Steering Committee Meeting

EASTERN PA CoC MEETING PENN COLLEGE, WILLIAMSPORT, PA

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Attended:

Ed Geiger DCED/Center for Community Financing M.J. Smith DCED/Center for Community Financing Madra Clay DCED/Center for Community Financing Dave Weathington DCED/Center for Community Financing Jon Cherry DCED/Center for Community Financing Leigh Howard Diane T. Myers & Associates, Inc. Michele Albright Valley Youth House Joseph Baker CMSU Behavioral Health Service Shalom Black Franklin County Fell Boley United Christian Ministries, Inc. Lisa Boley United Christian Ministries, Inc. Virginia Boley United Christian Ministries, Inc. Elizabeth Booterbaugh Fitzmaurice Community Service, Inc. Weston Brehm Columbia County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities Mary Anne Bridges Housing Authority of Union County Christine Bumford Fitzmaurice Community Service, Inc. Liz Caralyus Volunteers of America PA Colleen Cawley C-M-P Mental Health/Developmental Services Kelley Cevette Tioga/Bradford County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities Edward Clemens United Christian Ministries, Inc. Natalie Corman Centre County Office of Adult Services Kellie Cummings Carbon County Action Committee for Human Services Tara Day YMCA Northcentral PA Katherine DeSilva Clinton County Marybeth Dohmann Schuylkill Community Action Thomas Doughe Transitional Housing and Care Center of Columbia and Montour Co. Noel Duffy Commission on Economic Opportunity Susan Elliet Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity Karen Ezzo Monroe County Grants Office Marie Garlick Clinton County Housing Coalition Diane Glenwright YWCA Northcentral PA Dawn Godshall Sixth Street Shelter Martin Grafius Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity Jonnay Hockenberry Housing Authority of Centre County Adrienne Hoeker Women’s Resources of Monroe County, Inc. Bryan Hoffman Lebanon County Housing Authority Lu Hoover Borough of State College Mary Jane Isenberg Clinton County Housing Coalition Jen Johnson Center for Community Action Ann Marie Kline Housing Development Corporation Kathi Krablin Valley Youth House Mae-Ling Kranz YWCA Northcentral PA Carol Mackes Housing Authority of Centre County Melissa Magargle Family Promise of Lycoming County Lori Masser Penn State Extension Tina McDowell Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity Kim Miller Carbon County Action Committee for Human Services Arion Moser Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity Rosann Pelleschi Transitional Living Centers, Inc. Leslie Perryman RHD

1 Jillian Pry Mifflin Juniata Human Services Department Tracy Radtke Franklin/Fulton MH/ID Annette Raliff Housing Transitions, Inc. Jeffrey Rich Clinton County Housing Authority Theresa Rocca Pike County Hands of Hope Mark Roinick Sullivan County Housing Authority Sean Sember Tioga/Bradford County Housing Authority Gregory Smith Transitional Living Centers, Inc. Lori Sparks Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity Lori Sywensky Northampton County Abigail Thorborg Tioga County Homeless Initiative Dawn Vioral Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities Rae Weber Lycoming-Clinton Joinder Laurie Welch Penn State Extension Andrea Whyte Wayne County Human Services Jennifer Yaworski Housing Development Corporation of NEPA Debra Zinck Clinton County Women’s Center Vanessa Baconner Youth Service Bureau Rachel Arnold Opportunity House Ashley Scrivener Futures Community Support Services James Gingrich Salvation Army Kevin Cope Hope for Veteran Diane Packelh Home Nursing Agency Doreen White TLC Ina Hughes Commission on Economic Opportunity William Burcher Waynesboro New Hope Shelter Lisa Day Family Promise of MC

Phone Attendees :

Sergio Carmona Blair County CAP Craig Newcomer Candle Hearth Ministry Stephanie Mcllwee Adams County Housing Authority/ Turning Point Jeannine Matulevich Perry County Housing Partnership Gina Sunderland Keystone Human Services Marilyn Shearn Gaudenzia Housing Trinette Rean Salvation Army Shara Grill SCCAP Gettysburg Shelter Nabalie Blojko Carbon County

2 Welcome/Introduction – Lori Sywensky

Lori Sywensky chaired the meeting welcoming everyone, announced this as the first general meeting of the Eastern Continuum of Care, and asked everyone to introduce themselves to gain a representation of who was in attendance. The Governing Board members present in the room were acknowledged.

