February Meeting Minutes

Agenda: 1) Introduction 2) Recap Jan meeting results 3) Proposed training framework 4) Action 5) CRU

Present:  Ashley Hamilton, Facilitator; Nicole Utz with Salem Housing Authority, Kristin Retherford with Salem's Urban Development Department; Moises Ramos and Bruce Donohue with UGM; Elizabeth Schrader with United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley; Stephen Goins with Northwest Human Services;  Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston with CANDO (notably absent, anyone from law enforcement or for-profit business community).

Context: On a 5-4 vote, City Council agreed to Mayor's request to bring back sit-lie for a vote on February 24th.  Mayor believes sit-lie will clear out the people living on the sidewalks around Rite Aid and Salem Center.  Rough 2020 Point-in-Time Count is >1,000 households.

Training project: 

Framework

Group agreed to create a training video, 12-15 minutes, focused on skill-building, e.g., risk assessment (knowing difference between fear/discomfort vs. danger) boundary setting, customer service, and how to respond to common situations.  Possibly the group will create additional videos that go in to more depth (e.g., de-escalation techniques).  Due to capacity constraints, group decided against creating a development group.  Members who are able to work on project before the March meeting, which will focus on mapping out the video in more detail.  Goal is to begin recording in May. 

Action:
 
Content development

Risk assessment and customer service - Stephen, Michael

Boundaries - Salem Housing Authority, MWVCAA

Common situations (from CANDO's GNG) - United Way

Production planning

Direction - review other training videos, e.g. Central City Concern's - Sarah

Location - contact Christy Wood about Runaway Art - Moises

Technical - contact CCTV  - Ashley

CRU:  (Community Response United) Pilot project to last 16 months, budget still ~$500K.  United Way has begun raising funds and is in negotiations with Falk and the Salem Fire Department to contract the labor.

Meeting Schedule:

Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, March 11, at NWHS Admin Bldg
Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, April 8, tentatively at Ike Box

January Meeting Minutes

Agenda:  1) Welcome by host Sarah Owens 2) Introductions 3) CRU update by Kim Hanson and Ashley Hamilton 4) Point in Time Count info by Ashley Hamilton 5) Discussion of business "scenarios"    

Present:  Sarah Owens, Facilitator; Treven Upkes with Salem Police Department; Nicole Utz with Salem Housing Authority, Kristin Retherford with Salem's Urban Development Department; Moises Ramos and Bruce Donohue with UGM; Ashley Hamilton with MWVCAA; Kim Hanson with United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley; Paul Logan and Stephen Goins with Northwest Human Services; Hazel Patton and Jim Vu with Salem Main Street Association; Brenda Pearson with Business Partnerships Program Manager, DHS & OHA Shared Services; Troy Brynelson with Salem Reporter; Corliss Boehne.

Context: First meeting after enactment of Ordinance Bill 10-19, sans sit-lie and exclusion order provisions, and the widely publicized implementation of the camping ban.  The City's tentative plan to expand the warming shelter operation to a "duration" model by the first of the year had run into problems, and dozens of people were sleeping on sidewalks, especially on Center Street (outside the Nordstrom's building) and on Liberty Street (Rite Aid). The night of the meeting, the City had just closed off a portion of the Center Street sidewalk for cleaning.

Discussion of business "scenarios"; developing "if/then" guidance/training, creating a "single point of contact" as an alternative to police, and a developing a provider-response "decision tree" 

There was tacit agreement that police should be a last resort and the scenarios were ordinary and did not require much analysis.

Treven said training should focus on separating fear from actual danger.  Example: person sleeping in a doorway.  It might be inconvenient to have to wake the person and ask them to leave, but it's not dangerous. 

Another training focus should be to help businesses identify the point of action, and make first contact.  Example: person inside business and not buying.  Business should have a standard protocol (applies to all customers) for when to ask a customer to make a purchase or leave, and then apply it consistently.  (Request to leave is a precondition to calling police unless situation is dangerous.)

Police cannot help beyond de-escalating if the only issue is that an individual's behavior is making or might make some people uncomfortable.  Many businesses know how to de-escalate situations and know when to call police (i.e., when conduct is dangerous or unlawful).

Police alternatives.  There was tacit agreement that the work group's goal to develop a single point of contact cannot be met without expanding provider capacity in some way.

Of the five providers with some outreach capacity (SHA, UGM "Search & Rescue", HOAP, The ARCHES Project, and Be Bold Street Ministries), only Be Bold Street Ministries is willing/able to be listed in the CANDO Good Neighbor Guide as a an alternative to calling the police.

