Agenda - 10-16-2018 8-a - Minutes

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16 1 shape once they get into housing. He asked if there is any data that compares giving a house 2 to someone versus the cost to the community to service homelessness. 3 Corey Root said there are numbers from other communities, and homelessness costs 4 more than purchasing housing. She said medical services, hospital stays, transportation, 5 support services, etc. are expensive, and it is more cost effective to house individuals and 6 provide services. 7 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if staff is aiming towards providing housing with 8 services. 9 Corey Root said yes, and this is part of what it would mean to end homelessness. She 10 said there are 70 people on the list waiting for housing, and deleting this list will end 11 homelessness. 12 Commissioner Marcoplos said he would like to know what homelessness costs Orange 13 County apart from other services. 14 Commissioner Rich said there are folks that will eat at shelters, but do not want to 15 receive housing, and would rather stay outside, and asked if there are numbers for this 16 population in Orange County. 17 Corey Root said traditionally this was viewed as a population that is choosing to be 18 homeless, but this is being considered differently now. She said HUD is not viewing this 19 population as choosing not to go to a certain program, but rather is asking questions about the 20 set up of the program. She said data is showing that if one receives housing, with no barriers 21 attached, and high quality case management, one will often choose this option. She said street 22 outreach programs are also very helpful, and Orange County has a gap in this area. She said 23 many people previously deemed "unhouseable" now have housing. 24 Commissioner Burroughs asked Corey Root if she could comment on the impact of 25 losing affordable housing stock from things like flooding. 26 Corey Root said a lot of people are housed in Camelot, so she does not envy the Board 27 of County Commissioners having to decide whether to continue housing programming on land 28 that is known to flood. She said the HUD programs are scattered site funding, and they also try 29 to partner with housing developers. 30 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if there were any identifiable climate refugees from 31 Hurricanes Matthew or Florence. 32 Corey Root said she did not think there was coordination in place to participate with 33 Matthew. She said FEMA and HUD are working together and learning from other natural 34 disasters. 35 Chair Dorosin asked if there are specific priorities going forward. 36 Corey Root said she is seeking fully funded rapid re-housing, street outreach, and 37 accessible housing focused shelter. 38 Chair Dorosin asked if funding is the biggest impediment to achieving these goals. 39 Corey Root said yes, but there are other indicators as well such as where to house a 40 program, who will staff it, etc. She said the Partnership to End Homelessness does not do any 41 direct service. 42 Commissioner Price asked if residents are coming from particular areas/situations. 43 Corey Root said the database asks for the zip code, and most are from Orange County 44 and Durham. She said many residents are sent out of the County for services. 45 Commissioner Price said she wanted to know what is causing the homelessness in 46 Orange County, beyond those who are perpetually homeless. 47 Corey Root said it is a mix of three things that people are lacking: income, services, and 48 affordable housing.