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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Comment from Holly Morgan on 011325 Holly .44 Oy/Ai tot&t i r C. 64yytpw'r Q C( 'JI3I2� Good morning, my name is Holly Morgan. I am the ED(OIyCAP). I am here today to offer some points to ponder for the board re: the potential move of the Consolidated Homeless Grant(CHG) from OlyCAP to Jefferson Co. I urge the Board to proceed with intention and caution on this matter. Should the County assume leadership over CHG, this will further weaken OlyCAP at a critical time when we are getting back on our feet after a very difficult few years. This decision will make OlyCAP's future uncertain —but that is not the only potential consequence. Our community cannot afford to have a hiccup in this vital service provision. A change of this magnitude should only occur when a great deal of thought and planning has gone into how the change will be implemented. I want to voice my concern that Jefferson Co is considering making a change that will have a massive impact on Housing Support county-wide and I suggest that you could not strategically weigh the impact of this and intentionally plan for how you might execute this change in a decision period of less than one month. With respect, it is not responsible action to make this transition without deep strategic reflection and community input in the planning. I understand that the county has suggested that they take lead and contract back to OlyCAP. Please hear me, as of Oct 31 OlyCAP has supplemented CHG with over$30k in unrestricted funding—this contract requires gap funding because it does not cover ail the costs of running the program. Without the 10%administrative allowance that is provided by the contract to cover costs for required expenses such as HR and payroll, OlyCAP services at current levels will not be possible. I cannot make any commitment today that OlyCAP will be able to continue to provide housing services, and while we have several high quality and deeply committed partners in the housing services community, none are currently prepared to take this on —have you approached any of these providers? Do you have any solid idea of what the county will do should they opt to run this program?With respect, it is not responsible to remove this existing vital resource from the community without a well thought-out plan to replace it. I'm not here today to defend OlyCAP—rather, I am here to defend the vulnerable unhoused individuals trying to live their lives in Jefferson Co. We need to work together to improve our current initiatives to address the homelessness crisis -notfurther divide us. The BOCC can help bring our community together to solve real problems or it can further weaken the housing safety net. The decision is ultimately yours. Please do the right thing for the community and not act out of frustration over things that happened under previous leadership. We are not the same OlyCAP.