When and if the Community Response Unit (CRU) comes online (projected for 7/1/20), the "single point of contact" and "decision tree" goals could be reexamined.

The work group tacitly agreed to focus on training, and that the training should be "on demand" (go to businesses) versus  businesses invited to a venue for a training.

Treven said he thought the problem was not so much employees not knowing what to do, but the fear that customers will feel awkward or uncomfortable, and just leave.  He said if a "single point of contact" number is developed, providers must respond 100% of the time; people will not call a second time.

Stephen said the way you address the "comfort" and "powerlessness" issue is by  training individuals to suspend judgment and bias, focus on harm reduction, develop a relational approach, and know when something is beyond their capacity to deal with.

A minority of the work group continues to struggle with the goal to help businesses that want help to adopt a relational approach to behavior problems.  They favor a rules-based, enforcement approach ("business people are frustrated", "businesses shouldn't have to deal with this").  However, the Downtown Homeless Task Force recommended the creation of the work group to assist businesses in developing a relational (versus transactional) approach to behavior problems precisely because they had rejected a rules-based, enforcement approach as ineffective and even counter-productive.    

CAHOOTS/HEART/CRU:  Kim reported that the tentative name "HEART" had been replaced by "CRU" (Community Response United).  Discussions had been had with the Public Safety Coordinating Council, LEAD, MCRT, Salem Health.  The budget was still being refined but remained in the $500K ballpark (2 shifts, 2 teams of 2).  United Way was working on a ~$10K contract with Tim Black for consulting services.    

Meeting Schedule:

Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, February 12, tentatively at The ARCHES Project
Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, March 11, tentatively at NWHS Admin Bldg
Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, April 8, tentatively at Ike Box

December Meeting Canceled

November Meeting Notes

Agenda:  1) Welcome by host Nicole Utz 2) Introductions 3) CAHOOTS update by Kim Hanson and Ashley Hamilton 4) Preliminary results of CANDO Good Neighbor Guide distribution by Michael Livingston   

Present:  Nicole Utz, Facilitator; Moises Ramos and Bruce Donohue with UGM; Ashley Hamilton with MWVCAA; Kim Hanson with United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley; Josh Lair with Be Bold Street Ministries; Stephen Goins with Northwest Human Services; Hazel Patton and Jim Vu with Salem Main Street Association; TJ Sullivan with Salem Area Chamber; Al Tandy with Salem Summit; Alvin Klausen with Victory Club and Kurt Schrader's office; Neal Kern, Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston with CANDO.  Not present: anyone from law enforcement.

Welcome by Nicole.  Intros around table.  CAHOOTS/HEART project update: currently planning 1 van, 5-6 FTE (1 EMT and 1 QMHP at $18/hr), limited shifts, serving citywide, anyone in crisis (not just downtown, not just “homeless” and not 24/7). Twenty-five “key stakeholders” are meeting Nov 21st. They met with Chemeketa CC re training program specifically for program. Program to be 1yr pilot starting some time in spring, and named Homeless Emergency Assistance Response Team. Will be dispatched out of 911 and administered by MWVCAA. United Way proposes to cover cost of van and CAHOOTS consulting fees. Preliminary budge estimate is $.5M. Eugene’s Public Works Department covers CAHOOTS $150 vehicle maintenance. Ashley estimates it will cost $70/hr to run the van. Hoping to get more info on the startup program in Olympia. Was not able to go on ride-along.  Distinguish MCRT? MCRT relates to criminal behavior. Can request MCRT, but subject to availability and fit. Stephen estimated about 20% of his requests were answered.  CAHOOTS is “outside criminal modality.” People who won’t get into back of patrol car to be taken to PCC will get into a van just to talk (sometimes ppl just want someone to talk to).

