2014-28549 Reso RESOLUTION NO. 2014-28549
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI
BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE
A MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING WITH H.O.P.E. IN MIAMI-DADE, INC. TO PROVIDE
OUTREACH SERVICES TO OUR COMMUNITY'S HOMELESS PERSONS.
WHEREAS, the City has established a Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) to conduct
outreach to the City's homeless persons; and
WHEREAS, the City has contracted with several homeless shelter providers to provide
emergency shelter to those accepting services; and
WHEREAS, the City's last Point-in-Time Homeless Census in January 2014 noted that
the City had 138 homeless persons; and
WHEREAS, many of the homeless residing in our streets have refused services from the
City's Homeless Outreach Team and/or Police; and
WHEREAS, one of the City's Key Intended Outcomes is reducing homelessness; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is asking all cities
to eliminate chronic homeless by 2015; and
WHEREAS, the H.O.P.E: in Miami-Dade, Inc. is a non-profit agency devoted to
engaging the homeless and encouraging them to end their personal homelessness; and
WHEREAS, a partnership between the City and H.O.P.E. in Miami-Dade, Inc. will enable
the engagement of the hard-to-serve homeless who have previously refused assistance from
the City's Homeless Outreach Team and Police and, thereby, reduce homelessness in our City.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City
Commission authorize the City Manager to execute a Memoranda Of Understanding with
H.O.P.E. in Miami-Dade, Inc. to provide outreach services to our community's homeless
persons.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this o?3 day of April 2014.
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Memorandum of Understanding
The purpose of this document is to establish the formal collaboration of the undersigned partners to meet
the mutual objective of reducing homelessness in the City of Miami Beach.
The goal of this partnership is to enable partners to acquire new skills, increase collaboration, develop
shared governance over limited resources, and engage the Miami Beach community in all aspects of the
activities and programming that evolve from this collaboration.
As a contributing partner agency, HOPE in Miami-Dade, Inc. agrees to:
[ ] Ensuring that volunteer outreach workers attend the City-sponsored outreach worker training;
[ ] Notifying the City in advance of conducting street outreach within City limits including the
area to be targeted;
[ ] Verifying the availability of emergency shelter beds prior to making any offer of shelter to a
homeless person in the City;
[ ] Contacting the City's Homeless Outreach Team at 305-604-4663 when a homeless person
has consented to accept shelter services;
[ ] Assisting the City in the completion of the required intake, consent and initial Care Plan for
the client accepting shelter placement
[ ] Continued outreach to the client once placed in shelter in order to develop a positive,
supportive relationship with the placed client
[ ] Providing the client with support as he/she transitions to more permanent housing (to include
with help locating employment and providing the housewares necessary to live independently)
For the purposes of this agreement, the targeted clients are defined as homeless persons, individuals and
families, experiencing homelessness within the City boundaries.
This agreement becomes effective May 1 , 2014 and will remain in effect until April 30, 2017. Either
party may opt to invalidate their participation by submitting their intent in writing at least 30 days in
advance of their anticipated withdrawal.
For HOPE in Miami-Dade, Inc. For City of Miami Beach
Executing Authority Signature Executing Authority Signature
Reverend Pedro Martinez City Manager
Date Date
APPROVED AS TO
FORM & LANGUAGE
&FOR EXECUTION
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COMMISSION ITEM SUMMARY
Condensed Title:
A Resolution Of The Mayor And City Commission Of The City Of Miami Beach, Florida,Authorizing The
City Manager to execute a Memoranda Of Understanding with H.O.P.E. in'Miami-Dade County, Inc. to
conduct outreach to the homeless in our City
Key Intended Outcome Supported:
Enhance External and Internal Communication From and Within the City
Supporting Data(Surveys, Environmental Scan,etc.): 31%of residents and 25%of businesses rate
the City's ability to address homelessness as excellent or good;the most recent Point-in-Time Homeless
Census identified 138 homeless persons in the City
Item Summary/Recommendation:
For the past several months,The City's Homeless Outreach Team(HOT)has been routinely visiting Miami
Beach Community Church's lunchtime feeding program for the homeless as well as participating in the bi-
monthly homeless outreach events sponsored by H.O.P.E. in Miami-Dade, Inc. (formerly known as
H.O.P.E. in Miami Beach, Inc.). These events allow lay people to engage the homeless from a different
posture and perspective than Police and City staff. For some homeless, this approach is received more
positively because the perceived alignment with law enforcement or self-serving interests is removed.
