HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE JUNE 19, 2003 - 9:00 A.M. SCOTT HEYMAN CONFERENCE ROOM
Present: M. Robertson,
Chair; F. Proto; P. Penniman; N. Schuler (arrived at 9:03 a.m.); M. Koplinka-
Loehr (arrived at 9:11 a.m.)
Staff: S. Whicher, County Administrator; M.
Dolan, Social Services Commissioner;
Legislators: D. Kiefer; B. Blanchard; T. Joseph
Guests: Attendance sheet on file with original minutes
Called to Order
The meeting was called to order at 9:02 a.m.
Introductions
At this time, Committee members, staff, and agency representatives
introduced themselves.
Mrs. Schuler arrived at this time.
Chair's Report
Ms. Robertson welcomed everyone and said the purpose of
the meeting is to get an overview on housing vulnerability. Below is
a list of some of the questions she hopes will be addressed during the presentations
by staff and agency representatives:
- What is the current situation for the homeless, for those at risk
of losing their housing,
and for people housed but inadequately?
- What are the most serious unmet needs?
- What are some possible opportunities and solutions?
- What are some realistic steps to take?
- All things considered, where do you think we should put our energies?
Presentations on Housing
Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS)
Mr. Mazzarella, Executive Director, spoke about housing
as it relates to affordable homeownership particularly for the "working poor".
This is a group INHS mostly works with and is familiar with. The cost
of housing in Tompkins County is significantly higher than the surrounding
region. In the year 2000, the median purchase price of a home was $120,000
(40 percent higher than Tioga County, which has the next highest median purchase
price of any contiguous county). The cost of housing is even lower
in other surrounding areas. From 2000 to January 2003, the cost of
buying a home increased 21 percent in Tompkins County, and it has accelerated
within the last 18 months. This is happening even though Tompkins County
has seen only modest growth in population during the 1990s, growing only
about 3 percent during the decade.
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr arrived at this time.
Mr. Mazzarella feels there are two reasons for the increase
in housing demand: (1) the number of households continues to rise and
the size of households shrinks; and (2) a strong economy compared to the
rest of the region resulting in availability of jobs. He said the gap
continues to widen for would-be homeowners and as housing costs rise, people
at the lower end of income are finding it less possible to find homes.
There are programs available that assist people in buying homes; however,
the demand is not being met. At INHS, in order to effectively help
lower income families, more and more subsidy is needed to get them in the
higher cost housing. One area the County can help is to continue the
support for the first-time homeownership program and encourage new development.
Homeless and Housing Task Force
Nancy Burston, Human Services Coalition, said the Coalition
focuses on encouraging coordination and sharing information. The Homeless
and Housing Task Force has existed for approximately 15 years and meets six
times per year. There are 35-40 people that attend regularly and the
mailing list via email consists of 210 people who are interested in receiving
the minutes. This Task Force brings together various organizations
and agencies including not-for-profit agencies, United Way, County departments,
etc. The goal is to reduce duplication of service, provide more coordination,
and share information.
Marge Dill, Executive Director of Human Services Coalition,
spoke about the Continuum of Care Subcommittee and how it was formed.
The group specifically addresses the needs of the homeless. This year,
several surveys were conducted concerning youth and housing vulnerability.
She reported on statistics from the Street Count Survey which documented
a point in time: the previous night, 60 people were in the shelter and 45
were unsheltered, in other words, were living on the streets. Such
reliance on emergency housing is very costly for the County; however, she
feels there are solutions. Some recommendations for the homeless include:
(1) tax subsidies or tax credits to encourage someone to come in and build;
and (2) “shelter plus” care, where there are some supports in the shelter
or the residence.
The Task Force's recommendations include giving more prominence
to the Continuum of Care Subcommittee, address areas of lowest income, and
look to areas of low income and plus care.
Mr. Proto asked about opportunities to create housing
outside the City limits including service delivery.
Red Cross
Chuck Nocera, Director, followed up on Ms. Dill's comments
and said the 60 people sheltered means emergency shelter and transitional
shelter for one day. In terms of facility space, there only 24 units,
so the balance stay in hotels.
