Drafter

Clerk 09/10/2019

Title

A MOTION requesting the executive to develop, implement and report on a pilot program to deploy at least one multidisciplinary homeless outreach team that is dedicated exclusively to Metro transit department public transportation services and report to the council with a full evaluation on the pilot program and any further recommendations to improve the pilot program.

Body

                     WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") defines homeless as including individuals and families who:  (1) are living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements; or (2) have a primary residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a vehicle, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport or camping ground, and

                     WHEREAS, HUD requires all Continuums of Care, which is "All Home" in Seattle and King County, to conduct a Point-in-Time Count of their unsheltered population on a biennial basis and Seattle and King County is among several communities that conducts an annual count, and

                     WHEREAS, in 2019 and in prior years, as part of the Point-in-Time Count, All Home implemented special outreach efforts to count the homeless on late-night bus routes; in particular utilizing volunteers to tally individuals observed sleeping on the buses during a single round-trip journey, and

                     WHEREAS, aggregate results of individuals experiencing homelessness in Seattle and King County tallied during the 2019 Count Us In Survey showed that forty-six percent of those queried on the night of the One Night Count on January 25, 2019, had been living for the past twelve months in either an emergency shelter or on the streets, or both, with on the streets including bus stations, underpasses, encampments and abandoned buildings, and

                     WHEREAS, a total of 11,199 individuals were experiencing homelessness in Seattle and King County on January 25, 2019, and

                     WHEREAS, in 2017, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that it had created a new Metro Homeless Action Plan that included two "County-City-Community" teams, also known as "C3" teams, which are composed of nurses, substance abuse counselors, mental health clinicians, former homeless individuals and other outreach workers, to engage homeless individuals using Los Angeles County public transportation to ultimately get them into services;

                     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:

                     A.  The council requests that the executive develop and implement a pilot program to deploy a multidisciplinary homeless outreach team that is dedicated exclusively to the Metro transit department public transportation services.  The pilot program should include public health professionals, especially as many medical professionals as possible, formerly homeless individuals and outreach workers who are skilled in navigating both the homeless community and Metro transit department public transportation services bus routes.  The pilot should also be a collaboration between public health - Seattle & King County, the department of Community and Human Services and the Metro transit department.

                     B.  The council requests that the executive report to the council on the results of the pilot program and that the report:

                       1.  Identify the pilot period during which the Metro transit department outreach program was implemented;

                       2.  Describe the processes used for outreach to homeless individuals using Metro transit department public transportation services;

                       3.  Identify the number of homeless individuals who were engaged and ultimately able to access new services as a result of the pilot program;

                       4.  Describe any feedback from community organizations that work with the homeless community extensively and have expertise in this field; and

                       5.  Make recommendations for long-term implementation of a Metro transit department outreach program for the homeless, including recommendations regarding conducting stakeholder outreach and evaluating the impact of such a program.

                     C.  The council requests that the executive transmit the report on the pilot program no later than one year from the date of passage of this motion.  The report should be filed in the form of a paper original and an electronic copy with the clerk of the council, who shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy to all

councilmembers, the council chief of staff and the lead staff to the health, housing and human services committee, or its successor.