Wednesday, November 8, 2017

GH CAN Operations Committee Meeting 11/1/17

Greater Hartford Coordinated Access Network
Operations Agenda
Wednesday, November 1st, 2017
Attended: Crane Cesario (DMHAS), Roger Clark (ImmaCare), Stephanie Corbin (Mercy), Anita Cordero (ImmaCare), Justine Couvares (Chrysalis Center), Rochelle Currie (The Connection), Sarah DiMaio (Salvation Army Marshall House), Mollie Greenwood (Journey Home), Steve Hurley (Journey Home), Kyren McCrorey (The Open Hearth), Klaudia Lobeska (CRT East Hartford Shelter), Gerilyn Maciel (Salvation Army Marshall House), Maureen Perez (CRT/McKinney), Heather Flannery (South Park Inn), Lisa Quach (Journey Home), Natalie Ramos (ImmaCare), Amy Robinson (VA), Iris Ruiz (Interval House), Kelanda Santos (My Sisters’ Place), Luz Serrano (ImmaCare), Rob Soderberg (CHR), Wendy Walker (CRT/McKinney), Maria Florez (Mercy), and Lauren Fair (Salvation Army)

1.      Welcome and Introductions

2.      Case Conferences – Fred Faulkner
1. Fred says shelter case managers are not required to bring clients up for case conferencing to the CAN Operations meeting if there is already an agreement from the shelters to transfer a client.
3.      Coordinated Entry
a.      Overflow No-Freeze Shelter for Individual Women and Families – Sarah DiMaio
1. Sarah says Salvation Army Marshall House received the RFP for the No Freeze. The No Freeze will be at the Willie Ware Rec Center. Hands on Hartford and Center Church have offered to be triage locations as well and are requesting for volunteers from agencies to provide transportation from the No Freeze shelter and triage locations to shelters.
2. Sarah says Salvation Army Marshall House opened its overflow shelter today for single women and families.
3. Sarah states when clients come into the shelter they will understand the rule if the clients refuse a full time shelter bed they will not be allowed at the overflow shelter.
4.Roger asks when the No Freeze will open.
i. Sarah says once the No Freeze opens when the temperature is consistent a 32 degrees. At earliest they will be opening the No Freeze by Dec 1st and once the No Freeze is open it will still stay open until March 31st.
      b.  Doubled Up Safe Stephanie
1.  Stephanie says front line staff at the Diversion Center are struggling with families who are in a doubled up safe living situation.
2. Stephanie suggests to have only doubled up safe option for families.
3..  Sarah says she thinks it’s best to not have kids exposed to shelters.
4.  Sarah suggests if kids are safe and an outreach worker can identify the client’s homelessness they should be marked as unsheltered.
5.  Amy suggests clients should be added to the shelter priority list if people who are unsheltered have no plans after the CAN appointment.
6.  Stephanie asks what to do with clients who were doubled up safe for their kids, but come back to the Diversion Center and report the child can’t stay with family member no longer and have no plan.
7.  Lisa suggests to have someone divert people off of the shelter waitlist.
8.  Stephanie says that language with 211 may need to change of people who are within 48 hours of homelessness.
9.  Mollie suggests to ask Fairfield CAN of how the process is doing Diversion over the phone.
10.  Sarah says that all the emergency family clients she has received from Diversion Center all of them stated with shelter staff they were not in an emergency situation.
12. CAN Operations agrees to still not have a doubled up safe option as a prioritization on the shelter wait list.

4.      Salvation Army Anti-Human Trafficking Program – Lauren Fair
1.  Lauren says this program is an intensive program and will work with a client for a year and their agency is willing to provide training for other shelter staff if interested.
2.  Krystal says the program is for boys and girls who are survivors of human trafficking such as sex trafficking or labor trafficking.
3.  Krystal states one indicator of determining if a client is a victim of human trafficking is if the client has a symbol on their necks or faces. This may be a sign they may be a victim of sex trafficking and can do a screening to determine if client is eligible for program.
i. Iris asks what if someone hasn’t been trafficked over a year
6.  Krystal says they will still work with the client.
7.  Heather asks what kind of questions do you ask to determine qualifications?
i.  Krystal says she asks the client open ended questions to determine if someone like a boyfriend/girlfriend is making them do this work.
9.  Lauren says they will provide financial assistance to help clients come up with financial plans.
10.  Lisa asks if client is housed can they still work with the client
i.  Krystal says yes they will continue to work with them.

5.      Coordinated Exit:
a.      Recently Housed – Lisa Quach
b.      Housing Data – see p.2
1.Lisa says the GH CAN is at the lowest rate of chronic clients matched to housing which is 23.

6.      Leadership Updates – Mollie Greenwood
a.      Puerto Rico Crisis: FEMA Updates
1. Mollie says the Welcome Center at CREC opened up today. There is also a point person from FEMA that will be provided and will be distributed through email and have the qualifications to apply.
2. Mollie says Leadership looking at performance measures especially for housing providers about the time period is six months, which GH CAN has a lot of chronic clients who are in housing.

7.      Thanksgiving Adoptions – Sara Salomons
1.Sara says that if anyone is interested in providing a Thanksgiving meal for a client who has been housed to contact her.
2. Sara says it does not have to come from a case manager the client is working with. It can be anyone in the community that would be interested in providing the meal for the client, so clients can have the opportunity to even invite family or friends over their place for Thanksgiving.
8.      Announcements
a.      If you are working with someone who reports being a veteran, please call CRT’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (for both families and individuals)
b.      Hands On Hartford and a number of community partners are working on planning the Day of Sharing and Caring, and needs lots of help planning and pulling off the event.  If you’re interested in assisting, please contact swalker@handsonhartford.org.  The event will take place on 11/2/17.
c.      Security Deposit Guarantee Program is only available for chronically homeless clients at this time. 
d.      The next Cold Weather Planning meeting will take place on Mondays at 3:00 PM at Journey Home.

e.      The “merge record” functionality in CT HMIS is available again. Please submit any duplicate IDs to help@nutmeghelp.com

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