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Santa Cruz Grand Jury Report Details Increasing Need for Emergency Homeless Shelters
The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury has released a new report titled: "Recipe for Failure: Shrinking Budgets and Increasing Needs for Emergency Homeless Shelters." The report recommends that, "facilities, funding and staffing of all emergency shelters in the city of Santa Cruz be reassessed to adequately meet the acute needs of the persistently high homeless population. Additional case managers are needed to facilitate the transition of homeless individuals out of shelters. More grant writers are needed to access untapped funding opportunities." The report also includes in its appendix a history of emergency shelters in Santa Cruz as well as a variety of other statistics on homelessness in Santa Cruz, and a section about local deaths of homeless people. In 1989 the Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury examined the Homeless Services Center, which has recently lost a drastic amount of its funding, and remarked that “this is one of the most cost effective programs in the state."
The Grand Jury issued the following findings, recommendations, and commendations:
Findings
F1 . Local jurisdictions have not provided adequate emergency shelter to accommodate the vast majority (80%) of the more than 3,500 total homeless persons in Santa Cruz County (using 2013 PIT data).
F2. Despite persistent unmet need, local jurisdictions have neither increased nor planned to increase the number of emergency shelter beds and services.
F3. The effectiveness of the North County Emergency Winter Shelter is limited by its reliance on the National Guard Armory facility.
F4. The absence of a backup plan to replace the National Guard Armory threatens the continuing existence of the North County Emergency Winter Shelter program.
F5. Insufficient capacity of emergency shelters limits their potential use as an entry point to the planned coordinated entry system.
F6. Insufficient numbers of personnel and case managers at the emergency shelters limit the services that can be provided to homeless individuals.
F7. Insufficient number of staff dedicated to grant writing results in missed grant funding opportunities.
Recommendations
R1. Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley should develop plans to provide increased emergency shelter on a priority basis to the most vulnerable populations first, including families, youth, women, and the elderly. (F1F6)
R2. Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley should seek a more permanent, accessible and expandable site for the North County Emergency Winter Shelter program. (F3, F4)
R3. Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley should allocate more funds for additional case managers for the local emergency shelters. (F6)
R4. Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley should allocate additional staff to seek more grant funding for emergency shelters. (F7)
Commendations
C1. The Grand Jury commends Santa Cruz County, the Homeless Action Partnership, local jurisdictions, and nonprofit organizations for their collaborative efforts to implement evidence based programs and solutions, including the coordinated entry system, to relieve homelessness.
C2. The Grand Jury commends local jurisdictions and nonprofit organizations for their ongoing collaborative efforts to fund and operate local emergency shelters.
More information:
http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/grandjury
Findings
F1 . Local jurisdictions have not provided adequate emergency shelter to accommodate the vast majority (80%) of the more than 3,500 total homeless persons in Santa Cruz County (using 2013 PIT data).
F2. Despite persistent unmet need, local jurisdictions have neither increased nor planned to increase the number of emergency shelter beds and services.
F3. The effectiveness of the North County Emergency Winter Shelter is limited by its reliance on the National Guard Armory facility.
F4. The absence of a backup plan to replace the National Guard Armory threatens the continuing existence of the North County Emergency Winter Shelter program.
F5. Insufficient capacity of emergency shelters limits their potential use as an entry point to the planned coordinated entry system.
F6. Insufficient numbers of personnel and case managers at the emergency shelters limit the services that can be provided to homeless individuals.
F7. Insufficient number of staff dedicated to grant writing results in missed grant funding opportunities.
Recommendations
R1. Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley should develop plans to provide increased emergency shelter on a priority basis to the most vulnerable populations first, including families, youth, women, and the elderly. (F1F6)
R2. Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley should seek a more permanent, accessible and expandable site for the North County Emergency Winter Shelter program. (F3, F4)
R3. Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley should allocate more funds for additional case managers for the local emergency shelters. (F6)
R4. Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley should allocate additional staff to seek more grant funding for emergency shelters. (F7)
Commendations
C1. The Grand Jury commends Santa Cruz County, the Homeless Action Partnership, local jurisdictions, and nonprofit organizations for their collaborative efforts to implement evidence based programs and solutions, including the coordinated entry system, to relieve homelessness.
C2. The Grand Jury commends local jurisdictions and nonprofit organizations for their ongoing collaborative efforts to fund and operate local emergency shelters.
More information:
http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/grandjury
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