Your Questions Answered February 19, 2018 Due to time constraints - - PDF document

Your Questions Answered

February 19, 2018

Due to time constraints during the first two public presentations on OneHeart: A Place for Hope & Healing in January, we were unable to address all of the questions about the proposed transformation campus submitted by audience members at that time. Below you will find those questions organized by topic with answers provided by project manager Charity Doyle and the RCCI team. OneHeart Housing/Services With limited capacity at OneHeart, how will those on the waitlist for housing at OneHeart be served?

• Essentially, people on the waitlist would be living with the world as it is today – providers would

work with them, as they are now, until campus housing is available. By consolidating and removing some of the barriers to accessing services, providers will be able to serve more people at OneHeart regardless of whether or not all their clients live on the campus. Also, not everyone who would benefit from consolidated services is going to need to live on the campus. Will there be a time limit someone can stay at OneHeart?

• The recovery team working with each individual will be able to identify if a person is not

motivated to move to the next step. Many eyes will be on each enrollee, which will help to prevent people from staying there indefinitely. With that being said, some individuals will only need a little bit of help and will only require a short-term stay; others will have a whole array of things they need to work on. Their life might be fractured in multiple areas, and that will take

• time. With the team recovery approach, all of those pieces will be gauged and monitored, and

we’re going to treat people as individuals and take it case by case. There won’t be a hard time limit for staying on campus if someone is really working on their plan. Will mental health services be provided?

• Yes. We expect multiple agencies that employ mental health professionals to play a role on the

campus. Do you see churches being involved? If so, how do see that happening?

• Churches and other faith-based organizations are already getting involved in the planning

process for the campus. Once the campus is open, religious services will be welcomed as

scheduling and space permits. Churches are also currently involved in advocacy work – so it’s not something that should happen; it is happening now. Will there be a church on campus?

• Space permitting, there will be a spiritual center on campus which churches will be able to use

and where other spiritual activities will be able to occur. Would OneHeart be a place for intoxicated subjects on cold nights?

• The Pennington County Community Restoration Center next door will have safe beds for

intoxicated individuals on cold nights. For those who are sober but not in OneHeart housing, the Cornerstone Rescue Mission would also be an option. If Cornerstone decides not to join the campus, can there be a second new mission that is willing to join the movement to transform our community and the people in it?

• If Cornerstone decides not to join but is still providing emergency shelter, we would choose not

to duplicate that service. If Cornerstone dissolved and there were a need for an emergency shelter, we would try to find a solution. How do you plan to work with the Cornerstone Mission and WAVI?

• We anticipate they will be participants on this campus. Both organizations are actively engaged

in the planning process with RCCI staff. Will there be collaboration with the Salvation Army?

• The Salvation Army has met with RCCI and collaboration opportunities were discussed.

Can youth under 18 who have been emancipated utilize OneHeart services?

• We hope so. We are currently exploring what we will need to do to accommodate not only

emancipated youth but also unaccompanied youth. Do you have a resource plan to address the diverse population that will come through your doors? Specifically, what are you doing to address the needs of the LGBTQ+ community? If you do not have a specific plan, are you open to working with LGBTQ+ community leaders to develop one?

• The campus is being designed to be all-inclusive and to incorporate flexible space to

accommodate various subpopulations within the spectrum of OneHeart guests. While we are many months away from developing a plan for this specific subpopulation, it is on the list of issues to address. The brochure states that the people who enroll on the OneHeart campus would have to be on an income plan, a housing plan, and be clean and sober. Does this mean people who receive services have an income, a plan to move into a home and no substance disorders?

• No. It means they have to be actively engaged in a plan that either produces or will produce

income or the equivalent benefits. They will need to have a plan to eventually move off the

• campus. And they may have substance disorders, but they would need to be clean and sober to

reside on-campus and be receiving some kind of counseling or treatment. What is an income plan? What is a housing plan?

• In other models we’ve researched, income plans include anything from taking classes to have

better job opportunities upon graduation, to job skills training and assistance in finding a job. An income plan is going to look very different for a young, able-bodied person than it will for an elderly person or a person with disabilities. The plan needs to match the person, so there will be a wide variety of income plans, as there will be a wide variety of housing plans.

