuals
experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Outreach efforts should therefore not be one-time
engagements. Rather, each interaction should be an opportunity for outreach staff to
progressively build a relationship and help people work toward making a connection to housing
and services. Key to the success of outreach and engagement efforts is regular follow-up and
building trust with individuals through regular interactions, including learning about the individuals'
current social network and supports.$
Diversion or Housing Problem Solving
Diversion, also known as Housing Problem Solving assists households to identify their strengths,
support networks, and link to community resources to find housing. It is not necessarily a program
but rather an approach or technique that uses a conversation between skilled staff members to
explore options that the household may not have been able to identify or felt comfortable enough
to explore on their own. This may include moving back in with family or friends, a roommate
setting, or other permanent or temporary accommodations.
Coordinated Entry System
The Coordinated Entry System (CES) is a HUD mandated activity for all communities across the
country that seeks to ensure that any individual or family who is at-risk of homelessness or is
currently experiencing homelessness has efficient access to the homeless crisis response
system. CES also ensures that the community has an agreed upon assessment process to
determine the needs of each household, that there is an approved prioritization process for
8 Regional Task Force on the Homeless (2020) Street Outreach Standards for San Diego City and County
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
resource allocation based on need, and that there is a streamlined process and method for
referring people to those resources. HUD has published federal guidelines for communities
regarding planning, implementing and operating a CES.
Emergency Shelter
Emergency Shelter programs generally provide a low-barrier safe place for people to stay while
awaiting housing placement, however not all shelter programs operate with a low-barrier
approach, some require sobriety and/or other participation requirements. Programs should be
focused on assisting a household with accessing permanent housing and include some support
services such as assisting with connections to health and behavioral health services, linkages to
mainstream services, employment assistance, and others. Programs also include safe
environments for persons fleeing domestic violence situations.
Transitional Housing
Transitional Housing programs provide temporary shelter with more support services and a longer
length of stay that may be up to two years. Programs are focused on addressing barriers that
individuals and families may have that could include employment, mental health, substance use,
and other barriers prior to accessing permanent housing. Generally Transitional Housing
programs have higher barrier to entries and more stringent program rules such as sobriety
requirements and treatment adherence.
Rapid Re-Housing
Rapid Re-Housing programs are a permanent housing program that provides housing search
assistance, time-limited rental assistance for units in the private rental market, and wraparound
case management to promote housing stability and increasing income for taking over of the rent.
RRH is targeted to mid-level acuity households who will be self-sufficient in time and most likely
be employed.
Permanent Supportive Housing
Permanent Supportive Housing is a permanent housing program that provides subsidized
housing either in a designated PSH unit within a single location or in a scattered site model within
the existing rental market. In addition to the housing, PSH provides voluntary intensive wrap-
around supportive services including case management, mental health, and substance use
disorder services. PSH is targeted to those most in need, with significant challenges, who are
disabled and have lengthy homeless histories.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
Appendix H State, County and Regional Efforts
State of California
In recent years the State of California has stepped up its efforts in addressing both affordable
housing and homelessness both in policy and more importantly with providing funding to
communities. The state has distributed unprecedented levels of funding to address
homelessness through various programs such as the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP),
the California Emergency Solutions Housing (CESH) program, No Place Like Home, and new
sources such as Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) and the Permanent Local
Housing Allocation (PLHA), Project HomeKey and additional CDBG allocations. Most of these
programs are administered by either the Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) or the California Business Consumer Services and Housing Agency which includes the
states homeless coordinating council. The funding from the state provides for an array of eligible
activities such as homelessness prevention, street outreach, shelter, rental assistance and other
housing related expenses, RRH, and PSH.
Most of the new state funding is being allocated to Counties, Continuums of Care (CoC's), or
large cities and as such, the City of Encinitas is not a direct recipient of for most sources of state
funding. This does not mean that state resources to address homelessness will not be used in
Encinitas, it just means that the City will not receive a direct allocation, and will rather have to
work with regional partners such as the County of San Diego and the RTFH, which is the lead
organization for the San Diego CoC , to coordinate funding, ensure that appropriate services are
provided in the City, and that there is equitable regional distribution of resources.