TJ said Salem Health was ”overrun” and asked if providers have resources to staff the van, maybe rotating shifts. Jim asked for more information on annual budget, e.g. cost of document management system startup costs. TJ asked about providers' ability to share client info. Discussion of HMIS - ServicePoint versus HIPPA-protected records, cloud-based ”social solutions” systems like Apricot that are HMIS-compatible.  NWHS is plans to use Apricot to document their street outreach efforts.  JIm returned to TJ's question whether Salem has resources to staff an outreach team.  Nicole said such a team would need a lead agency, and SHA had considered, but decided there was not the capacity.  Al Tandy suggested rotating staff.  Stephen said it would be possible in theory to "Frankenstein a team" but it would have to be 9-5, and wouldn’t be faithful to the CAHOOTS model, which operates after hours.  Josh asked if the post-QMHP agency connections were in place.  Kim said they were still figuring out whether Marion County or NWHS was the appropriate follow-up agency, and added that the project almost derailed because the full continuum of care was not in place.  TJ said that the business community was getting to the point that they are "ready to invest" and that Larry Tokarski was putting together a meeting for that purpose.  Nicole said what was needed was more permanent supportive housing developments like Redwood Crossings.   

Report on the distribution of CANDO's Good Neighbor Guide:  Visited 72 downtown Salem businesses and spoke with owner or manager at 29 of them.  Guide received a uniformly positive response, and most immediately read it.  Some asked for extra copies for employees.  “Very helpful”

Asked if business had problems with "homeless" individuals?

• 15 “too busy to talk”
• 11  “not mentioned”
• 13  no problems, or no current problems
• 8  “yes, but no specifics”
• 15  occasional, or infrequent (intoxicated; “alternate reality; unruly person asked to leave; people drunk or using drugs at sidewalk restaurant tables; people sleeping in doorways when staff arrive
• 4 on High St north of Marion (2 based on previous contacts) identified continuing serious problems -- e.g., vandalism and people mentally ill and out of control)  Owner of one of those businesses spoke highly of Be Bold Street Ministries staff -- Josh & Matt, whose contact information is in the pamphlet

Asked if business did have any problems, how handled?  

• 10 relational approach (asking people to leave) & call police as needed
•  3  security guard
•  8  relational approach only
•  4  other (e.g., call police & coordinate with nearby businesses; complain to mayor & council; call Be Bold Street Ministries) 

Josh said that as a result of the distribution, he had received 27 calls, and Matt had received 15.

Nicole offered tours of SHA's Immediate Needs Station to which law enforcement has 24/7 access. 

Note: the "if/then" project was not discussed, as the list of business "scenarios" was not completed until shortly before the meeting.  Sarah and Michael have since sorted the list and have distributed it to providers and law enforcement to decide whether a meeting is needed to agree on the appropriate response(s), or whether this can be accomplished through correspondence.  The deadline for a response is COB 11/20. 

Meeting Schedule:

Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, December 11, at The ARCHES Project
Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, January 8, at Ike Box, Bay Room
Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, February 12, at United Way

Collecting "Scenarios"

At the September meeting, the work group determined that, in order to coordinate services to respond to downtown businesses needing assistance with people's disruptive behaviors, it would need to better understand the types of situations involved.  Jim Vu agreed to write up some examples, and to collect examples from others and bring them to the October meeting.  At the October meeting, Jim shared the results of the SMSA survey, but didn't have any "scenarios" (written examples of problems businesses or community members want assistance with).  Tom Hoffert agreed to collect "scenarios" by October 24, but his efforts were fruitless.

Sarah Owens solicited "scenarios" through CANDO's Facebook page, but even though her post was widely viewed and shared 9 times, she also received no response.

So, Tom asked Jim and TJ Sullivan to "reach out to a cross-section of businesses" for their "scenarios", as he was going to be out of the country for eight days.

In visiting downtown businesses to invite them to CANDO meetings and share the CANDO Good Neighbor Guide, Sarah and her helpers talked to 50+ employees and owners.  Their impression from those conversations was that most businesses have issues, but nothing they haven't found a way to deal with, and rarely do they feel the need to call police.

TJ submitted a list of 10 "scenarios" shortly before the November meeting.  Most were covered by the CANDO Good Neighbor Guide.  Sarah and Michael reviewed and sorted them, sent them on to providers and law enforcement for questions and comments, and asked them to let Sarah know by COB 11/20 whether a meeting would be required. 
  

October Meeting Notes

Agenda:  1) Welcome by host Tom Hoffert 2) Introductions 3) SMSA survey results 4) Technical Training Institute by Brenda Pearson, DHS 5) Business "scenarios" by Jim Vu 6) CAHOOTS update by Kim Hanson  

Present:  Kristin Retherford, Facilitator; Moises Ramos and Bruce Donohue with UGM; Dana Shultz   with MWVCAA; Kim Hanson with United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley; Josh Lair and Matt Maciera with Be Bold Ministries; Jim Vu with Salem Main Street Association; Tom Hoffert with the Salem Area Chamber; TJ Sullivan with Huggins Insurance; Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston with CANDO.  Not present: anyone from law enforcement.

