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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 5/8/2018 - Memorandum From Beth Sowder Re: Update Regarding Murphy Center Expansion Of Hours ProposalMurphy Center Proposal for Expansion, 2018-2020 1 Proposal for Murphy Center Hours, Services Expansion I. Background During the spring of 2017—in response to concerns over disruptive behaviors in the downtown area—the City of Fort Collins’ City Council considered, but ultimately voted against, a proposed ordinance known as “Appropriate Use of Public Spaces.” Instead, City Council passed an amendment that strengthened and more-clearly defined the City’s existing obstruction ordinance. Throughout the debates over the proposed ordinances, activists and others argued strongly for a related community need: additional lockers and/or expanded locker access for people experiencing homelessness. City Council directed City staff to explore locker options. Over the subsequent months, City staff approached nonprofit and faith leaders to gauge interest in locker-program expansions. The Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship (FCMF) was the only entity to express interest, but City Council declined to fund FCMF’s proposal. Near the end of the community-wide discussion and debate regarding FCMF’s proposal, Homeless Gear—as Manager of the Murphy Center—approached the City with a tentative proposal to expand the Murphy Center’s operational hours during cold-weather months. Such an expansion would address numerous community needs, including but not limited to locker access. City Council responded positively to the proposal, expressing an interest in supporting expanded locker access as a part of expanding access to the more-comprehensive, continuum of services at the Murphy Center. City Council directed City staff to discuss, with Homeless Gear/Murphy Center, a possible expansion of the Murphy Center’s operational hours. City staff met with members of Homeless Gear’s leadership team in February 2018. Homeless Gear also consulted with the Murphy Center’s building owner and the four-agency Murphy Center Partner Council. The Partner Council, comprised of representatives from Homeless Gear, Catholic Charities, Neighbor to Neighbor and SummitStone Health Partners, supports and advises on issues pertaining to the long-term vision of the facility. II. Proposal Overview The Murphy Center is a hub of services for people who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless in Larimer County. Some 20 agencies provide 40 services at one location—a continuum of services that empowers individuals and families to survive, move forward and thrive. This is a proposal to expand the Murphy Center’s hours and service-provision capacity. It was developed in response to City Council’s expressed desire to not only expand locker access for people experiencing homelessness, but to expand that access in the context of a system of services designed to help people escape homelessness. This proposed expansion would do just that—and provide a significant return on investment. It would increase the Murphy Center’s operating hours by 63 percent during cold-weather months, allow staff and volunteers to engage with individuals and families who do not/cannot access the Murphy Center during daytime hours, increase on-site case- management capacity and—importantly—fill numerous community gaps under the umbrella of one expansion. Murphy Center Proposal for Expansion, 2018-2020 2 The proposal includes four phases: Phase One June 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 • An immediate expansion of hours to include Saturday mornings, 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM • An immediate expansion of case-management capacity • An expansion of weekday hours—from 8 AM to 5 PM, at present, to 8 AM to 10 PM—in November and December 2018 Phase Two January 1, 2019 through April 30, 2019 • Continuation of expanded weekday hours, Saturday morning hours and expanded case-management capacity (Note: April marks the end of the cold-weather season) Phase Three May 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 • Option A: Continuation of Saturday morning hours and expanded case-management capacity, but expanded weekday hours only in November and December 2019 • Option B: Continuation of expanded weekday hours, Saturday morning hours and expanded case-management capacity (maintain weekday hours for the entire year, rather than only during cold-weather months) Phase Four January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 • Option A: Continuation of Saturday morning hours and expanded case-management capacity, but expanded weekday hours only in cold-weather months (January through April, November through December 2020) • Option B: Continuation of expanded weekday hours, Saturday morning hours and expanded case-management capacity (maintain weekday hours for the entire year, rather than only during cold-weather months) Note: When Homeless Gear assumed management of the Murphy Center, several donors and grantors provided short-term, gap funding to help the Murphy Center re-stabilize operations. Some of those short-term commitments expired at the end of 2017 or will expire at the end of 2018. The Murphy Center must prioritize funding for existing operations above expansions. In that context, the Murphy Center has already asked the City to increase (from $50,000 to $100,000) its commitment to those operations. It would be difficult to administer an expansion of the Murphy Center—Phases Two and Three, in particular—without that support for current operations. Review Near the conclusion of Phase Two, the Murphy Center recommends that it review—with City Staff—the results of Phases One and Two to determine (a) if those results justify a continuation of the project and (b) if so, which Phase Three option to approve. The Murphy Center would work with City Staff to identify and produce the needed-metrics for such a review. Murphy Center Proposal for Expansion, 2018-2020 3 III. Logistics/Required Changes This proposed expansion would require staff additions and a realignment of existing resources at the Murphy Center: 1. Staff Expansion, 1.75 FTEs: The Murphy Center/Homeless Gear would hire a 1.0 FTE year-round Case Manager to provide intensive case management to clients of HFI and a 0.75 FTE seasonal Program Manager to oversee operations during the expanded hours. Volunteers would supplement staff and help provide services to guests. 