• A housing plan means you come to the OneHeart campus motivated to move. The campus is not

a stopping point; a person doesn’t get to stay indefinitely. A housing plan could be waiting for housing to become available that has already been identified for a client, or being actively engaged in looking – based on one’s income plan or based on the skillsets a person is trying to acquire – and finding appropriate housing.

• Go to the end of this document (pages 9-10) to read real income and housing plans developed by

guests at San Antonio’s Haven for Hope. How do you verify an income plan?

• The teams who work directly with clients will know what is a realistic income plan for a client.

How do we guarantee a client is actually working to achieve the goals laid out in that income plan? If a person’s plan includes a higher education component, the team will be able to verify that the client is enrolled in classes. If it includes employment, employment verification would be required. Application-wise, there are ways to validate those efforts. With a whole team of people working with these individuals, it would be difficult for clients to manipulate the system. Also, current providers are the ones who will be referring people to the campus for the most

• part. They already know the people they’re serving. They know what the issues are; they know

what the tendencies are; they know what to watch for. Could you not combine the goals of the OneHeart transformation campus with the Pennington County Community Restoration Center?

• First, the two entities will serve different people. Pennington County’s Community Restoration

Center will focus on those in acute crises, as well as those who are not seeking services, but need a safe place to sleep at night. Second, while the two centers are not under the same roof, they will be directly next door to each other so, in essence, the efforts will be combined by proximity. How will you measure success?

• That will largely be up to the providers to determine; however, one of the ways to gauge success

is to see people living independent lives, and we would follow up with them for a year after their graduation from the OneHeart campus to see if that level of independence – able to provide for their own needs and remain in stable housing – is still in place. Any problem has multiple solutions. What alternate solutions have been considered?

• Different solutions and attempts have been discussed over the course of numerous years, and

many different communities have taken different approaches. Is it going to make sense, for instance, to just build a facility to house public inebriates (a wet-house concept)? Is it going to make sense to just build a home for housing homeless and vulnerable people? These and other solutions have been looked at, and it turns out some of these really aren’t solutions because they fail to address the underlying issues leading to poverty and homelessness. Based on our studies about what is working and what is not working around the country, the answer is taking measures to address the underlying issues, rather than just relocating people. We need to change the entire system. There are a lot of moving parts. The OneHeart concept is a BIG solution, but it is comprised of many smaller solutions, and they all are going to play a role in changing the system. So, yes, other solutions have been considered, but we want something that is viable and will produce sustainable, measurable results. OneHeart Campus Site Who lives in the College Station towers right now?

• At last check, they were all either college students or people who were former residents of the

Cornerstone Rescue Mission. What will happen to the people currently living in College Station?

• The developer is building a replacement complex for those individuals, so nobody currently living

in College Station will be left without a home. Parking is already an issue. Where will employees park?

• The OneHeart campus already has adequate parking on-site for employees and guests.

Whose name will be on the land title?

• We don’t know yet. If we are successful through the city’s Vision process, the options are that

the money will help RCCI purchase the property and it would be privately-owned, or the City of Rapid City might acquire the full property for the cost of the City’s investment. Those details would be determined by the Vision Committee and the Rapid City Council. Is there flexibility or the possibility of opening the OneHeart center bit by bit, or will all services have to be in place prior to opening?

• Yes, there is a possibility; that is all still being determined. We are considering “phasing.” The

providers will largely drive that conversation, as will the property owner’s needs and the city’s Vision process. All of that will play a role in how this project is phased out, if at all. Have county assessors indicated how they think this facility will impact area property values?

• No. While we can’t find studies done on similar-use facilities, we have found studies on

affordable housing complexes. The components that crossover give us confidence that the campus we create would be an asset to the neighborhood, not a detriment.

• Studies on the impact of affordable housing complexes on nearby properties show: affordable

housing tends to have a small positive effect to no effect on home values; nonprofit-managed affordable housing tends to be seen with increases in surrounding property values; no impact on neighborhood crime; increased stability of neighborhood/community; improved education and health outcomes; increased earning potential of residents; and decreased use of public services. With that being said, we want to stress that OneHeart is not a housing project. Where is the San Antonio campus built in that community?

