Ad Hoc on Homelessness and Solutions

Regular Meeting

Lansing, MI · March 28, 2023

Minutes

MINUTES Ad Hoc on Homelessness & Solutions Tuesday, March 28, 2023 @ 3:30 p.m. City Council Conference Room, 10th Floor City Hall CALL TO ORDER Council Member Brown called the meeting to order at 3:30pm PRESENT Council Member Jeffrey Brown, Chair Council Member Adam Hussain, Vice Chair - excused Council Member Patricia Spitzley, Member OTHERS PRESENT Renee Richmond, Council Staff Lisa Hagen-Lawrence, OCA Dr. Adenike Shoyinka, Medical Health Officer ICHC Kris Drake, Executive Director, ICHC Rosalyn Williams Marcy Doozan Cheryl Campbell Sara Fase Shelia & Steve Antes Chrsitopher Mike Karl Greg Pratt Tesha Reeves Judge Cynthia Ward, 54A District Court Ulices Rosa, 54A District Court Michael Lynn Farhan Sheikh-Omar Kyle Richard Jody Washington Linda Appling Gail Sawyer Schnika McKissic Sherri Davio Linda Karl Belinda Fitzpatrick Jeffrey Filip MINUTES MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER SPITZLEY TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MARCH 14, 2023, AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 2-0. Page 1 of 4 PRESENTATIONS Ingham Community Health Centers Dr. Shoyinka acknowledged the great turnout from the public, introducing herself she is the Chief Medical Officer for Ingham County and they are a federal health center and department that gives them the opportunity to provide a range of services up to primary care. ICHC is essentially a comprehensive primary care and can provide other care as needed, created patient center so providers can give and overcome barriers. They have 11 sites throughout Lansing with one dedicated to those experiencing homelessness under 330H program that provides federal grants, and others with Behavioral Health Services, Substance Abuse, General Health, and Nursing Services within Holy Cross. Adding the Community Health workers are the main connection to those that walk in, once they do they get a housing assessment, and whether they need food, vouchers, legal resources, clothing, etc. Councilmember Brown asked that she talks about Holy Cross is that their facility, she stated no, they are just located in the building and just lease space. Councilmember Spitzley asked out of the 11 sites where are they located. Mr. Drake indicated all 11 are throughout the Greater Lansing area, some free standing and some in schools like Eastern, Sexton, Pattengill, Gardner, and Everett. Willow Community Health Center on Pennsylvania, the one at Holy Cross, Birch Community Center on Jolly, and the Human Services Building holds the Women’s Health Center, they also have a mobile dental service. Councilmember Brown asked if the New Hope Health Center at Holy Cross is only accessible by those at Holy Cross, Mr. Drake responded no those who identify as homeless can access any location. Councilmember Spitzley stated for the ones located in the schools she is worried about accessibility but sounds like they are off major bus lines, Mr. Drake confirmed and they offer vouchers as well. Councilmember Brown asked about any other organizations besides those mentioned that they are partnering with. Dr. Shoyinka restated there are 15 of the 330h federal funded to specifically provide services, there are other free clinics that they’ve partnered with in the past but were dismantled during the Pandemic. He continued Spartan Street Medicine included vaccinations, minor wound care and referrals to the ER when needed. Councilmember Brown asked they had a number on how many homeless, Dr. Shoyinka said that is difficult to give a certain number, when you think of housing one indicator is number of those who use more than 30% of income, that is 1/3 of our population, East Lansing is #1 and that is at 48%, Lansing is at 46%. Councilmember Spitzley mentioned EL is skewed because of the students. Councilmember Brown asked how many served at new hope and Dr. Shoyinka said in 2021 it was 2,250 which would be 8% in all 15 sites across the state, with approximately 30,000 served total in all programs. Councilmember Brown asked for clarification when she mentions statewide, Dr. Shoyinka repeated that ICHC is federal funded in the 330h, there are 15 sites and they share one with New Hope. Adding that in Michigan they service 30,000 and that is our 2,250. Councilmember Brown asked how many patients, Mr. Drake answered appropriately 20,000 – 30,000 and nearly 2,250 of them are homeless. Dr. Shoyinka stated they don’t have numbers for 2023, in 2022 it was about 2,137. Mr. Drake included in 2020 was about 2,259 (hard to say because of COVID). Dr. Shoyinka added that 2019 and 2018 would be close to the same but shelters couldn’t take as many people because of isolation. Dr. Shoyinka concluded that even though they don’t do direct care they identify homelessness as a public heath crisis and want to make sure they are having conversations with the right people. DISCUSSION/ACTION DISCUSSION – Rosalyn Williams; Lansing Resident Advocate Discussion Human Relations & Community Services and Red Tags