Community Development Advisory Committee

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING MAY 6, 2009 3:30 P.M. Members Present: Vice-Chairperson Les King, John Mathieu, Red McKeon, Demo Angelopoulos, and Tamara Lanier Others Present: Jennifer Gottlieb and Linda Lee Smith Les King Vice-Chairperson called the public hearing to order at 3:35 p.m. for the Social Services Agencies that had applied for funding. He informed the public that they could speak 5 minutes per organization with questions and discussion. The subrecipients were informed that the committee had read through their application and they were to bring anything new or different that wasn’t included in their proposal. Martin House - Tom Hyland & Lori Sadosky $10,000 Tom Hyland requested funding for the Independent Living Skills Program that would prepare people to move out into the community and live independently. The areas the program addresses include medication monitoring, budgeting, employment skills, socialization skills and cooking. They have 57 low-income people and over 95% have a history of mental illness and/or addictions. They also have a history of homelessness. The life skills training is intended to help enable them to maintain and keep their own housing, which is a challenge for them. Encouraging people with mental illness to continue taking their own medication is an issue. Jennifer Gottlieb asked if their request was directed to salaries. Tom Hyland replied that yes, it was. The question was raised if those services would be cut back without this grant. Tom Hyland said this would not occur without this grant. Red McKeon asked if they ever refuse anyone from entering the Martin House. Tom Hyland said yes they do refuse if someone is actively abusing alcohol or using drugs but their policy is to take people in. Jennifer Gottlieb asked if they coordinate finding housing for their clients after they are done with the program. Tom Hyland said they do. Red McKeon asked if other federal funding sources have increased. Tom Hyland said no they haven’t. Tamara Lanier asked how the public accesses their program. They get referrals from Southeast Mental Authority, Reliance House, the soup kitchen, pastors, the City’s Human Services or by self-referral by simply coming. Thames River Family Program - $10,000 Tom Hyland spoke on behalf of the Beyond Shelter Program which takes families that are living in shelters and transitional programs and finds them permanent housing. They work with the family and the landlord in order to have them keep the housing for up to 1 year. The families they serve have histories of losing their homes, and they don’t have the tenancy/life skills to keep their homes. The Shelter Coordinator works with the family in order to get tenancy skills and coordinates with the Property owners to ensure they are satisfied. The program started in 2000 with 260 families. They have a 98% success rate. This is funded through a State grant but it only pays a portion of the cost of the program. John Mathieu asked Tom Hyland for clarification on the Beyond the Shelter Program. Tom Hyland stated that it takes them from transitional living situations and provides case management to them to retain tenancy. Tamara Lanier asked if they or the program assume any responsibility for property damage or liability for the family that was placed in the home does to the property. Tom Hyland said they do not take responsibility for that. TVCCA – Lisa Shippee & Ida Parker - $30,000 Lisa Shippee spoke on the TVCCA’s shelter for homeless families. The Shelter is requesting funds for security deposits and rent deposits that are needed move families that are able to maintain housing but do not have the cash outlay to attain it. These funds will move homeless families out of the shelter and into permanent housing. All of their families are economically disadvantaged and they are seeing more employed families living at the shelter. John Mathieu asked if this was a new project and in what ways it was different from Thames River Family Program “Beyond Shelter”. The funding for Beyond Shelter is for case management of people who lack life skills. This request is for people that can retain housing but lack the large cash outlay to attain it. Without this funding, the families often go from shelter to shelter. TVCCA has not provided this assistance in the past. Jennifer Gottlieb said the difference between the two is the funds here are to be used for the security deposits and the Thames River Family Program funds were for staff. Lisa Shippee said that this would give the Beyond Shelter Case Manager some resources to expedite the process and the two organizations could collaborate. The money going to the project would not be for any administration, Jennifer Gottlieb asked about the time limitation on a TVCCA shelter stay. Lisa Shippee said that everyone has a 60-day stay available with extensions up to 90 days. They are dealing with families with children. Tamara Lanier asked does the security deposit get returned to the agency. Lisa Shippee said yes it is returned to the agency. CT Legal Services – Karen Sears $25,000 Karen Sears said that she has been with CT Legal Services since 1988.They provide legal services to low-income people. A new problem for low-income people emerging is the effect on their tenancy when their landlords lose the property to foreclosure. Their landlord/tenant attorney has been helping people negotiate time, money or staying. She does the foreclosures for people for people over the age of 60 on the