One key factor for all state funding for homelessness is that housing and services must use a
Housing First approach. In 2016 the Governor signed into law SB 1380 which among other things,
requires the use of Housing First for all state funding directed at homelessness.9 Within the law,
Housing First is defined in the following way:
• Tenant screening and selection practices that promote accepting applicants regardless of
their sobriety or use of substances, completion of treatment, or participation in services.
• Applicants are not rejected on the basis of poor credit or financial history, poor or lack of
rental history, criminal convictions unrelated to tenancy, or behaviors that indicate a lack
of"housing readiness."
• Acceptance of referrals directly from shelters, street outreach, drop-in centers, and other
parts of crisis response systems frequented by vulnerable people experiencing
homelessness.
• Supportive services that emphasize engagement and problem solving over therapeutic
goals and service plans that are highly tenant-driven without predetermined goals.
• Participation in services or program compliance is not a condition of permanent housing
tenancy.
• Tenants have a lease and all the rights and responsibilities of tenancy, as outlined in
California's Civil, Health and Safety, and Government codes.
• The use of alcohol or drugs in and of itself, without other lease violations, is not a reason
for eviction.
• In communities with coordinated assessment and entry systems, incentives for funding
promote tenant selection plans for supportive housing that prioritize eligible tenants based
s Senate Bill No. 1380 -ittps://Ieclinfo.leclislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtmI?bill id=201520160SB1380
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
on criteria other than "first-come-first-serve," including, but not limited to, the duration or
chronicity of homelessness, vulnerability to early mortality, or high utilization of crisis
services.
• Prioritization may include triage tools, developed through local data, to identify high-cost,
high-need homeless residents.
• Case managers and service coordinators who are trained in and actively employ
evidence-based practices for client engagement, including, but not limited to, motivational
interviewing and client-centered counseling.
• Services are informed by a harm-reduction philosophy that recognizes drug and alcohol
use and addiction as a part of tenants' lives, where tenants are engaged in nonjudgmental
communication regarding drug and alcohol use, and where tenants are offered education
regarding how to avoid risky behaviors and engage in safer practices, as well as
connected to evidence-based treatment if the tenant so chooses.
• The project and specific apartment may include special physical features that
accommodate disabilities, reduce harm, and promote health and community and
independence among tenants
Lastly, another critical State effort that will significantly shape how homelessness is addressed
and funded is being led by the Department of Healthcare Service (DHCS). Under the Affordable
Care Act (ACA), California expanded Medicaid coverage to make nearly every individual
experiencing homelessness eligible for health insurance through Medi-Cal. Over the last few
years, DHCS has been rolling out efforts to address the needs of Medi-Cal beneficiaries especially
those with chronic health conditions including behavioral health issues, those experiencing
homelessness, and those who are costly to the healthcare system. Efforts such as Health Homes
and the five-year Whole Person Care Pilots have set the stage for the state to implement
California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CaIAIM) specifically the portions on enhanced
care management. CaIAIM was to be implemented in 2021, however given the current economic
climate, implementation has been delayed to 2022. The proposal includes funding for services
that may include housing navigation, housing tenancy supports, housing deposits, post hospital
supports, and others. Individuals experiencing homelessness are one of the key target
populations of the initiative.
The City will not be a direct recipient of these funds. Rather health insurance providers will
contract with community-based organizations such as community clinics and homeless services
agencies to provide the services. The City of Encinitas should work to stay informed about this
effort so that the City can help inform how the services will be provided.
San Diego County
In San Diego County, the Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH) serves as lead for the
San Diego Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) and is responsible for overall regional
coordination and leadership to address homelessness in San Diego County. In this role, the
RTFH is mandated by HUD to perform the following activities:
• Conduct Point-In-Time Count
• Serve as collaborative applicant to HUD for annual CoC funding
• Implement and oversee the Coordinated Entry System
• Administer and operate a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
• Convene a governing board representative of various stakeholders and perspectives in
the region
• Promote best practices and ensure adopted standards for providing homeless assistance
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
• Monitor System and Program performance
In addition to the HUD mandated activities shown above, the RTFH is increasingly asserting itself
as a regional leader. The RTFH board is chaired by San Diego City Councilmember Chris Ward
and Co-Chaired by County Board of Supervisor Nathan Fletcher with other board members
including government agencies such as the County Health and Human Services Agency, VA, law
enforcement, businesses, faith-based organizations, education, homeless services providers,
and individuals with lived experience in homelessness. With this leadership, the RTFH is also
promoting regional policy for addressing homelessness. For example, the RTFH Board has
recently adopted a regional policy on addressing unsheltered homelessness that created a shared
vision and approach for addressing unsheltered homelessness, improving and coordinating street
outreach efforts and coordinating encampment responses and clearance with support framework.