• The Haven for Hope was built in what was once a depressed industrial neighborhood near San

Antonio’s main business district. It is located one mile from the city’s downtown area and less than two miles from the Alamo and the famous Riverwalk. It also sits about 3 blocks from a former emergency homeless shelter. Affordable Housing What are we doing as a community to address the gap in independent, affordable housing?

• A housing study has been commissioned and should be completed in the very near future. Then

we will look at exactly where those gaps are in our city and what measures we can take to fill in the gaps in a measured fashion to make sure the whole system is healthy. If rents are still sky high, where do you transition to after graduating the OneHeart program? Where will people go after they leave the center?

• When people leave OneHeart, some will go into the affordable or workforce housing that is

being developed. We also hope to have relationships with local landlords and property owners to help people find places to live. Many stakeholders, landlords included, have come to the table to be part of the solution. Wages, etc. While jobs and wages are not the main focus of OneHeart, we recognize these elements are key components in the larger system that is the Rapid City community. We look to, and plan to work with,

• rganizations involved in economic and business development whose main focus is on jobs and wages.

But the main purpose of OneHeart is to consolidate human services with the goal of facilitating better success for local residents who need transitional, temporary support. Beyond the center, how will poverty and homelessness be overcome without better paying jobs and more affordable housing?

• One of the disadvantages of having a low unemployment rate is that businesses have a hard

time meeting capacity and expanding. They really have no capability to do that because the skill level and workforce is simply not there. We believe by investing in this untapped resource – this human capital resource – we can start to change that by creating a better, more robust workforce.

• As was mentioned previously, RCCI is also working on the housing component. We recognize

people are going to need places to go once they leave OneHeart. A study is in the works to determine where the gaps are in housing, but we’re looking at it from a system-wide lens, not just building houses. We need to know exactly how many units of each type – workforce housing, affordable housing, premium housing – that need to be built at a sustainable level to start turning the whole issue around in the right direction. The answer is not just to put up a bunch of housing and house people because that will adversely impact other aspects of the

• system. So we are looking at affordable housing as well and have plans to take a similar strategic

approach like we’re trying to do to create a viable pathway out of homelessness. What pay level are our current workforce demands?

• From the employers we’ve talked to, they’re really all across the board. But OneHeart’s focus will

be on the person who steps onto the campus for services, and every person who steps onto the campus will have his or her own unique education level and skillset, and may be working to advance in these areas, which can fit into the continuum of employment opportunities within or

• utside of Rapid City.

How can we make basic needs more affordable? In other words, how can we reduce the $66,000 (living wage?) price tag for one adult and three kids?

• We won’t have any influence over market rates for goods and services, but RCCI is working on

the affordable housing piece of the puzzle. With that component – a roof over one’s head – being the largest burden of someone’s basic needs, we do hope to influence that. By creating more competition in the market, we can actually start to drive those rates down. Would the mayor and city council consider a minimum wage ordinance, setting the minimum wage at $15/hr? And would the Chamber of Commerce support this progressive and economically successful initiative?

• City government can’t put forth an ordinance on minimum wage. That is a state issue, so a

person would need to lobby on that issue at the state level. Volunteer Opportunities How do we help with the center, and will you have volunteer positions available? A part of community pride is taking an active role in the solution. Will there be opportunities for the public to volunteer?

• Absolutely! We don’t believe we can pull this off without support from the public. Once the

campus is open, there will be opportunities to volunteer under the umbrella organization, as

well as with many of the providers on campus. In fact, many existing agencies and organizations need volunteers right now. Contact the HelpLine Center (211) for information on current volunteer opportunities in our community. First, thank you for looking for solutions. How do people get involved to help move this forward as quickly as possible? Is there a central contact to call to get involved?

• Stay informed so when we’re ready to request help for specific roles you are “in the loop” and

we can capture the people who are interested in serving in some way. (If you haven’t already, sign up for the RCCI newsletter at www.rccimpact.org.) In the meantime, we encourage you to look at existing agencies and find out how you might be of service to them. (Again, contact the HelpLine Center at 211.)

