Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Homelessness Outreach topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City updates commissioners on 'Familiar Faces' outreach, seeks partnerships for 24-hour space and family pilot
Summary
The city updated the St. Paul Housing & Redevelopment Authority on the Familiar Faces outreach program and the planned Familiar Families pilot, reporting ongoing outreach contacts, recent housing placements and the need for new staff and a 24-hour recuperative facility.
The city presented an update on the Familiar Faces program and the Familiar Families pilot, detailing outreach work, staffing needs, funding constraints and next steps for locating a 24-hour recuperative site.
Chris Michaels of the Office of Neighborhood Safety told the Housing & Redevelopment Authority the program has launched outreach and is onboarding life coaches, behavioral health staff and case managers to form an intensive care management team. “We have hosted and provided services to probably about 30, 35 familiar faces, in the terms of direct outreach,” Michaels said. She added the outreach effort has had broader reach: “Outreach has several touches of lots of people. Since the rollout of outreach we've probably had touches of over, like, 250 individuals.”
Michaels reported the program has facilitated about 20 housing placements to date and has roughly eight more individuals slated to move into housing by the end of the month. While permanent housing is the goal, staff said they also provide hotel vouchers during the interim: “Probably since late last fall, we've probably had about 35 ish people at the hotel,” Michaels said. She added six people currently remain at the hotel receiving more intensive services.
On staffing and operations, Michaels said the current outreach component includes three people on the ground; elsewhere in the discussion commissioners and staff identified four current team members overall. Her planned intensive care management team would include two outreach practitioners, two life coaches, three behavioral health practitioners, a program manager and operations staff. She said each life coach would carry a caseload of up to about 15 clients.
Funding and grants were discussed: Michaels said state funding used for operations is winding down and that “the Department of Justice grama was extended for another year.” She gave a figure for the Department of Justice grant and associated operational planning: “right now the operation budget is primarily focusing on that DOJ grant and that, is about 1,800,000.” Deputy Mayor Jamie Tincher described the Familiar Families pilot as a Heading Home Ramsey initiative and said the city contributed $500,000 from the Housing Trust Fund; the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation matched $250,000. Tincher said the RFP for the pilot had not yet been released.
Commissioners pressed staff on referrals, timelines and measures of success. Michaels said referrals currently come directly to her by phone and from homeless service providers and that a community-facing referral form via Apricot case-management software is being built. Commissioners asked for data on timelines from outreach contact to housing placement and for a dashboard summarizing the by-name list, counts currently in hotels, vouchers held, and the status of referrals. Michaels offered to follow up with a dashboard.
On the proposed 24-hour facility, Michaels said the search for a permanent site paused after a previously identified building did not materialize. She explained constraints tied to Home ARP funding: HUD’s Home ARP definition of “non-congregate” requires private rooms with interior bathrooms, which narrows options. Michaels said the city is considering lower-overhead models such as scattered-site approaches and “an Avivo Village type” model rather than a large congregate building.
Deputy Mayor Tincher and other commissioners urged continued coordination with Ramsey County and Heading Home Ramsey. Tincher said Heading Home Ramsey’s governing board and steering committee will determine RFP scope and next steps; she noted the next governing-board meeting is scheduled for July.
Commissioners and staff emphasized that the Familiar Faces program aims to build trust with individuals who repeatedly use emergency services and that consistent advocacy and partnership with housing providers improves outcomes. Commissioners asked staff to return with clearer timelines, numbers and a simple dashboard of current caseloads, hotel placements, pending housing approvals and funding sources.
No formal action or vote was taken on this staff report during the meeting; commissioners requested follow-up materials and further coordination with Heading Home Ramsey and Ramsey County.