homeowner side. Jennifer Gottlieb asked how they market their program to Norwich residents. Karen Sears said she would be doing outreach with different providers in Norwich and they would keep track of what towns their clients live in. Tamara Lanier asked if she had any idea of the number of people that would be taking part in their program or were on a waiting list. Karen Sears said that they don’t have a waiting list, often when people have a legal problem it is a crisis. They have a number of pamphlets and brochures. They do help the people fill out their paperwork. There are 4,000 people in Norwich eligible for their legal services. Catholic Charities – Barbara Richardson-Crouch - $65,000 Barbara Richardson-Crouch spoke representing Catholic Charities primarily for their Housing Program and the subprogram Foreclosure Intervention and Prevention Services. Catholic Charities has been supplying these services for about 8 years and primarily those services were directed to FHA and CHFA loan holders. Now they have to service all the loans. They are a HUD Certified Counseling Agency. They have gone from approximately 20 calls per month to about 100 calls a day from all over the State, but primarily from the Norwich area. The Norwich agency is the only one in Eastern Connecticut. Tamara Lanier asked if they were funded through HUD. Barbara Richardson- Crouch said that they are funded through several different sources. They include HUD, the State of CT and private donations. Jennifer Gottlieb said that it appeared that their request was for salary supports. Barbara Richardson-Crouch said that presently they have only two people doing this and it could take them 2-3 days to return calls to people. They would like to hire another person and take care of people more expeditiously. Red McKeon asked if the clients had to be Catholic in order to obtain this help. Barbara Richardson-Crouch stated that they don’t have any religious or any affiliation. They are a HUD certified agency. They serve everyone and they partner with other agencies. They use the New London Library, the Griswold Town Hall, East Lyme Town Hall. Catholic Charities is the longest running non- profit secular agency in the United States established in 1792 in the City of New Orleans. They have been in Norwich since the early 1900’s and they serve all people without any discrimination. NAACP – Jacqueline Owens - $7,500 Jacqueline Owens spoke to the committee on the Education Arts Program for which the NAACP is requesting $7,500. They want to do a program about the history of African Americans in Norwich. The students will do research, exhibits, poetry and also shooting videos to make this program work. Last year they had been cut but they did the best they could with the children they had and a great display at Slater Museum. Women’s Center – Cathy Zeiner - $5,000 Cathy Zeiner, Executive Director of the Women’s Center they are the sole provider of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services for New London County. This application is for their Supportive Housing Program. They serve families who are chronically homeless and who are a head of household and have a substance abuse or metal disability. Their emergency shelter and transitional living program are for women and their children. This program allows them to serve men who are heads of households raising their children and who are victims of domestic violence and also struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues. They serve over 6,000 victims of domestic violence per year, and 1,800 of them come from the City of Norwich. This is the largest concentration of residents of the 21 towns that they serve. They aren’t receiving any financial assistance from Norwich. They do have an advocate in the Norwich courts. The Norwich Police Dept. has a domestic violence advocate. The police advocate has been a model program for the State but is in jeopardy due to the tight budget at the state level. Cathy Zeiner is very concerned about her ability to serve Norwich adequately. They have had an office in Norwich for 20 years; the chances are very good that they will need to close it which would mean that for Norwich residents could access their services only at the Norwich court and the new London office. They have a hotline operational 24 hours a day/365 days a year. Only 45% - 47% of their total budget comes from government sources of all types such as federal, state, local combined. The other 55% has had to come from community resources. Literacy Volunteers – Susan Townsley $12,000 Susan Townsley wanted to thank the committee for their past support. She needed to apologize the program title listed was incorrect and should have read English Help of Norwich. As people have been laid off or work reduced hours, the demand for their services has increased. It is very important for everyone to be able to speak English. Their office at the Otis Library and satellite office at the Baptist Church are jamming. They have 547 active learners in Norwich. An active learner is someone who has come in within the last 12 months. Fifty seven (57) people who claim Norwich as their home address are active tutors. This far exceeds what they’ve seen in the past. In the last 2 years they’ve hired Sister Eleanor O’Malley, Coordinator at the Otis Library office and the support has been fantastic for tutors and learners. It has simplified their recordkeeping for the CDBG. The request from CDBG is to fund this position that has made a big difference to their learners. Norwich Human