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>> GARCIA: ALL RIGHT. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. AND WELCOME TO THE PLANNING COMMUNITY AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING FOR FEBRUARY 27, 2024. WE'LL START WITH A ROLL CALL.
>> CLERK: MUCH. WE HAVE THE FIRST ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM JANUARY 23RD OF 2024 FOR OUR PCDC MEETING.
AND I THINK THAT THE CLERK HAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE.
IS THERE A CORRECTION OF SOME SORT? >> CLERK: OH, MISSPELLING
OF A -- >> GARCIA: IT'S ALREADY BEEN FIXED.
THERE WAS A CORRECTION ON THE MINUTES, SO IF YOU ARE OKAY WITH IT BS I'LL
ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE. >> MOTION.
>> SECOND. >> GARCIA: ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
(AYES.) (. >> GARCIA: MOTION CARRIES. DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? OKAY. WITH MY CONCEPT OF MY COLLEAGUES I'D LIKE TO TAKE UP THE CONSENT AGENDA. THERE'S RESOLUTION OF NO OBJECTION FOR DISTRICTS 3 AND 4. THERE'S DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTS ASSOCIATED. AND SO CAN WE TAKE ITEM 4, 5 AND 6 TOGETHER? Y'ALL ARE OKAY WITH IT? ALL RIGHT. DO WE NEED A PRESENTATION
OR ARE YOU OKAY WITH MAKING A MOTION. >>
>> COURAGE: I'LL SECOND THAT. I HAVE NO OBJECTIONS.
>> GARCIA: WONDERFUL. ALL IN FAVOR PLEASE SAY AYE.
(AYES.) >> GARCIA: MOTION CARRIES.
PLEASE LET THE RECORD REFLECT COUNCILMAN PELAEZ HAS ARRIVED.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER TWO BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE 2024 STATUS OF POVERTY IN SAN ANTONIO REPORT, THE STATUS.
THAT WILL BE PRESENTED BY PATRICK STACK. >> PATRICK STACK, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH THE CITY'S HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT ON THE STATUS OF POVERTY IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO THE GOAL OF THIS PRESENTATION IS TO SHARE SOME OF THE LATEST CENSUS DATA ON POVERTY AND INCOME AND RELATED SOCIAL DOMAINS THAT WE GET FROM THE CENSUS DATA -- CENSUS BUREAU ON POVERTY IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND THEN WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HOW WE'RE USING THAT DATA, HOW IT'S INFORMING OUR WORK AT DHS AND HOW THIS RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS CAN BE A RESOURCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY. SO FOR BACKGROUND, DHS HAS BEEN USING CENSUS DATA FOR A LONG TIME, BUT IN 2019, WE ISSUED THE STATUS OF POVERTY REPORT IN COLLABORATION WITH METRO HEALTH TO TRACK OUR SOCIOECONOMIC DISPARITIES IN SAN ANTONIO. THAT REPORT HAS BEEN USED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.
IT INFORMED OUR COVID-19 RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVED IN 2020. I'VE HEARD FROM VARIOUS COMMUNITY MEMBERS HOW THEY HAVE ACCESSED IT ONLINE, USED IT IN, SAY, GRANT WRITING OR IN PULLING STATISTICS ON OUR COMMUNITY. IT'S BEEN A VALUABLE RESOURCE. WE DID UPDATE IT IN 2022 WITH SOME RECENT CENSUS DATA AND TODAY WE'RE SHARING THE LATEST UPDATE FOR THE 2024 REPORT.
WE DO HAVE -- REPORT, WE HAVE AN ONLINE DASHBOARD. THIS IS AN INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD SHOWING SOME OF THE SIMILAR STATISTICS BUT EVEN ALLOWING FOLKS TO DRILL DEEPER, WE HAVE MAPS, ALL SORTS OF THINGS ON THAT DASHBOARD.
AND THEN WE DID A COMMUNITY WELL-BEING SURVEY, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER, BUT WE DID A SURVEY TO FILL IN SOME OF THE GAPS THAT WE CAN'T GET FROM CENSUS DATA. ACTUALLY TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM RESIDENTS ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITY -- ABOUT THEIR WELL-BEING AND SENSE OF BELONGING HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. SO APOLOGIES FOR THE SMALL TEXT ON THIS, BUT I WANT TO GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THAT 2019 POVERTY REPORT, AND SOME OF TIM PLE MENTATION AND THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE FIVE YEARS SENSE, ALMOST FIVE YEARS. SO THE 2019 REPORT WAS AROUND -- CENTERED AROUND THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON FIVE SPECIFIC AREAS. FIRST, FOCUSING ON HIGH NEED GEOGRAPHIES AND POPULATIONS. WE'VE USED OUR ARPA DOLLARS AND OUR HUMAN SERVICES DOLLARS WITH AN EQUITY LENS ON HOW WE MAKE FUNDING DECISIONS AROUND THAT. FOSTERING INTEGRATION OF ASSET BUILDING AND SOCIAL SAFETY NET SERVICES. I WOULD POINT TO THE AACN, ALAMO AREA COMMUNITY NETWORK AS A REFERRAL NETWORK SOURCE.
THAT'S PART OF OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE, WE LAUNCHED A DHS OF
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BENEFITS NAVIGATION PROGRAM. THAT CONTINUES TODAY WITHIN OUR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER. WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY YOUTH COLLABORATIVE OF VARIOUS NONPROFIT AGENCIES SERVING DISCONNECTED YOUTH. I'LL TEE UP OUR NEXT ITEM OF SACRD.ORG IS CONTINUING AS A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.IN THE AREA OF ENHANCING SAFETY NET FOR OUR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, AMONG MANY OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE USED ARPA DOLLARS ON UTILITY ASSISTANCE FUNDING. WE'VE LAUNCHED AND CONTINUED TODAY OUR HOMELESS CONNECTIONS OUTLINE.
NHSD HAS HOUSING NAVIGATORS IN THE EVICTION COURTS AND OTHER HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS TO ENHANCE THAT SAFETY NET.
IN THE AREA OF EXPANDING ACCESS TO PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT SUPPORT ASSET BUILDING AND PRESERVATION, A LOT OF WORK WITH OUR HOUSING BOND PROGRAM, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT CAME OUT SINCE THE 2019 POVERTY REPORT. AND FOCUSES ON LOW-INCOME FAMILIES AND BUILDING HOUSING RESOURCES FOR THEM. AS WELL AS -- LAST IS THE OFFERING ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT TO OUR NONPROFIT WHOSE ARE SERVING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES. WE'VE BUILT OUR SCORE GUARDS AT DHS AND WITH METRO HEALTH AND WITH THE ARPA FUNDING AROUND OUR RESULTS-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK. WE'VE DONE WORKSHOPS TO HELP OUR NONPROFITS IN APPLICATION AND DEVELOPING THEIR SCORE CARDS, SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND THEIR IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN WE DIRECTLY FUNDED CAPACITY-BUILDING EFFORTS THROUGH ONE OF THE BUCKETS OF NONPROFIT CAPACITY BUILDING UNDER THE ARPA FRAMEWORK.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST OF MANY CHARTS AND GRAPHS THAT WE WILL BE GOING THROUGH AS WE -- AS WE SHARE SOME OF THE FINDINGS OF THE 2024 STATUS OF POVERTY REPORT. FIRST IS DEFINING WHAT POVERTY IS. SO WE'RE GOING TO USE THE OFFICIAL POVERTY MEASURE THAT THE CENSUS BUREAU DEVELOPS. THIS IS THE 2022 POVERTY MEASURE. THERE IS NO DIFFERENTIATING FOR GEOGRAPHY ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THIS IS FOR ALL 50 STATES, WHAT THE CENSUS BUREAU USES FOR POVERTY LEVEL.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, A FAMILY OF FOUR, THE POVERTY LEVEL IS $29,678.
SO IT ONLY VARIES BASED ON HOUSEHOLD SIZE, BUT THIS WILL BE WHAT WE USE FOR THIS PURPOSE AS CALCULATING POVERTY LEVEL.
THERE IS A FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL FROM A DIFFERENT FEDERAL AGENCY, THERE'S AREA MEDIAN INCOME, ALL VALUABLE TOOLS IN DIFFERENT LANES, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE'LL BE REFERRING TO, BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT THE CENSUS BUREAU USES. AND SO THIS DATA IS COMING FROM THE 2022 AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY FIVE-YEAR ESTIMATE. SO THE CENSUS BUREAU USES FIVE YEAR'S OF DATA TO CALCULATE THE MOST ACCURATE ESTIMATE ON WHERE WE STAND ON POVERTY TODAY. THE POVERTY RATE IN SAN ANTONIO IS 17-POINT 7% AS OF THAT MOST RECENT, MOST ACCURATE CENSUS DATA. THAT IS SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN THE POVERTY RATE IN HOUSTON, SO SAN ANTONIO IS NOT THE HIGHEST POVERTY RATE AMONG MAJOR TEXAS CITIES, BUT THE POVERTY RATE IS HIGHER WHEN COMPARED TO TEXAS, HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL POVERTY RATE OF 12.5%. WE'LL -- THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION -- ALSO REFER TO THOSE FIVE LARGEST TEXAS CITIES AS WELL AS THE STATE AND THE COUNTRY FOR SOME REFERENCE POINTS.
THAT'S ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILLION SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS LIVING BELOW THAT POVERTY THRESHOLD. NATIONALLY BETWEEN 2017 AND 2022, SO OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD THAT WE CAN COMPARE DATA, POVERTY RATES FELL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ACROSS THE STATE AND IN ALL OF OUR MAJOR TEXAS CITIES, INCLUDING SAN ANTONIO, BUT THE REDUCTION IN SAN ANTONIO WAS MUCH SMALLER COMPARED TO OUR TEXAS PEERS AND COMPARED TO OUR COUNTRY. JUST ABOUT A 1% REDUCTION IN POVERTY OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. YOU CAN SEE DALLAS HAD A LARGE REDUCTION IN THEIR POVERTY RATES. AND WE'LL BE DOING SOME FIVE-YEAR COMPARISONS AS WELL THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION.
NEXT ONE WE'LL LOOK INTO WHO IN SAN ANTONIO IS EXPERIENCING POVERTY OR LIVING IN POVERTY AND WHAT GROUPS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED. LOOKING AT IT BY RACE OR ETHNICITY, BLACK OR AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION HAS THE HIGHEST RATE OF POVERTY BY 23%, FOLLOWED BY NATIVE AMERICAN, AMERICAN INDIAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN GROUP AT 21.3% AND 20% OF THE HISPANIC OR LATINO POPULATION OF SAN ANTONIO
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ARE LIVING IN POVERTY AND THAT REPRESENTS ABOUT 187,000 OF THOSE 250,000 PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY IN SAN ANTONIO. I'LL NOTE, TOO, OUR ONLINE DASHBOARD HAS AN EVEN DEEPER DIVE AND GEOGRAPHIES AND MORE DATA ON THIS -- THIS DISAGGREGATION. THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT DISPARITIES LOOKING AT IT BY AGE, ESPECIALLY OUR UNDER FIVE -- CHILDREN UNDER FIVE REPRESENT THE LARGEST AGE GROUP OR THE MOST DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY LIVING IN POVERTY, 27% OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE LIVE IN A HOUSEHOLD THAT IS BELOW THE POVERTY RATE IN SAN ANTONIO.THIS IS HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL RATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER FIVE, WHICH IS ABOUT 18%. THE GOOD NEWS IS LOOKING AT THE CHANGE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, THE CHILD POVERTY RATE HAS REDUCED ABOUT A LITTLE OVER 2.5% IN SAN ANTONIO, BUT YOU CAN SEE HERE BY THE AGE GROUPS THAT OLDER ADULTS, POVERTY RATE IS ACTUALLY -- HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED BY 1.5% OVER THAT SAME TIME PERIOD. THIS IS ALSO CONSISTENT WITH STATE AND NATIONAL TRENDS, ALTHOUGH SAN ANTONIO'S RATE OF GROWTH IS SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE STATE AND NATIONAL TRENDS AMONG OLDER ADULTS LIVING IN POVERTY. LOOKING AT HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS, SO ABOUT 34THS OF HOUSEHOLDS EXPERIENCING POVERTY WERE FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENTS, WHICH YOU CAN SEE REFLECTED IN THAT CHILD POVERTY NUMBER ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDES. MORE THAN 60% OF THOSE FAMILIES WERE SINGLE PARENT HEAD OF HOUSEHOLDS, AND MOST OF THOSE, 52%, ARE SINGLE WOMEN, MOTHERS. ABOUT 10% ARE SINGLE MEN HEAD OF HOUSEHOLDS.