Ms. Williams said she is here as a resident of Autumn Ridge, Councilmember Spitzley asked if she was talking on behalf of HRCS or not. Councilmember Brown said no her and him have been in conversation about red tags and she is facing homelessness. Ms. Williams continued that AR has 600+ units and she was pink tagged Nov. 2019 with a simple violation of the ventilation needing cleaning and the complex didn’t get it done. Adding the unit next to her is horrible having mice and bed bugs and she paid to have it cleaned because she didn’t want it in her place. But it is still not up to Page 2 of 4 code and AR never shows up when you call, now seeing pests, on Feb. 24th the furnace went out and AR brought her two space heaters to heat bedrooms upstairs and living area, she had to turn the oven on it was red tagged by code and she was told to leave. Councilmember asked if between it being pink and red tagged to best of her knowledge was code there, Ms. Williams responded yes that Dave Klein always comes out. Ms. Williams indicated to was injured and Councilmember Spitzley asked if it was onsite, she answered yes, they had some palettes out that covered some ground and it was wobbly and she stepped on it and it tilted and broke. Councilmember Brown asked where she’s been staying since February and she said a hotel, that they offered a City hotel but that one is horrible so she went to a different one, she was told she still can’t go home, Consumers shut gas off, maintenance took the tag off, so she can’t live there. Councilmember Spitzley asked if she’s spoke to the Housing Ombudsman and asked for a yes or no, Ms. Williams said yes and he told her he couldn’t do anything for her. Councilmember Spitzley asked if he’s provided counseling or your rights, she said no she’s been doing it on her own. Councilmember Brown asked what her experience with the City has been, she said they offered to pay her BWL, but she calls one person they say someone else will call back and nobody ever does, and Mr. McDonald asked her if she looked at Zillow and HRCS is no help. Councilmember Brown and Spitzley confusingly asked about the City hotel, and Ms. Williams said she didn’t want to say the name and just knew what hotel they wanted to send her to and it is off S. Pennsylvania by the car dealership. Councilmember Spitzley stated that they’ve been dealing with AR for some time and didn’t know if she could speak, Ms. Hagen-Lawrence stated that litigation is no longer active. Councilmember Spitzley asked Ms. Williams if she had three suggestions what were they, and Ms. Williams replied: 1. take red tags and offer to residents who want to be homeowners despite credit 2. make people that run the programs live in them 3. do your job, make people accountable and talk to the people DISCUSSION – Committee Intention CM Brown said he was going to bypass this as the intention of the committee has been stated several times. PUBLIC COMMENT Mike Karl spoke on HMIS again and gave a handout to the Committee of guidelines and said he handed out to people and added that if the homeless ask for a HMIS number they are threatened to be removed. Sheila Antes spoke on three family’s homes are red tagged and code won’t release because the landlord doesn’t have property listed as a rental, he’s taken $40,000 from these families that put money into fixing issues. Advent House said they would only help women/children so the men are sleeping in cars. She continues that every time she calls Joe McDonald he doesn’t call back. Councilmember Brown asked if she escalated the call to Director Coleman of HRCS, Ms. Antes said no, she hasn’t heard that name. Councilmember Spitzley regrettably stated the person that spend $40,000 on repairs doesn’t own the house and the landlord doesn’t have a rental certificate, it is the responsibility of the landlord. Mike Lynn spoke on financial accountability to the landlords and hitting them in the pocket, they’ve been having red tag convo’s since 2019. Councilmember Spitzley agreed and stated they were fining and sending notices to Autumn Ridge. Mr. Lynn acknowledged that Code is extremely understaffed, and Councilmember Spitzley said it is budget time and Council speaks through resolution so it will be looked at. Then asked Ms. Hagen-Lawrence to share the penalty of removal, Ms. Hagen-Lawrence Page 3 of 4 responded it is a criminal misdemeanor with $500 fine and 90 days in jail but has not seen any recently but is limited in her role. Greg Pratt spoke on that he is with 7th Day Adventist Outreach and every Thursday is handing out sleeping bags, food, jackets, and hand warmers. He believes the Mayor needs a city of emergency for the homeless, he witnessed that pass Friday four LPD officers evicted a homeless person out of a shed without calling a social worker. Finished that there are only two shelters for men, they are all full and in winter nowhere to go. Cheryl Campbell spoke on being homeless for two years, advent house paid for a hotel, but HMIS report is blank and shows she is a single person and she had six people in her