August Meeting Notes

Agenda:  1) Community Forum 2) Discussion of City’s proposed ordinance 3) Communication materials 4) Round table updates 5) Host for next meeting

Present:  Kristin Retherford, Facilitator; Dan Clem, Moises Ramos and Bruce Donohue with UGM; Jimmy Jones and Ashley Hamilton with MWVCAA; Paul Logan with NWHS; Kim Hanson with United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley; Hazel Patton with Salem Main Street Association; Gabby Gassido with the Salem Area Chamber; Nicole Utz with Salem Housing Authority; Neal Kern and Sarah Owens with CANDO. Not present: anyone from law enforcement.

Kristin said the five other business reps had other engagements and Councilor Kaser had a family emergency.  Nicole, Ashley and Kim gave a brief report on their research on Eugene's CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) program.  Plagiarized from various sources on the web:

CAHOOTS is a non-law enforcement system of six well-marked mobile response vans teamed with a specially-trained firefighter-EMT and peer support specialist dispatched through both 911 and non-emergency channels.  It provides mobile crisis intervention 24/7 in the Eugene-Springfield Metro area. (Non-criminal crises involving people who are homeless, disoriented, intoxicated, mentally ill, or enmeshed in an escalating dispute.) It  dispatched through the Eugene police-fire-ambulance communications center -- only, no direct line, no email.  Within the Springfield urban growth boundary it's dispatched through the Springfield non-emergency number.  

Each team consists of a medic (either a nurse or an EMT) & a crisis worker (who has at least several years experience in the mental health field). The team provides immediate stabilization in case of urgent medical need or psychological crisis, assessment, information, referral, advocacy & (in some cases) transportation to the next step in treatment.  The range of services offered include crisis counseling, suicide prevention, assessment and intervention, conflict resolution and mediation, grief and loss, substance abuse, housing crisis, first aid and non-emergency medical care, resource connection and referrals, transportation to services.  CAHOOTS is working with Olympia, Washington; Denver, Colorado; New York; Indianapolis, Indiana; Portland and Roseburg, Oregon; and   Oakland, CA.  It employs 40+, has annual budget of ~$2M (w/ vehicles) and is expanding. 

Other points about CAHOOTS made during the meeting: CAHOOTS keeps a database of all contacts. Eugene has a detox center.  All CAHOOTS transactions are voluntary but the team does answer 'unwanted person' calls.  Eugene doesn't have a sit-lie ordinance, just a camping ban.  Dan told the group he didn't want to talk about sit-lie, that he wants a "bright line" between sit-lie and the effort to build trust.  He asked the group rhetorically, "How does sit-lie build trust?"  Bruce told the group that he'd lived on streets for several decades 15 years ago.  Kristin asked what the difference was between CAHOOTS and UGM's Search & Rescue team.  Dan said UGM was a relationship service, not EMT (like CAHOOTS), and its goal was to build relationships over the long-term versus addressing a crisis situation.  Hazel said businesses want to know whom to contact.  Kristin told a story to illustrate that when problems happen inside a business, an unwanted person can be trespassed, but outside there is "nothing we can do."  Sarah and Dan demurred, saying the police can and do respond effectively to disturbances "all the time."  Kristin asked about identifying NWHS "iCarol" database-powered hotline as a point of contact for businesses.  Paul said only after services have been coordinated, a decision tree made, and expectations agreed to.  Expectations that cover everyone.  Providers have to agree on the appropriate POC and how calls should be funneled.  He said the NWHS hotline is available, but work is required before it can be a POC.  In particular, providers need to know when the police want to be called in.  And, what happens when "rules of engagement" (which apply to all visitors/customers, etc.) are broken.  The City also needs a plan for cleaning up after someone does leave (it's a public health issue).  Ashley said that AJ (Vagabond Brewing) doesn't ask people to leave because he doesn't have anything better to offer them, and he wants to be able to offer them something if he's going to ask them to move on.  Kristin told a story about how Al Tandy spent all morning with a trespass and cleanup problem.  She said she would like at the next meeting to talk about Paul's decision tree, how it would work, who should respond, etc.  Kim said the group would need to consider (in re sit-lie) how various "solutions " will affect the protocols.  She said sit-lie had costs (which Kristin denied) that needed to be taken into consideration along with alternative approaches (e.g., CAHOOTS).  She said United Way would like to invest in successful models (implying sit-lie was not a successful model).  Kristin said the City was in the process of calculating the cost to the City of dealing with "the homeless problem."  She said preliminary calculations put costs at around $1M/qtr.  Dan asked if participation in the work group was a tacit endorsement of sit-lie.  KR said no, the start of the group at the same time sit-lie was being reintroduced was just unfortunate timing.  She said there had been a spike in complaints last spring.   Discussion turned to the purpose of the forum.  Kristin said Jim Vu had asked for the forum.  She said that businesses wanted to know what resources were available.  Sarah cautioned against thinking a forum could provide businesses with enough information to allow them to act as some kind of resource navigators, because the "system" is very complex and not well coordinated.  Jimmy asked about the decision to have a moderator ask questions but not the audience.  Kristin said she was concerned not to put providers "on the spot" about sit-lie.  She denied that the City was concerned that providers would say they can't endorse sit-lie.  When asked how a 2-hour evening forum to share resources jived with Hazel's statement that businesses want a one-pager, Hazel said that businesses "want to know something is going to happen."  Kristin asked the group if the main problem with the forum proposal was the connection with sit-lie and Dan said yes.  She asked if sit-lie were not a part of the forum, would he participate and Dan said yes.  Kristin said she sees the forum as about the entire community, not just downtown. Kim suggested it should be focused on the needs of downtown.  