The RTFH also liaisons with local governments such as the City of Encinitas and convenes a
quarterly Intergovernmental Committee on homelessness in which the City of Encinitas
participates. This committee is composed of local elected officials and other government
agencies from all the cities in the County to discuss regional efforts for addressing homelessness.
Lastly, the RTFH has increasingly become a direct funder of homeless services. In 2018, the
RTFH was the recipient of a HUD Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) grant
for nearly $8 million to address homelessness among youth age 18-24. These grant funds were
distributed to the RTFH who then competitively allocated funds to local homeless services
providers to serve youth experiencing homelessness. Additionally, many of the new funding
streams from the State of California to address homelessness are going directly to CoC's such
as the RTFH. Funding sources such as the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) and
newer sources such as the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program are
provided to the RTFH for regional disbursement.
Another key regional partner is the County of San Diego, primarily the Health and Human Services
Agency. Since the City of Encinitas is its own Public Housing Authority, the County is not
responsible for housing in Encinitas but is responsible for providing social and behavioral health
services including mental health and substance use disorder services. The County Sheriff's
Department also provides law enforcement services for the City of Encinitas. Sheriff Department
personnel are often on the front lines when addressing individuals experiencing homelessness,
especially those living outside.
North County Sub-Regional
There are several active sub-regional efforts in North County. The Alliance for Regional Solutions
(ARS) has been a longtime convener and coordinator of North County efforts to address
homelessness. The City of Encinitas is among eight city partners with ARS and local non-profit
Community Resource Center is also an active partner. The ARS convenes the Bridge to Housing
Committee that has the purpose of:
The Alliance for Regional Solutions Bridge to Housing Committee is a collaborative of providers
who offer short-term housing solutions, case management and services directed at navigating
North County's homeless men, women, and families towards permanent housing and self-
sufficiency. The Alliance Bridge to Housing Committee strengthens the pathway to permanent
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
housing for all participants by bringing together over 45 professionals every month that work with
our North County homeless population. 10
Another important sub-regional effort that has recently formed is the North County Homeless
Action Committee. The group is composed of Cities (including Encinitas), other government
agencies, homeless services providers, and other key stakeholders. The group recently drafted
a North County Homeless Action Plan that in addition to having goals and action steps requests
that the County increase funding and service interventions in the North County with the goal of
reducing unsheltered homelessness. The three high level goals are:
Goal #1: Reduce Unsheltered Street Homelessness 50% by January 2022 - The 2019
Point in Time Count identified 964 unsheltered persons in North County. The goal is to
reduce to 482 by the January 2022 Point In Time Count.
Goal #2: Increase Short-Term Housing Options Needed for People Experiencing
Homelessness Today - Currently only 144 year-round shelter beds in North County,
coordinated by the Alliance for Regional Solutions and funded collectively by all North
County cities.
Goal #3: Increase Long-Term Housing Options to End Homelessness for People
Experiencing Homelessness or Who Are in Shelter Today - Individual cities to support
creation of entry-level and affordable housing.
The plan, which is shown as Attachment B to this document, continues with a three-point plan to
reduce unsheltered homelessness in the North County. Those points, which are further expanded
on in the attached plan are:
• Create additional short-term housing. The Plan envisions achieving this by increasing
funding for shelter beds and by purchasing and converting blighted motels.
• Increase entry-level and affordable housing. The suggested strategy for achieving this is
to purchase and convert blighted motels and to make use of decreased regulations and
increased funding coming as a result of COVID-19.
• Increase service opportunities for persons experiencing chronic homelessness.