NATIONALLY AND IN SAN ANTONIO, WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE LIVING IN POVERTY. 19% IN SAN ANTONIO COMPARED TO 16.4% OF MEN IN SAN ANTONIO. THAT GAP BETWEEN THE 16 AND THE 19% IS ACTUALLY SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN SOME OF ZERO OUR PEER TEXAS CITIES, BUT THAT DISPARITY CLEARLY REMAINS. SO WE TALKED ABOUT POVERTY RATES AND ABOVE -- WHETHER YOU'RE ABOVE OR BELOW THAT POVERTY THRESHOLD EXACTLY, BUT WE'LL GET INTO -- THIS IS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MEDIAN INCOME, THE ACTUAL DOLLAR AMOUNT PER HOUSEHOLD ON A MEDIAN BASIS. INCOMES HAVE GROWN ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ACROSS THE STATE AND ACROSS SAN ANTONIO, MEDIAN INCOME BY HOUSEHOLD HAS INCREASED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. THE GROWTH IS -- IN SAN ANTONIO IS SMALLER COMPARED TO TEXAS AND THE UNITED STATES, ABOUT A 20% GROWTH COMPARED TO -- IN SAN ANTONIO COMPARED TO ABOUT 28 IN TEXAS, 30% ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND ONE INTERESTING POINT HERE COMPARING OUR TEXAS CITIES AT THE LOW AND HIGH ENDS OF THE INCOME BANDS, THIS INCOME DISPARITY, YOU CAN SEE THAT AMONG THE FIVE LARGEST TEXAS CITIES, THE PERCENTAGE OF INDIVIDUALS MAKING BELOW 15,000 PER YEAR WERE ON PAR WITH HOUSTON AND DALLAS, BUT IN THE HIGHER INCOME BANDS, THOSE EARNING OVER 150,000 PER YEAR, WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER PROPORTION HERE IN SAN ANTONIO COMPARED TO OUR TEXAS PEER CITIES. NOW, LOOKING AT -- CONTINUING ON THAT GENDER DISPARITY THEME, BUT LOOKING INTO IT BY EDUCATION LEVEL, WE SEE CONTINUED DISPARITIES, BOTH AT THE NATIONAL, STATE AND SAN ANTONIO LEVELS. MEDIAN -- EXCUSE ME, MEDIAN EARNINGS OF BOTH MEN AND WOMEN DO INCREASE WITH LEVELS OF EDUCATION, BUT THE MEDIAN EARNINGS OF MEN ARE HIGHER THAN WOMEN, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS TABLE. IN SAN ANTONIO, AMONG THOSE WHO DID NOT COMPLETE HIGH SCHOOL, WOMEN MAKE ABOUT 62 CENTS FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT MEN MAKE. THOSE WITH HIGHER GRADUATE OR HIGHER LEVEL DEGREES, THAT DISPARITY IS ABOUT 76 CENTS FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT A MAN MAKES. THIS -- EXCUSE ME, IN SAN ANTONIO, WOMEN ON AVERAGE MAKE ABOUT $7,600 LESS THAN MEN PER YEAR, AND THIS IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER -- THIS DISPARITY IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS THAN IN SAN ANTONIO, SO NOT A GREAT PICTURE OVERALL, THOUGH SAN ANTONIO'S DISPARITY IS SLIGHTLY LESS THAN SOME OF THOSE OTHER GEOGRAPHIES. AGAIN, ON EDUCATION LEVEL, SO -- OF THE
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PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY IN SAN ANTONIO, ABOUT 1/3 HAVE LESS THAN A HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE OR EQUIVALENCY. ABOUT ANOTHER THIRD HAVE THEIR HIGH SCHOOL E QUIF LANSY. BUT A QUARTER OF PEOPLE LIVING IN SAN ANTONIO IN POVERTY DO HAVE SOME SORT OF COLLEGE CREDIT OR SOME LEVEL OF COLLEGE DEGREE. 10% HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE OR HIGHER.ANOTHER KEY POINT IS DISABILITY STATUS. SO THE POVERTY RATE AMONG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IS HIGHER THAN THE SAN ANTONIO AVERAGE.
IT'S 23.1%. AGAIN, THAT'S A NATIONAL TREND TO SEE THAT DISPARITY. ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE PEOPLE WHO REPORT A DISABILITY ARE ACTUALLY NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE, SO THEY'RE NOT SEEKING WORK OR THEY'RE NOT EMPLOYED OR NOT SEEKING WORK AT ALL.
THEY HAVE A DISABILITY THAT PREVENTS THAT. AMONG THOSE WHO ARE WORKING, THOUGH, THAT REPORT A DISABILITY, ABOUT HALF REPORTED AN INCOME UNDER $25,000. SO THOSE WERE SOME OF THE CHARTS AND GRAPHS.
THERE ARE MORE ONLINE, AS I'VE ALLUDED TO SO I WANT TO GIVE A -- THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF OUR ONLINE POVERTY DASHBOARD ON OUR DHS WEBSITE, YOU CAN SEE THIS INFORMATION AND MUCH MORE. IT'S PRESENTED PUBLICLY, AND IT IS LIVE UPDATED, SO AS CENSUS DATA COMES IN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE ARE ABLE TO QUICKLY UPDATE THOSE MAPS AND THOSE CHARTS.
WE ALSO WILL HAVE OUR POVERTY REPORT PUBLISHED HERE ONLINE, THAT'S IN A PDF. IT'S A VERY PRINTABLE, PORTABLE DOCUMENT THAT YOU CAN TAKE. WE DO HAVE THE INTERACTIVE WEBSITE AVAILABLE AS A RESOURCE FOR THIS INFORMATION. AND MUCH MORE FOR THE COMMUNITY TO ACCESS. I DO WANT TO TALK NOW ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY SURVEY THAT WE DID, AS I MENTIONED, TO SORT OF FILL IN THE GAPS OF SOME OF WHAT WE CAN'T QUITE GLEAN FROM CENSUS DATA. WE WANTED TO ASK PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR WELL-BEING, ABOUT S SOME OF THE SOCIAL DETERMINATES OF HEALTH, WHICH ARE THESE FIVE DOMAINS THAT WE HAVE ROUGHLY ORGANIZED OUR POVERTY REPORT AROUND. SO LAST FISCAL YEAR, WE SENT OUT SURVEYS THROUGH THE MAIL AND THROUGH OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS, WE GOT ABOUT 1,000 RESPONSES BACK, AND WEIGHT LD OR DISAGGREGATED THOSE TO ENSURE THAT THEY WERE REPRESENTATIVE ACROSS -- REPRESENTATIVE OF SAN ANTONIO AS A WHOLE.
THE FINDINGS FROM THAT -- SO WE -- AS I MENTIONED, ABOUT 1,000 RES RESPONDENTS, HALF OF THEM REPORTED THAT THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM COVERING THEIR BASIC NEEDS AND THEY DO HAVE DISCRETIONARY INCOME.
ABOUT 36% SAID THAT THEY COULD COVER THEIR BASIC NEEDS BUT HAVE NO DISCRETIONARY FUNDS. AND AN EMERGENCY WOULD PUT THEM AT RISK.
AND ABOUT 10% SAID THEY COULD NOT AT THE TIME COVER THEIR BASIC NEEDS.
SO WE USED THOSE THREE GROUPINGS TO DISAGGREGATE AND LOOK AT THE RESPONSES BY PEOPLE WHO ARE FINANCIALLY SECURE, PEOPLE WHO ARE FINANCIALLY AT RISK, AND PEOPLE WHO ARE -- ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCING POVERTY OR FINANCIALLY INSECURE. WE ASKED THEM THINGS ABOUT HOW -- DID THEY KNOW -- OR WHAT WAS THEIR CONFIDENCE IN ACCESSING SOCIAL SERVICES. AND THE PEOPLE WITH FINANCIAL INSECURITY REPORTED AT ABOUT -- AT ABOUT HALF OF THEM REPORTED THEY WEREN'T CONFIDENT IN THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIAL SERVICES.
MAYBE THEY KNEW SOME, BUT THAT DOES POINT TO AN EFFORT THAT WE NEED TO HAVE BETTER OUTREACH INTO COMMUNITIES WHO ARE EXPERIENCING FINANCIAL E INSECURITY. WE DID ASK THEM WHERE DO THEY GO FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS WERE AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, BUT CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. AND THE CITY WAS HIGH AT ABOUT 20% SAYING WHERE PEOPLE GO FOR ADDITIONAL SOCIAL SUPPORT.
THAT'S FOLLOWED THEN BY OUR NONPROFITS, THE COUNTY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS. SO THIS DATA, I THINK, CAN HELP US INFORM AS WE ARE DOING OUTREACH, AS WE'RE MARKETING AND CONNECTING TO COMMUNITIES HOW WE ARE -- HOW WE CAN BEST DO THAT. FOLLOWING ON THE MODEL OF OUR 2019 POVERTY REPORT, WHICH THAT REPORT HAD A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE CITY'S INVESTMENTS. SO WE UPDATED SOME OF THAT.
WE KNOW THE CITY ORGANIZATION, THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION, ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, HAVE THE GOAL OF MAKING SAN ANTONIO A VIBRANT AND THRIVING COMMUNITY. AND IN SOME WAY TOUCH ON ALLEVIATING POVERTY, BUT
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THESE DEPARTMENTS ON THE SCREEN HAVE PROGRAMS SPECIFICALLY FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN SOME FORM OR FASHION, AND SERVE IN SOME WAY THE SOCIAL DETERMINATES OF HEALTH FRAMEWORK. THERE'S THINGS LIKE HEALTHCARE, NEIGHBORHOOD AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT, WHICH INCLUDES HOUSING, OUR SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT, THINGS -- SOCIAL CONNECTION, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, ECONOMIC STABILITY, MEANING PROMOTING FINANCIAL COUNSELING, THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THEN OUR EDUCATION AND ACCESS, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN BE -- CAN ACCESS JOBS THAT THEY WILL BETTER IMPROVE THEIR INCOME. AND, OF COURSE, OUR ARPA INVESTMENTS ALSO TIE CLOSELY TO MEETING THOSE SOCIAL DETERMINATES OF HEALTH NEEDS FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES. THESE ARE JUST A HANDFUL. YOU ARE ALL AWARE OF OUR ARPA FRAMEWORK, BUT WE ARE MAKING TARGETED INVESTMENTS, AND AS I MENTIONED, THERE IS THAT EQUITY FOCUS OF HOW WE ALLOCATED THESE DOLLARS TO OUR NONPROFITS.SO I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE ARPA INVESTMENTS THAT THE COUNCIL HAS MADE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING HERE IN POVERTY IN SAN ANTONIO. SO SOME OF OUR KEY TAKEAWAYS, FROM LOOKING AT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, THE CENSUS DATA, THE SURVEY DATA AS A WHOLE, NUMBER ONE, SAN ANTONIO DOES NOT HAVE THE HIGHEST POVERTY RATE IN TEXAS. THAT DISTINCTION BELONGS TO SOME OF OUR OTHER NEIGHBORING CITY -- OR OTHER TEXAS CITIES, BUT WE DO HAVE THE LOWEST MEDIAN INCOME -- HOUSEHOLD INCOME AMONG THE LARGEST FIVE TEXAS CITIES. SECOND, SAN ANTONIO REDUCES POVERTY -- IS REDUCING POVERTY AS A SLOWER RATE THAN SOME OF THE OTHER TEXAS CITIES, PERHAPS POINTING TO LIMITED SOCIAL ECONOMIC MOBILITY, PERHAPS GENERATIONAL POVERTY BEING A CHALLENGE FACING SAN ANTONIO. THE NEXT TWO ARE TIED CLOSELY TOGETHER, BUT THERE'S AN INNER SECTION OF NUMEROUS VULNERABILITY FACTORS FOR POVERTY, NOT UNIQUE TO SAN ANTONIO BUT SOMETHING THAT WE MUST BE MINDFUL OF.
CERTAIN SUBPOPULATIONS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY POVERTY, AND OUR SURVEY SHOWS THAT LOW-INCOME RESPECTS ARE EXPOSED TO MULTIPLE RISK FACTORS THAT COULD INCREASE THEIR VULNERABILITY.
HOUSING INSTABILITY IS A RISK FACTOR, BOTH REPORTED ON THE SURVEY THAT WE DID, THE WELL-BEING SURVEY, ABOUT 40% OF FINANCIALLY INSECURE RESIDENTS REPORTED CONCERNS ABOUT NOT HAVING STABLE HOUSING IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS. WE HAVE RENT-BURDENED DATA ON THE ONLINE DASHBOARD. A HIGH RATE OF SINGLE WOMEN HEAD OF HOUSEHOLDS, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, ABOUT 52% OF THE FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY ARE SINGLE MOTHERS. AND THEN OUR -- AS WE DISCUSSED, THE KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIAL SERVICES, THE CONFIDENCE IN SEEKING SOCIAL SERVICES -- IN AUDIO] -- COMMUNITIES IN POVERTY. SO POVERTY IS A COMPLEX, IT'S AFFECTED BY LARGE-SCALE ECONOMIC FACTORS, FEDERAL POVERTY HAS A VERY LARGE AND OUTSIZED INFLUENCE ON POVERTY RATES IN SAN ANTONIO AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY. I THINK OUR CHALLENGE IS HOW WE USE THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO US HERE IN SAN ANTONIO LOCALLY TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, AND SO TO THAT END, WE HAVE A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS. FIRST, EMPHASIZING SERVING THE MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS, MEANING BEING SURE THAT WE'RE DISAGGREGATING OUR DATA ALWAYS TO KNOW WHO WE NEED TO SERVE BEST. AND THAT GOES FROM FUNDING DECISIONS, OUR OUTREACH AND MARKETING EFFORTS, AND AT OUR OPERATIONAL LEVELS, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT IN JUST A SECOND.
BUT, FOR EXAMPLE, TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE RESEARCH CAN BE APPLIED TO OUR PROGRAMS WITHIN DHS, WITHIN THE CITY ORGANIZATION, TO MAKE SMALL CHANGES THAT PEOPLE COULD FEEL MORE WELCOME WHEN THEY'RE ACCESSING SOCIAL SERVICES AND INCREASE THEIR CHANCES OF GETTING WHAT THEY -- GETTING THE ASSISTANCE THAT THEY NEED. SECOND, WE WANT TO TACKLE ISSUES IN SMALLER BITES THROUGH COLLECTIVE IMPACT.