• Certain aspects of this project can’t be rushed; we need to take the time to do it right. It’s not

about more people getting involved to make it happen quicker; it’s about making sure it’s done right so it is sustainable and succeeds. That said, if you believe you have a skillset to offer, let us

• know. We are open to any and all ideas. (Call us at 791-3034 or email charity@rccimpact.org.)

Other Questions How many conversations have you engaged in with homeless people in Rapid City when planning this campus?

• The first two years of the Rapid City Collective Impact initiative were designated the “Year of

Learning” and the “Year of Connecting.” During that time, members of RCCI’s first Emerging Leaders cadre conducted focus group interviews involving nearly 250 individuals considered “end-users” of non-profit services, some of whom were homeless. The most frequently cited needs from the end-user perspectives included: ways to effectively break the cycle of addiction; accessing high-quality mental health treatment options; help to break the cycle of poverty; skills for getting and staying employed; and protecting and empowering vulnerable populations.

• One of the Emerging Leaders sub-groups conducted a livability survey to learn what Rapid City

residents like and dislike about their community. More than 830 of these surveys were completed in 2016. The top responses to what residents dislike about Rapid City included: racism, crime, homelessness, road construction and a lack of affordable housing. (More about the livability survey can be found at www.rccimpact.org under the “Initiatives” tab at the top.)

• During the summer of 2017, people involved with RCCI’s Food Security efforts conducted nearly

250 end-user/client surveys to gauge food needs and accessibility issues. More than half of respondents said transportation is an issue for them when it comes to accessing food. We hear

• ften how a lack of reliable transportation is a major barrier for accessing services of all kinds.
• As planning specific to the OneHeart campus concept progresses, conversations continue to
• ccur with people who are homeless or have experienced homelessness in the past, and

conversations are happening weekly with service providers who work daily with homeless individuals and families and others living in poverty. Anita Deranleau of the Rapid City Area Schools’ McKinney-Vento program stated during one of the public presentations in January that she regularly discusses the OneHeart concept with homeless families she works with in the district, and they overwhelmingly view it as an opportunity in the future that would make a

positive difference in their lives and in the lives of others like them. Has Charity Doyle worked with the homeless?

• Yes. She worked with homeless youth, helping them get their GEDs and get out of the juvenile

justice system. On two occasions, Charity has been homeless herself, but the details of those circumstances are private and will remain private. There was testimony about the proposed campus at the Pennington County Commission meeting on

• Dec. 12. Why was RCCI not there?
• A) We were placed on the agenda before our presence was requested at the meeting. B) This

project falls outside of the county’s purview, and we are not requesting county funds for the project, so it was inappropriate to be placed on the agenda in the first place. C) Commissioner Lloyd LaCroix read our statement declining the invitation on the grounds that our very first providers’ workshop was taking place that same day and was our top priority.

• This is a private, non-profit project; it is not a County or City project. It has its own

communications plan and its own timeline to be governed by RCCI. What has contributed to the 75 percent increase in public intoxication downtown?

• We don’t know. But we do know the problem is growing community-wide, so it makes sense

that that part of the spectrum is going to increase as well.

• The 75 percent increase is based on a two-year period, from 2014 to 2016. We recently learned

and are pleased to report that calls for service for public intoxication in the downtown area rose

• nly 7 percent from 2016 to 2017.

Where is the Crisis Care Center?

• The Crisis Care Center is currently located on North Street and will be relocating to Pennington

County’s Community Restoration Center this summer. What is the Innovation Center?

• For that answer, we defer to the Rapid City Economic Development Foundation.

Transportation is important. Applaud the mayor for making busses free for kids – but we still see busses empty all the time. Thoughts?

• It is difficult to pinpoint one or two reasons why public transportation is not utilized more in

Rapid City. Sometimes work schedules and bus schedules simply don’t align. For some, not being within walking distance to a bus route may be issue. For those who would be served at the OneHeart campus, we believe being centrally located will help, as people would have reasonable access to several existing bus routes. And we are open to having further discussions on this topic with the City of Rapid City. Who is against this?

