GH CAN Operations 12/14/16

Greater Hartford Coordinated Access Network

Operations Agenda

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Attended: Alicia Akers, Janet Bermudez, Tylon Crump, Rochelle Currie, Mary Davenport, Kayan Dewar, Jacqueline Farmer, Bryan Flint, Ruby Givens-Hewitt, Kelly Gonzalez, Tenesha Grant, Amber Higgins, Mark Jenkins, Manuel Cadena, Gerilyn Maciel, Nicole Milton, Margarita Morales, Matt Morgan, Maureen Perez, Heather Pilarcik, Chris Robinson, Amy Robinson, Iris Ruiz, Jose Vega, Wendy Walker, Alise Rangasammy, Kelanda Santos, Kyren McCrorey, Sarah Dimaio, Lucas Bensa, and Brittney Gibson

1.     Welcome and Introductions

2.     Zero: 2016 Updates – see p.2

a.     Recently Housed – Lisa Quach

-        Lisa announced that 11 people have been recently housed since the last CAN meeting.

b.     DMHAS doing another data match for disability verifications – Lisa Quach

3.     Cold Weather Protocols and Shelter Waitlist

a.     Working with the Welcome Centers and No – Freeze – Christie Corrigan

-        Christie reports that the No Freeze Center has had about 50 people there for the week.

-        Christie provides phone number for the Welcome Center and No Freeze Shelter. For the Welcome Center: 860-969-1410 and the No Freeze Shelter: 860 -969 -1411

-        Christie says No Freeze opens at 8:30pm and closes at 7:30 am

-        Christie says St. Patrick Anthony church will be open from 8pm – 8am and will only be for women and families and there will only be for women and families, which is only available when there is Governor Sever Cold Weather Activation.

-        Christie says No Freeze and Welcome Center will place single men who can’t get into shelter or No Freeze when the Governor announces activation for the Severe Cold Weather for this weekend.

-        Christie says for families and women people should contact SAMH only for severe cold weather.

-        Kelly asks if roster at No Freeze will be entered into HMIS.

-        Chrisite says yes they will.

-        Britteney asks can clients take showers or provide food at the shelter

-        Christie says that there are no showers available for clients and they try to provide some sort of food such as snacks.

-        Tenesha says that clients can go to Mercy to take showers, but only during certain hours of the day and can call Mercy.

-        Jose says people can shower at McKinney shelter after 4:30 pm.

i.                 Unsheltered Families during Cold Weather Season – Mollie Greenwood

-        Mollie says that Journey Home has limited resources to put families and their children into a hotel if they are presenting they are staying outside or in a car.

b.     Timeframes for shelter contact – Steve Hurley

4.     Guidance from Department of Housing

a.     Using RRH as a bridge – Amber Higgins

-        Amber reviews the different types of bridges.

-        Amber says one bridge is when a verified chronic homeless person and is place in RRH until the next unit until the next permanent housing unit is available.

-        Amber also says another bridge is when CAN attempts to place a verified chronic homelessness client into RRH and fails in the housing program. That client then is brought back to CAN and place them in a permanent housing unit.

b.     Short Term Incarceration Policy – Mollie Greenwood

-Mollie says DOC has appointed a specialist to communicate with the different CANs in the state in order to improve communication with the state and the CANs.

-Mollie says DOC will communicate when a verified chronic homeless person is being released from prison who will be homeless.

c.      Offering Housing to Individuals & Families Refusing CAN services

-Mollie reviews the due diligence page on HMIS in order to keep track who has contacted a client who has refused housing and how many times they have tried to engage with the client.

5.     PIT Hotspots – See maps!

6.     Announcements   

a.     Diversion Center; New Team to begin 1/9/2017

b.     Any questions about the Navigator RFP should be directed to Amanda Girardan by close of business this Friday, December 16^th.

c.      There will be a Smartsheets refresher training this Friday at the Lumsden Center at CRT, 555 Windsor St. Contact Steve Hurley (steve.hurley@journeyhomect.org) to register

d.     There will be a GH CAN Training this Friday from 9AM – 4PM and spaces are still available Email mollie.greenwood@journeyhomect.org to register

e.     This year’s regional homeless memorial will be held on Wednesday, December 21^st, from 6:30 – 7:30 at Center Church, 675 Main St, Hartford. Please help us prepare for this event by sending the names of any participants who have passed away this year to Nate Fox at nflox@cchartford.org

f.         Rev. Gail Williams has been collecting donations of Christmas gifts for homeless families – please contact her at gdaughter033@comcast.net