AND I WOULD HIGHLIGHT AN EFFORT THAT DHS HAS DONE WITH OUR OPPORTUNITY YOUTH COLLABORATIVE. YOUTH WHO ARE DISENGAGED FROM EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION SYSTEMS, BRINGS TOGETHER THOSE NONPROFITS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE AND WORK WITH THOSE YOUTH, DEVELOPING COMMON METRICS, ALSO REFERENCE OUR HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM. WE ARE COORDINATED AND WE'RE ALSO DOING A GAP ANALYSIS WITH YOUTH, YOUNG ADULT WHOSE ARE EXPERIENCING HOUSING INSTABILITY OR AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS, TO DO A GAP
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ANALYSIS THERE. SO THOSE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF TAKING THE SMALLER SUBPOPULATIONS WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE, WORKING TOGETHER LOCALLY HERE TO ADDRESS THE GAPS THAT WE'RE SEEING TO SERVE THEM.ALSO RECOMMEND TIGHTENING HOW WE REFER RESIDENTS ACROSS SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAMS. SO DHS IS COMMITTED TO THE ALAMO AREA COMMUNITY NETWORK. THEY HAVE RECENTLY RELAUNCHED WITH A NEW SOFTWARE PLATFORM CALLED SYNC, AND THIS IS FOR NONPROFITS TO REFER TO ONE ANOTHER. WHEN THEY ARE SERVING SOMEONE WHO NEEDS A DIFFERENT SERVICE THAT THAT NONPROFIT DOESN'T PROVIDE, THEY CAN MAKE THAT REFERRAL SEAMLESSLY. THAT ONE IMPROVES THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE FOR THAT PERSON, BUT ALSO HELPS CREATE DATA AND GENERATE INFORMATION THAT CAN INFORM THE GAPS IN THE SYSTEM THAT WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT. AND LAST, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT AN INITIATIVE, WE'RE STARTING WITHIN DHS WE'RE CALLING SOCIAL LAB.
THIS IS LOOKING AT THAT OPERATIONAL LEVEL, HOW WE CAN REALLY MAKE SMALL ADJUSTMENTS WITH OUR PROGRAMS OPERATIONALLY TO BETTER SERVE THE MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS. A GROUP OF OUR DHS FRONT LINE STAFF GOT THE DRESS REHEARSAL OF THIS PRESENTATION A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND THAT DATA, YOU KNOW, IT HELPS INFORM BOTH WHAT THEY ARE SEEING AT THE -- AT THE GROUND LEVEL, SO WORKING WITH -- WE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATION AROUND GRANDPARENTS WHO ARE SERVING AS PARENTS TO THEIR YOUTH, SEEING THAT TREND IN OLDER ADULT POVERTY ACTUALLY INCREASING OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS REALLY CONNECTED WITH SOME OF OUR STAFF WHO ARE SEEING THAT ANECDOTALLY IN THEIR WORK. SO WE'RE LOOKING TO BRING TOGETHER THE DATA AND THE FRONT-LINE EXPERTS TO MAKE THOSE SMALL CHANGES WITHIN OUR PROGRAMS BOTH DATA-INFORMED AND PEOPLE-INFORMED TO BETTER SERVE OUR COMMUNITY. I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TEAM THAT PUT TOGETHER ALL OF THESE CHARTS AND GRAPHS, DR. LARA SERVING SERANO IS HER TEAM, SOON TO BE DR. RONNIE WILSON AND THEIR TEAM, MAXWELL KENNEDY, THEY'RE HERE. THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.
THEY'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ALL THE TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT NUMBERS.
>> GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH, PATRICK, FOR THE SOBERING INFORMATION.
IT'S JUST SAD. BUT I'LL HAVE QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW, BUT I DO WANT TO ADDRESS, WE HAVE SOME STUDENTS IN THE AUDIENCE, AND I JUST WANTED TO RECOGNIZE THEM. SO GREATER SATX AND SA WORKS ARE HOSTING JOB SHADOWED DAY TODAY, AND I HAVE EIGHT STUDENTS THAT ARE GOING TO FOLLOW ME THIS MORNING, AND SO THEY'RE HERE. THEY'RE FROM SOUTHWEST ISD, SO I JUST WANT TO LET YOU ALL MAYBE STAND AND WAVE AND JUST BE RECOGNIZED. SO WAVE OR STAND OR SOMETHING.
THEY'RE A LITTLE SHY. BUT THEY'RE HERE TO LISTEN TO THE STATUS OF POVERTY REPORT, AND I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT THEY LEARN BECAUSE IT'S THEIR AGE GROUP THAT'S BEING AFFECTED AND THEY'RE THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW. SO IF THEY LEARN NOW WHAT THE PROBLEMS THAT OUR CITY IS FACING, THEN MAYBE WE CAN HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE TOGETHER.
AND SO I APPRECIATE YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PRESENT ALL OF THIS TO US, AND THANK YOU. AND WELCOME TO THE STUDENTS FROM SOUTHWEST ISD. JUST? GENERAL, THOSE HIGHLY VULNERABLE DEMOGRAPHICS CHILDREN, OLDER ADULTS, AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIESES, WE SEEM TO HEAR THE SAME VULNERABLE GROUPS ARE ALWAYS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST. AND SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOME SORT OF AN ACTION PLAN, RIGHT, THAT WE TAKE AWAY, THAT ADDRESSES THESE PARTICULAR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
I'M INTERESTED BECAUSE WE HAVE DALLAS IS SHOWING A POSITIVE INCREASE, RIGHT? SO I'D LOVE TO SEE WHAT DALLAS IS DOING.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT DALLAS IS DOING THAT'S KIND OF MOVING THE NEEDLE A
LITTLE BIT MORE? OR FASTER, I SHOULD SAY? >> NO.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD WANT TO LOOK INTO WITH OUR SOCIAL LAB, DOING SOME FURTHER ANALYSIS ON WHAT IS HAPPENING THERE IN
DALLAS. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU. YEAH, I THINK THAT THAT'S A GOOD LEARNING OPPORTUNITY FOR US. AND SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE BROKE DOWN YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEN OLDER CHILDREN, I THINK 13 TO 17.
AND THEN BELOW. BUT THAT MEANS THAT 53% OF TOTAL CHILDREN IN SAN ANTONIO ARE LIVING IN POVERTY. SO EVERY OTHER CHILD THAT YOU SEE ON THE STREET COULD BE LIVING IN POVERTY.
AND TO ME, THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE, RIGHT? AND SO AS THE ADULTS AND THE LEADERS, WE SHOULD PROBABLY PUSH DEFINITELY TO FOCUS ON THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE. THEY'RE OUR WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE, SO I SEE IT AS ALSO AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT -- FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE, SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M GRATEFUL THAT THE STUDENTS ARE HERE TODAY WITH GREATER SATX AND SA WORKS. AND ALSO ANOTHER CONCERN IS THAT THE POVERTY IS INCREASING IN THE OLDER ADULT POPULATION.
[00:30:03]
AND IN DISTRICT FOUR, ONE-THIRD OF THE POPULATION IS UNDER 18 AND ONE-THIRD IS OVER 55. SO IT'S LIKE ALMOST EVENLY SPLIT. SO I SEE THIS EVERY DAY. AND SO IT'S JUST INTERESTING TO SEE THAT -- HOW REFLECTIVE IT IS.AND SO ANY -- I DON'T THINK THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH CONCENTRATION ON THE OLDER ADULTS, BUT THEN I ALSO WANT TO THINK ABOUT HOW THE DIGITAL DIVIDE PLAYS INTO THE OLDER ADULTS, BECAUSE AT LEAST WITH YOUTH, THEY'RE ABLE TO ACCESS A LITTLE BIT OF TECHNOLOGY, RIGHT, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE OLDER ADULTS. AND I KNOW WE'LL TAWBLG ABOUT THAT IN THE NEXT PRESENTATION. AND THEN 74% ARE FAMILIES THAT ARE IN POVERTY, AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE EXAMPLE.
IN MY DISTRICT, I HAVE THE MOST NUMBER OF RENTERS WITH CHILDREN FROM THE ENTIRE CITY, SO THIS IS -- I KNOW THAT 74%% OVERALL FROM THE CITY, A BIG CHUNK OF THEM LIVE IN DISTRICT FOUR. AND SPECIFICALLY WOMEN WHO ARE IN POVERTY AND SINGLE WOMEN. AND SO IN 2019, WE HAD THAT REPORT THAT WAS DONE BEFORE COVID. WE HAD DONE IT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH METRO HEALTH, AND THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE END OF THAT REPORT, AND I'D LOVE TO REVISIT SOME OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND SEE HOW OUR FUNDING HAS GROWN OVER THE YEARS TO SUPPORT THAT, RIGHT? AND SO SPECIFICALLY MAYBE WITH A FOCUS ON THOSE FOUR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND SEEING WHAT WE'VE DONE SINCE THAT REPORT TO WHAT WE CAN FOR THIS ONE. I'D LIKE TO LOOK A LITTLE BIT CLOSER AT IT, BECAUSE ABOUT 20% OF OUR POPULATION LIVES WITH AN INCOME OF ABOUT 13,500 ANNUALLY, AND SO PEOPLE MIGHT ASK HOW CAN YOU LIVE ON THAT LOW, WELL, YOU REALLY CAN'T LIVE WITH A QUALITY OF LIFE THAT WE SHOULD ALL HAVE ACCESS TO. AND SO WE HAVE FAMILIES AT THE OFFICE EVERY WEEK IN CRISIS. AND SO WE HAVE -- AND I KNOW THAT MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE -- RIGHT, AND THEY TAKE IT ALL IN. AND SO THERE'S MULTIPLE FAMILIES THAT ARE EXPERIENCING THIS. AND I DO APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS THAT NHSD DOES, THEY DO A GREAT JOB. I THINK WE WORK TOGETHER VERY WELL AS A TEAM, BUT WE REALLY NEED TO ULTIMATELY FOCUS IN ON THAT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND GETTING PEOPLE TO BE PAID MORE AS WELL, RIGHT? AND SO TRAINING -- I THINK READY TO WORK WAS A GOOD FIRST STEP. BUT WE DO NEED TO HAVE AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE STATUS OF POVERTY REPORT. AND SO I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW. AGAIN, I JUST FEEL THAT IT IS JUST SO SAD TO SEE THIS. HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CONTINUES TO BE A CHALLENGE, THE FACT THAT 40% ARE SCARED THAT THEY'RE GOING TO LOSE THEIR HOMES WITHIN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS. I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE $150 MILLION BOND THAT WE HAD. HOPEFULLY WHICH CAN GET SOME MORE. FIBZ AND MAYBE AS WE SHARE THESE STATISTICS OUR RESIDENTS CAN REALIZE THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR EVERYBODY'S FUTURE, RIGHT, TO FOCUS ON HOUSING NEEDS AND THEN OF COURSE ON EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND JUST IN GENERAL SOCIAL SERVICES. SO I'D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE TO SAY. I DON'T KNOW WHO WANTS TO START OFF WITH QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION, BUT COUNCILMAN COURAGE, GO
AHEAD. >> COURAGE: I GUESS I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I THINK YOU'VE PROVIDED A LOT OF UPDATES ON THINGS THAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE, BUT I'LL SHARE MY OBSERVATION, MY COMMENTS. I THINK ALL OF US MAY. AND THAT IS IT IS VERY DISSAN ANTONIO POINTING. I'VE BEEN DOING A LITTLE BIT OF A LOOKBACK OVER THE CITY OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS OR MORE, AND I BELIEVE IT WAS ABOUT 30 YEARS AGO WE HAD 200,000 PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND 30 YEARS LATER, WE'VE GOT 250,000 PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY IN SAN ANTONIO. YES, THE POPULATION'S GROWN, BUT THE ABILITY OF THE COMMUNITY TO HELP PEOPLE LIFT THEMSELVES OUT OF POVERTY HASN'T GROWN ENOUGH. WE HAVEN'T MOVED THE NEEDLE.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT MORE WAYS THAT THE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST THE CITY GOVERNMENT, BUT THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, CAN BE MORE INVESTED IN HELPING PEOPLE FIND A WAY OUT OF POVERTY. NOW, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING, AND I AGREE WITH THOSE.
YOU KNOW, BUILDING HOUSING, BUT WE NEED MORE HOUSING.
WE KNOW JUST FOR EXAMPLE WITH HOMELESSNESS, IF WE WENT OUT AND PICKED UP THE HOMELESS PEOPLE OFF THE STREET TODAY, 1,000 OF THEM, WE'VE GOT NO PLACE TO PUT THEM. SO, YOU KNOW, THEN YOU'VE GOT ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WE'VE HAD GO THROUGH OUR HOUSING SERVICES DEPARTMENT IN THE LAST YEAR OR TWO, FIGHTING NOT TO BE EVICTED, THOUSANDS OF THOSE PEOPLE, TOO, WHO ARE FIGHTING BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY THEIR RENT OR THEIR MORTGAGE.
SO, YOU KNOW, HOUSING IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE ABOUT. AND THEN WE LOOK AT EDUCATION. YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO, IF SOMEONE'S GOING TO BE
[00:35:05]
SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR LIVES, THEY NEED TO GET THE KIND OF EDUCATION THAT THEY CAN MAKE GOOD DECISIONS WITH AS FAR AS WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO FOR WORK OR CARING FOR THEIR FAMILY OR UNDERSTANDING THEIR OBLIGATIONS AS AN INDIVIDUAL. YOU'VE GOT TO BE WELL EDUCATED FOR THAT. AND EDUCATION IS SUFFERING IN THE STATE, AS WELL AS IN THIS CITY. WHAT MORE CAN THE CITY DO? YOU KNOW, I LOVE PRE-K FOUR SA, I'M GOING TO GO THIS AFTERNOON WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE STARTING TO OPEN UP A NEW ONE, BUT EDUCATION'S ANOTHER THING. AND THAT LEADS RIGHT INTO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, CHAIRMAN, ABOUT WORKFORCE AND HAVING PEOPLE GET A JOB.WHAT SAN ANTONIO NEEDS IS MORE JOBS AND BETTER PAYING JOBS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND A WAY OUT OF POVERTY FOR THEMSELVES. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND THIS REPORT SHOULD BE AWAKE-UP CALL FOR NOT JUST THE CITY BUT THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE THAT WE ALL NEED TO BE BETTER INVESTED IN HELPING PEOPLE LIFT THEMSELVES OUT OF POVERTY AND DO WHAT WE CAN DO TO PROVIDE THAT ASSISTANCE. AND IF WE DON'T, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO SEE GROWING NUMBERS OF PEOPLE IN POVERTY, WHICH I THINK IS GOING TO LEAD TO GROWING NUMBERS OF PEOPLE SUFFERING AND TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO SUSTAIN THEMSELVES, AND I THINK THAT LEADS TO ALL KINDS OF ACTIVITIES THAT ARE NOT HEALTHY FOR OUR ENTIRE CITY. SO THIS IS IMPORTANT, BUT TO ME, IT'S DISAPPOINTING THAT WE HAVEN'T GONE FURTHER IN 30 YEARS.