Neighboring City Homeless Plans
Along with sub-regional efforts across North County, some cities in the region have developed
their own city-specific homeless plans. The cities of Carlsbad, Oceanside, and Vista have all
recently approved plans to address homelessness within their city limits. Goals and strategies in
these neighboring city plans include:
• Preventing homelessness through dedicated homeless prevention programming and
resources
• Increasing street outreach resources and ensuring that street outreach social workers are
coordinating with law enforcement
• Having dedicated staff who can interact with individuals and families experiencing
homelessness and assist with "navigating" them towards temporary and permanent
housing
• Ensuring regular cleanup of encampments and improving the quality of life for all residents
and businesses
0 Alliance for Regional Solutions Bridge to Housing Committee https://www.regionalsolutions.net/bridge-housing-network
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
• Increasing emergency shelter with year-round low barrier programming
• Increasing the supply of affordable housing
• Coordinating with regional partners, homeless services providers, and other key
stakeholders
• Ensuring regular and ongoing communication with the community on the issue of
homelessness
The City of Oceanside adopted their Homeless Response Plan in June 2019. The plan
"...serves as a report on the current status of homelessness in the City, its impact on efforts
underway, and provides a framework for integrated and coordinated approaches to help the
homeless situation"." The plan reflects actions taken by the City of Carlsbad that include
many of the national best practices listed above. As shown on the graphs on page six, the
Point in Time Count for the City of Oceanside was 531 in 2017 when the plan was adopted.
Two years after implementation, the 2019 Point in Time count data shows 395 persons
experiencing homelessness. This dramatic reduction in the population of persons
experiencing homelessness can likely be attributed to the coordinated implementation of the
evidence-based practices among service
providers, the City and local law enforcement.
The City of Carlsbad adopted their plan in October 217 — "The Homeless Response Plan
establishes key principles and system responses that the city will employ to address the
community impacts of homelessness. The plan identifies the role of the City of Carlsbad in
addressing homelessness and defines its function as distinct from other tiers of government and
community partnerships. The plan provides strategies aimed at: 1. Preventing, reducing and
managing homelessness in Carlsbad; 2. Supporting and building capacity within the city and
community to address homelessness; 3. Encouraging collaboration within the city, community
partnerships and residents. 4. Retaining, protecting and increasing the supply of housing".12
These strategies are also reflective of national best practices. The Point in Time count for
Carlsbad was 160 in 2017, it increased to 201 in 2018 and dropped to 161 in 2019. An indication
of the role that adoption of a coordinated strategy has had on the reduction in persons
experiencing homelessness are the statistics published by the Homeless Outreach Team in a
2019 report. That report shows that the team made contact with 78 individuals and helped place
27 of them in some sort of housing or treatment. 13
The City of Vista adopted their plan in January 2020 —"The draft Strategic Plan utilizes a three-
pronged approach, blending together services, resources, and
enforcement to address the following primary goals identified by the City Council:
1. Prevent Homelessness
2. Improve Quality of Life
3. Reduce Homelessness"14
11 City of Oceanside Homeless Response Plan
https://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BIobID=46319
12 City of Carlsbad Homeless Response Plan
https://www.carlsbadca.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BIobID=39128
13City of Carlsbad HOT Updated Website Stats
https://www.carlsbadca.qov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BIobID=39456
14 City of Vista Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness https://www.cityofvista.com/city-services/city-
departments/housing/homeless-strategic-plan
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
As will be seen later in this report, the City of Vista plan acknowledges that the lack of easily
accessible Day Use Center means that the population of individuals experiencing unsheltered
homelessness have no place to go which leads to loitering in public spaces. The plan contains
strategies to improve the quality of life in Vista that include recognizing the need for more day use
resources and increase trauma informed outreach. The City of Vista's plan has not been place
for sufficient time in order to be able to gauge the impact of the plans' strategies. However, it is
worth noting, as shown on the graphs on page 6, that the City of Vista Point in Time Count
reached a high of 529 in 2017, for 2019, that figure was 296.
Resources in North County
Some of the key focuses of the North County sub-regional efforts and city homeless plans are to
increase resources. As the diagram of an ideal homeless system shown in figure 12 above
details, to address homelessness the system needs places for people to go such as emergency
shelter or transitional housing. More importantly the system needs a supply of permanent places
to live. Across North County, both of these situations are in short supply. The following tables
provide a summary of the various temporary housing interventions available in North County
according the 2019 RTFH Housing Inventory Count (HIC).