2. On-Site Security: The Murphy Center contracts with Code 4 for on-site security. On-site security is necessary during day-shelter hours at the Murphy Center, and staff anticipates a similar need during evening and Saturday hours. 3. Janitorial: The Murphy Center’s existing janitorial service performs its duties between 5 PM and 10 PM, Monday through Friday. This proposed expansion would require an adjustment of those hours and additional cleaning after Saturday mornings. Staff also expects that expanded activity will lead to additional cleaning needs. 4. On-Call and Support Staff: Homeless Gear would require at least one member of its leadership staff to be on- call during expanded hours. 5. Administrative Costs and Oversight: Homeless Gear’s leadership team and other staff members would perform all administrative duties, supervise staff members, recruit volunteers and promote the expansion. 6. Building Utilization and Utilities: The expansion would generate increased activity in the building and, as a result, lead to higher utility costs and—potentially—the faster breakdown of equipment. 7. Lighting: The lighting in the Murphy Center parking lot is insufficient for evening hours. For safety reasons, this proposal includes the installation of new lighting in the parking lot. IV. Proposed Services and Rationale The Murphy Center, Homeless Gear and—potentially—partner agencies would provide the following services during expanded hours (under each of the four phases): 1. Intensive Case Management: The 1.0 FTE year-round Case Manager would provide intensive, housing-focused case management Murphy Center guests. a. Rationale: The Murphy Center’s mission is to help people escape or avoid homelessness and contribute meaningfully to our community’s plan to make homelessness rare, short-lived and non-recurring. That commitment to housing first is evident in Homeless Gear’s recent programmatic expansions (One Village One Family, HFI and Re-Entry) and in the Murphy Center’s expanded involvement in housing-focused initiatives (HFI data collection, the Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System and the local initiative to launch a swipe-card system for accessing homeless services). In that context, the Murphy Center believes strongly that an expansion of hours would provide a far- more significant return on investment if that expansion also included new, housing-focused case- management capacity. Expanded hours represent expanded opportunities to engage with people experiencing homelessness; and, since the expanded hours are in the evening, the Murphy Center could better-serve individuals who cannot access the facility during the day. A new Case Manager would help individuals and families secure and maintain housing and, as a result, help move the needle on the issue of homelessness and reduce the utilization of costly community resources (emergency services, jail costs and medical expenses). 2. Warming/Day Shelter: This proposed expansion would provide a warm, safe space for guests on Saturday mornings year-round and weekday evenings during (at least) cold-weather months. Murphy Center Proposal for Expansion, 2018-2020 4 a. Rationale: The current system of weekday warming centers is incomplete. This expansion would fill that community gap. As a result, it would reduce the likelihood of exposure-related deaths or illnesses among people experiencing homelessness and reduce the use of costly community resources. It would also provide consistency to clients who might not otherwise know where to seek temporary, evening shelter. 3. Core Services: The Murphy Center would provide access to lockers, mail, laundry, showers, food, survival gear, computers and phones during any expanded hours. a. Rationale: During the discussion of the proposed “Appropriate Use of Public Spaces” ordinance, advocates—and ultimately City Council—identified the need for additional locker/storage space for people experiencing homelessness. This proposed expansion would provide (at least seasonally) 28 additional hours of locker access. Importantly, it would provide access to seven other core services (listed above), greatly increasing the return on investment. 4. Volunteer Support: Volunteers perform numerous functions at the Murphy Center, including the delivery of many core services. Significantly, volunteers also serve as Support Coaches—a role through which individuals help Murphy Center guests search for housing or work, strengthen computer skills, obtain identification and more. a. Rationale: As described previously, the Murphy Center is most-efficient when it provides support beyond day shelter or core services. Support coaches have proven invaluable in delivering task-oriented services to guests, under the guidance of on-site Case Managers. 5. Other Agency/Program Activities: Numerous agencies, including Homeless Gear, have expressed interest in providing services during evening or weekend hours at the Murphy Center. Possible services include housing classes, employment services and substance-abuse or mental-health groups. a. Rationale: Again, a broad menu of services increases the efficiency/return on investment of the Murphy Center. 6. Year-Round Expansion: Depending on the results of the cold-weather season, this proposal includes a Phase Three option in which the Murphy Center would maintain expanded weekday hours on a year-round basis. V. Key Results Homeless Gear and the Murphy Center expect that this expansion (not including the potential, year-round expansion of evening hours) would produce the following annual outputs and outcomes: - More than 750 additional hours of access to warming center and core services - More than 5,000 guest interactions - 4,000 additional shower slots (15 men’s slots and 10 women’s slots per evening) - 2,500 hours of volunteer support - Intensive case management for at least 20 individuals (at a time) who are chronically homeless or recently exited chronic homelessness. Staff expects that the new Case Manager could help at least 10 individuals—all high-utilizers of costly community services—escape homelessness during the funding period. Murphy Center Proposal for Expansion, 2018-2020 5 VI. Budgets Murphy Center Proposal for Expansion, 2018-2020 6 Murphy Center Proposal for Expansion, 2018-2020 7 Murphy Center Proposal for Expansion, 2018-2020 8