Services – Beverly Goulet & Janice Thompson Supportive Housing – $30,000 Bev Goulet informed the committee that they needed to make a change to their request. The request for funding the YMCA rooms ($10,400) is withdrawn. Instead of asking for $40,400, they are requesting $30,000. Bev Goulet stated that there were 8 people granted for social security disability benefits because they had the RN working in the supportive housing homeless area who otherwise would have not been able to get on Social Security. Because they do such a great job helping individuals with significant disabilities apply. It keeps them in housing and also saves additional dollars. Bev Goulet wanted to compliment all the agencies in attendance today that they all work so well together to address the needs of their residents. Hospitality Center – $29,500 Bev Goulet made the presentation requesting $29,500. She distributed a PowerPoint presentation on the Center. Beverly Goulet wanted to mention that they administer the CD Norwich Childcare Assistance Program and it has been a fantastic program to help families now that have been temporarily unemployed until they get another job. She thought it was an outstanding program. Food Pantry – Janice Thompson $10,000 Janice Thompson spoke on the food pantry. It was a new program last year and they are requesting $10,000 again this year. This funding is servicing 9 Norwich area food pantries. Norwich Human Services does not receive any funds directly. They administer the funds and meet with pantries quarterly, make sure they get their information in and payments out as they get the required information to NHS. At the end of the second quarter they had served an unduplicated 2,774 people through the nine pantries. It has been a big help as the need for these services is great and ever increasing. The Gemma Moran United Way Food Center has to make what they have go further. They don’t always have nutritional things that people need. She had sent support letters in with their application and has received more. The pantries are very grateful to have this funding. Les King asked if money that goes to the food pantry does it go directly to the Food Pantries and they go out and purchase. At the end of each quarter they submit their information for the database. NHS doesn’t release payment until they have all the information. They all signed agreements in the beginning saying that to receive this funding they had to give receipts and reports. Les King asked if they normally buy retail or in bulk. Janice Thompson said that the United Way Gemma Moran Center has a buyers club where they can buy staple items at a reduced price. Some of the stores give them discounts. It varies where they do their shopping. Tamara Lanier asked if there was any direction on what to buy or projections. Usually they purchase nonperishable and some meat. Quite a few of the pantries don’t have refrigeration so they don’t do fresh vegetables. Norwich Human Services received some funding through the Norwich Defenders parking fundraiser last year. They also distribute funds to the pantries and also get grocery cards and if a pantry is closed the needy people can still obtain food. Jennifer Gottlieb said that Norwich Human Services administers the food pantry and it really helps the CD office by allowing us to use our administrative capacity to bring more funds into Norwich. We are getting very good administrative help from NHS and it takes some pressure off the CD staff that can then administer more programs. Norwich Works-$50,000 Bev Goulet said the funds for the employment and training are very important. It was highly covered in the paper with a very successful program, and because of the success they may be able to leverage another grant waiting to hear positive news on Melville foundation to add to the employment and training. Lee Anne Gomes wanted to make sure that Bev Goulet mentioned to the committee that because of the Community Development allocation the success of the employment and training program they may get additional funding. Jennifer Gottlieb told the committee when Norwich Works did their monitoring there was a good result with the number served. At the end of the second quarter 64 people had been served. The training is mainly in healthcare, which is one of the few places left where people can reliably find employment. Recreation Dept. Lou DePina $20,000 Lou DePina told the committee that last year they requested $26,000 and were awarded $20,000 for scholarships for working family’s day camp and for before/after camp care. He wanted to give an update from last year’s funds. As of today they awarded 240 scholarship slots for camp. They were budgeted to receive reimbursement for 186 and the balance from the Recreation Dept. They are at capacity with the number of scholarships they are able to offer at this point. As the season goes on and they continue to take enrollments he will award more scholarships if he can receive additional funding. They are a couple of months before the start of camp and they are maxed out on the number of people they are helping. Out of the 240 slots there are approximately 40 families being helped, the average income (through income tax returns) is $24,000. Quite a few new people are coming in because of the YMCA closing. The enrollment of the camp is higher than it was last year at the same time. They are about 60% capacity with camp not starting until June 22 and never have been at these levels. The demand for services is up. Les King asked if the closing of the YMCA