The City is seeking to build on its past successes and learn from the experiences of other communities
(including Denver)to add to its homeless strategies by including members of the faith community in its
outreach efforts.Trained to faith volunteers will approach the homeless as lay people(as there will be no
proselytizing)to engage them at a fundamentally human,compassionate level.If they engage successfully,
HOT would then screen accepting parties for shelter placement,develop an initial care plan with the help of
the faith volunteer and, subsequently, provide transportation to the shelter.
H.O.P.E.in Miami-Dade, Inc.has committed its two lead pastors to this effort.We have also established a
working protocol in which:
• The City is notified when they will be conducting outreach in the City
• No offers for shelter are made unless beds are available(the bed availability report is provided
before the outreach team heads into the field)
• HOT serves as the conduit between the faith outreach team and the shelters
• HOT provides transportation and shelter consent documentation for homeless persons
accepting shelter through the faith outreach team
•All placements adhere to the City's placement guidelines including the provision of an Initial Care
Plan establishing the terms in which shelter is provided and the steps the client acknowledges must be
taken to end his/her personal homelessness
More so, the City continues to reach out to other faith congregations in the City to recruit additional
volunteers to stren then this effort.
Advisory Board Recommendation:
N/A
Financial Information:
Source of Amount Account
1 N/A
Total
Financial Impact Summary:
City Clerk's Office Legislative Tracking:
Sign-Offs:
Department Director Assistant it Manager City nager
MLR KGB At I JLM
F:\neig\Homeless\CHILDREN\$ALL\Commission Items 2014\Resolution Authorizing Don, on of Refrigerator.doc
AGENDA ITEM C178
MIAMIBEACH DATE g-a3-jy
MIA/\A1 BEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive,Miami Beach,Florida 33139,www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and MembertAND e City C mmission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: April 23 , 2014
SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYO CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA,AUTH NG THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE
A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERST NG WITH H.O.P.E.IN MIAMI-DADE,INC.
TO CONDUCT STREET OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT TO HOMELESS
PERSONS IN THE CITY
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION
Adopt the resolution.
FUNDING
No funds are being requested for this item.
ANALYSIS
Homelessness is a significant problem that impacts the community in a variety of ways
including economically, socially, environmentally and personally. As a tourism-friendly
community with spectacular year-round weather, great restaurants and a beautiful beach,
the homeless are drawn to our area because survival is made easier by our environment
including our soft beaches to sleep and tourists with ready cash that can be approached for
panhandling.
The City's homeless population has seen ebbs and flows dependent on the weather,
economy and the availability of services in other communities. Below is a sampling of the
City's Point-in-Time Homeless Survey results for the past several years:
November Jiuly September June August. January
000 2002 20,10 2011
#of Homeless 313 255 196 218 186 138
Since 2001,the City has had a Homeless Outreach Team(HOT)conducting street outreach
to engage the homeless and offer placement in shelter.We have historically contracted with
The Salvation Army and Miami Rescue Mission for emergency shelter beds.As a result of
our most recent emergency shelter beds Request For Proposals(RFP),the City will now be
contracting with The Salvation Army (women, beds and families), Miami Rescue Mission
(men), Camillus House(men)and Lotus House(single women,women with young children).
This variety of placement will enable staff to better align clients to shelter environments
during the placement process and, ultimately, improve outcomes.