Mr. Nocera referred to information compiled by Heather
McDaniel of the Planning Department, concerning affordability indicators
and comparisons among contiguous counties. Tompkins County has:
- The tightest housing market with a 4.6 percent vacancy rate county-wide
and 2.7 percent within the City.
- The least affordable rental housing units; it has the highest median monthly
gross rent at $611.
- The lowest unemployment rate of 3.7 percent, and a dominant service-sector
market that drives low wages.
- The fewest rental units with rents under $300 per month.
- The highest number of households earning less than $10,000.
- The highest proportion of renters that are cost-burdened; 49 percent of
the renters county-wide and 57.4 percent within the City pay more that 30
percent of personal income for rent.
- The highest poverty rates; 39 percent of the people in the County
and 55.8 percent in the City.
The reasons for homelessness cited most often by clients are: (1) lack
of affordable housing, 42 percent; (2) a breakdown in an interpersonal relationship
(runaways, domestic violence, etc.), 33 percent; (3) limited income, 18 percent;
(4) discharged from an institution, 15 percent; and (5) a result of mental
illness, chemical or substance use, 14 percent.
Analysis of the shelter data showed that the 36 percent increase in bednights
from 2001-2002 was due to an increase in the number of people becoming homeless
(13 percent) while 63 percent of the increase was due to longer lengths of
stay.
Mr. Nocera recommended the County adopt the National Alliance to End Homelessness
4-Step Plan within the next ten years. The following is an outline
of the 4-Step Plan:
1. Plan for the goal of ending homelessness by supporting data-driven
decisions.
- Support the implementation of a data collection system to develop
a centralized planning database. As a member of the Continuum of Care
Committee (CoC), Red Cross is in the process of re-submitting a proposal
as part of the current HUD Continuum of Care Application for 2003-2004.
$30,000 is needed by the Red Cross to match this grant for hardware, software,
licensing and training. HUD is now requiring all communities receiving
CoC funds implement such a system or projects will not be renewed.
Currently, the County is receiving approximately $200,000 annually from HUD
to address the homeless issue.
- Invest in a planning study.
- Create a partnership with the City of Ithaca, area bankers, developers,
and relevant service providers to develop a very low-income housing policy
and strategy that addresses the largest segment of the population suffering
from a lack of affordable housing and is the segment that has largest drain
on the County budget. His personal recommendation is a low-density
countywide or scattered-site approach policy.
2. Close the front door by preventing homelessness in two ways:
- Breaking the cycle of reliance of using the emergency shelter as a
"catch basin" for other services such as discharge planning for psychiatric
units, drug and alcohol treatment, and County jail; change the criteria for
eligibility requirements of the mental health system; and address the issues
of the lack of a detoxification unit.
- Continue to support the Friendship Center, as it is a positive place
for low-income people to find support. Because it minimizes street homeless
and panhandling it also improves the general business climate of the downtown
area.
3. Open the back door by creating more housing opportunities.
He suggested one way to do this is to require anyone receiving a County grant
to prioritize placement of referral from the emergency shelter. He
would also like to see County departments and other community funders discuss
integrated service delivery. We need more housing created at all levels
of the continuum: more shelters (rather than motels), transitional
units, and permanent-supported units.
4. Build an infrastructure. The stock of very-low income housing needs
to increase. This would include but not be limited to SRO (single room
occupancy) type units, boarding rooms and single apartment units for incomes
of less than $10,000. Also efforts to address livable wage are necessary.
Youth Services
Nancy Zahler, Director, said approximately 20 years ago
the Tompkins County comprehensive planning process identified the need for
emergency shelters for teenagers as the highest priority. She reported
on three programs funded through Youth Services. One is the Hillside
Bridges program that helps families with children that have run away from
home or are at risk of running away. The second program is a contract
service with the American Red Cross-Youth Case Management Program which provides
support, advocacy, and case management services to youth ages 16-20 who are
making a transition to independent living. The third program is the
Youth Outreach program that assists 80 homeless and transient youth aged
16-21 to learn independent living skills and receive employment training
aimed toward self-sufficiency.