had an impact. Lou DePina said definitely, it did. They have families coming in because there isn’t any YMCA camp. Tamara Lanier asked on their application - is it noted anywhere if there is a financial hardship that there is potential scholarship. Lou DePina said yes that it is listed on their brochure that goes out to every house in Norwich and also posted on their website where there is an eligibility and registration form for the scholarships. CT Pardon Team – Jacqueline Caron & Richard Caron $15,000 Richard Caron told the committee that they were applying for the Connecticut Pardon Team for an educational program. They use a room at 307 Main Street with computers where individuals can come and complete their application without assistance. This multifunctional room is good for organizations and 60 are now coming to Norwich to learn the process. They have costs for printing. They are asking for a larger more efficient printer that would do folders. CT Pardon Team feels they have the ultimate reentry program and totally erase their record if they follow the procedure. They teach other organizations because they can’t handle it all themselves. Jacqueline Caron said that they service people that are underemployed, unemployed, homeless, and illiterate. They don’t have much overhead. They have volunteers and internships and 5 students from Springfield College. The folders that are handed out to clients cost $10.00 per folder. The Norwich Police Dept. works with them because they don’t charge Norwich residents for their records. Their package is then gone over at the CT Pardon Team to make sure they have their record retrieval and the package is complete. Then it goes to the Pardon Board for pre-screening and if there are problems with the application it won’t get through pre-screening. That is their goal to help the individuals put the best package forward. John Mathieu asked what their success rate is. Jacqueline gave some background when they first started there were only 2 hearings a year. There was 71% denial rate at pre-screening. Since CT Pardon Team has been in existence the prescreening rate has gone up to 80%. Two hearings turned into four and now there are eight hearings. Two hearings per quarter. Richard Caron said the House of Representatives remarked on how well they are doing and what they have done to increase the number of applicants. They don’t focus on the actual pardons. They don’t have those numbers. They focus on the prescreening end of it. The numbers have increased with probably 3600-3700 people just in Norwich that could apply for this today. Because of the economic downturn and people being laid off and maybe they were employed for 15 years and because they had a misdemeanor prior to 911 it was not protected and laid off. Prior to 911 is now coming up and preventing them from working. Jacqueline Caron spoke to where they complete the program, their crime is erased and it won’t show up on their record. While they are going through the program their record is an open book and an employer can look at it. John Mathieu asked what kind of crimes couldn’t be pardoned? There is nothing written and there is no criteria who can/or cannot get pardoned. If they go to the CT Pardon Team they are very straightforward with them and tell them what they think. You can’t deny someone from applying. As long as it’s been 5 years from the date of conviction for felonies and 3 years for misdemeanors they are eligible to apply. Tamara Lanier asked if there was anywhere on the application that they had help filling out these applications. Jacqueline Caron said yes that at the bottom of the application it states that it came from the CT Pardon Team. It also asks if they want their lawyer present or someone else, and they can be present at the hearing. Tamara Lanier asked if they are tracking the number of pardons approved. They are trying to work on this but there is a certain percentage of people that call back because they got pardoned and to let them know. But then there are those that want to be put it behind them. The names of the clients that they helped he cannot get that from the Board of Pardon. They have an overall number in % and it has increased dramatically. Jacqueline Caron just learned that Hartford Public Library gave them an office, computer and every 3 weeks they go to Hartford and they do application previews. Martin Luther King Center – Garfield Rucker - $49,680 Garfield Rucker told the committee that they haven’t received any funds for the past couple of years to operate the Martin Luther King Center. The funds they’ve received were through fundraisers they’ve had. The American Legion would allow them to use the outside facility for a steak & potato sale. The American Legion doesn’t exist any longer. They receive food bank funds from Janice Thompson’s at the NHS Office and they supply the needed families with food. They can pick up their food two times a month but families may run out of food anytime 8-10p.m. and the King Center will open up at late hours to accommodate needy people. The program they have at the present time is an Art Program on Saturday mornings with 1 staff person who works Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. She receives a minimum amount of pay. They have no other income for programs such as field trips etc. Les King asked Jennifer if there were any concerns with their application. Jennifer Gottlieb said that the forms the other applicants filled out, Martin Luther King didn’t fill out. According to the CDBG regulations she