Emergency Shelter
The following table provides an overview of the array of emergency shelter programs operating
in North County. Many of the shelter programs would be considered high barrier. In order to
access services, clients must adhere to strict rules including, service participation, and sobriety.
Additionally, some programs are seasonal or are night-time only as well as only serve a specific
population such as Veterans, those fleeing domestic violence, or youth. Regionally there is a lack
of year-round, low-barrier shelter, for the region's largest homeless population —single adult men
and women. The shelters in Carlsbad (La Posada de Guadalupe) and in Escondido (Haven
House) are the only ones offering this type of best practice emergency shelter.
Figure 1. North County Emergency Shelter Programs
Organization Name Program
•Bread of Life ARS North County 50 Oceanside Single adults
Catholic Charities La Posada de 60 Carlsbad Single men
Guadalupe
Community Resource Libre Domestic Violence 24 Encinitas Persons
Center shelter fleeing
domestic
violence
Interfaith Community Haven House 49 Escondido Single adults
Services
Interfaith Community Recuperative Care for 16 Escondido Veterans
Services Veterans
Interfaith Community Recuperative Care 12 Escondido Single adults
Services
Interfaith Shelter North Coastal Seasonal 12 North Single adults
Network Shelter Coastal
communities
Interfaith Shelter North Inland Seasonal 12 North Inland Single adults
Network Shelter Communities and families
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
Mental Health Systems Safe Haven 12 Escondido Single Adults
with Mental
Illness
Operation Hope AIRS North County 45 Vista Families with
Children
YMCA Transition Aged Youth 4 Oceanside Youth age 18-
24
Transitional Housing
The following table shows the transitional housing programs that operate throughout North
County. Similar to the emergency shelter programs above the majority would be considered high-
barrier programs and are dedicated to serving specific sub-populations.
Figure 2. North County Transitional Housing Programs
Organization Name Program
•City of Oceanside Women's Resource 63 Oceanside Single Women
Center
Community Resource Domestic Violence 15 Encinitas Persons fleeing
Center Transitional Housing domestic
violence
Interfaith Community NA 12 Escondido
Services
Interfaith Community Joint TH and RRH 16 Escondido
Services Program
Interfaith Community Oceanside Veteran Grant 22 Oceanside Veterans
Services Per Diem
Interfaith Community Tikkun 6 Oceanside
Services
Interfaith Community Veterans Transitional 42 Oceanside Veterans
Services
North County Solutions NA 143 Vista Families with
for Change Children
YMCA Youth Housing 6 Oceanside Youth age 18-
24
YMCA THP+ 16 Oceanside Youth age 18-
24
YMCA TAY Housing 7 Oceanside Youth age 18-
24
Permanent Housing Programs
Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) are both forms of supported
permanent housing. RRH helps homeless households obtain housing and provides some level of
rent support and case management for up to two years. PSH provides robust on-going support,
both financial and case management, for high needs homeless households. There is also a lack
of these resources in North County, unlike temporary housing/shelter programs that tend to serve
those in close vicinity to the program, permanent housing programs including RRH and PSH are
intended to serve homeless individuals and families across San Diego County. It is also very
important to understand that most of the RRH and PSH programs are filled through the
Coordinated Entry System (CES) managed by the RTFH. This system is used to match
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
households needs and eligibility to available resources. Some of the PSH programs still maintain
their own waiting lists.
In North County there are only a few RRH programs. Most of the RRH programs in San Diego
are to be used to serve and house people county-wide. However, logistically that becomes
challenging. For example, one of the RRH programs in North County is operated by CRC with
funding from the RTFH managed HUD CoC program. This funding is meant to serve clients
throughout San Diego County. Although CRC operates in Encinitas, their RRH program serves
individuals county-wide. CRC works closely with the RTFH to connect individuals and families in
North County with their RRH program. It should be noted that even when CRC does serve
individuals and families in Encinitas with RRH, CRC indicated that they rarely are able to place
people in housing in the City of Encinitas because of housing costs. The majority of the RRH
programs operate from programs in the City of San Diego which again may make it challenging
to serve households in Encinitas and other North County cities.
The majority of the resources for PSH are housing vouchers for homeless Veterans known as
HUD VA Supportive Housing (VASH) and the County's Project One for All (POFA). These
housing vouchers are managed by the Public Housing Authorities (PHA's), specifically the County
of San Diego Housing and Community Development Services (HCDS) and the City of Oceanside.
