Working Together COLLABORATION WITHIN THE CITY OF FARGO

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Claire Gilbert
5 years ago
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1 Working Together COLLABORATION WITHIN THE CITY OF FARGO

Jillian Gould Homeless Outreach Specialist with the Gladys Ray Shelter New position created in February 2016 Position was created with collaboration from the City of Fargo,

2 Jillian Gould Homeless Outreach Specialist with the Gladys Ray Shelter New position created in February 2016 Position was created with collaboration from the City of Fargo, Gladys Ray Shelter, and Fargo Public Library. Jillian works as part of a larger coordinated response aimed at addressing and reducing challenges related to homelessness in our community

3 Officer Jesseca White Downtown Resource Officer 2 officers devoted to the downtown area Primarily work with businesses, visitors, and residents downtown

4 Jordan Joshua Advocate at Shelter and Withdrawal Management Unit for past 5 years Work Manager for the Community Service Program

5 What is Downtown Fargo?

6 Why would someone choose to be homeless here? There are a small percentage of people who choose to be homeless and that is for personal reasons Many homeless individuals are homeless for one or many reasons

8 Who is Homeless in the Fargo/Moorhead area? 68% men; average age 42 Average age of a woman in FM is 34. Over half never married (55%) Primarily from ND, MN & Midwest Most have HS diplomas (85%F) 25%+ received special education About 48% report employment as their main source of income 1/3 women in shelter have one or more children with them. 41% (in Fargo)and 22% (in Moorhead)of Women are homeless as a result of domestic violence Qualifying Veterans are housed Big increases in serious mental health and incarceration as barriers Disproportionately persons of color: 40% Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and TBIs were common for both youth and adults Youth 18-25, and 2-parent families with children are growing trend

9 Fargo-Moorhead Shelter Capacity 2015 Wilder Survey revealed 591 people homeless in Fargo-Moorhead not counting those doubled up, incarcerated, in jail/treatment, or unseen Emergency Shelters are for people without other options 2015: 265 shelter beds available + about 72 overflow capacity = 337 maximum emergency shelter beds Overflow = air mattresses or pads on floors in public spaces; no additional services Others are doubled up, in vehicles, outside, or in spaces not meant for human habitation such as storage units Historically, the summer months are the busiest months of the year and that remains true.

10 % of people who experience homelessness do not enter the system (or light touch only) 20% need help 2% get stuck long-term What s missing for people who experience chronic homelessness: Housing!!! Skills Resources Support

11 What keeps people Homeless? A combination of barriers: Lack of Affordable Housing Poverty Chronic Health Conditions Mental Illness Substance Abuse Limited Support Networks Recent discharge from: Jail/Prison Hospital Shelter Detox Treatment Foster Care

12 A Living Wage? $7.25/hr

13 A Housing Wage: $14.15/hr

14 Homeless Outreach and Police?

15 Who would have thought collaboration works?

16 Being a cop downtown! Myths: Only homeless people commit crimes: Urinating in public, consuming alcohol, trespassing, etc. If I come downtown, I will get assaulted by a homeless person Everyone downtown who panhandles is homeless Truths: ANYONE can commit crimes of opportunity Majority of the assaults in the homeless community are amongst themselves and alcohol or drugs is usually a factor Some individuals choose to panhandle to supplement their income or addiction

17 How are we collaborating? Held information sessions: Connecting individuals to services: Work Play Live Outreach: Business Residents Street Attempting to solve the issue long term Vs. Putting a Band-Aid on for temporary relief

18 Typical Regular Long criminal history (mostly minor offenses) Substance abuse issues Chronically homeless History of Mental Illness Traumatic Past

19 Disrupting the Revolving Door

20 Cost of Supportive Housing Vs. Cost of Homelessness

21 INSANITY Doing the same thing over and over again..

22 Coming up with a Solution to the Revolving Door:

23 Downtown Community Work Program Participants: Allowed to complete projects in lieu of fines, jail time, etc. Given Hrs or Fines by the judge $10/hr Meet Tuesdays and Thursdays for several hours Allowed to work other supervised hours if ok d by manager

24 Projects: Cleaning up trash Odd jobs at the shelter Helping Housing Navigators Helping set up for parades and events downtown Working at DBGR

25 Downtown Community Work Program Started: 8/2016 Participants: 25 to date $10,000 worth of fines worked off Completed program: 6 Cut from program: 5 Currently: 14 in program 4 reoffended in the last 4 months (28%) 3 currently in treatment 5 housed 11 remained crime free while in program (44%)

27 What is the value? A support network is set up between shelter staff, service providers, police, and outreach to gain trust from individuals who commonly get put to the side and slowly they develop a sense of selfworth where there was little to none in the first place

28 What s next: WHAT WOULD WE LIKE TO SEE THIS PROGRAM EVOLVE INTO?

29 Building the foundation to do great things! Serial Inebriate Program Community Court System Homeless Outreach Team

30 Many Hands make light work.working Together Matters! QUESTIONS/COMMENTS?

Homelessness in Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota. Key findings from the 2015 survey of people experiencing homelessness

Homelessness in Fargo, North Dakota Key findings from the 2015 survey of people experiencing homelessness S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6 Contents Background... 1 Counts on the night of the study... 2 Key findings...