Martinez to Get Update on Efforts to Help the Homeless

At its Nov 1 meeting, the Martinez City Council will receive a presentation regarding its CORE services in working with the homeless—or as some call it, unhoused residents.

The data to be provided is through July 1, 2023 where the program was expanded to a full-time team of two workers providing 40-hours per week in the City of Martinez. The cost is $269,729.

The data shows:

• CORE provided service to 117 individuals and made 675 contacts in Q1
• Each person served 6 times on average
• 43% report they lost their housing in Martinez
• 78% said they have roots in Martinez

The top three self-reported cause of homelessness of those contacted by CORE team include:

1. Low Income (330)
2. Job Loss (279)
3. Thrown out (271)

Note, cause of homelessness won’t match total served because individuals can choose more than one option for the cause of their homelessness.

Amongst all individuals and families served by the Martinez CORE team: 93% (109 individuals), reported having a disabling condition, 52% (60 individuals) have been unhoused for over five years, 15% (17 individuals) report being survivors of domestic violence, and 65% (76 individuals) report having zero income.

CORE’s impact in Martinez is highlighted in our exits: 8 individuals were placed into shelter (47%), 1 individual moved into a rental unit (5.88%), 1 individual moved in with friends on a temporary basis (5.88%), 1 individual moved in with friends on a permanent basis (5.88%), 1 went into a substance abuse treatment facility and 5 had no exit completed (29%). During this reporting period, the Martinez team made 66 placements into the Concord Warming Center.

According to the city, there are many challenges, however, in delivering these services. They include

individuals who generate calls for service and engage in behavior that is disruptive to other residents and the operations of businesses but who refuse services. Encampments, even when abandoned, create a significant financial burden for the property owner. One encampment on City property had an estimated clean-up cost of $35,000. The barriers to resolving issues can also create distrust within the community in which residents or business owners become frustrated because the lack of resolution. Additionally, a funding source to maintain the program at the current service level has not yet been identified.

Here is the report via Contra Costa Health:

Section One: Program Outcomes

The Martinez CORE team provided services to 117 unique (unduplicated) individuals and made 675 contacts during Quarter 1. Each person that was served in Q1 was contacted on average of 6 times. Of those served, 43% reported that they lost their housing in Martinez and 78% (91individuals) reported that they have roots in Martinez (Grew up in Martinez, have family friends, etc). The top three self-reported causes of homelessness of those contacted by the CORE Martinez team are: 1) Low income (330 individuals), 2) loss of job (279 individuals), 3) thrown out (271 individuals). Note, cause of homelessness won’t match total served because individuals can choose more than one option for the cause of their homelessness.

Amongst all individuals and families served by the Martinez CORE team: 93% (109 individuals), reported having a disabling condition, 52% (60 individuals) have been unhoused for over five years, 15% (17 individuals) report being survivors of domestic violence, and 65% (76 individuals) report having zero income. The Martinez CORE team provided 1,575 services that range from healthcare coordination to warming center placement. CORE’s north star is to transition those living outside to a stable housing destination and during Quarter 1, the Martinez CORE team provided 653 housing coordination services to 111 individuals. Housing Coordination includes support with shelter placement, housing applications, finding units to rent, support with getting ID/live documents.

CORE’s impact in Martinez is highlighted in our exits: 8 individuals were placed into shelter (47%), 1 individual moved into a rental unit (5.88%), 1 individual moved in with friends on a temporary basis (5.88%), 1 individual moved in with friends on a permanent basis (5.88%), 1 went into a substance abuse treatment facility and 5 had no exit completed (29%). During this reporting period, the Martinez team made 66 placements into the Concord Warming Center.

In total, 71% (12 individuals) of those who exited from the Martinez CORE team went to a positive destination and on average, 4 individuals transitioned from the streets into a permanent or temporary housing destination per month this quarter. CORE adheres to the Contra Costa Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Models and Performance Standards (link below), which establishes clear performance expectations, measures, and benchmarks and states that street outreach programs should have a goal of 35% of exits going to a temporary or permanent destination. The Martinez CORE team exceeded the goal by 36%. Additionally, none of the individuals that were exited from CORE this quarter returned to homeless within 6 months of exit

Section Two: CORE Updates

As of July 1, 2023, CORE launched daytime services during weekend hours and we are now offering services from 8am-12am, seven days a week. Additionally, the Concord Service Center has also added daytime weekend hours to compliment CORE’s hours of operation. The Concord Service Center is the only drop-in program that offers showers, laundry, meals and mail services during weekend hours and has been a valuable resource for the weekend CORE teams.