Kristin summarized meeting as, do the forum separate it from sit-lie and after the work group has developed resources tailored to the stated needs of businesses.  At the next meeting, look at a decision tree and expectations. 

Community Forum Planning and Sit-Lie

On August 1, Urban Development Department Director and work group facilitator Kristin Retherford emailed a select group of social service providers to ask them to participate in a "a community forum to share information on services, initiatives, and issues surrounding homelessness" to be held Wednesday, August 21, at Loucks Auditorium at the Library.  She wrote, "The structure would be a panel, with a moderator who would ask panelists questions.  Key panelists could include:

UGM – information on current services and update on new shelter

ARCHES – information on current services and update on new improvements and services

HOAP – information on current services

City – information on proposed ordinance

Housing Authority – update on housing projects and HRAP

Main Street – information on what they hear from downtown businesses and property owners

Mid-Willamette Homeless Initiative – update on work plan and development of a local CoC

United Way – information on tiny home project

Center for Hope and Safety – information on services and HOPE Plaza project"

Retherford wrote that the presentations "would take 45 minutes to an hour. The moderator would also be prepared with a few other questions that may be of community interest...The structure would not include questions from the audience, but participants, city staff, and Councilors in attendance could be available in the lobby and the auditorium for audience questions for thirty minutes following the panel discussion."  She asked for "availability, questions and feedback."

Based on the response received, Retherford rescheduled the forum for September 4, and proposed a "two-part panel. The first part would include service providers who would share information and updates on programs, projects, and services and business or property owners about challenges,experiences, and needs.  Panel members would then be switched out for a new panel potentially of City staff who could speak to City issues,trauma informed policing, LEAD, the proposed ordinance, and Q&A. The first panel would only be asked questions by the moderator. We are now looking at taking the proposed ordinance to Council on September 23."  This proposal would be discussed at the August meeting the next day, she wrote.

By the end of the meeting on August 14 it would be clear that most if not all the social services providers were uncomfortable participating in a forum at which sit-lie would be discussed because they did not want to appear to be endorsing sit-lie.  In the end, UGM would decide to host the forum but  not participate on the panel.  The City ultimately held three forums on sit-lie.  "City Fumbles Sit-Lie Forum", "Sit-Lie Loses at 2d Forum", "Call Sit-Lie Round 3 a Draw." Also see "City Schedules Sit-Lie Jr Round 3" (for the cartoon version).