(MSCC) John Mudd, July 14, 2019

Name: Home and Housing Action Committee

Location: Urban Pathways, 575 8th Avenue, 16 floor (between 38th and 39th Street)

Date: Tuesday, June 4th, 2019

Time: 9:30 am -10:30am

Chair person(s): Matt Green, Deputy Chief of Staff, NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson;

Sharon Jasprizza, Community Service Director, Midtown South Community Council

PURPOSE

Developing partnerships and resources to identify problems and find solutions for our homeless and housing crisis

OPENING

Matt Green specified and clarified:

• Homeless and Housing Committee’s video etiquette: It’s okay to say no to being videotaped 
• Purpose of meetings: We’re here as partners to network, to identify issues and problems people are experiencing, and to problem-solve
  • Handouts were introduced

POLICY MEETING RECAP/UPDATES

Updates from the 8:30am, Tuesday, June 4th, 2019 Policy meeting – as presented by Cassie Dessalines, Bronx Works

• Andrew Bonefresco, Housing Works, was nominated and accepted as co-chair of this Midtown Policy Committee on Homelessness and Housing
• Clarified roles and duties
  • Chair Persons, Cassie Dessalines, Bronx Works, and Andrew Bonefresco, Housing Works, to provide expert knowledge and chair the meeting
  • John and Sharon facilitate agenda, recaps, and speakers
• Andrew’s question clarified from last meeting: How do we encourage other states to improve social services infrastructure to avoid the overflow in New York? (Ex. family reunification program)
• Cassie clarified the mayor’s voucher priority; they’re separated into three groups (street, chronic, shelter) 
• Street homeless receives the first “crack†for supportive housing
• Cassie is arranging a Boston trip for 10-12 people, for those who can help push for more respite beds in NYC
• HJC plans to fund medical respite centers across the city and is looking for partnerships
• Cassie is to report more information to come after webinar session
• Andrew was talking about inconsistencies regarding psychological evaluations to enter a respite site

SPEAKER(s): Cassie Dessalines, Director of Living Room & Safe Haven, BronxWorks 

TODAYS TOPICS

• Vouchers, lack of clarity and communication: more exploration of this topic in the forthcoming meeting
• Mayor concentrating vouchers on chronic homeless
• Respite system challenges
  • ESN (Emergency Shelter Network) shelter policies are static and unclear at times
  • ADL (Activities of Daily Living) is not good with the chronic homeless, and ESN requires clients who are good mentally, who are drug-free, and have good ADLs
    • People are not able to access respite beds because of poor ADLs, poor mental health, etc.
    • Too stringent for some clients with hygiene problems (such as smelly feet)
    • One client was turned away because he smelled of alcohol, even though he was sober (he smelled because of his long-term alcohol abuse)
  • Volunteer training is desperately needed in centers
  • Training needs to include: de-escalation, Thrive training, Narcan [training?], (kits are needed on site)
  • Cassie does not send people to centers where volunteers are not trained because she knows people are not likely to stay and situations are not handled adequately
  • Rules need to be uniform across sites
• People can be placed on a longer-term program if they are chronic homeless
• Sleeping in chairs is bad for health and causes long-term problems
• Not enough cots for women, those who are older, have less ability and/or mobility, those who are larger in size
• Some cots are low, difficult for people to get up and down
• Development of Medical respite beds: OneCity Respite Program: 

OneCity Health is issuing this Project Participation Opportunity (PPO) for the Respite Services Program with the goals of preventing avoidable hospitalization and Emergency Department (ED) utilization and to facilitate connections to temporary housing resources. There is strong evidence that providing a safe space for patients to recover from a medical or mental health event may improve patient housing situations, improve health outcomes, and reduce health care costs.

• Andrew Bonefresco, Housing Works: Some centers demand psychological testing, but this is not policy, hence the question: why? Ignorance, or a barrier? Discussion continued and Andrew was to connect with Sharlene and Mona to clarify

SUMMARY / FOLLOW-UPS

• Vouchers
  • Follow-up questions are needed for Leilani (DSS)
  • Matt Green (Council’s office) requested questions surrounding voucher for a HRA representative for our August 6th meeting
  • Matt Green is following up on Tondalayo Greene’s daughter-in-law’s housing voucher issue
  • Eric Lee: See Housing Subsidies link for detailed information on vouchers
• APT’s: Allen Oster, CB4, MSCC and Mo George – Development, planning, and location update

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• A plan visit to meet the principal operators and developer of The McInnis House (a medical respite facility) in Boston. The facility provides care to men and women, and provides comprehensive medical, nursing, behavioral, dental, and case management services. The dates being considered:
  • July 8-9th
  • July 15-16th
  • August 1-2nd
  • August 12-13th
• “Sacred Shelter†book party at Metro Baptist went well, with over 40 people turning out to support
• Urban Farms, Community Court’s courtyard Urban Farm installation is going well, part 2 of the install is happening Monday, July 1, 2019…the planting is scheduled for July 8th!
• Laundry Services 
  • Full operational laundry service at NYCHA Fulton House
  • Laundry For Kids – Update: Raised close to $3,860, and is serving 182 families
• Please support our GoFundMe campaigns: â€œLaundry for Kids†and “Street Sheetsâ€

ADDENDUM A: RESPITE CARE PROVIDERS’ NETWORK | 2015 MEDICAL RESPITE PROGRAM DIRECTORY 

MASSACHUSETTS / Barbara McInnis House 

Agency: Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
Address: Jean Yawkey Place, 780 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118 Contact: Sarah Ciambrone, Executive Director, Barbara McInnis House Phone: (857) 654-1701
Fax: (857) 654-1421
E-mail: sciambrone@bhchp.org
Website: www.bhchp.org 

Description / Established 1993

Since 1988, medical respite care has been an essential component of the continuum of healthcare services provided by the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP). Originating as shelter-based medical beds, medical respite care for men and women is now provided in one freestanding facility, the 104-bed Barbara McInnis House which is housed in the top three floors of Jean Yawkey Place on Albany Street in Boston and located across the street from Boston Medical Center. 

Jean Yawkey Place is home not only to the medical respite program but also the dental program, a busy pharmacy and ambulatory clinic, and administration for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. 

The McInnis House provides care to men and to women, and provides comprehensive medical, nursing, behavioral, dental, and case management services in an environment sensitive to the needs of homeless adults. 

The McInnis House offers three meals per day that are served in the dining room. Patients recuperate in private, semi-private or two to six bed-rooms. The program admits patients 24 hours per day, seven days a week from hospitals, shelters, emergency departments, outpatient clinics, and directly from the street by referral from the BHCHP Street Team. 

Profile 

Operating agency: Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (HCH) 

Facility type: Stand-alone 

Number of respite beds: 104

Hours of operation: Admissions office – Monday thru Friday, 8am-4:30pm Average length of stay: approximately 12 days 

Admission Criteria 

• Primary medical problem 

• Psychiatrically stable 

• Independent in Activities of Daily Living 

• In need of short-term recuperative care 

• If on methadone, must be enrolled in methadone maintenance program 

• Disclosure of known communicable disease, including TB, VRE and MRSA