HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-05; COVID-19 Homeless Update; Gallucci, NeilTo the members of the:
CITY COUNCIL
Date 2 / s-f'it CA .,,.--Cc ~
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Feb.5,2021
Council Memorandum
To:
From:
Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council
Neil Gallucci, Chief of Police
Scott Chadwick, City Manager @
COVID-19 Homeless Update
Via:
Re:
Homeless Outreach Team
{city of
Carlsbad
Memo ID# 2021032
• The Homeless Outreach Team continues to distribute hygiene kits, brochures, and
masks to our unsheltered residents. They are proactively engaging individuals living in
encampments and offering them shelter, trash bags, and other resources. The clinicians
are exploring what resources individuals are interested in and how the city can best
support them exit their cycle of homelessness.
• The city continues to follow the CDC, State, and County guidance on suspending
encampment clean-ups for the homeless community during the pandemic. This is to
help reduce the spread and transmission of COVID-19. Experts recommend housing
individuals in non-congregate settings with separate bathrooms.
• The Homeless Outreach Team has received requests to clean up city trash on the rail
trail. All requests are evaluated to determine if it is an active encampment or if debris
can be removed. City of Carlsbad Police Officers are happy to discuss any questions or
concerns that community members may have.
• The city will continue to be aligned with our neighboring cities of Oceanside and
Encinitas on the CDC guidelines.
• Homeless Program Manager Holly Nelson has met with the Regional Task Force on the
Homeless to discuss their best practice guidelines on encampments and the unsheltered
homeless. She also met with County staff who has been administering a hotel/motel
voucher program for individuals living in encampments in the unincorporated regions of
the County.
• The County recently reassigned all of the public health nurses who were working in the
field with Homeless Outreach Teams to the help with the new County vaccination
centers. The City of Carlsbad's team had been partnering with an RN twice a week since
April 2020. This was a valuable resource, however, the County has reprioritized their
assignment.
Police Depart ment
2560 Orion Way I Carlsbad, CA 92010 I 760-931-2170 t
Council Memo -COVID-19 Homeless Update
Feb.5,2021
Page 2
Emergency Shelter
• Homeless Program Manager Holly Nelson is working with the Fire Department to discuss
the vaccination roll-out for La Posada Emergency Shelter.
• Jan. 29, 2021, the Regional Task Force on the Homeless conducted their annual Housing
Inventory Count with La Posada and counted the number of "sheltered individuals"
staying at their facility. This information will be published in spring 2021 and will be used
to count the number of sheltered homeless living in Carlsbad.
City/Community Updates
• Showers of the Blessing reopened their services last week. The program offers showers,
clothing, and medical care from Cal State Marcos' Nursing Program.
• On Feb . 1, 2021, Governor Newsom signed the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act (SB91}
extending California's eviction moratorium and establishing the State's Emergency
Rental Assistance Program until June 30, 2021. More information can be found the city's
Housing Department's website.
• Homeless Program Manager Holly Nelson facilitated a meeting with the North County
Homeless City Working Group. Staff were present from all eight cities in North County.
They discussed new funding resources, county updates, and discussed the North County
Homeless Action Ad Hoc Committees' request for additional social workers to serve the
region.
cc: Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manager
Celia Brewer, City Attorney
Holly Nelson, Homeless Program Manager