Welcome by Hoffert.  Intros around table.  Kristin asked for comments on SMSA survey results.  She expressed concern that some respondents didn't know who to call.  Josh offered everyone his phone number and said it could be shared, that Be Bold Has worked extensively with Venti's and Great Harvest [both businesses locations] [also has contacts with US Bank, Trachshel Body & Paint, Salem Tire, RJ Dance Studio, Roy Jon Designer Goldsmiths, and Court Street landlord Eric Kittleson].  He said he doesn’t think law enforcement should be dealing with this problem, and that we, as a community, can be doing something different.  Matt said their focus is to meet people's immediate need, because the relationship component was "already there."  Be Bold coordinates with ARCHES, UGM, etc.  Josh said just talking with people changes the way you deal with them.  Michael noted that a number of responses identified behavior problems that were unlawful (not merely nuisance).  Brenda approved thinking of how to respond in terms of the risk threshold, and distinguished between relational versus transactional encounters (police encounters are transactional) and said relational is better/needed.  She said training might be offered.  Kristin said the pros are trained, and some police officers are trained, but  SMSA reps have asked for tools/resources on how to respond to various situations (implying they were not so interested in training).  Kristin did say that training would probably be "part of the mix", however.  TJ said he was surprised at the number of responses indicating a willingness to  "invest financially."  He said he wanted an if/then one-pager, and also to know how many "rooms" and chronically homeless individuals there are in Salem.  Responding to a comment, Matt said people go downtown because it is safe.  Many factors contribute to a person's condition/behavior.  For women on street, sexual assault is a reality.  Urinating and defecating on one's self is protective factor. He said that often, when he is working with someone on the street, a passer-by will say something gratuitously negative and disapproving, like get a life.  He said it's designed to and does provoke a negative response, but the underlying problem is thinking one is somehow a better or more worthy, just because one isn't living on the streets.  He said one should never underestimate what someone in dire straits now could be doing in just a few years.  It's important to look at every aspect and every facet of their lives [before judging].  Moises praised what Be Bold does and said the approach was effective.  Michael, responding to TJ, shared that there are about 1,800 homeless individuals inside Salem's UGB, roughly 700 of whom are within 1 mile of Marion Square Park.

Brenda Pearson shared a project concept to provide skill and industry training for people who've become disconnected from the workforce, what she called "Books to Boots" job training.  Kristin said she, Brenda and Moises talked about this idea together.  Sarah told Brenda she would put her in touch with Jimmy Jones to discuss. 

Jim said he wanted "tangible takeaways" from the work group but did not have the list of "scenarios" he'd promised at the last meeting.  Tom said he would work on creating a list and have it available after 10/24/19.  Kristin suggested providers and law enforcement meet to work through the list in preparation for the November meeting.  She said she would be away 10/24 to 11/17, but she would make sure to have law enforcement at the meeting to go over scenarios, which Sarah agreed to help arrange before next the meeting on November 13 at SHA.  Kristin said she would arrange for someone from the City to facilitate the November meeting.

Kim Hanson gave an update on efforts to replicate the CAHOOTS program in Salem.  She said they were looking at a program that would focus on downtown, with a $1M annual budget (same as the projected costs to operate a sobering center), and another $80 to 100K to purchase a van.  She said United Way had agreed to undertake fundraising for the van but the program would likely need to be a public-private partnership like CAHOOTS. 

Meeting Schedule:

Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, November 13, at Salem Housing Authority 
Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, December 11, at The ARCHES Project
Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, January 8, at Ike Box, Bay Room
Wednesday, 5:30 to 7p, February 12, at United Way

2019 SMSA Survey

In September 2019, the Salem Main Street Association conducted a four-question, open-ended answers survey of downtown businesses focused specifically on "issues of homelessness" downtown.  It's not known how many were asked to take the survey.  There were about 20 responses.  Consistent with business owners' comments during Downtown Homeless Solutions Task Force meetings, responses were concerned primarily with debris and potentially hazardous material left on and around the premises.  Satisfaction with police response when called to address disturbances was quite high, with only 8 of 20 respondents identifying the need for a change in City code (specifically a sit lie/camping ban), the apparent rationale being that it would "discourage congregation downtown" and thereby reduce "negative impacts."  Most respondents expressed a willingness to contribute to "effective" programs/resources for people experiencing homelessness downtown.  View the entire survey here.