family that are right now in a hotel. She is working two jobs, kids aren’t going to school no what to get there, averaging three hours of sleep because all of them are sleeping sideways on the bed. Finishing that she qualifies for rapid housing but nothing in the HMIS report. Councilmember Spitzley stepped out of the meeting at 4:42pm. Councilmember Brown paused the meeting with no quorum present at the time. Councilmember Brown reconvened at 4:46pm Councilmember Brown asked if she contacted HRCS, Ms. Campbell said no. Farhan Sheikh-Omar spoke on the only difference now is the news is covering this and the mayor is not standing up because nobody has a plan on how to fix, need a concrete plan moving forward. He continued maybe hire outside investigator to look into it, it’s a disgrace what’s happening in this city. Schnika McKissic is a resident of Lansing, works for the school district, a health science master, and receiving disability section 8 voucher and is being evicted from 212 E. Cavanaugh Rd which has never been up to code. She moved into the home in 2019, LHC was supposed to inspect and owner stole $20,000 because nothing was ever fixed. Ms. McKissic paid upfront and doesn’t own anything and she was forcefully removed and evicted on February 6, 2023. Jody Washington spoke on the HRCS meeting tonight at 5:30pm and asked Ms. Richmond if she could look up the locations. Continuing that America’s Best and Causeway are the worst hotels possible. She is told from Advent House they run out of money all the time and she doesn’t understand how when the get so much. Kyle Richard spoke on his great love for the city and he was a teacher at Sexton. Knew people at Autumn Ridge and the recent letter to the Fledge from the City is disgraceful. Adding to not discount the power of their voice and letterhead, City Hall could’ve opened during the Code Blue for a 24/7 shelter. Linda Appling spoke on the city establishing legal aid for those evicted and red tagged, the City of Detroit has it, and Councilmember Spitzley stated Wayne County does too. Ms. Appling continued that the bus services in the city are horrible. Pat walked out at 5:03, guy upset at being ignored, no quorum. OTHER ADJOURN Adjourned at 5:11pm Submitted by Renee Richmond, Recording Secretary Lansing City Council Approved by the Committee on May 9, 2023 Page 4 of 4

Agenda

Packet

AGENDA AD HOC on Homelessness & Solutions AGENDA FOR MARCH 28, 2023 AT 3:30 PM Lansing City Hall, City Council Conference Room 124 W. Michigan Avenue, 10th Floor To provide input or ask questions on any item that is listed on the agenda, members of the public may contact the City Council at city.council@lansingmi.gov or (517) 483-4177 prior to the meeting. Council Member Brown, Chairperson Council Member Hussain, Vice Chairperson Council Member Spitzley, Member 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Minutes A. March 14, 2023 4. Presentations: B. Ingham Community Health Centers - Kris Drake 5. Discussion/Action: C. DISCUSSION - Rosalyn Williams; Lansing Resident Advocate Discussion Human Relations & Community Services and Red Tags D. DISCUSSION - Committee Intentions 6. Public Comment on Agenda Items (Up to 2 Minutes) 7. Other 8. Adjourn Persons with disabilities who need an accommodation to fully participate in these meetings should contact the City Council Office at 517-483-4177 (TTY 711) 24 hour notice may be needed for certain accommodations. An attempt will be made to grant all reasonable accommodation requests. Page 1 of 48 MINUTES Ad Hoc on Homelessness & Solutions Tuesday, March 14, 2023 @ 3:30 p.m. City Council Conference Room, 10th Floor City Hall CALL TO ORDER Council Member Brown called the meeting to order at 3:31pm PRESENT Council Member Jeffrey Brown, Chair Council Member Adam Hussain, Vice Chair Council Member Patricia Spitzley, Member – arrived at 3:34pm OTHERS PRESENT Renee Richmond, Council Staff Lisa Hagen-Lawrence, OCA Matt Staples, OCA John Shaski, Sparrow Hospital Mike Karl, Cardboard Prophets Linda Karl, Cardboard Prophets Gail Sawyer Daniel Arnold Belinda Fitzpatrick Michael Lynn Councilmember Jackson Norma Bauer Jody Washington Sherri Davio Tesha Reeves MINUTES MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUSSAIN TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 28, 2023, AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 2-0. PRESENTATIONS Sparrow Hospital Mr. Shaski is the Government Relations Officer and has been with Sparrow for 15 years, throughout 127 years they have provided compassionate care partnering with various local organizations like Cristo Rey, Holy Cross (which used to be VOA). Councilmember Spitzley arrived at 3:34 Mr. Shaski continued they also operate a mobile clinic staffed by physician and family medical residents to help bridge the gap. Councilmember Brown said he hears the vision and the support with the health Page 1 of 4 Page 2 of 48 center but is looking on if there is an uptick and what is the hospital doing. Mr. Shaski stated that trends have been consistent with 5-10 patients per day in