THANK YOU. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
COUNCILMAN CAS CASTILLO? >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR, AND THANK YOU PATRICK, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IF YOU WERE A PROFESSOR, I'D BE RETAKING A CLASS YOU WERE TEACHING THE FOLLOWING SEMESTER. SIMILAR TO MY COLLEAGUES, OF COURSE THIS DATA ISN'T NECESSARILY SURPRISING, BUT IT IS SOBERING, RIGHT? AND LOOKING AT 2004, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND THE COUNTY ENTERED A COOPERATION PLAN, AND PART OF THAT PLAN, IT COVERS A NUMBER OF FACETS, BUT A KEY ONE WAS SENIOR SERVICES. AND WHILE THAT PLAN FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES, I THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REVISIT THAT PLAN TO AMEND IT AND LOOK AT SERVICES. BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT ROUGHLY 80% OF THE CITY IS WITHIN THE COUNTY, AND THERE NEEDS TO BE FURTHER COLLABORATION.
AND I'M SURE IT IS TAKING PLACE, BUT ULTIMATELY, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A NEED AND WE CONTINUE TO SEE THE INCREASE OF SENIORS AND YOUTH THAT ARE EXPERIENCING POVERTY AND HOMELESSNESS. YESTERDAY WE HAD A CONSTITUENT COME INTO OUR OFFICE AND SHE WAS VERY GRATEFUL FOR MY TEAM AND NHSD BECAUSE SHE HAD TO GO THROUGH THE RELOCATION PROGRAM.
AND SHE WALKED ME THROUGH HER HISTORY, SHE WORKED FOR KELLY, WENT TO GEORGIA AND WORKED ON ANOTHER BASE, AND SHE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WITH HER PENSION AND HER BENEFITS, SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS GOOD.
AND SHE'S LIKE, BUT I LEARNED THAT I'M NOT, RIGHT? SHE WAS EVICTED AND WE HELPED HER GET INTO A NEW PLACE, THANKS TO NHSD WITH THE RELOCATION SERVICES, BUT IT WAS VERY -- IT WAS A HUGE GAP TO WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO GET HER CONNECTED TO HOUSING, AND SHE SHARED THAT -- NOW IT'S LIKE A SENIOR LIVING FACILITY THAT SHE'S TALKING TO HER NEIGHBORS AND SHE'S FINDING THAT SHE SPENDS SO MUCH ON HER MEDICATIONS, RIGHT? SHE SPENDS ROUGHLY $500 FOR HER PRESCRIPTION MEDS PER MONTH, AND SHE HAS TWO HEALTH INSURANCES. AND WHAT I SHARED WITH HER AND CONNECTED HER WAS TO ANY BABY CAN, RIGHT, BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST SERVICES TO BABIES BUT TO SENIORS AS WELL. THEY HAVE A PHARMACEUTICAL PROGRAM TO HELP FOLKS BUY DOWN, IF THEY QUALIFY, THEIR MEDICATIONS, RIGHT? I GUESS ALL THAT TO SAY HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT DELEGATE AGENCIES THAT PROVIDE SUPPORT TO SENIORS AND YOUTH.
WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK IS WITH THE YOUTH COMMISSION AND THE SENIOR COMMISSION, THAT THEY GET BRIEFED ON THIS PRESENTATION AS WELL, THAT WAY WHILE THEY'RE GIVING RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL, THEY'RE ARMED WITH THIS INFORMATION ON WHAT THE REALITY IS FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
I'M EXCITED TO SEE Y'ALL'S IDEA WITH THE LAB THAT Y'ALL ARE CREATING.
I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE LAB TO EXPLORE THE IMPACT AND ROLE OF PUBLIC HOUSING. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT OPPORTUNITY HOMES PUBLIC HOUSING WAITING LIST HAS INCREASED TO 100,000 FAMILIES, RIGHT? THE MAJORITY OF WHICH HAVE CHILDREN.
I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO WITH A DELEGATION OF FOLKS TO ATLANTA, AND WE WERE BRIEFED BY A NUMBER OF HOUSING FOLKS FROM CITY LEADERS TO THE BROKERS OF CREATING HOUSING AND IT WAS JUST REALLY INTERESTING CONCEPT THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO SELL TO US, WHICH WAS REDUCE PUBLIC HOUSING, DEMOLISH IT, RIGHT? BUT WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE STATISTICS OF ATLANTA, THEY HAVE INCREASING POVERTY RATES.
[00:40:01]
THEY HAVE ISSUES WITH FINDING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SO WHAT NOT TO DO AND HOW CAN WE PROTECT THE ASSET THAT WE HAVE IN SAN ANTONIO WHICH IS OUR PUBLIC HOUSING STOCK. AND I KNOW I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR HERE, BUT I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY WITH ST. BENNY'S BISTRO TO FEED ADULTS OVER AT HAVEN FOR THE HOLIDAYS. IT WAS A REALLY DELICIOUS MEAL, BUT IT WAS HEARTBREAKING, RIGHT? WHEN I WALKED OUT, I WALKED THROUGH THE LOBBY WHERE THERE'S CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, AND THERE'S SO MANY FAMILIES WAITING TO GET IN. WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH KIM ON A CASE OF A FAMILY OF FOUR, AND IT'S JUST -- THE REALITY OF CITY OF SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS, AND I KNOW WORKING FOR DHS, YOU'RE WELL AWARE OF THE NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT ON THE POLICY END, RIGHT, HOW CAN WE REVISIT A CITY/COUNTY COOPERATION PLAN TO WHERE WE'RE IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES AND WORKING COLLABORATIVELY FOR THE SOCIAL SERVICE COMPONENTS. THE COOPERATION PLAN ALSO ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE JAIL PROGRAM, AND I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TOUR A JAIL DIVERSION PROGRAM IN HOUSTON, AND &-ÚS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND PROVIDES THEM WITH THE REHABILITATION NECESSARY, THEY'RE LESS LIKELY TO OFFEND. THEY'RE CONNECTED TO A WORK PROGRAM, AND THEY BECOME PRODUCTIVE, RIGHT? AND IF THEY QUALIFY, THEY'RE ABLE TO EXPUNGE THEIR RECORD AND HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITY, RIGHT? SO RATHER THAN POSITIONING INDIVIDUALS TO REMAIN IN POVERTY BY LIMITING THEIR OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT, HOUSTON HAS CREATED OPPORTUNITY -- AND I KNOW THE STATS SHOW THAT HOUSTON'S LEADING IN POVERTY, RIGHT, BUT THE PROGRAM'S FAIRLY NEW AND IT'S WORKING, SO HOW CAN WE WORK WITH THE COUNTY, THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT AND SAPD TO PROVIDE THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLKS TO UPLIFT THEMSELVES. THANK YOU, CHAIR.>> GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. SO I WANT TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT COUNCILMAN CASTILLO SAID I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA TO REVISIT THE SENIOR SERVICES PLAN, AND SO ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO COLLABORATE WITH THE COUNTY SPECIFICALLY ON THE IDEAS THAT COUNCILWOMAN MENTIONED, ESPECIALLY FOR SECOND CHANCE, RIGHT, OFFENDERS. I THINK THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE PREPARED AND READY TO GO TO THE WORKFORCE AS WELL.
THERE'S TWO ITEMS ON THE 2018 REPORT THAT HAVEN'T -- OR I HAVEN'T SEEN MUCH IMPLEMENTATION ON, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF I CAN HAVE SOME FOLLOW-UP WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE. ONE OF THEM, IT'S AT LEVEL OF IMPLEMENTATION WAS AT A ZERO, AND THAT WAS TO OFFER ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT TO NONPROFITS TO ENHANCE LONG-TERM VIABILITY AND OUTCOMES. AND SO I'D LOVE TO SEE HOW WE MEASURE ON THAT OR SO WHAT WE'RE DOING. I THINK THAT MAYBE WE CAN JUST LOOK AT, LIKE, DELEGATE AGENCIES. I THINK THERE'S BEEN MORE MOVEMENT THAN IT SAYS THERE, AND SO WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT. BUT WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD, COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO BROUGHT UP ANY BABY CAN. UNTIL I TOURED ANY BABY CAN HAD NO IDEA THEY DOWELED HELP OL OLDER -- COULD HELP OLDER ADULTS WITH PRESCRIPTIONS. IF I DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT AND I'M SUPER INVOLVED, I DON'T THINK A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE DO.
AND UNFORTUNATELY THEY DON'T HAVE THE MARKETING BUDGET FOR IT EITHER, AND SO THEY'RE ALSO LEMMING PROVIDE A LOT OF MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT SERVICES.
AND SO ANOTHER EXAMPLE, RIGHT, FROM DISTRICT FOUR, I HAVE THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME DEATHS. WE HAVE A LOT OF DEATHS THAT A ARE HAPPENING FROM DIFFERENT COMORBIDITIES.
SO ANY BABY CAN PROVIDES FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS SPECIFICALLY FOR KIDS.
THAT CAN PUT A PERSON OUT OF THE HOME,S RIGHT? LITERALLY A DEATH IN THE FAMILY. SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW WE COULD FOCUS A LITTLE BIT MORE ON ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THAT. RIGHT NOW I THINK ANY BABY CAN, THERE'S ANOTHER ORGANIZATION, I'M FOR GETTING THE NAME OF IT, BUT THEY PROVIDE THAT TYPE OF SERVICE. BUT ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO KIND OF MAKE SURE -- TO HELP TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT FAMILIES, WHEN THEY'RE GOING THROUGH ONE OF THEIR NEEDIEST TIME, WHICH IS LIKE THE DEATH OF A FAMILY MEMBER, DO GET SOME HELP. AND THEN THE OTHER ITEM THAT I SAW ON THAT LAST REPORT ON PAGE 26 WAS INVESTING IN THE EXPANSION OF FINANCIAL COACHING AND COUNSELING, AND SO IT TALKED ABOUT DEVELOPING ADDITIONAL PARTNERSHIPS TO CONNECT CLIENTS TO LOW-COST FINANCIAL SERVICES AND LONG-TERM CREDIT AND ASSET BUILDING.
I THINK THAT WE DON'T FOCUS ENOUGH ON THAT BUILDING GENERATIONAL WEALTH. AND WE KNOW THAT BUYING A HOME IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS THAT.
SO HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE HABITAT, RIGHT, THAT REALLY GETS THEM STARTED ON THAT PLAN, BUT MAYBE FOCUSING A LITTLE BIT
[00:45:04]
MORE ON THE FINANCIAL LITERACY AND THAT ASSET-BUILDING CAPACITY THAT MAYBE SOME OF OUR INSTITUTIONS HAVE IN THE COMMUNITY.SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME OVERALL JUST OBSERVATIONS AND RESPONSES.
AND JUST, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK. I KNOW YOU DO, LIKE COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO, LIVE AND BREATHE IT EVERY DAY, SO YOU ARE REALLY AT
THE FOREFRONT, BUT GO AHEAD, PATRICK. >> I WANT TO POINT OUT, TOO, ON THE 2019, I THINK YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS ONE, RIGHT? SO WE'LL ISSUE THE NEW ONE, IT WILL BE UP ONLINE SHORTLY, AND IT WILL HAVE SOME OF THOSE WHAT WE HAVE DONE TOWARDS THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO SPECIFICALLY ON THE FINANCIAL COUNSELING AS PART OF THAT RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN, WE EXPANDED OUR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER, SO WE'LL SPEAK TO THINGS LIKE THAT IN THE UPDATED REPORT THAT WE'LL POST
ONLINE VERY SHORTLY. >> GARCIA: AWESOME. I DEPARTMENT SEE IT IN
THE ONE THAT I HAVE PRINTED FROM 2022. >>
>> GARCIA: SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. THERE'S NO MORE QUESTIONS. AND THIS IS JUST A BRIEFING ITEM, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK. LORI, DID YOU WANT TO ADD
ANYTHING? HEUD >> HOUSTON: NO, I JUST WANT TO STRESS THAT THIS REPORT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THIS COMMITTEE, SINCE THIS COMMITTEE IS THE ONE THAT OVERSEEINGS THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGIC HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WHICH HELPS WITH HOUSING AND DEVELOP AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLUS PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
SO HOMELESS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING ARE DEFINITELY LINKED, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO BOTH IN THE SAME SPACE AS WE IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGIC HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
AND THIS REPORT HELPS US REALLY UNDERSTAND A BENCHMARK WHERE WE ARE
WITH THAT EFFORT. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, LORI.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE WHICH IS BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY HOUSING SERVICES PORTAL THAT'S SACRD, AND WE'LL BE HEARING FROM FRED REKA GONZALES IS GOING TO BE DOING THIS PRESENTATION. SO THE FLOOR'S ALL YEARS,
F FREDERICKA. THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> GOOD MORNING, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. I'M EXCITED TO BRIEF YOU ON THE SACRD HOUSING SERVICES PORTAL THIS MORNING. JOINING ME TODAY IS SACRD DEVELOPER BILL NEELEY. AFTER THE PRESENTATION, WE'LL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. IN 2021, COUNCIL ADOPTED THE STRATEGIC HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. IT SETS NEW PRODUCTION AND PRESERVATION GOALS AND OUTLINES 36 STRATEGIES TO MEET OUR HOUSING WORK GOALS OVER A 10-YEAR TIMELINE. ONE STRATEGY UNDER COORDINATED HOUSING SYSTEM CALLS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HOUSING ONE-STOP SHOP FOR HOUSING SERVICES. SINCE AUGUST 2023, WITH CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL, NHSD HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY, OR SACRD, TO DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A HOUSING SERVICES PORTAL. THE USER-FRIENDLY PORTAL AIMS TO HELP RESIDENTS FIND HOUSING SERVICES SUCH AS UTILITY, LEGAL ASSISTANCE, HOME BUYER ASSISTANCE, HOME REPAIRS AND HOMELESS RESOURCES AND MANY MORE.