Last year, there were 153 young people who considered
themselves homeless. Of the 153, 131 received help in finding housing.
Approximately 163 teens were interviewed by young people trained to do the
interviews; 68 of them were living at someone else's house and 23 said they
were living in two or more locations. Also, 36 kids were coming from
the jail and 65 kids spoke about their health needs.
Ms. Zahler said the list of needs for youth include:
(1) connecting with trusted adults; (2) affordable housing; (3) transitional
housing; (4) employment skills; (5) health care; and (6) transportation.
Better Housing for Tompkins County
Stacey Crawford, Director, said their focus is Tompkins
County outside the City of Ithaca area. She spoke about the most pressing
needs of the program. Some of the programs offered include rental,
homeownership, repair service, and first-time homeownership. She echoed
the comments made by Mr. Nocera of the Red Cross. One area of need
is with the seniors and people with disabilities who own their own homes
but need assistance with home repairs. People in the program pay for
materials and the funding provides for labor costs. Better Housing
has funding to meet some of the needs but not all. There is always
a waiting list and generally it is a two-month wait before someone is able
to visit the home to make the repair. Ms. Crawford feels this program
helps some people remain in their home rather than going to a nursing home.
Better Housing works very closely with other organizations in the County
to help avoid duplication of services and build partnerships. She recommended
the Committee maintain the funding support and keep it as steady as possible
and hopes the contribution can be increased when the economy improves as
the senior population and the demand will be increasing.
Ms. Crawford emphasized the need for affordable rental
units for seniors as renters are more vulnerable than homeowners. This
is the time to begin thinking about it and begin the steps of developing
affordable rentals. She also commented that affordable rentals are
needed by families in all communities. She recommended education of
community members to the fact that there are low-income people in every community,
and new affordable units would be for current residents. Ms. Crawford
encourages communities to take the lead in the effort and also consider changing
some of the zoning regulations that make it harder to build affordable housing.
Tompkins Community Action
Tom Garcia spoke about the rental assistance program offered
by Tompkins Community Action (TCA). Currently, TCA controls 802 housing-choice
vouchers in the County and brings in approximately $4 million in rental assistance
annually through this program. There are difficulties with increasingly
substandard housing, as landlords are also having economic hard times.
One concern is that repairs are not being made as often, requiring more inspections
with units.
He noted that the towns are not fully accessing the available federal dollars
for home repairs. Tompkins Community Action is working with the townships
to take full advantage of the federal dollars.
Mr. Garcia spoke more about the voucher program. TCA received a very
high rating for HUD. There are approximately 27 families looking for
housing or with open vouchers. There are currently 470 people on the
waiting list seeking rental assistance. Out of the 470, 128 families
have identified homelessness problems (i.e., utilities shut off). This
year a fulltime staff person was hired for housing searches.
In special programs, there are 25 mainstream vouchers for disabled individuals
and seniors. There are 90 family unification vouchers that deal with
families with children coming back home and/or are at risk of losing their
home. A new program offered this year is the family self-sufficiency
homebuyer option. Currently there are 66 families in the program. Another
area TCA will be looking at is forming alliances with the private sector
(landlords). Mr. Garcia feels the landlords need to be brought to the
table to hear their issues and share our concerns and issues as well.
At this time, he introduced Dave Mountin, Energy Services Director, to speak
about his program. Mr. Mountin said one issue affecting housing vulnerability
is energy costs which continue to rise. He is writing a grant and looking
for new partners and collaborators.
Office for the Aging
Irene Stein, Director, said Mr. Stoyell was the Coordinator of the Housing
program; however as a result of the 2002 budget cuts, the program no longer
exists.