• Many who have expressed opposition to the OneHeart project have concerns reflected in the

questions listed here. This campus is a huge endeavor, and with all huge endeavors there are also detractors – as we saw when Main Street Square was first proposed in Rapid City. But we know that the current system is not as effective as it could be and that our city and our non- profit resources can collectively do a better job to move more people out of poverty. Please know that planning is ongoing, and we are working constantly to address questions, comments and concerns that arise in each part of the process. REAL INCOME/HOUSING PLANS PROVIDED BY SAN ANTONIO’S HAVEN FOR HOPE *Names have been changed to protect clients’ identities. **SPDAT stands for Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool. The higher the SPDAT score, the more support services a client is expected to need. Haven for Hope guests are assessed multiple times while residing at or participating in Haven programs.

• *Jane is a 42-year-old single mother of three sons – ages 9, 11 and 14. She lost her employment
• f General Manager of a restaurant and then consequently was evicted. Ms. Jane has engaged

with the team to identify her income and housing plans. Her full **SPDAT score is 30 and this is her first experience of homelessness. Ms. Jane’s income plan is to work with her job coach to submit her resume and application for competitive employment. She is going to submit for management positions, but also will submit for entry level positions so that she can earn income. Her housing plan is affordable housing, which can be supported by the income she receives from

• employment. She is on public housing waitlists and will accept subsidized housing if it becomes

available, though this could take several years. She will apply for tax credit properties that provide affordable rent so that she can move quickly with the income she earns. She will continue to work toward management positions after she moves into housing. Jane will receive support with deposit and first month’s rental support, with assessment of potentially 2-3 additional months if needed.

• *John is an 18-year-old male who is experiencing homelessness after being asked to leave his

grandmother’s home. His grandmother made him leave her home because he was 18 and she believes it is his time and responsibility to be independent. His mother is deceased and he has never had a relationship with his father. John has a high school diploma. He has no social support system and has never lived on his own. He is very lonely and scared, so began drinking alcohol to cope with how overwhelmed he feels. He considered going into Job Corp, but has decided that he wants to stay in his city and close to his grandmother in case she changes her

• mind. John’s income plan is to find competitive employment that he can work while he also

enrolls in a trade skills program. He thinks this may be at Pizza Hut or the Car Wash, because they hire many young people. He would make $10.00 hour, with fluctuating hours. His **SPDAT score is a 35. John has increased vulnerability of age, lack of social support and income ability, substance abuse co-occurring with post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression, and lack of tenancy knowledge and experience. His housing plan is supportive housing for young people that includes financial support and home based peer support and case management support. The supportive housing program will guide him through navigating and obtaining housing, learning

how to maintain tenancy, building community connections, and services if he chooses for mental health support. While his income plan is employment, his housing plan of supportive housing will subsidize his rent and utilities while he gains income, learns to budget and pay bills, and ultimately earns income to pay for all of his financial responsibilities. He will receive the financial support as long as needed, though his team will continue to focus attention on his income plan

• f contributing with employment.
• *Jim is a 53-year-old male who has come to the shelter after being discharged from the hospital.

Jim has Diabetes and COPD, with severe complications that do not allow him to work. He does not have insurance or income. He has no family or friends. Jim’s income plan is to apply and gain social security disability with the help of the Benefits Specialist. His **SPDAT is 43 and his housing plan is supportive housing. He will be on public housing waitlists, but he has not been verified with a disability and is not a senior, so he does not qualify for priority housing subsidy. Jim will be supported by the supportive housing team with his rental and utility assistance so that he can live in his home while working toward disability - which would provide a small income and insurance. Jim’s team will move him into an apartment that will accept his housing voucher when he comes up on the list, so that he can remain there. When he receives his voucher and benefits, the supportive housing team may continue to provide services if needed, but will no longer need to provide financial assistance. He may not need either, which will be assessed at that time.

• *Emma is an 81-year-old female who has come to the shelter after Adult Protective Services

found her living in a home that is uninhabitable. Ms. Emma wanted to stay in the home; however, she did not have water or electricity and most days only had scraps of food she found from nearby dumpsters. Emma has difficulty remembering stories from her life and no family or friends have been identified. She has difficulty walking to the dining hall, remembering to take her medications and completing hygiene. Her **SPDAT is 34. Ms. Emma’s income plan is to apply for social security with a Benefits Specialist and her housing plan is to move into assisted living as soon as she can be approved for benefits.