Because the City of Encinitas has its' own PHA, homeless residents in Encinitas may have
difficulty qualifying for PSH programs administered by other PHAs. Other entities operating PSH
programs in North County include Community Housing Works, Interfaith Community Services,
and Veterans Village of San Diego. There are currently no PSH housing sites in the City of
Encinitas and very few PSH buildings in North County in general.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix H
Appendix I DRAFT North County Homeless
Action Plan
Elected Leaders from Escondido, San Marcos, Vista, Oceanside,
Carlsbad, and Encinitas adopted the following goals in December
2019:
1) Reduce Unsheltered Street Homelessness 50% by January 2022
2019 Point-In-Time-Count: 964 unsheltered persons in North County
Goal: Reduce to 482 by January 2022 Point-In-Time-Count
2) Increase Short-Term Housing Options Needed for People Experiencing
Homelessness Today
Currently only 144 year-round shelter beds in North County, coordinated by
the Alliance for Regional Solutions and funded collectively by all North
County cities
3) Increase Long-Term Housing Options to End Homelessness for People
Experiencing Homelessness or Who Are in Shelter Today
Individual cities to support creation of entry-level and affordable housing
January 2020 Point-In-Time-Count Reveals 18% Decrease in
Unsheltered Homelessness, along with Emergency Shelter &
Transitional Housing Beds in Each City (Distribution to Shelter
Network Also Noted):
Homeless: Homeless: FY20 Funding to
Homeless: Emergency Transitional Alliance for
Unsheltered Shelter Housing Regional
Solutions Shelter
Network
Poway 15 0 0 $20,835
Escondido 264 102 52 $85,821
San Marcos 8 0 0 $125,000
Vista 51 49 0 $26,000
Oceanside 242 35 131 $56,000
Carlsbad 94 53 0 $47,000
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix I
Encinitas 47 25 8 $20,054
County 71 0 0 $173,612
(Unincorporated)
Totals: 792 264 191 $554,322
Supporting Emergency Shelters, Transitional Housing, and
Working Hard to Access Very Limited Affordable Permanent
Housing, Is a Diverse and Growing Network of Supportive
Services:
City-based, County- County-Funded Federally Qualified
Person-Centered Funded Drug Mental Health Health Centers
Homeless Medi-Cal Services and Providing Medical
Outreach Substance Permanent Care and Behavioral
Teams Use Disorder Supportive Health Services for
Combining Law Treatment Housing for Mild-Moderate
Enforcement & Programs Severe Mental Mental Illness
Social Workers Illness
Poway Yes
Escondido Yes Yes Yes Yes
San Marcos Yes Yes
Vista Yes Yes Yes
Oceanside Yes Yes Yes Yes
Carlsbad Yes Yes
Encinitas Yes Yes
County Yes Yes
(Unincorporated)
So, What's Missing? Three Critically Needed Resources:
1) Additional short-term housing for adults and youth/young adults (Emergency
Shelter, Transitional Housing)
2) Entry-level and affordable permanent housing
3) Accessible resources and more effective interventions for chronically homeless,
including youth and young adults (YYA), individuals with Severe Mental Illness,
including Day Center Services, Case Management and Supportive Services, and
expanded Conservatorship program through the office of County Counsel for those
who are gravely ill
Three-Point Plan to Reduce Unsheltered Homelessness in North
County
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix I
1) Create Additional Short-Term Housing
a. Increase City & County funding for existing shelter network
i. Vista City Council has approved an additional $200,000 funding
ii. Carlsbad Council recently approved additional $54,848 for shelter
via funds available in response to COVID-19
iii. Even with those additions FY21 Shelter Network projected expenses
of -r$2,000,000 only off-set by -r$750,000 in local government
support, most of which is pass-through federal funding
iv. If we want to help people turn their lives around through proven-
effective North County shelters, we must invest in the operations of
those shelters. We must also invest in early intervention services and
housing for youth and young adults (YYA).
b. Create new shelter and short-term accommodations / transitional housing
through blighted motel conversions
i. Cities / County could purchase and own, or work with non-profit
community partners to secure State, Federal, and Philanthropic
funds to purchase distressed properties
ii. Advocate for county approved Housing Our Youth (HOY) Pilot to be
regionally distributed.