David Stoyell said Office for the Aging's mission is defined in terms of
helping maintain seniors in their homes for as long as possible. Some
assistance is also provided to help people find housing. He also spoke
about other services provided by the Department including home repairs, energy
assistance, and weatherization. He also spoke about the need for help
around the house, transportation, home delivered meals, emergency response
systems, and personal care assistance. These are essential services
for vulnerable seniors in order for them to stay in their home. A majority
of seniors live in their own homes, but many live in rent subsidized senior
housing. There are concerns that the number of housing units for seniors
will not be adequate as the aging population increases. A special concern
is that many of the subsidized senior housing facilities will revert to the
private market in about ten years as their mortgages are paid off.
Assisted living for seniors, which is an alternative for those who need help
with daily living but do not need nursing care, has expanded over the years.
The new assisted living programs have all been expensive and private, and
unaffordable for lower income seniors. As a result low income seniors are
on a faster track to nursing homes.
There are opportunities for coordination of services to vulnerable seniors
who are living in subsidized senior housing. For the past year, a Park
Foundation intern has been studying this at Titus Towers. Funding
for case management seems to be the key for this to happen. The most
pressing needs are: (1) maintaining and expanding the services to help
keep seniors independent and out of residential care centers; and (2) finding
way to make assisted living affordable. He feels that part of the solution
needs to be funding from the State and Federal level, but local efforts are
also significant.
Ms. Stein concluded that in terms of demographics, the wave of baby boomers
is aging and the projections show the increasing percentage of 85 and older.
These are the most vulnerable. Tompkins County has done well with supportive
services such as home repairs, etc.
Finger Lakes Independence Center
Lenore Schwager, Director, spoke about the issue of accessibility to housing
and feels it is a great need. One issue she addressed was the change
in the New York State Building Code that now requires new or renovated multiple
permanent housing units containing more than four units be constructed with
reasonable accessibility. New single family and duplex units are not
required to be accessible. She spoke about the modular ramps program
that began about 28 months ago. This program helps people who cannot
afford to put a ramp on immediately. Many places in need of a ramp
include mobile homes that are 30-36 inches above ground requiring 30-36 feet
of ramping. Over 12 units have been loaned during the duration of the
program. Due to particular physical issues at their homes, 10 people
have been unable to utilize the ramps.
She said renovating bathrooms is another need that is not being met.
She concluded by saying accessible housing is difficult for people to find
especially in the City, and outside the City housing it is getting more difficult.
Mental Health
Bart DeLuca, Commissioner, focused his remarks on housing needs of the mentally
disabled. He said these are many of the people who end up in the shelters
and homeless. There is a need for permanent independent housing to
be developed for single individuals without requirements for treatment or
rehab services. He agreed with Mr. Nocera's comments. The mental
health housing system was designed to provide transitional housing for people
during the period they are readjusting and returning to the community.
The mental health system for housing is a treatment or rehab system with
housing. The housing system requires that people be involved in treatment
clinics, employment services, or other treatment oriented services.
He said that in contrast, permanent housing services assume that all a resident
will need is aid with rent payment. Within the mental health system
there is a voucher system similar to TCA's Section 8 voucher program.
Single SSI recipients often need less than an apartment, but SRO's (single
room occupancy) no longer exist in Tompkins County. He feels the solution
is to develop public SRO level housing in the community that has no clinical
requirements, provides case management services, provides optional congregate
meals, and is funded to support low-income residents. This is called a CRSRO,
a community residence single room occupancy facility. According to
Mr. DeLuca, the State Office of Mental Health has made a commitment that
Tompkins County is “next in line” for funding for such a facility. He said
SRO is not limited to mentally disabled. There would need to be a facility
of 25-50 beds to maximize economies of scale in operating an SRO. It
could be a model such as Titus Towers, but with single rooms. The Department
is working with the State Office of Mental Health to reconfigure their housing
system to include community residences, apartments, vouchers, etc.
However, the big gap locally is the SRO program.
Catholic Charities
George Ferrari, Director, said Catholic Charities offers an emergency financial
assistance program that provides information and products to low income people
and those in economic danger through the Samaritan Center. Direct financial
assistance is provided for security deposits to help people avoid being evicted
or going to a shelter. Funds are raised through contracts with the
County through the Department of Social Services, Human Services Coalition
process, United Way, private money, etc. An allotment of money is budgeted
for each month; however, the money is running out before the end of the month.