History – Ed Geiger

Brief description of the how the HEARTH Act’s new requirements drove the efforts of the Department of Community and Economic Development to push for consolidation of the four CoC’s into one. The comments, questions, and concerns from the CoC’s led the Department in a new direction to work towards forming one on the East and one on the West. The two Continuums could effectively fulfill the Governing Board responsibilities, consolidate their annual plans on homelessness, and engage stakeholders with the knowledge and expertise to address the needs of the community.

CoC 101: What is the CoC, what does it do, and why does it matter? – Leigh Howard

HEARTH Act – enacted 2009, implemented in 2012, revised the definition of homelessness, changed Emergency Shelter Grant to Emergency Solutions Grant, revised and created new rules for the Continuum of Care, and Rural Housing Component. The overall goal is to end homelessness.

 What is a Continuum of Care (CoC)? - Structure within a geographic area established by representatives of relevant organizations to carry out the responsibilities set forth in the C0C interim rule. Must coordinate the implementation of a housing and service system that meet the needs of homeless persons within the geography and shifts its focus to end homelessness.

 What is the geographic area of the Eastern PA C0C? – showed a map breaking down the RHABS within the 30 county CoC as listed below:

o South Central RHAB: Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Somerset. o Lehigh Valley RHAB: Lehigh, Northampton. o Central Valley RHAB: Columbia, Cumberland, Juniata, Lebanon, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder, Union. o Northern Tier RHAB: Bradford, Clinton, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wyoming. o Pocono RHAB: Carbon, Monroe, Pike, Wayne.

 What is a RHAB? - Regional Homeless Advisory Board that is responsible for operationalizing the policies adopted by the CoC while working to end homelessness on a local level. The Eastern Continuum previously had two RHABS but now the CoC structure has five.

 Participants - Organizations that manage the CoC and provide a role in ending homelessness. The interim rule contains an extensive list but emphasis was placed on the important role played by representatives from faith- based organizations, universities, and hospitals.

 The responsibilities of the CoC include: maintaining the organizational structure which includes a governing board, the collaborative applicant, and the HMIS lead organization for purposes of planning, conducting evaluation of performance, submitting an application for funding, and operating the CoC. These items were discussed in detail and may be referenced in the Power point presentation that was provided and will accompany these minutes.

 Data was provided for the “big picture” of what homelessness looks like in the Eastern region of Pennsylvania based on the 2014 Point-In-Time (PIT) count.

3 CoC Committees – Join us on our Subcommittee Work.

Each subcommittee Chair provided an overview of the responsibilities of their respective committee and an update as to what has been completed thus far. Meeting attendees were encouraged to join a group to help with the work of the CoC.

 Membership, Data Management Collection and Outcomes, Chair - Madra Clay This committee will conduct and coordinate research regarding the characteristics and needs of homeless or at risk of homeless individuals and families. Specifically, we will review the availability of housing and services, conduct gaps analysis, provide data to the CoC, and make recommendations to the Board for improvements.

 Some preliminary things that are being worked on are: HMIS Privacy and Security Policy, HMIS Data Quality Plan, PIT Count Report, HIC Set-up for each program, an HMIS Governance Charter, a Cooperation Agreement between DCED and the Continuum, and development of an HMIS Governing Board.

 David Weathington who is now the PA HMIS Administrator at the Department of Community and Economic Development will assist with the work being completed through this committee. David added some additional information about how the CoC’s should be working on performance measurements.

 Funding Committee – Reported on by Kathi Krablin This committee is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the annual application to HUD, develops ranking criteria, collaborates with data management, and provides ranking reports to the CoC, develop the reallocation strategy, set policy for funding cuts or allocating new resources, and looking for new opportunities that are consistent with the CoC objectives.

 Governance and Policy Committee – Chair, Mae Ling Kranz This committee is responsible for maintaining the Charter, appendices, and CoC policies. It will ensure they are up to date through an annual review and recommend changes to the Governing Board. It will also work with the Collaborative Applicant, HMIS Lead Agency, and other organizations for purposes of developing and revising MOUs for Board approval.