the ER for services. Councilmember Brown asked about during COVID, Mr. Shaski did not know specifically during 2020. Adding that they come in seeking shelter, food, respite, over the counter medications and they see a modest increase in cold weather, during the polar vortex years ago we had a number seeking shelter in the lobby. Mr. Shaski mentioned Joan Jackson Johnson and how she had a way with people and would come in and talk with people, was amazing and yielded respect, he continued to read a comment from case management: There is difficulty in the homeless population when they have medical needs and a homeless shelter is unable to accommodate. We do encounter many of these very vulnerable, and often very ill, adult patients. In the Detroit market, the Salvation Army has initiated a “Medical Respite” clinic. This innovative approach to care transitions of the homeless is something completely lacking in the mid- Michigan area Many of the Medical health plans subsidize this type of setting. The Sparrow case managers have referred cases to the medical respite site when the patient has the appropriate subsidizing health plan. This type of setting allows a homeless individual to recover and heal in a supportive setting, connects them to medical care, and transitions them to the appropriate housing situation when recovery is complete. Mr. Shaski indicated in his roll he is aware the state is focused on number of issues, medical respite care centers, and they will advocate for those. Councilmember Spitzley asked what the cost breakdown for respite clinic and partners are, Mr. Shaski didn’t have specifics and would be happy to dig in and check, he will follow up with Ms. Richmond. Councilmember Brown indicated he would like to have Mr. Shaski return to speak on medical respite, Mr. Shaski responded that he didn’t know if Sparrow would lead the charge on that and suggested Ingham Community Health. Councilmember Hussain inquired about the UM takeover, everybody talks about disruption but not preventing and hope that Sparrow and McLaren continue to care and be concerned. Councilmember Spitzley asked if a representative with McLaren was present. Ms. Richmond stated she received confirmation but has not seen anybody. Councilmember Spitzley continued that she has heard that EMTs and EMS are told to go to Sparrow and not McLaren, so it is like there is only one hospital. Mr. Shaski stated that Sparrow is a Trauma 1 hospital and on the night of the MSU tragedy they also had three traumatic vehicle accidents and if the next nearest is Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor. Councilmember Brown asked if there is any vision for supporting homeless directly, Mr. Shaski said he did not know, but it is a concern and this is their city too and these are their community members. He finished with staff challenges he is unaware of what more can be done but is open for ideas. McLaren Hospital No one present. Cardboard Prophets Mr. Karl gave a brief introduction, he’s been doing street outreach since 2010 and after being with the Homeless Angel, in 2017 decided to do something separate. He is the founder of Cardboard Prophets along with his mother Linda Karl who runs the Capital Area Diaper Bank. He proceeded to handout a folder to the Committee Members. Stating that the biggest hurdle is to get a category 1 for homeless, there is way too much paperwork from the State of Michigan (SOM), in the packet there is a verification form and they need this and an HMIS card# to be documented. The shelters like City Rescue Mission (CRM) do not use the number, using religious exemptions but still get money from the city. Councilmember Spitzley commented if they are claiming religious exemption how are getting money from the state and city, and the people aren’t documented, Mr. Karl voiced he didn’t know, but then they can’t get to the next level. Councilmember Brown asked as an example if he is homeless and goes to Page 2 of 4 Page 3 of 48 CRM and not documented he can’t get housing support, Mr. Karl said not without the HMIS but you can still go to CRM. Councilmember Brown asked what other shelters, Mr. Karl indicated Holy Cross and Advent House. Councilmember Brown asked Mr. Shaski if Holy Cross is the shelter connected to the health center, Mr. Shaski confirmed. Mr. Karl continued that the shelters aren’t following the process, stating that Tim Bays owns a mortgage company that owns one of the hotels so he is benefiting, saying holding people for a year then moving to personal properties. Councilmember Brown asked if he had documentation on this, and Mr. Karl referenced the pink binder clipped portion of the folder he handed out. Mr. Karl said there is a scale from 1-10 rating the severity of homelessness and 4 is chronically homeless. Receiving permission to share Sam’s story he stated she has been homeless 100 times but things were missing, on paper she qualified for housing (9+), put in rapid housing in Todd Dowrick homes that didn’t meet habitability standards, sewage in basements, electrical not done so Sam went