In May, the allotment for the month was exhausted on May 2. There are
two areas causing this: (1) prescription requests, and (2) security
deposit requests. The Center is only required to provide $200 per security
deposit request. It is difficult for people to find affordable housing,
or have sufficient money for the security deposit. In addition to the
main Samaritan Center in the City of Ithaca, services are provided in the
towns of Enfield, Dryden, Danby, and Caroline.
Planning Department
Ed Marx, Commissioner, agreed that Tompkins County is a unique community
as far as housing characteristics. There is no County in upstate New
York that is similar. There has been a persistent lack of supply of
housing for years, and it is not clear why that persists.
Among all counties west of the Hudson Valley, Tompkins County has the highest
rents, the highest percentage of renters, the highest cost of owner-occupied
housing, and the lowest vacancy rates in rental and owner occupied housing.
The County also has the highest percent of in-migration for employment purposes
of any county upstate. All of these generally would suggest a lack
of supply.
Although population throughout New York State has been relatively low, other
than downstate, there seems to be a growth in the number of households.
Mr. Marx feels the bigger issue is the current growth trends in Tompkins
County according to the most recent census. In the 1990's, Tompkins
County grew a total of 2.6 percent. From 2001 to 2002 Tompkins County
grew over one percent, which would be more than ten percent in a decade if
it continues. Thus the pressure on housing could be even greater in
the future. Many contractors and developers left the area and New York
State during the recession in the early 1990s. Most of the contractors
now want to build high end as there is not a lot of profit in medium to low
income housing. He commented that there is a community resistance to
subsidized affordable housing projects. Federal support for lower income
housing has really declined over the last 20 years; all programs are under
funded.
Mr. Marx said that the County comprehensive plan is looking at housing issues.
There are two primary focuses that are being discussed: (1) the housing
need for seniors; and (2) the general issue of affordability and trying to
look at the different level of incomes. He commented that while scatter-site
housing is needed throughout the county, he is concerned about access to
needed services for people living in the rural areas. He also noted
that we need to integrate different kinds of housing throughout the neighborhoods
of Tompkins County.
Ms. Robertson thanked the presenters for their valuable and thoughtful comments
and opened the discussion up for comments and questions.
Mr. Proto summarized observations he identified in the presentations:
the needs of youth, emergency, long-term permanent housing, seniors, and
mental health. He feels one issue the Committee needs to address is
the different needs of each of these areas.
As an apartment owner, Mr. Proto was grateful to hear some of the presenters
address the needs of landlords such as ramping and energy needs. He
commented that over the last 15 years utility costs have quadrupled.
Mr. Penniman commented on the challenge of the diverse problems. Increasing
the supply of housing at almost any part of the continuum can have a ripple
effect. For example, encouraging moderate-cost housing development can then
open doors for low-income housing; this in turn can reduce demand for
emergency housing. There is also a need to evelop mental health SROs that
do not fall into other categories.
Ms. Robertson noted this community is fortunate to have the not-for-profit
agencies and feels the opening of Cornell's West Campus Residential Initiative
for upper class students may relieve the pressure on rental housing.
Ms. Blanchard said she is grateful for this meeting and said Commissioner
Marx is correct about the Federal government’s failure to support affordable
housing. She thought it might be useful to hear from the Ithaca Housing
Authority as well on this subject. She also asked that people begin
talking about affordable housing and stop using the term "low income housing".
She would like to know what kinds of jobs people have who can only afford
the lowest-cost housing.
Mrs. Schuler agreed with Ms. Blanchard that the Housing Authority should
be a player.
Ms. Dolan noted the Social Services Department serves 15,000 people at any
one time and tries to respond to a wide spectrum of needs and challenges.
Often this includes assisting low-income people in negotiating for housing.
The adult protective service staff see people who have multiple needs, which
can include housing supports. Ms. Dolan said that the county spends
$900,000 on emergency housing each year.