 Membership Committee – Chair, Shawn Frankenstein To ensure each RHAB is represented on the Continuum of Care as well as other organizations as outlined in the Charter, who may play a role in the goal of ending homelessness. This committee will engage, collaborate, and develop partnerships with organizations to implement and sustain the goals of the CoC.

 Regional Homeless Advisory Committee – Chair, MJ Smith There is no committee in the Charter for this however, it is a DCED committee set up to work on the Consolidated Plan. The CoC has been asked to have a representative sit on the Regional Housing Advisory Committee in order to direct how the awarded money is expended in ESG, CDBG, and Home funds. The representative will inform DCED of the housing, community development, homelessness, and economic needs of the region and how the CoC would like the state to consider these issues in their application of funds. The committee is currently working on Fair Housing.

 Coordinated Assessment – Chair, Kathi Krablin This is an adhoc committee established to work on the Coordinated Entry System for the Eastern CoC. The committee is working to develop a coordinated process of accessing services. HUD requires that individuals requesting services anywhere in the continuum to have a uniform process regardless of where they enter the system. A contract for planning has been issued to Capacity for Change to facilitate the process. The first workgroup met already although there is still opportunity for anyone to become involved with the committee. The committee is going to seek public input through a public survey and through two public forums where the communities will discuss their views on homelessness and help the CoC determine how to best serve the needs of homeless individuals in their communities.

4 Website Review and Launch – Jon Cherry, DCED

The Eastern and Western CoC’s have combined efforts to share information about homelessness in each Continuum via a new website that was launched at this meeting. The overview of the website was provided by Jon Cherry. Essentially, the site will be made available to the public to provide resources and information on the CoC’s in Pennsylvania. Each RHAB will have a separate page where they can put additional resource information. It will include public notices, PIT data, meeting notifications and minutes, and HUD information. The website is active and people should begin to direct interested persons to the CoC process to the website where they can obtain a wealth of information. In addition, all members of the CoC are encouraged to join the Wiggio site which is still in use, where members can communicate in a less public arena.

Website: www.pennsylvaniacoc.org

Group Discussions The group discussions focused on working collectively to determine if there are unmet needs in the CoC and to determine how best to prevent and end homelessness. Barbara Hodas conducted the phone discussion and the comments are below:

 Phone Discussion – Barbara Hodas

 How can we work collectively and what are we missing?  Have a hand in our work plan  How can we collectively prevent and end homelessness.

Goal 1: To reduce barriers for people exiting homelessness into Permanent Housing

 Accessing resources available from Public Housing Agencies  Private landlords  Employment

Barriers include:  Criminal justice involvement  Credit problems  Stigma of having been homeless  Behavioral Health needs

Proposed Actions:

 Educate the above about the importance of making their resources available to homeless households and that they should not be defined by their history  Make sure PHA’s are aware of HUD’s position on providing housing to homeless households, including relaxing sanctions related to criminal justice involvement  The CoC should have individual/individuals whose role is to advocate on behalf of homeless individuals.  Increase employment opportunities:  Develop incubator businesses so that formerly homeless people can develop entrepreneurial skill and not be dependent on employers’ biases  Meet with employers one at a time, including a formerly homeless person in the meeting to illustrate the strengths of people who have experienced homelessness as potential employees.  Identify/Advocate for funding for Employment Coordinators who can go out to identify jobs and employers for homeless individuals explaining their strengths and requesting that they relax their criminal justice involvement barriers.  Coordinate with Career link and Chamber of Commerce to get the word out to their membership that it helps the overall community to employ homeless and formerly homeless individuals

5  Homeless providers join the Chamber of Commerce to develop job opportunities and document them.  Formerly homeless should speak on behalf of the C0C to help reduce barriers.

Goal 2: Develop a strategy to document the impact of dollars spent on homeless prevention in order to make the case for a higher percentage of funding be available for prevention.

 Example: In Blair County the availability of SSVF Prevention funds has resulted in a lower bed census at the shelter.