back into the system. Councilmember Spitzley asked when you go to CRM you have to demonstrate homelessness for x amount of day, Mr. Karl confirmed. Councilmember Brown asked how Capital Area Housing is and Mr. Karl responded they control the housing money. Councilmember Brown said if he has this case study why are these groups passing money and the system broken how do we have these fiduciary’s passing money, Mr. Karl did not know. Mr. Karl said he brought a guest, Jessica to give her story if the committee allowed. Councilmember Jackson left the meeting at 4:00pm Jessica stated she became homeless the end of 2021 due to a domestic violence situation, was dropped off at the Causeway Hotel by CPS and they paid for three days. She reached out to Holy Cross and they advised her they were not a domestic violence shelter and wasn’t able to help, so Jessica reached back out to CPS and they extended her another two weeks in the hotel. After that ended, she went to America’s Best saying it is not a safe hotel and holy cross continued to refuse her help or put her on a hotel program. Councilmember Brown stated for the record why do we keep giving money if this continues to happen and this began in December 2021. Councilmember Spitzley asked if anyone from HRCS contacted her, Jessica said no. Continuing, Jessica was passed to the Advent House still with no verification or HMIS ID, they used all her funds to pay for the hotel from Dec 31 to June 15, she was on a Section 8 waitlist and found her funds were being used illegally. Every time she asked a case worker, she was told they’d look into it and then she got a different one. Until Mr. Karl reached out and put pressure on them for an ID, they said they couldn’t. Jessica added that by using her funds illegally they put her “address” as Holy Cross not the hotel. Councilmember Brown commented he was on the HRCS Board and they had grants. Jessica added she finally got a Section 8 voucher but was told by the LHC it would be 9 months to get it because money going to Holy Cross and that when she found out they changed her “address”. The first three months were paid upfront but for some reason she had late fees and the apartment complex told her they were aware that LHC is always late and even though she was incurring $50/monthly late fees she wouldn’t have to pay. Jessica finally added that she received assistance from a gracious person and paid the apt. complex. Mr. Karl added the big issue is when not documented is messes up everyone, he reference the folders he gave the committee and there is a list of names and numbers for them. Councilmember Spitzley asked him for three things they should do. Mr. Karl responded: 1. First issue is HMIS, every person in a shelter should have an intake and get an ID 2. He challenges them to walk up to just one homeless person in a shelter and ask for their HMIS ID, more than likely they won’t have one Page 3 of 4 Page 4 of 48 3. Address the demerits received in shelters, like if someone misses chapel they get a demerit and if it happens again they get another. Councilmember Brown thanked Jessica for sharing and Mr. Karl for his presentation and stated he would like to look through the folder and possibly have him back to a meeting. Councilmember Spitzley asked Jessica if she’s spoken to the Housing Ombudsman, Jessica didn’t know there was one. DISCUSSION/ACTION DISCUSSION – Committee Intension Councilmember Brown is waiting on a few follow-ups and will confirm with Ms. Richmond. PUBLIC COMMENT Ms. Washington expressed her gratitude towards Cardboard Prophets and all she’s learned from them, and commented that CoC is broken, Housing Ombudsman is worthless, the grants are a joke. Mr. Lynn mentioned that the passion out of this committee is amazing and can’t wait to see the actions that come out. Ms. Davio mentioned she has worked in housing and care, she loves what Cardboard Prophets are doing, unsure how she can help but has the skills to do so and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Sparrow Nest, etc. Ms. Bauer mentioned she has seen people sleeping in the corner at Sparrow lobby, Cedar Place is terrible, locks broken, and there are lots of places that the homeless aren’t counted, so keep an eye out. Mr. Arnold spoke on his approval and likes what is happening in this committee. OTHER ADJOURN Adjourned at 5:10pm Submitted by Renee Richmond, Recording Secretary Lansing City Council Approved by the Committee on Page 4 of 4 Page 5 of 48 Page 6 of 48 Page 7 of 48 Page 8 of 48 Page 9 of 48 Page 10 of 48 Page 11 of 48 Page 12 of 48 Page 13 of 48 Page 14 of 48 Page 15 of 48 Page 16 of 48 Page 17 of 48 Page 18 of 48 Page 19 of 48 Page 20 of 48 Page 21 of 48 Page 22 of 48 Page 23 of 48 Page 24 of 48 Page 25 of 48 Page 26 of 48 Page 27 of 48 Page 28 of 48 Page 29 of 48 Page 30 of 48 Page 31 of 48 Page 32 of 48 Page 33 of 48 Page 34 of 48 Page 35 of 48 Page 36 of 48 Page 37 of 48 Page 38 of 48 Page 39 of 48 Page 40 of 48 Page 41 of 48 Page 42 of 48 Page 43 of 48 Page 44 of 48 Page 45 of 48 Page 46 of 48 Page 47 of 48 Page 48 of 48