A brief discussion followed concerning the emergency shelters and it was
noted that the cost of a person staying at a shelter is $14 more expensive
than a hotel room. The reason is the shelter provides 24-hour support
services.
Mr. Nocera said he is encouraged that this issue has the county's attention.
He also reminded the Committee that a study was done in the early 1990s on
this subject and suggested Committee members review it.
Mr. Proto thanked everyone for their presentations and added that it is also
a community issue as well. He spoke about the Section 8 programs of
TCA and the Housing Authority and the need to continue the supply of support
services.
Ms. Zahler recommended Cornell's housing policy be looked at. The uniqueness
of this community for students affects everything the County is doing and
is an important element that drives what happens in future discussions.
She feels Cornell should be an active participant in these discussions.
The Committee then talked about the next steps. Mr. Koplinka-Loehr
feels the 4-Step model as presented by Mr. Nocera should be looked into.
Ms. Dill noted that a grant writing process will take place in July, with
several agencies collaborating on a HUD proposal. The Continuum of
Care Subcommittee will continue to look at low-income direct services and
housing needs. Ms. Robertson said the Health and Human Services Committee
will discuss developing short-term and long-term goals and what the County
can do to help.
Mrs. Schuler also suggested Cornerstone (Cayuga Addition Recovery Services)
be involved as well.
Approval of Minutes
It was MOVED by Mr. Koplinka-Loehr seconded by Mrs. Schuler,
and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve the minutes of June 4,
2003 meeting as submitted.
Department of Social Services
Resolution
It was MOVED by Mr. Koplinka-Loehr, seconded by Mrs. Schuler,
to submit the following resolution to the Legislature for approval.
Ms. Dolan noted this is not a new program; there was a lapse in the contract.
This agreement with the two credit unions provides the opportunity to loan
individuals money for a car up to $3,000 to get to or maintain a job.
The individuals pay back the money and if there is a problem this grant guarantees
the loan and pays the interest. Ms. Dolan only recalls one person who
did not pay back the loan.
A voice vote resulted as follows on the resolution:
Ayes - 5; Noes - 0. RESOLUTION CARRIED.
RESOLUTION NO. -AUTHORIZATION
TO ACCEPT WHEELS FOR WORK 2 GRANT AND TO CONTRACT WITH CREDIT UNIONS
TO UNDERWRITE NO-COST LOANS TO QUALIFYING CLIENTS – DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
SERVICES
WHEREAS, the Department of Social Services has been notified
by the New York State Department of Labor’s Welfare to Work Division that
it has been awarded a Wheels for Work II grant in the amount of $103,500
to cover 100% of the cost of underwriting no-interest credit union loans
to qualifying clients for the purchase and/or repair of a personal vehicle
to either obtain or keep a job, and
WHEREAS, such a program would provide an effective option
for addressing a crucial obstacle to self-sufficiency, and
WHEREAS, the Department’s previous experience with this
type of program during 2001 and 2002 using Wheels for Work I funds was very
successful, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Health and Human Services
Committee, That the Department of Social Services is authorized to accept
the grant and to contract with the Alternatives Federal Credit Union and
the Cornell Fingerlakes Credit Union to issue and administer the aforementioned
loans to individuals referred by the Department between July 1, 2003 and
March 31, 2005,
RESOLVED, further, That the Director of Finance is hereby
authorized to make the following adjustment to the 2003 budget of the Department
of Social Services:
Appropriation: 6010.54442 Purchase
of Services $103,500
Revenue:
6070.54610 Federal: TANF
$103,500
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
* * * * * * * * * *
Used Furniture Contract
Ms. Dolan informed the Committee that the Department currently
contracts with Robin's Nest for used furniture and has been notified that
it is going out of business and can no longer provide the service and contractual
obligation. This contract provides a service to the Department's clients.
She said the contract needs to be renewed and would like to know how involved
the Committee would like to be in the process. Following a brief discussion,
it was the consensus of the Committee to give the Department authority to
go to bid and award the contract and report back periodically.