THE PORTAL WILL ALSO BE UTILIZED BY CASE WORKERS AND NAVIGATORS OR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS WHO WANT TO HELP THEIR NEIGHBOR OUT TO CONNECT RESIDENTS IN HOUSING CRISIS TO APPROPRIATE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.
THE PORTAL WILL BE ACCESSIBLE VIA DESKTOP AND MOBILE AND AVAILABLE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND S SPANISH. IN 2021, SACRD.ORG EXPANDED THEIR ONLINE RESOURCE BANK TO INCLUDE MORE THAN 2,000 MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES IN OUR COMMUNITY. SINCE THEN THE MENTAL HEALTH PORTAL HAS BEEN CONNECTING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO A VARIETY OF CRITICAL RESOURCES TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, VETERAN'S CRISIS, SUICIDAL IDEATION AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH CAUSATIONS, AND NOW IN 2024, SACRD AND THE CITY ARE TAKING THEIR SERVICES A STEP FURTHER BY DEVELOPING THE NEW HOUSING STABILITY PORTAL TO BE LAUNCHED THIS SPRING. THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SACRD.ORG HOUSING STABILITY PORTAL AND THE HOUSING BASE WEBSITE, A QUESTION OUR TEAM GETS A LOT. AS THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO GROWS, SO DOES THE NEED FOR MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTIONS AND SERVICES. TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE NEEDS, WE HAVE DIGITAL RESOURCES, BOTH THE SACRD HOUSING STABILITY PORTAL AND WE ALSO HAVE HOUSING BASE, A LOCATOR TOOL LAUNCHED IN APRIL 2023. WHILE THE HOUSING BASE PLATFORM EMPOWERS RESIDENTS TO SEARCH FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING WHILE THEY LOOK FOR SAFE AND STABLE PLACE TO CALL HOME, THE SACRD HOUSING
[00:50:02]
STABILITY PORTAL WILL HELP INDIVIDUALS CONNECT TO SUPPORTIVE HOUSING SERVICES LIKE RENTAL ASSISTANCE OR EVICTION SUPPORT.THE SACRD PORTAL MAY REFER USERS TO HOUSING BASE OR OTHER LOCATING TOOLS IF THAT IS WHAT THEY'RE SEARCHING FOR, BUT THE PORTAL ITSELF IS METROPOLITAN TO CONNECT RESIDENTS WITH -- MEANT TO CONNECT RESIDENTS WITH MUCH MORE TO HELP COVER HOLISTIC NEEDS. PROGRESS TO DATE INCLUDES IDENTIFYING 120 HOUSING STABILITY CATEGORIES SUCH AS HOME REPAIRS, RELOCATION SERVICES, ACCESSIBILITY MODIFICATIONS, TENANTS RIGHTS, HOUSING COUNSELING, ID RECOVERY, AND THAT'S JUST TO NAME A FEW. ALMOST 1300 PROGRAMS AND SERVICES IDENTIFIED AS OF THE LAST WEEK. MORE THAN 20% OF THE PROGRAMS ARE NEW TO SACRD SINCE NOVEMBER 2023. TO DATE, SACRD HAS HOSTED TWO ADVISORY COMMITTEE SESSIONS AND THREE FOCUS GROUPS TO GATHER FEEDBACK BEFORE THE PUBLIC LAUNCH IN APRIL. SACRD ALSO CONTINUES TO TEST VARIOUS SCENARIOS WITH FOCUS GROUPS MADE UP WITH FREQUENT SACRD USERS TO GET ONGOING FEEDBACK ON USER EXPERIENCE, LIKE WHAT IS WORKING WELL AND WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT.
HERE'S A NAP SHOT OF WHAT WE'VE HEARD. USE WORDS THAT ARE RECOGNIZABLE TO A BROAD AUDIENCE, WE SHOULD ALSO STRIVE TO UPDATE RESOURCES IF A PROGRAM APPLICATION PERIOD HAS CLOSED.
WE SHOULD ADD AN ABILITY TO FILTER BY INCOME ELIGIBILITY AND AMI, AREA MEDIAN INCOME EXPLANATION AND INSTRUCTIONS WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR REGULAR USERS. SACRD HELPS SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS FIND THE BEST OPTIONS BASED ON THEIR HOUSING STABILITY NEED, EVEN THOUGH THE SACRD HOUSING STABILITY PORTAL IS NOT LIVE YET, THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WORKS IS TO WALK THROUGH EXAMPLE SCENARIOS.
A FEW DIFFERENT TYPE OF USE CASES AROUND HOUSING ARE LISTED HERE AS EXAMPLES AND THESE STORIES ARE BASED ON WHAT WE HEAR FROM USERS LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE. ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL PUT OURSELVES IN THE SHOES OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHO NEEDS HELP PAYING A UTILITY BILL.
THIS SCENARIO IS ONE SACRD HAS USED IN FOCUS GROUPS AND OTHER TRAININGS. IN THIS MADE-UP EXAMPLE, JOHN WAS LAID OFF BUT FOUND A NEW JOB QUICKLY THAT MAKES OVER 43,000 PER YEAR.
WHILE HE WASN'T WORKING HE FELL BEHIND ON SOME UTILITY BILLS AND NEEDS HELP PAYING OVERDUE BILLS. THIS IS WHAT THE DEMONSTRATION PORTAL CURRENTLY LOOKS LIKE. THE PORTAL PAGE IS SET UP IN THREE SECTIONS. ON THE LEFT, SELECTORS ARE AVAILABLE TO NARROW DOWN OPTIONS FOR JOHN. IN THE MIDDLE, AN INTERACTIVE MAP SHOWING WHERE SERVICES ARE LOCATED. AND TO THE RIGHT, AN INTERACTIVE LIST OF AVAILABLE PROGRAMS. THE HOUSING SERVICE PORTAL IS USER FRIENDLY AND SIMPLE TO NAVIGATE. ONCE JOHN IS ON THE SITE, HE CAN LOOK FOR HELP. INPUTTING THE INFORMATION, JOHN PROVIDED INCLUDING INCOME, HOUSING SITUATION AND TYPE OF RESOURCES NEEDED WILL PRODUCE THE RELEVANT PROGRAMS THAT MEET -- MAY BE ABLE TO ASSIST HIM SHOWN ON THE RIGHT SIDE, WHICH YOU CAN SCROLL THE 102 PROVIDED IN THIS EXAMPLE. SO THIS IS ESSENTIALLY HOW INDIVIDUALS CAN USE THE PORTAL ONCE IT GOES LIVE IN APRIL. YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SITUATION, DESCRIBE YOUR NEED, TELL US WHERE YOU ARE.
THE PORTAL CAN BE USED BY BOTH RESIDENTS AND BY PROFESSIONAL USERS INCLUDING SOCIAL WORKERS, CASE MANAGERSES, FAITH COMMUNITY GROUPS TO JUST NAME A FEW. THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE PORTAL DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE ITSELF. AFTER COUNCIL APPROVAL, PORTAL DESIGN KICKED OFF WITH STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS AND RESOURCE INVESTIGATION TO HELP BUILD THE SITE. IN JANUARY, THE PRELAUNCH ALLOWED AN OPPORTUNITY TO PREVIEW THE SITE AND SOLICIT FURTHER STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.
SACRD HOSTED FOCUS GROUPS AND ADVISORY MEETINGS THROUGHOUT THE PORTAL TESTING PROCESS. ON FEBRUARY 21ST, SACRD PROVIDED A MEETING.
IT'S SCHEDULED TO LAUNCH TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC AS SOON AS APRIL 2024.
FOLLOWING THAT, POSTLAUNCH ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE ONGOING FEEDBACK, PROMOTION AND DATA UPDATE AND MAINTENANCE.
FOR EXAMPLE, SACRD HAS A RESOURCE INVESTIGATOR ASSIGNED TO UPDATE INFORMATION AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR. NEXT STEPS INCLUDE WORKING ON THE GUIDED INTERVIEW OR AN INTERACTIVE SURVEY.
USERS THROUGH THE SEARCH FOR A MORE HOLISTIC AND ACCESSIBLE APPROACH.
NEXT STEPS ALSO INCLUDE PROMOTION THROUGH SACRD AND COSA CHANNELS INCLUDING E-MAIL BLASTS, NEWSLETTERS, GROUP MEETINGS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS. ALL RIGHT. THAT CONCLUDES MY
[00:55:01]
PRESENTATION AND WE'RE AVAILABLE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.THANK YOU. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, VERONICA.
AND BILL, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AS WELL. I GOT A CHANCE TO KIND OF PLAY AROUND WITH THIS. I THINK IT WAS AT THE SAM HOUSTON FAIR, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE IT WAS, BUT IT WAS DEMONSTRATED AND I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A GOOD TOOL. I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. I THINK THAT IT'S VERY THOROUGH WHAT THE DASHBOARD DOES OR WHATEVER WE'RE CALLING THIS TOOL, THE DIGITAL TOOL; HOWEVER, I AM STILL CONCERNED THAT IN THE ORIGINAL HOUSING AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ON PAGE 24, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT DEVELOPING A COORDINATED HOUSING SYSTEM, WE WERE SPECIFIC ABOUT THE CENTER BEING A PHYSICAL SPACE, ACCESSIBLE BY WAY OF TRANSPORTATION FOR PEOPLE WITH ALL ABILITIES. AND SO WHAT I LIKED MOST ABOUT THAT IS THAT THE GOAL OF THE CENTER WAS TO BE A SINGULAR ACCESS POINT FOR PLANNING AND PERMITTING, HOUSING-RELATED HUMAN SERVICES, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, ACCESSIBILITY [READING] AND OTHER RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, BUT THE NEXT PART IT SAID THE CENTER SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE TO INCLUDE FREE PARKING, CLOSE TO BUS LINES, OFFER MULTILINGUAL SUPPORT, INCLUDING SIGN LANGUAGE AND REGISTERED ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALISTS TO REVIEW DESIGN PLANS FOR ADA COMPLIANCE. AND SO I'M WONDERING WHEN WE VEERED AWAY OR WHY WE VEERED AWAY FROM THE PHYSICAL LOCATION. AND THE ONLY REASON IS I FEEL LIKE WITH THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, THERE'S JUST A WHOLE LOT THAT A RESIDENT MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO ACCESS. SO I THINK LORI WAS GOING
TO ANSWER. >> HOUSTON: YES. WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THAT RECOMMENDATION, THE RECOMMENDATION REALLY SPEAKS TO ACCESS AND IT SPEAKS SPECIFICALLY FOR DEVELOPERS WHO ARE BUILDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND THEN IT SPEAKS TO USERS.
THE DEVELOPERS WHO ARE BUILDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THEY KNOW THE PROCESS. WE FELT THAT THE BEST APPROACH FOR THEM WAS JUST TO PROVIDE THEM A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT WHERE WE CAN NAVIGATE THEM THROUGH THAT PROCESS. AND SO TYPICALLY, THAT GOES THROUGH NHSD AND THEY HELP THEM WITH THEIR PROJECT.
WE'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO STREAMLINE A LOT OF OUR DESIGN STANDARDS THROUGH OUR RFPS THAT WE ISSUE, SO IT'S REVIEWED IN THE FRONT END.
AND WHEN WE AWARD PROBABPROJECTS AND THEN THEY'RE PROVIDED GUIDANCE WITH THAT AWARD ON HOW TO NAVIGATE THE PROCESS.
SO WE FELT LIKE THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THAT WORK, IT'S AT THE ONE-STOP, BUT WHAT REALLY NEEDED TO BE DONE WAS COORDINATED BETTER SO THEY'RE NOT WASTING TIME TRYING TO NAVIGATE THE SYSTEM.
NOW, ON THE USER END, WE ARE HOPING THAT SACRD, LIKE WE'VE LOOKED AT WHAT DO PEOPLE -- WHO DO PEOPLE TURN TO WHEN THEY ARE HOMELESS? AND OFTENTIMES IT'S NOT THE CITY, IT'S THEIR CHURCHES OR IT'S OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS. AND SO WE WANT SACRD TO ALSO BE A TOOL FOR THOSE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND CHURCHES THAT THOSE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS OR ABOUT TO EXPERIENCE HOMELESS GO TO.
AND SO ALL OF THOSE ENTITIES WILL BE TRAINED ON THIS PROGRAM.
SO THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF A BUILDING, ONCE WE DIVED INTO IT, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT WHO'S USING WHAT, WHERE ARE THEY GOING WHEN THEY NEED HELP, AND IS THAT GOING TO CHANGE? AND, NO, THEY'RE ALWAYS GOING TO WANTED TO GO TO THEIR CHURCH FOR HELP, OR THEY'RE ALWAYS GOING TO WANT TO GO TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, BUT THERE IS A PHYSICAL SPOT THEY CAN GO TO IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS, AND THAT'S THROUGH OUR HOUSING NAVIGATORS AND OTHER RESOURCES. BUT WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, DOES A PHYSICAL SPOT WORK? IT REALLY DOESN'T BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL GOING TO SO MANY DIFFERENT RESOURCES. AND SO HOW ABOUT WE CREATE A TOOL THAT THEY CAN ALL USE, AND THEN WE HAVE THIS HOUSING NAVIGATION WHERE THEY CAN CALL IN, WE CAN HELP THEM, MAKING SURE THAT OUR PARTNERS KNOW WHO TO CALL FOR CERTAIN CLIENTS.