The Martinez CORE team increased our hours of operation from 20 hours per week to 40 hours per week, moving the team from part-time to full time on 7/1/2023. During this period, CORE welcomed a new Outreach Worker for the Martinez Team. Some of the notable updates this quarter include the implementation of bi-monthly Operations meetings with Chief White and CORE Management. These meetings have been instrumental in keeping open lines of communication and has helped CORE target areas that have the highest need in the city, and it has also helped to coordinate services between Martinez PD and CORE.

Another update is that the team is calling into Martinez dispatch at the beginning of their shift to divert calls regarding unhoused persons to CORE, instead of a police officer. The team has had a consistent presence downtown and on Main Street. Rebecca Sanders, CORE Program Coordinator, has performed outreach to the businesses in the downtown area on and around Main Street on a weekly basis. The team has received their high visibility vests and have already found that they are helping to improve the safety and visibility of the team. We have also been able to leverage our new night/weekend teams to contact those who are camping on and near businesses once they have closed. The evening CORE Team has added Main Street to their nightly rounds, seven days a week.

Section Three: Program Successes

CORE’s management team met with Con Fire and coordinated how our agencies can help mitigate risk and support unhoused residents in high fire areas. Con Fire reported that they have collaborated with the Martinez CORE Team on several occasions and provided feedback that the team is very responsive and has coordinated services on multiple occasions. This is achieved through direct contact with CORE management and dispatching a team to educate clients in high risk areas regarding ways to avoid fires, such as avoiding cooking and disposing of combustible organic matter or flammable products.

Another system level success is that H3 leadership is actively working with Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC) to coordinate services for those discharging from inpatient and/or PES when the individual is unhoused. We have been able to coordinate shelter placement for individuals that may have otherwise discharged to an unhoused destination.

Unhoused Martinez Resident Success Story:

CORE has been planting seeds and building trust with an individual in the City of Martinez for the past five years. The individual has a history of complex trauma and addiction and has struggled to build trust with providers and was hesitant to provide personal information to CORE. CORE staff was finally able to do an intake after four and a half years and helped the person obtain a phone, file for benefits, CalFresh, and Medi-Cal insurance. This was a huge step for the individual, and these services can support the individual in moving into more stable housing. CORE continues to check in weekly to assist with next steps of applying for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). The CORE team continues to encourage the individual to consider a shelter bed while they are seeking to establish income, and eventually permanent housing.

Section four: Challenges & Resolutions

Hiring of the second Outreach Specialist took longer than anticipated. Fortunately, CORE has a team of on-call staff that supported full-time until we were able to onboard the new Outreach Specialist. During this time, we did not have a disruption in services.

One consistent barrier we encounter is not having enough shelter beds or substance abuse treatment beds for those who want to come inside and/or get help with their addiction.

Another challenge is that when a shelter bed is available and offered, some report that they only want to go to a hotel room, or their own housing, which is often not available. Contra Costa County has a 2% vacancy rate, which impacts our ability to move people into housing based on the lack of availability, and for those with low income, or poor rental history, it makes housing placements more challenging. Housing those who are chronically homeless and often have very low to no income are barriers CORE is experienced with and does not deter us from continuing to take the steps needed to find housing for those in the community who are most vulnerable and at risk

City Council Documents

• Staff Report – CORE 1st Quarter Update
• Attachment A – CORE FY24 1st Quarter Report

Martinez City Council Meeting

DATE: Wednesday, November 01, 2023
TIME: 6:00 PM – Study Session
7:00PM – Regular Meeting
PLACE: City Council Chamber, 525 Henrietta Street, Martinez, CA 94553; and via Zoom
Full Agenda – click here

Previous Story

• June 19 – Martinez Looks to Expand CORE Team to Provide Increased Homeless Services
• June 16 – Contra Costa County Data on Homelessness and Finalizes Housing Element