April 23, 2013
City Commission Meeting
Page 2 of 3
In addition to building shelter capacity, the City has implemented several other changes to
-enhance services, improve shelter outcomes and, ultimately, reduce homelessness.These
changes include:
• Revamping the client intake process to a strengths-based assessment to better align
client capacity and create individualized client care plans
• Resuming criminal background checks to ensure that sexual predators and those
convicted of violent offenses are not placed in shelters with children
• Incorporating the consent for an initial care plan as a condition of accepting shelter
so that the client understands exactly what steps he or she must take to end their
personal homelessness
• Creating a services dashboard that allows.us to track trends in client migration and
locations of origin
• Closer collaboration with law enforcement to conduct sweeps in areas with
congregating homeless populations
• Improving the identification of homeless people with a disabling condition that will
make them eligible for Case Rate and Housing First options funded by the Miami-
Dade County Homeless Trust
• Cultivating care coordination and assessment capacities among staff to pursue
Marchman Act and ex parte orders for the homeless experiencing addiction and
mental illness, respectively
While these changes and greater shelter options will have significant impact,there remains
a portion of our homeless population resisting engagement and consistently refusing
services.The City is committed to serving all homeless persons and has been reaching out
to the faith community for help to address this community-wide concern.
For the past several months, HOT has been routinely visiting Miami Beach Community
Church's lunchtime feeding program for the homeless as well as participating in the bi-
monthly homeless outreach events sponsored by H.O.P.E. in Miami-Dade, Inc. (formerly
known as H.O.P.E. in Miami Beach, Inc.). These events allow lay people to engage the
homeless from a different posture and perspective than Police and City staff. For some
homeless,this approach is perceived more openly and received more positively because the
perceived alignment with law enforcement or self-serving interests is removed. There are
examples in other cities, such as Denver, where the faith.community has experienced
success in engaging and convincing the homeless to accept shelter.
The City is seeking to build on its past successes and learn from the experiences of other
communities to add to its homeless strategies by including members of the faith community
in its outreach efforts. Our goal would be to provide training to faith volunteers who will
approach the homeless as lay people(as there will be no proselytizing)to engage them at a
fundamentally human, compassionate level. If they engage successfully, HOT would then
screen accepting parties for shelter placement, develop an initial care plan with the help of
the faith volunteer and, subsequently, provide transportation to the shelter.
Once at the shelter, the homeless client will be re-engaged by the faith volunteer who will
serve as a Natural Asset encouraging the client's completion of his/her care plan with the
ultimate goal of obtaining permanent, sustainable housing. The faith volunteers will involve
their congregations in obtaining the housewares, clothing, furniture and linens that the
homeless client will need when he/she obtains housing.The relationship that was formed on
the street through engagement will continue through shelter and, hopefully, to permanent
housing. The success of this concept rests on the basic human need to identify and be
April 23, 2013
City Commission Meeting
Page 3 of 3
engaged by others who support your wellbeing. Our approach will grow on this by asking our
volunteers to continue their engagement through the shelter experience and on into the
client's successful transition to permanent housing and community integration.We believe
that this approach will create the "ties that bind" the client to community and serve as
supports to prevent his return to homelessness.
H.O.P.E. in Miami-Dade, Inc. has committed its two lead pastors to this effort who have
experience conducting street outreach with the City of Miami's homeless outreach team
known as the "Green Shirts." We have built a collegial working relationship with them
through the bi-monthly outreach events and have offered to provide additional assessment
training to better equip them to approach people with addiction and mental illness.We have
also established a working protocol in which:
• The City is notified when they will be conducting outreach in the City
• No offers for shelter are made unless beds are available(the bed availability report
is provided before the outreach team heads into the field)
• HOT serves as the conduit between the faith outreach team and the shelters
• HOT provides transportation and shelter consent documentation for homeless
persons accepting shelter through the faith outreach team
•All placements adhere to the City's placement guidelines including the provision of
an Initial Care Plan establishing the terms in which shelter is provided and the steps the
client acknowledges must be taken to end his/her personal homelessness
More so, the City continues to reach out to other faith congregations in the City to recruit
additional volunteers to strengthen this effort.
CONCLUSION
The Administration requests that the Mayor and City Commission authorize the execution of
a Memoranda Of Understanding with HOPE in Miami-Dade, Inc.as an additional tool in the
City's efforts to reduce homelessness in our City.
JLM/K /MLR
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