AND SO IT KIND OF CHANGED AFTER WE DID THAT MAPPING.
AND VERONICA, OR -- VERONICA, DO ONE OF Y'ALL WANT TO ADD TO THAT?
>> YES, EXACTLY. AND SACRD, AS THE OTHER VERONICA MENTIONED, THEIR EXISTING MENTAL HEALTH PORTAL HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.
THEY HAVE OVER 1.2 MILLION VIEWS A YEAR, AND 80% OF THOSE VIEWS ARE FROM PROFESSIONALS WHO WORK IN THE FIELD AND ARE USING THE SITE TO NAVIGATE SERVICES AND INQUIRIES ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER PERSON. SO THE HOUSING PORTAL WILL BE STRUCTURED MUCH THE SAME WAY TO WHERE -- AND BILL NEELEY HAS ALREADY STARTED THAT AND HAS BEEN TAKING LOTS OF INPUT THROUGH ONE-ON-ONE SESSIONS AND FOCUS GROUPS AND AN ADVISORY GROUP AS WELL SPECIFICALLY MADE UP OF PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE SEARCHING AND HELPING
OTHERS LOOK FOR RESOURCES AND APPLY FOR RESOURCES. >> GARCIA: GOOD.
I THINK THAT THE FOCUS FOR ME WOULD BE ON THE USERS, RIGHT? AND SO -- AND I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. OUR CHURCHES SEND THEM TO OUR OFFICE, TO THE DISTRICT OFFICE. AND SO WE HAVE ONE
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CONSTITUENT SERVICES PERSON, OR I THINK WE ALL HAVE ONE CONSTITUENT SERVICES PERSON, OR MAYBE LIKE ONE AND A HALF. BUT WE, I DON'T THINK, HAVE THE CAPACITY, RIGHT, TO BE ABLE TO JUST LIKE FOCUS IN JUST ON THAT.LITERALLY, LIKE MY CONSTITUENT SERVICES, HONEY, I'LL DO A SHOUT OUT TO HER, SHE DOES A GREAT JOB, BUT SHE TAKES AT LEAST AN HOUR AND A HALF SOMETIMES AND THE PHONES COULD BE RINGING THEN.
AND SO SHE'S NOT ANSWERING THE PHONE BECAUSE SHE'S WORKING WITH A FAMILY WHO IS LITERALLY CRYING ON OUR COUCH.
AND SO SHE'S NOT GOING TO BE RUDE AND SO IT TAKES HER AWAY FROM DOING HER JOB. SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW MAYBE WE COULD -- MAYBE IT'S THE HOUSING NAVIGATOR'S, STOP BY OUR FIELD OFFICE.
>> SURE. >> GARCIA: HAVE LIKE A DEDICATED SPACE IN OUR OFFICE AND THAT BECOMES THAT PHYSICAL LOCATION, BECAUSE SOME OF OUR CHURCHES ALSO DON'T HAVE WIFI. LIKE I KNOW MY CHURCH, AND I SAT ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR A WHILE, SO I CAN TELL YOU ONE OF THE THINGS, DO WE REALLY NEED WIFI, WE HAD TO KIND OF BRING IT BACK DURING THE PANDEMIC, RIGHT, BUT MY CHURCH DOESN'T HAVE ACCESSIBILITY, RIGHT? SO SOMEONE THAT CAN HELP SOMEONE WHO'S LEGALLY BLIND.
I'M LUCKY, BECAUSE I HAVE BILINGUAL PEOPLE AT MY CHURCH, RIGHT, AND SO A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS THAT COME SEEKING FOR HELP SPEAK SPANISH, BUT IT'S JUST SPANISH THAT THEY'RE BILINGUAL. SO THERE'S A BIG CONGOLESE PRESENCE IN MY DISTRICT AS WELL. WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MAKE SURE THOSE TOP FIVE LANGUAGES IN SAN ANTONIO HAVE THAT ACCESS AS WELL. I CAN TELL YOU THAT YOHANI CAN SPEAK GREAT SPANISH, BUT SHE'S NOT GOING TO SPEAK THE OTHER THREE LANGUAGES, RIGHT? THAT WOULD PROBABLY GO FOR A LOT OF MY COLLEAGUES.
AND SO ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO AS FAR AS EVEN LIKE MARKETING OUR DISTRICT OFFICES, SOME PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE MY DISTRICT OFFICE IS UNTIL I TELL THEM, RIGHT? OH, IT'S AT THE PARK.
OH, THE PARK? YEAH, IT IS. AND SO LIKE WHAT CAN WE DO TO JUST KIND OF LIKE SAY, HELP HERE OR YOU NEED HELP, COME HERE.
OR SOMETHING, EVEN IF IT'S YARD SIGNS, SOMETHING THAT JUST LIKE IS WELCOMING AND LET'S PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY CAN DROP IN AND GET SOME HELP. BUT I MEAN, I WOULD LOVE TO BRAINSTORM SOME MORE.
LIKE I SAID, I LOVE SACRD, I HAVE USED IT BEFORE, I HAD A CONSTITUENT THAT WAS HAVING A PROBLEM WITH A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ISSUE, I SENT HER RIGHT AWAY THE INFORMATION, AND SO I KNOW THAT MY STAFF USES IT, I USE IT REGULAR EGGLLY AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK.
IT'S COME A LONG WAY FROM WHAT IT WAS, BY THE WAY. I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE EFFORT THAT'S GOING IN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE USER -- I'M JUST THINKING THE PHYSICAL, RIGHT? IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY, IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT ONE STOP DOWNTOWN, BECAUSE IT'S SO INCONVENIENT TO COME DOWNTOWN ANYWAY, BUT HOW CAN WE MAKE IT LIKE A PHYSICALLY PRESENT SPACE. THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS AND I'D LOVE TO SEE WHAT MY COLLEAGUES THINK ABOUT IT, AND I'LL START WITH COUNCILMAN PELAEZ AND
THEN COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO? >> PELAEZ: THANK YOU.
YOU'RE RIGHT, LORI, THE FAITH COMMUNITY I THINK IS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM. I WITH ILL TELL YOU ALSO THAT ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE VERY VULNERABLE -- AUDIO] -- YOU KNOW, BUY SUNDRIES AND CLOTHES AND ALL THAT AND THEY ALL FREQUENT H-E-B, THEY ALL FREQUENT WALMART, AND YOUR D DOLLAR STORES AND I'M WONDERING TO WHAT EXTENT WE'VE APPROACHED THESE ENTITIES TO HELP US MAYBE PUT SIGNAGE OUT FRONT, RIGHT, OR HELP OUR -- YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAND OUT FLYERS. HAVE WE EVER DONE
ANYTHING LIKE THAT? >> HOUSTON: NO, NOT SPECIFICALLY TARGETED IN SPECIFIC STORES. THAT IS SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO.
I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. >> PELAEZ: YEAH.
AND THE OTHER THING, TOO, IS -- >> HOUSTON: VERONICA, DID
YOU WANT TO SAY -- >> YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
WE DO NEED TO BUILD OUR CAPACITY OF WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF OUR ONLINE RESOURCES, AND BILL NEELEY HAS SHARED THAT NOT ONLY DOES HE HAVE THE ONLINE RESOURCE, BUT HE DOES EXTEND THAT SERVICES OVER TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES, SENIOR CENTERS, AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, A LOT OF CHURCH GROUPS ARE INTERESTED, SO THEY'RE PROBABLY THE FIRST GO-TO,
THOSE F FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS. >> PELAEZ: SO IS THERE
ANY REASON WE HAVEN'T VISITED THESE RETAILERS? >> IT'S ACTUALLY -- WE'RE HERE TO MAKE SURE WE HEAR FROM THE COUNCILMEMBERS BECAUSE WE ARE DEVELOPING OUR PROMOTION AND OUR OUTREACH. ONCE WE LAUNCH SACRD IN APRIL, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RECEIVING FEEDBACK ON HOW TO BEST PROMOTE. AND SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH ANY SPECIFIC BUSINESSES, BUT WE STARTED WITH, AS I
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MENTIONED, LIBRARIES, SENIOR CENTERS, AND, OF COURSE, OUR CHURCHORGANIZATION GROUPS. >> PELAEZ: SO THE SECOND THING IS THAT THE ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORE RETAILERS AND THE SOUTH TEXAS MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION, THEY'RE GOING TO BE COMING TO US SOON TO REQUEST ANOTHER ADJUSTMENT TO THESE HAZMAT FEES FOR THEIR TANKS WITH THE ADVENT -- WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF MORE AND MORE ELECTRICAL VEHICLES, THERE'S LESS AND LESS ■NEEDFOR GASOLINE AND IT MAKES SENSE. BUT NOTHING WRONG WITH US ASKING THEM TO TRADE AND HELP US USE THEIR BANDWIDTH, RIGHT? I MEAN, THINK OF THE NUMBER OF CONVENIENCE STORES THERE ARE IN TOWNS -- AUDIO] -- AND QUITE OFTEN THIS POPULATION WILL DO THEIR SHOPPING AT A CONVENIENCE STORE. SO I THINK THAT THOSE ARE NATURAL ALLIES THAT PROBABLY WOULDN'T SAY NO IF WE JUST ASKED THEM, RIGHT? AND THEN THE OTHER THING I'LL TELL YOU IS THERE IS A MARKET, THE SUPERMARKET, [INDISCERNIBLE], IS INCREDIBLY POPULAR WITH OUR TARGET AUDIENCE. AND THEY -- THEY ARE WORKING ON SOME PRETTY SOPHISTICATED MESSAGING WITH SOME OF THESE LARGE, LARGE COMPANIES, NATIONAL COMPANIES, BECAUSE THERE'S A REALIZATION THAT M SO OF THESE FOLKS WILL GO AND DO THEIR SHOPPING THERE BECAUSE THERE'S DEALS THERE AND PEOPLE SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE. IT'S A LOCALLY OWNED COMPANY, I THINK. ISN'T IT? YEAH, IT'S A LOCALLY OWNED COMPANY. AND I THINK THERE'S ALSO SOME VALUE IN -- I DON'T HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM, MAYBE Y'ALL DO. I MEAN, I HAVE A FEELING THAT THERE'S MORE CUSTOMERS IN YOUR DISTRICTS THAN THERE ARE IN DISTRICT 8 OR DISTRICT 9, RIGHT? BUT ANYWAY, I'LL LEAVE THAT THERE. BUT COUNCILMAN COURAGE AND I SHOP AT CULEBRA MEAT MARKET NUMBER 28, SO -- YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.
ANYWAY, THANKS. THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS. >> GARCIA: GO AHEAD.
>> HOUSTON: WHAT VERONICA SAID, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT OUR PUBLIC OUTREACH CAMPAIGN, AND THAT OUTREACH CAMPAIGN ADDRESSED TWO GROUPS. THE USERS OF IT AND ALSO HOW DO WE EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON HOMELESSNESS AND BUILD EMPATHY.
AND SO THIS WORK IS UNDERWAY NOW, AND SO YOUR FEEDBACK WILL BE PART OF THAT USER MARKETING PLAN. AND SO WE'LL COME BACK. I THINK THOSE ARE ALL GREAT IDEAS, AND IT'S TIMELY BECAUSE WE'RE ABOUT TO LAUNCH SOME MORE
OF THAT. >> PELAEZ: YEAH. AND THEN ONE OTHER COMMENT, FORGIVE ME. THAT'S REALLY SMART, LORI.
YOU'RE RIGHT. BUT IT OCCURS TO ME ALSO THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE CORNER OF DE ZAVALA AND I-10, RIGHT, WE GET 80,000 VEHICLES AT A MINIMUM EVERY SINGLE DAY WITH THOSE RED LIGHT/GREEN LIGHT CYCLES, RIGHT? AND THERE'S A REASON WE'VE GOT PAN HANDLERS ON EVERY ONE OF THOSE CORNERS, BECAUSE IT'S A VERY PROFITABLE CORNER BUT ALSO BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THERE, RIGHT? AND YOU'VE GOT A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE. AND IT OCCURS TO ME THAT WE CAN OUTPANHANDLE THE PANHANDLERS WITH SIGNER AND MESSAGING.
WE GET THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE A WEEK WHO ARE JUST SITTING THERE DOING NOTHING AT THE CENTRAL JURY ROOM ACROSS THE STREET, BEXAR COUNTY HOUSE, AND THEY'RE JUST STARING INTO BLANK WALLS.
THEY'VE NOTHING TO DO OTHER THAN JUST SIT THERE, RIGHT? AND IT WOULD SEEM TO ME LIKE THAT'S SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL.
AND BIBLIOTECH I THINK IS MINING FOR GOLD THERE. THESE PEOPLE ARE SITTING THERE AND THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO SO THEY GO DOWNLOAD FREE BOOKS.
ANYWAY, THANK YOU. >> HOUSTON: VERONICA GARCIA SAID, TYPICALLY, YOU KNOW, WE GET A LOT OF CALLS THROUGH HOMELESS HOTLINE AND WE TAKE THOSE CALLS AND DEPENDING ON THE NEEDS OF THAT USER, WE WILL SCHEDULE A MEETING. AND WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE SENIOR CENTERS AND THE LIBRARIES. WE USE THEM ALREADY FOR OUR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS, SO IT MAKES SENSE FOR THEM TO MEET US WHERE IT'S MOST CONVENIENT. SO WE TRY TO DO THAT. SO THAT'S ANOTHER WAY THAT WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF THOSE USERS. AND WHEN YOU GET CALLS FROM YOUR CHURCHES, SEND THEM DIRECTLY TO US. AND THEN WE CAN BYPASS YOU OR YOU CAN DO A LIGHT HANDOFF TO US AND THEN WE CAN TAKE ON THE CLIENT.