 Ideas for CoC-wide goals – Leigh Howard

 Implementation of Coordinated Entry  Ending veterans homelessness by reaching “functional zero”  Increasing affordable housing resources/strategies for the working poor, specifically those exiting transitional housing programs to ensure they do not return to homelessness  Mentor households that are newly housed, including how to maintain a unit  Address issues around the 30% AMI eligibility requirement for using ESG funding to provide prevention assistance.  Submit public comment regarding (so to be re-issued) ESG & CoC regulations  Encourage State to allow/continue PHARE funding to be used for those higher than 30% AMI  Develop a process to collect and analyze data to count the doubled-up population  Increase resources for doubled-up population  Increase the number of landlords providing housing at affordable rents

Board Meeting

 General Business – Lori Sywensky (Board President) All general meeting attendees were invited to stay for the Governing Board meeting. General business information was provided. (Recording Lost).

 Financial Report -- MJ Smith. – See Attachment. The budget for the planning grants and DCED match was presented for 2012 and 2013 showing budgeted and expended. The 2012 planning grant is now complete and no additional expenditures are permitted. The 2013 expenditures are not shown completely because all of the expenditures are not in the system. The updated expenditures should be available at the next board meeting. The grant for 2014 has been awarded but the contract has not been received by DCED. All expenses in the budget thus far were reviewed in detail.

Kathy Krablin requested forecasting be done for the June meeting to include a breakdown of how the funds for 2013 were going to be expended by the end of the contract. She would like DCED to determine how we would spend better in the future considering the cuts made to programs and reduced funding for services. The CoC should not be returning funds to HUD. She would like to know how we can do better with spending.

MJ Smith stated DCED can request an extension from HUD considering there are two grants running simultaneously. In order to increase the spending, we’ll need to add new tasks to the Diana T. Myers contract. The forecasted budget will be available for the financial report during the June meeting.

 New Business

 The nomination process of new members or electing officers was discussed. There are 4 RHABs that will need to hold a nomination and voting process for new RHAB Chairs to be effective July 1st. Shawn Frankenstein indicated that Ben Laudermilch’s term is expiring

6 effective June 30, 2015. However, it is believed that Ben is interested in continuing to work with the board for an additional year.

The RHAB co-chairs scheduled to rotate off the board by June 30th include the “Representative One” from each of the following regions: Northern Tier, Central Valley, South Central, and Lehigh Valley. The Pocono RHAB is in the second rotation year. The Lehigh Valley RHAB has agreed to honor Kathi Krablin’s request to rotate off the Lehigh Valley as RHAB Co-chair. Nominations from all RHABs should be submitted to the Membership Chair.

The Collaborative Applicant, the HMIS Lead, and the Adhoc member will need to submit in writing to the Board, their designee to serve for another year by May 30, 2015. Joyce Sacco has unofficially indicated that she will continue to serve for another year. Lori will remind her to submit her letter to the Board.

All board officer positions are one year terms and are currently open for nominations. Voting for Board Officers will take place during the June meeting. The board has yet to identify a Consumer to serve on the board.

Current Officers President – Lori Sywensky Vice President – Shawn Frankenstein Secretary – Leslie Perryman Treasurer – Ben Laudermilch

The regular board meetings are held at the Giant Food Stores Community Center located at 3301 Trindle Road, Camp Hill, PA 17011. The room has been reserved for Monday, August 17th from 10 – 12 noon and Monday, December 21st from 10-12 noon. The June meeting will be held in the Pocono Region and the October meeting location is yet to be determined.

 Application Renewal Process - Report by Leigh Howard The application process will be the same as last year by using HMIS data to generate a score in various categories. The small working group includes: Brian Miller, David Weathington, Madra Clay, Barbara Hodas, Shawn Frankenstein, and Kathi Krablin. The purpose of the group is to review last year’s process and to make recommendations for changes to a larger ranking committee. The hope is to change the range of scores assigned to each ranking criteria. The next meeting is scheduled for the week of April 27th. Leigh is hoping to gain a discussion as to whether there will be budget cuts and if the CoC would like to have a process for reallocation if an organization is not performing well. At the very least, she is hoping for a discussion on it.

 Other business The CoC would like to be involved in the process of crafting the scope of work for the upcoming RFP for the next consultant contract.

Lori solicited feedback from the remaining members on the whether the first general meeting was beneficial for everyone. The feedback was positive.

The next meeting is scheduled for June 10, 2015.

Meeting Adjourned at 1:45 p.m.