HomeMy WebLinkAbout010625 - Correspondence for CoC 6L i C_
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January6, 2025
Members of the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners;
I hear loud and clear the concerns of the community and the Board regarding the
management of the CoC.I have been in the thick of it since my hire in June. In reality I started
in May, meeting with the Housing Department one by one with the understanding that we
could not serve our community or hope to repair partnerships without a functioningteam. I
stepped into a department that not only lost its Executive Director and was losing its Director
but had also lost its Youth Services Manager,Grant Manager,and Operations Manager all in
the same year.
The team was traumatized, burnt out,with one foot out the door.They needed cohesion and
they needed training. Our walk-in hours were hardly equitable. Processes were
cumbersome. Partners who were not familiar with me were suspicious and critical.
Positive changes take time.Without knowledgeable middle management in place and with
a lack of trust from most partners, it takes longer. We immediately increased our hours and
lined up training thatwas offered to partnering providers. We met with stakeholders and set
priorities based on all those conversations. As you know, new policies and systems do not
write themselves.
I was asked at the Housing Fund Board Meeting what we would stand to lose. I think this
community and the county ought to know what they would lose without us at the helm.
I have not just successfully built a Coordinated Entry, I have successfully managed a CoC.
In my first week in my role as Director of Coordinated Entry for Serenity House, the
department was audited by Commerce due to a mistake by the previous director. Serenity
House as a result had to return tens of thousands of dollars in funds.The followingyear we
gave back only $300 and that was due to a rule that Commerce had changed mid project
term. The communication and technical assistance then was not what it is now. Back then
we begged for training.
I pioneered Co-response outreach on the Olympic Peninsula in 2015, work that is now
modeled by the REAL and LEAD Teams and many others. As Serenity House Operations
Director, in my first month,I stepped in personally to the emergency shelter and rebuilt that.
With Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic (OPCC), I built Intensive Case Management
serving individuals experiencing homelessness with comorbid conditions. My manual has
been shared across the state. This manual and the trainings that I developed are being
utilized at North Olympic Health Care Network to inform best practices as they build their
case management program as well as informing a new transitional housing provider in
Clallam County.
This is a fraction of what we bring to this county.
The changes you seek and we implementing take time. Change must be cadenced and
startegic so that it is sustainable.We have retained a majorityof the housing staff.That is no
small feat and only accomplished with the understand that one cannot ramrod change.
Data improvement is a top priority. Prior to any of this we scheduled time after the PIT Count
to dig in.We understand the importance of accurate data. It is what we use to build effective
programs and grade our work at the very least.
To partnerships, Bayside, as a subgrantee was awarded over $300,000 of CHG funds.They
spent out the initial award of$176,459 in FY 23-24.The remaining$142,811.00 awarded to
spend out eviction prevention funds Bayside could not spend. I am working with them on
support relevant to their scope. To this day we speak with Bayside weekly to provide
guidance and training and to communicate as partners.
You only need to look at the work we are doing for the Point in Time Count to see our
commitment to partnering and accurate data:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/s0ig46smevp5lmaiu9ic0/AJZCXNZcx0UXhbDXk2XBO9E?
rlkey=9jwfpag05ub3zw1 b41 a87ludq&st=5ixfgrx0&dl=0
If we appeared ill-prepared to answer questions, most of the information requested of us
was compiled in a very short period time during the holidays with questions that were asked
up to the day before, answers we spent time compiling up to 10 minutes prior to both of our
interviews with Amanda. Much of our responses were not reflected nor represented in the
presentation to the Housing Fund Board.
We wish someone had asked,'With the funding you have,what is possible?'`What are your
challenges?"And allowed meto a nswerwithout bearing the burden of bias that belongs with
my predecessors. Instead, we are most often asked, 'Why aren't you doing this?' And the
answers deemed insufficient by people who are well-educated, well-meaning but do not
have experience running a CoC and managing CHG funds.
To compare spending and subgrantee contracts from the previous grant term to this is akin
to comparing apples to oranges. Grant term 2021 - 2023 saw an infusion of COVID relief
funds upwards of 2.5 million dollars. These funds had less administrative requirements
making it easier to spend on direct services, to increase staffing levels, and fund
subgrantees. Thosefunds are no longer available,inflation impacted all projects, as did the
continued reduction of document recording fees. Since then, rents have skyrocketed, what
rentals are left in the county. And moving an older recipient of social security who makes a
maximum of$900 a month into a$1800 unit just to spend the money is unsustainableand a
cruel set up.
I do not see another agency poised to take on managing Eviction Prevention and Rapid
Rehousing which is the bulk of the CHG Direct Service funds. In fact, Bayside gave back
nearly$150,000 because they did not have the capacity to spend them.
While outreach is not required, CHG guidelines note it is an eligible intervention, it is
encouraged to ensure connection to street outreach teams in the community.Why would I
duplicate the work that is already being done by the REAL Team, LEAD and by Jefferson
Public Health? I have answered that question.We have relationships with street outreach
groups, I have an employee that attends every LEAD Operational Work Group meeting and
we all, myself included, perform outreach in other capacities to meet the needs our
community and reduce the barriers of our most vulnerable with plans to augment existing
efforts and expand without unnecessary redundancies. This information did not appear in
the powerpoint nor was reflected in the conversation.
Capacity has to be sustained with operations funding,this includes office space, phones,
internet and yes, salaries. If you reduce our funding you reduce our capacity. It takes
talented compassionate people to do such human work.And it would be sadistic to put our
employees in the type of housing crisis they work so hard to resolve every day.The spending
you want to see reflected will diminish.
I trust the Board wilitake into account the best interests of the whole of Jefferson County as
they make their decision.
Thank you for your time.
Viola Ware