>> GARCIA: THANK YOU, LORI. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN PELAEZ. I WANTED TO MENTION, HE MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT TXDOT, AND SO WE TRY TO WORK WITH TXDOT AT THE CORNER OF MARBACH, AND THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS RIGHT OF WAY ISSUES WITH US ADDING SIGNAGE ABOUT PANHANDLERS, AND SO THEY RECOMMENDED A BILLBOARD, RIGHT? A FEW PEOPLE SAW THE BILLBOARD, BUT... SO I THINK THAT THERE'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAYBE LIKE REMIND TXDOT, HEY, WE'RE THE LOCALS.
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LIKE WE'RE THE ONES THAT GET INUNDATED WITH THE CALLS.I LITERALLY HAD SOMEONE ON SOCIAL MEDIA POST THAT I WANTED THIS MONSTROSITY ON 35. ACTUALLY, I WASN'T EVEN IN OFFICE WHEN THAT HAPPENED, BUT OKAY. PEOPLE JUST ASSUME, RIGHT, THAT IT'S THIS, RIGHT? THAT IT'S THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
SO I THINK THAT THE PARTNERSHIP, MAYBE ALSO LIKE REACHING OUT TO TXDOT, IF WE WERE TO DO THAT, LIKE WHAT CAN WE DO THEN? LIKE WHERE CAN WE WORK TOGETHER, BECAUSE WE'RE THE ONES GETTING THE CALLS. I MEAN, I CAN JUST EASILY GIVE THEM MY STATE REP'S PHONE NUMBER, RIGHT? BUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT EITHER.
SO DOLLAR STORES ARE ANOTHER PLACE THAT A LOT OF MY RESIDENTS SHOP, DOLLAR GENERAL, FAMILY DOLLAR, DOLLAR TREE, LIKE ALL OF THOSE, RIGHT? AND I DO WANT TO SAY THAT YOU ALL DO GIVE OUT THE QR CODE. DURING THE POINT IN TIME COUNT, YOU ALL GIVE THIS LITTLE COOL -- IT LOOKS LIKE A LUGGAGE BAG. WE WERE GIVING AWAY BACKPACKS WHEN WE DID THAT, IN THE BACK OF IT IT HAD THE SACRD QR CODE. WHAT I NOTICED MOST FROM THAT NIGHT WAS PEOPLE WERE PLUGGING IN AND CHARGING THEIR PHONES, FOR INSTANCE, AT THE VIA TRANS STATION, RIGHT, DOWNTOWN. AND SO MAYBE THAT QR CODE SHOULD BE UP ANYWHERE, RIGHT, THAT WE HAVE FOLKS CONGREGATE AT NIGHT, FOR INSTANCE. AND SO LIKE A SIMPLE STICKER, RIGHT? AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT MIGHT BE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT, BUT IT JUST REMINDED ME WHEN COUNCILMAN PELAEZ MENTIONED THAT.
SO I'LL MOVE ON TO MY OTHER COLLEAGUES. COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO?
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR, AND THANK YOU, VERONICA FOR THE PRESENTATION. I BELIEVE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO MANAGE EXPECTATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO ADVERTISING THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE, RIGHT? YESTERDAY I HAD A CONSTITUENT, SHE SHARED THAT SHE'S APPLIED FOR ONE PROGRAM THREE TIMES AND GOT TOLD THERE WASN'T ENOUGH FUNDING, AND SHE'S JUST VERY FRUSTRATED BECAUSE SHE WENT TO A COMMUNITY EVENT AND WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THERE WAS OPPORTUNITY.
AND I GUESS WITH THE DIGITAL ONE-STOP SHOP, MY CONSTITUENT SERVICES TEAM MEMBER RACHEL PINGED ME SAID EVERYTHING DR. ROCHA JUST SAID.
AND I THINK IT IS A GREAT PROPOSAL, RIGHT, IF WE AREN'T GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A PHYSICAL LOCATION, THAT WE CAN HAVE A HOUSING NAVIGATOR COME TO OUR OFFICE. CPS ENERGY OFTEN HAS ANDREW COME TO OUR OFFICE ONCE A WEEK TO HELP US FACILITATE AND COMPLETE THE APPLICATIONS FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE, AND, I BELIEVE, HAVING A HOUSING NAVIGATOR THERE TO HELP COMPLETE THOSE APPLICATIONS WOULD BE VERY IN REGARDS TO THE DASHBOARD, WOULD THERE BE OPPORTUNITY TO TRACK IF A PROGRAM IS OUT OF FUNDING, RIGHT? AND THE PROGRAM DOESN'T HAVE AVAILABLE RESOURCES.
DON'T HAVE TO CALL AND BE ON HOLD IF THERE'S NO RESOURCES.
>> YES. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT. RIGHT NOW OUR CONTRACT WITH SACRD HAS BIANNUAL UPDATES FOR RESOURCES WHICH WE'VE HEARD THAT'S NOT OFTEN ENOUGH. SO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW MORE FREQUENTLY WE CAN UPDATE THE INFORMATION, AS BILL MENTIONED, WITH THIS CONTRACT HE HAS HIRED SOME STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESOURCES ARE PUT IN, THAT THEY ARE ACCURATE, THAT THERE'S A TOUCHPOINT WITH THE ENTITY THAT PROVIDES THOSE RESOURCES SO THEY KNOW THEY ARE ON THIS WEBSITE. WE TALKED ABOUT HOW FREQUENTLY CAN WE ALSO FLAG THAT FUNDS ARE EXHAUSTED, CHECK BACK WHENEVER. THAT'S ONE POINT.
BOTH OF YOU MENTIONED HAVING A HOUSING NAVIGATOR. THIS IS SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO. I THINK WE'RE DOING SOMETHING KIND OF LIKE THAT NOW WITH THE PROPERTY TAX HELP CAMPAIGN, OFFERING MAUK TO GO INTO THE FIELD OFFICES AND HELP WITH PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS AND FILLING OUT THOSE FORMS. I THINK THAT'S A GOOD TEST AND MAYBE IT CAN BE A GOOD GUIDE TO SEE SOME OF OUR
TEAM ON A SIMILAR MANNER ON A ROTATING BASIS. >> CASTILLO: MY UNDERSTANDING TOO IN REGARDS TO MAUK, I BELIEVE CONGRESSMAN CASAR -- FUNDING WITH A ONE-STOP HOUSING STOP. BUT THE VISION IS ESSENTIALLY THERE WOULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NHSD, MAUK AND ESPERANZA WHERE IT'S A ONE-STOP SHOP. I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY, IF WE'RE MOVING AWAY FROM THE ONE-STOP HOUSING SHOP AND THAT'S SOMETHING FOLKS ARE WORKING ON. I DON'T WANT US TO MISS THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A PHYSICAL LOCATION IF THERE'S A NON-PROFIT WORKING ON IT. I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THERE ARE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, BUT IF I COULD REQUEST MAYBE GETTING WITH OUR CONSTITUENT SERVICES OFFICES TO GAUGE THEIR INPUT ON THE DASHBOARD AND ANY NEW RECOMMENDATIONS
I THINK WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL. >> ABSOLUTELY.
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>> CASTILLO: LASTLY, RACHEL RECOMMENDED AFFORDABLE HOUSING.COM.
OFTEN THAT'S WHAT SHE LEANS ON TO FIND AVAILABLE APARTMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY HAVE AN EVICTION ON THEIR RECORD AND/OR HAVE A FELONY.
SHE OFTEN FINDS SHE'S ABLE TO FIND HOUSING THERE FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS.
I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S ON THE DASHBOARD, I DON'T THINK IT IS, BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND
THAT. THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU.
COUNCILMEMBER COURAGE. >> COURAGE: THANK YOU, CHAIR.
IN LOOKING AT THE SACRD SCREENS AND EVERYTHING WHAT THEY ARE PUTTING TOGETHER, IT'S -- I CAN NAVIGATE THAT. BUT A THIRD OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE POOR IN OUR REPORT, POVERTY REPORT, WHICH IS ABOUT 80 TO 85,000 PEOPLE NEVER GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL. AND I'M REALLY WORRIED ABOUT THEIR ABILITY TO JUST GET ONLINE AND NAVIGATE THIS KIND OF A PROGRAM. I THINK IT'S GOOD.
I THINK IT SHOULD BE THERE. BUT I THINK WE NEED TO MOVE BEYOND PROVIDING A DIGITAL ACCESS POINT. WE NEED TO PROVIDE GUIDED ACCESS POINTS WHERE PEOPLE CAN WALK IN AND TALK WITH SOMEBODY WHO UNDERSTANDS THE SYSTEM AND CAN HELP THEM WORK THEIR WAY THROUGH IT TO WHERE IT REALLY PROVIDES THE INFORMATION THAT THEY WANT OR NEED. AND SO I THINK WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE DOING IS WHAT SOME OF US TALKED ABOUT IS WE SHOULD HAVE THIS SET UP AT EVERY LIBRARY.
WE'VE GOT 30 LIBRARIES AROUND THE CITY. THIS SHOULD BE ONE DEDICATED MACHINE AT EVERY LIBRARY AND EVERY LIBRARY SHOULD HAVE A TRAINED STAFF MEMBER OR MORE THAN ONE WHO WOULD BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN WITH SOMEBODY AND WALK THEM THROUGH THIS PROCESS SO THEY COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE IT. AND IT NOT ONLY NEEDS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR THIS HOUSING, BUT WE'VE GOT HOW MANY DIFFERENT DASHBOARDS WE'RE SETTING UP FOR PEOPLE TO GET INFORMATION? WHY AREN'T WE FINDING A FACILITY AT EVERY LIBRARY AND EVERY SENIOR CENTER THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO GET ONLINE AND LOOK AT THIS INFORMATION WITH SOMEBODY WHO UNDERSTANDS HOW TO USE IT AND PRESENT IT. AND IN MANY AREAS SOMEBODY WHO IS BILINGUAL TO MAKE SURE IF THE PERSON ONLY SPEAKS SPANISH THEY CAN MANAGE THEIR WAY THROUGH THESE. NOW, LET'S SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, WE PUT A COMPUTER AND ALL THE CONNECTIONS IT NEEDS AT 30 LIBRARIES AND A DOZEN SENIOR CENTERS OR TEN OR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, THAT'S 40 LOCATIONS. $5,000 EACH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO TRAIN PERSONNEL. AND THAT BECOMES ADDITION. MAYBE IT'S A MATTER THAT WE ACTUALLY HIRE A PERSON WHO IS TRAINED TO GO AHEAD AND DO THIS IN EVERY ONE OF THOSE FACILITIES. SO NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE HIRING 40 PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO USE ALL OF THESE SYSTEMS WHO WOULD MEET WITH PEOPLE WHEN THEY COME IN AND HELP THEM THROUGH THIS PROCESS. NOW YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT PAYING PEOPLE 40, 60 NOW DOLLARS A YEAR. NOW YOU ARE TALKING 2, $3 MILLION TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. NOW YOU ARE GIVING PEOPLE ACCESS WITH GUIDANCE AND SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO DO THE PROCESS AND IT WOULD BE ALL OVER TOWN. NOT JUST A ONE-STOP, BUT A 40-STOP.
SO I THINK IF WE ARE GOING TO BE EXPANDING DIGITALLY OR IN ANY OTHER WAY TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ON WHAT THE CITY IS DOING, WHAT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING AND HOW THEY WORK, THEN WE NEED TO MAKE A SERIOUS INVESTMENT IN DOING THAT AND MAKE SURE IT'S AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE IT CAN BE AVAILABLE. NOW, I CAN THINK BACK PROBABLY 15, 20 YEARS AGO NOW IN MY DISTRICT, DISTRICT 9, THERE USED TO BE A ONE-STOP CENTER AT THE CORNER OF BLANCO AND WEST AVENUE AND IT WAS RUN BY THE COUNTY. AND THE COUNTY HAD AN OFFICE IN THERE.
YOU COULD GO IN AND DO ANYTHING THE COUNTY WANTED YOU TO DO.
NOW, THEY STOPPED IT AFTER -- I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY YEARS IT WAS THERE, AND I'M NOT SAYING WE COULD AFFORD TO SET UP TEN SEPARATE OFFICES WITH A HALF A DOZEN PEOPLE AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS, BUT I THINK WE CAN REALLY INVEST IN PUTTING THESE INTO LIBRARIES AND SENIOR CENTERS WITH TRAINED PERSONNEL TO GUIDE PEOPLE THROUGH THIS, AND THAT WOULD HELP A LOT OF PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT'S AVAILABLE TO HELP THEM MORE SO THAN JUST TRYING TO GET ONLINE AND FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR
OWN. >> CAN I SPEAK TO THIS? >> GARCIA: YES.
>> WE DID HAVE THE MAYOR'S HOUSING FRAMEWORK THAT'S ADOPTED AND IT MENTIONED A
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PHYSICAL CENTER. THE SHIP CAME FORWARD AND IT ALSO MENTIONS PHYSICAL CENTERS. WHEN WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS, WE'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THE PHYSICAL CENTERS WOULD NOT BE ONE CENTER. IT WOULD BE A PLACE WHERE WE CAN MEET THE USER. AND SO WE'VE ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT LEVERAGING THE LIBRARIES, SIMILAR TO HOW WE LEVERAGE THE LIBRARIES FOR OUR FINANCIAL PROGRAMS. WE WANT TO MEET THE USER AT THE PLACE THAT'S MOST CONVENIENT TORE THEM.SO WE HAVE LIBRARIES IN EVERY COUNCIL DISTRICT AND DOWNTOWN.
THE KEY IS GETTING THE USER TO THE APPROPRIATE PLACE TO MAKE THAT APPOINTMENT.
SO WE DO THAT THROUGH THE HOMELESS CONNECTIONS HOTLINE.