2) Increase Entry-Level and Affordable Housing
a. Purchase and convert blighted motels
i. Work with non-profit community providers to secure and operate
high-quality, entry-level housing with case management and
supportive services for all adult, youth, and young-adult residents
b. Identify additional opportunities to expedite and develop affordable housing
amidst COVID-19 recovery
i. Additional properties will be available, one-time and special COVID
recovery funds have been received (with more coming), and there
may be loosening of certain regulatory barriers
3) Accessible resources and more effective interventions for chronically
homeless with Severe Mental Illness, including Day Center Services, Case
Management and Supportive Services, and Conservatorship for those who
are gravely ill
a. Fund more social workers to address case management needs for persons
experiencing homelessness and struggling to access housing and
programs
b. Identify multiple North County Day Center locations where people can
safely access and be connected with resources. Build capacity at existing
youth drop-in centers in Oceanside, Vista and Escondido.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix I
i. Identify if any existing shelters or service locations can provide Day
Center services, through space repurposing and additional staff
support
ii. Identify new sites
iii. Oceanside, Escondido, and Vista all identified plans to pursue
additional Day Center services in their city-specific submissions
c. Work with County of San Diego, Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers
(Neighborhood Healthcare, Vista Community Clinic, North County Health
Services), Medi-Cal Reform (CalAIM), and Homeless Service Providers to
increase the number of person-centered case managers and social workers
who can help people in need to access and benefit from resources that will
end their homelessness and support long-term success
d. Select examples are already in-place, but an additional 10-20 person-
centered social workers (not working just for one program or agency) will
make a dramatic impact housing very hard-to-serve individual
e. Increase proven effective SOAR program, which secures Federal disability
benefits (SSI, SSDI) for homeless individuals who are unable to work
i. North County pilot program currently funded by State CA and
Regional Taskforce on the Homeless is working, but at capacity
f. Strengthen opportunities for conservatorship for individuals with multiple
disabling conditions who are unable to end their own homelessness,
manage their own health, and are a great risk to themselves or others
Conclusion & Next Steps
Each of the six North County cities comprising the North County Homeless Action
Committee is committed to reducing homelessness. In February 2020 (pre-COVID-19)
each city identified detailed steps they are taking to meet each of the three adopted goals
of this working group. See: "City-Specific Action Items for North County Homeless Action
Committee". This updated Action Plan for all of North County has been created and
approved by elected leaders from each North County City.
The Cities of Escondido, San Marcos, Vista, Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Encinitas
request the County support this plan by completing the following in Fiscal Year
2021:
1 . Increase County funding for existing North County shelter network by
at least $500,000 FY21, which combined with other city additions still will
cover just 50% of the shelter operating costs, but will help ensure critically
important and currently sited shelter beds continue to operate in North
County, with set asides of 8 -10% for youth and young adults.
2. Create new shelter and short-term accommodations / transitional housing
through blighted motel conversions adults, youth, and young adults
a. Master-lease at least three hotels in North County to provide at
least 150 rooms for short-term housing, acknowledging the need
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix I
for non-congregate shelter amidst COVID-19 and using funding
specifically available for COVID response
3. Purchase and convert blighted motels to provide needed long-term
housing
a. Either purchase additional motels outright or support lease-to-own
deals on motels currently being used for homeless shelter and set
aside 8 - 10% for youth and young-adults
4. Identify additional opportunities to expedite and develop affordable housing
amidst COVID-19 recovery
a. Implement specific plan to utilize County-owned properties
which can overcome land use challenges at the individual city level
5. Fund more social workers to address case management needs
a. Contract with North County community-based providers to
provide at least 10 Full Time Equivalent mental health social
workers to work with individuals who are homeless with Severe
Mental Illness, including an 8-10% set aside for youth and young-
adults
6. Expand conservatorship program through Office of County Counsel
can help individuals who are unable to help themselves
7. Work with North County City leaders to identify and fund Day Center
Services and build capacity of existing youth drop-in centers in Oceanside,
Vista, and Escondido.
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix I
DRAFT Homeless Action Plan Appendix I