WE SHOULD BE DOING THAT THROUGH OUR COUNCIL OFFICES AND WE'LL GET YOU THAT INFORMATION, BUT WE HAVE SEVERAL OTHER NON-PROFITS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE FEEDING THAT INFORMATION TO US. AND WE ALWAYS PLANNED ON THE LIBRARIES BEING PART OF THAT. NOW, I WANT TO STRESS SACRD, WE KNOW THAT IT'S NOT A TOOL THAT THE USER IS GOING TO BE USING.
THE MAJORITY OF THE USERS ARE GOING TO BE SERVICE PROVIDERS.
AND WE WANTED -- WE HEARD FROM THE SERVICE PROVIDERS THERE WASN'T AN UPDATED TOOL THAT WAS CONSTANTLY UPDATED THAT THEY CAN USE. AND SO THAT'S WHERE SACRD HAS COME IN. AND THEY HAVE CREATED THIS TOOL AND THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING IT UPDATED. SO JUST PUTTING A COMPUTER AT A LIBRARY IS NOT GOING TO WORK BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO NEED SOMEONE TO HELP NAVIGATE THAT. IF I CALL AND WANT AN APPOINTMENT, I'M GOING TO THE LAND OF LIBRARIES, SOMEONE THAT'S CONVENIENT TO ME AND A HOUSING NAVIGATOR IS GOING TO MEET ME THERE AND WALK ME THROUGH. THEY ARE FIRST GOING TO INTERVIEW ME, WHAT DO YOU NEED, DO YOU DEPEND ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, AND THEN THEY ARE GOING TO HELP NAVIGATE THEM THROUGH SACRD AND PROVIDES OPTIONS.
THAT'S HOW WE'VE ENVISIONED IT, NOT CREATING ONE ONE-STOP SHOP BUT CREATING MULTIPLE LOCATIONS THAT MEET A USER AT A LOCATION MOST CONVENIENT FOR THEM, BUT COUPLING THEM WITH THAT NAVIGATOR BECAUSE THE USERS DON'T HAVE THAT -- THAT SKILL SET. SOME OF THEM DO, BUT, I MEAN, I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE SKILL SETS A LOT OF TIME WITH ALL THIS TECHNOLOGY COMING OUT.
WE NEED SOMEONE WHO IS AN EXPERT IN DOING THAT. WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE PLANNING ON DOING AND WE ARE ALREADY DOING.
VERONICA GARCIA RANCOR BILLY, DO YOU ALL WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THIS?
>> THANK YOU FOR THAT. SO I THINK -- AT THE CORE OF WHAT SACRD DOES, ULTIMATELY THE PERSON WE'RE TRYING TO ASSIST IS THE PERSON WHO HAS THE NEED.
BUT WE RECOGNIZE DUE TO THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE MENTIONING, COUNCILMAN, THAT OFTEN THAT PERSON IS NOT ABLE OR WILLING OR, YOU KNOW, TO ACCESS THE INFORMATION SO THEY CAN TO AN ACCESS POINT. AT SACRD ROUGHLY 70% OF THE ACCESS ON THE SITE IS FROM PROFESSIONAL USERS. THESE ARE PEOPLE USING THE SITE ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE AS PART OF THEIR JOB OR VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE.
HOWEVER THAT IS CORRECT OFTEN LEADS TO A TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE FOR HOW TO USE THE SITE. I SIT WITH YOU AND MAYBE I GO TO A FAITH AUDIO] AND I GET INFORMATION FROM THAT, BUT I AM PERSONALLY AWARE OF SACRD AND I'VE BEEN GIVEN A LITTLE EDUCATION HOW TO USE THE SITE IF I CHOOSE TO.
GOING FORWARD IF I CHOOSE TO SELF-AVAIL MYSELF ON THE SECOND OR THIRD TRIP, THAT'S AVAILABLE TO ME. IN PRACTICE, WE DON'T INTEND FOR SACRD TO REPLACE THE IN-PERSON INTERACTION. WE INTEND TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT AND WE HEAR THAT FROM THE AGENCIES THAT USE SACRD IN THAT THEY SPEND -- THEY HAVE REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF TIME THEY SPEND DOING THE RESOURCING WORK, FINDING THINGS TO REFER CUSTOMERS TO AND DO MORE REFERRING. SO THEY ARE ACTUALLY ABLE TO SPEND MORE TIME IN FRONT OF THE CLIENT, MORE TIME ON CASE MANAGEMENT WORK, LESS TIME TRYING TO FIND THINGS.
SACRD HAS DONE THAT ONE TIME INSTEAD OF EVERY ORGANIZATION HAVING TO DO IT THEMSELVES. WE DO TRAINING ON HOW TO USE SACRD EXTENSIVELY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. IN THE LAST YEAR, WE HAVE RUN WHAT WE CALL ORIENTATION SESSIONS, A 45-MINUTE TRAINING SESSION HOW TO USE SACRD.
WE'VE DONE THAT I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER OF TIMES BUT ENCOUNTERED OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE PUT THROUGH TRAININGS. THIS IS 1,000 PEOPLE.
YOU FIGURE EACH ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE ENCOUNTERS ON AVERAGE 20, 30 PEOPLE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S A MULTIPLIER OF TREMENDOUS PROPORTION. SO WE -- SO WE'RE NOT TRYING TO REPLACE THAT IN-PERSON, YOU KNOW, ENGAGEMENT. WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THAT MORE EFFICIENT AS WELL AS GIVE PEOPLE THE OPTION ON SUBSEQUENT VISITS TO SACRD
[01:25:03]
THAT THEY CAN USE IT THEMSELVES IF THEY CHOOSE TO.>> GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> COURAGE: LET ME FINISH MY THOUGHT ON THIS. I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO GO AND HAVE A MEETING AND SOMEBODY BE THERE. THAT STILL PRESENTS THE IDEA THAT SOMEBODY HAS TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT, THEY GOT TO KNOW WHO TO CALL AND THEY'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO GET SOMEWHERE. AND, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT SOMEWHERE MAY BE. ON THE OTHER HAND, I THINK PROBABLY 90% OR MORE OF THE PEOPLE IN SAN ANTONIO KNOW WHERE THEIR LIBRARY IS. A LIBRARY IS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL, THAT'S WHAT IT'S THERE FOR. WE HAVE COMPUTERS FOR PEOPLE TO GET ONLINE, GET ACCESS. SO MAYBE WE DON'T HAVE TO DEDICATE A SINGLE COMPUTER THAT WE PUT SOMETHING, BUT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT COMPUTER IS ABLE TO ACCESS NOT JUST SACRD BUT EVERY OTHER DASHBOARD THAT THE CITY IS PUTTING TOGETHER AND THAT A LIBRARIAN OR ANOTHER PERSON THERE THAT MAY NOT BE A LIBRARIAN BUT IS HIRED BY THE CITY TO BE ABLE TO GIVE IN A INFORMATION AND SHOW THAT DIRECTION IS THERE SO THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GO WHERE IT'S EASY FOR THEM TO GO INSTEAD OF HAVING TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. THEY CAN JUST WALK IN AND GET ON A COMPUTER AND GET THAT INFORMATION. AND YES, THE LIBRARY HAS SOMEBODY THERE WHO CAN SHOW THEM HOW TO DO IT, HOW TO GET ON ANY OF THE DASHBOARDS TO FIND OUT ANY INFORMATION THEY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ANY OF THE SERVICES OR ANY OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO.
AND I THINK IT'S WORTH DOING MORE INVESTIGATION INTO SETTING THAT UP AND INCLUDING SENIOR SENIORS. I KNOW I HAVE 400 PEOPLE GO TO TO MY SENIOR CENTER EVERY DAY. I CAN GET MY STAFF TRAINED TO DO THAT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHER SENIOR CENTERS HAVE BECAUSE I HAVE AN OFFICE IN MY SENIOR CENTER THAT'S STAFFED BY VOLUNTEERS OR EMPLOYEES. ANYWAY, I JUST WANT TO SEE US EXPAND IT, MAKE IT OUT THERE WHERE THE PEOPLE CAN WALK RIGHT IN AND GET THE INFORMATION THEY NEED. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MY THOUGHT ON THAT.
>> WE COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT. I'M GOING TO ASK VERONICA
GARCIA TO SPEAK ON THIS A LITTLE MORE. >> LIBRARY, SENIOR CENTERS, THOSE ARE DEFINITELY ON OUR TRAINING PLAN. SOME OF THEM HAVE GONE THROUGH THE TRAINING FOR THE SACRD MENTAL HEALTH PORTAL. I THINK BILL MADE EXCELLENT POINTS IT'S NOT MEANT TO REPLACE THAT HUMAN INTERACTION BECAUSE IT'S ABSOLUTELY NEED 9. I'LL ALSO ADD I'M SPEAKING ABOUT RESIDENTS WHERE THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY ARE IN NEED. WE SEE A LOT OF RESIDENTS IN NEED AND IN CRISIS, OF COURSE, IN THE EVICTION COURT HEARINGS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE CITY STAFF THAT ARE TRAINED IN THE SACRD PORTAL AND WILL BE TRAINED IN THE NEW HOUSING PORTAL. THEY ARE THERE TO PROVIDE RESOURCES AND THAT IN-PERSON INTERACTION AS WELL AND HELP GUIDE PEOPLE THROUGH THE
TOOL IF NEEDED. >> ANOTHER USER THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON IS OPPORTUNITY HOME. COUNCILWOMAN AND THIS IS A GREAT TOOL FOR OPPORTUNITY HOME BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO HANDLE THESE SERVICES. AND SO THEY CAN REFER PEOPLE TO THIS PROGRAM AND EXPLAIN WHERE THEY CAN GO FOR HELP. SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THE
USER AND DIRECT THEM TO THE PLACE THEY CAN GO FOR HELP. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, LORI. BUT I TURN IT OVER, COUNCILMEMBER PELÁEZ HAS ANOTHER ROARK, I SEE IT AS MANY RESILIENCY HUBS THAT ARE OPEN ALL THE TIME.
AND IT'S RESILIENCY AND DIFFERENT COMPONENTS. WE HAVE A LOT OF CLOSED SCHOOLS. THEY HAPPEN TO BE UNFORTUNATELY IN A LOT OF THE RED-LINED AREAS. SO IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAYBE -- TRY TO WORK WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO HAVE SOME ACCESS. AND I KEEP THINKING OF THE MAC OVER IN D10, MR. HARTMAN. IT WAS TOUTED AS A ONE-STOP SHOP. IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO SEE HOW THEY ARE DOING AND IF THAT PHYSICAL SPACE IS SUCCESSFUL, WHY WOULDN'T A PHYSICAL SPACE BE SUCCESSFUL. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN, FOR BRINGING UP THE FACT CONGRESSMAN CASAR WAS WORKING ON THAT AND I THINK THAT'S ONE THING WE SHOULD DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP ON.
WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ALAMO, SO AGAIN ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO SEE IF WE COULD PUT TOGETHER THAT SACRD INFORMATION. AND THEN I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, LIKE IN MY FIELD OFFICE, MY OFFICE, MY STAFF LIKES TO WORK IN A BULLPEN SO THERE'S A WHOLE OFFICE AVAILABLE. IF YOU WANT A PILOT PROGRAM,
[01:30:01]
FEEL FREE TO GO OUT AND SET UP SHOP. WE WON'T EVEN CHARGE YOU RENT. I'M KIDDING. BUT ANYWAY, BUT I THINK THERE'S JUST OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT, FOR US TO BE ABLE TO WORK TOGETHER, SEE IF IT WORKS, TRY IT AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE BIT AND DECIDE WHETHER WE SHOULD DEFINITELY SCRAP IT OR NOT. I'LL TURN IT OVER TO COUNCILMEMBER PELÁEZ WHO HASADDITIONAL COMMENTS. >> PELÁEZ: THANK YOU. I'M GOING THROUGH THE SPANISH WEBSITE AND MOST OF YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN IT COMES TO SPANISH, LORI COMES TO ME AND MARIA VILLAGÓMEZ FOR TRANSLATIONS. FOR CONGALESE WE GO TO COUNCILMEMBER COURAGE. WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE SPANISH SACRD PAGE.
IT'S A HOT MESS. FOR THOSE OF YOU LISTENING -- SPANISH] THAT MAKES NO SENSE. THAT'S GOBBLEDY GOOK.
SOMEBODY OBVIOUSLY PUT IT THROUGH A TRANSLATER. THE WORDS ARE BIG AND OUR
TARGET POPULATION ISN'T GOING TO UNDERSTAND. >> HOUSTON: WE'LL WORK TO PUT THIS IN PLAIN SPEAK SO PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND IT AND WE'RE HAPPY TO CIRCULATE
WITH YOU ALL. >> PELÁEZ: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>> GARCIA: THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP. YESTERDAY AT COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO'S DIRECTION, SHE LEADS THE COMMUNITY HEALTH COMMITTEE, AND AS CHAIR SHE WANTS TO BRING UP SOME OF THE ACCESSIBILITY AND LANGUAGE WAS ONE OF THEM.
I MENTIONED THAT EVEN OUR CITY WEBSITE, LIKE IT'S JUST TAKEN SO LONG TO TRANSLATE THEM AND JUST GOOGLE TRANSLATE IS OKAY, THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT THEY DID, BUT NO, IT DOESN'T WORK. LIKE COUNCILMAN POINTED OUT. ESPECIALLY AT CERTAIN -- LIKE I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND LIKE TWO OF THOSE WORDS I WOULD NOT HAVE RECOGNIZED, RIGHT? AND SO MAKING IT MORE MANAGEABLE DEFINITELY AND ACCESSIBLE. ANY FURTHER COMMENTS OR CLOSING? ALL RIGHT. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN, VERONICA AND VERONICA FOR THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DID AND ALL THE WORK YOU CONTINUE TO DO FOR OUR RESIDENTS. THE TIME IS 11:33 AND THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU ALL. EN
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.