could provide a citation that they are not allowed to provide general operating expenses. They could provide operating expenses for an eligible program but it would have to be prorated for that program. The request in their application for $8000 for utilities appeared to be an annual (not prorated) cost for utilities and hence a general operating expense. Similarly, the staff’s full salary wouldn’t be eligible but the portion of the salary for any time she spent administering a funded program would be eligible. Expenses need to be prorated to an eligible and funded, specific activity. The RFP that the committee agreed to publish limiting the activities that the committee wanted to fund were in the prior committee minutes. That was a local policy, not a federal regulation. The local policy was intended to maximize benefits to the community in certain areas, including maximizing financial and educational gain to income eligible people. Certain line items in the budget such as teen dances and field trips didn’t fit the criteria within the local policy. But the arts and crafts and summer programs and the computer labs may fit the policy and staffing for these programs would be eligible expenses. Garfield Rucker asked why he used to get field trips funded before but not now. Jennifer Gottlieb said that the limitation for funding for field trips was a local policy decision in order to prioritize funding certain things in the community probably at the expense of other things. The rule about not funding general operating expenses is a federal regulation. There are still items in their budget that are still eligible but not all of them. Garfield Rucker was not familiar with the different policies that changed over the past. Jennifer Gottlieb said that they had a conversation on the day he submitted the application. Jennifer Gottlieb offered to provide him with the federal citation if he would like. Tamara Lanier asked if there were any other activities and programs at the Center. Mr. Rucker said that no, the only one is the Art Program on Saturdays. If the committee wanted to fund those activities, as they are eligible, the payment for a staff person is eligible. Tamara Lanier asked if there was potential to run programs eligible such as summer programs with the closing of the YMCA there would be a need for summer activities for the children. The committee had asked for the MLK Center to write something and submit it on the summer program with more detail. When it would take place, how many days a week, how many hours, what the activities would be, staffing requirements, how many children they would expect. Garfield Rucker said that he would. Jennifer Gottlieb told him to get it in right away because the committee will be making their decisions soon. Red McKeon asked when you say the community are you going to have the door open to anyone and everyone. Mr. Rucker said that the MLK Center is open to the entire community. Bethsaida – Claire Silva $10,000 Claire Silva spoke on the Katie Blair House, and the Flora O’Neill Apts. Each year they have about 30 women go through the Katie Blair Program. The apartments house 4 single women and 2 moms with children. The Katie Blair Program is a beginning steps program for women usually having no formal employment or income and needing help getting back on their feet. Some can come from domestic violence, detox, the street etc. The request is for support for the Case Management staff that works with the women. They design an individualize plan for each woman. Some women might come to them with a bachelor’s degree and previous work experience vs. a woman who can barely write their name or fill out a job application. Case Management is geared toward each woman to help her succeed. They have about an 80% success rate. The women that stay for more than 3 months are able to find, keep employment, maintain sobriety from drugs or alcohol, and also get living skills that they didn’t have previously. They learn how to live in a community, independently and be productive citizens. Norwich Adult Ed – Mary Berry $25,000 Mary Berry told the committee their grant last year allowed them to offer two additional English classes to people who would otherwise remain on the waiting list. One class was during the daytime and the other in the evening. Their goal was to serve 60 adults and they surpassed it by February. It’s very important for a person’s economic prospects and social integration that they learn to speak English. This year they received a health literacy grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation and were able to train 4 teachers. They try to work closely with community organizations. The Police have given presentation to students on proper ways to interact with the Police in this country. The Firefighters have also done a great job with foreigners on how safety works in this country. ESL’s goal is with community focus and with sufficient intensity and duration to make a difference. Next year they are hoping to duplicate what they did this year with the day and evening class. Their request is slightly higher as Madonna Place asked to be included in the application because some parents without childcare need to learn English. Madonna Place would offer childcare at their facility and Adult Ed would send a teacher to Madonna Place to conduct a class. Madonna Place serves families with children in the Norwich area with the goal of supporting families making sure that child abuse and neglect do not occur. Adult Ed does not offer childcare so this arrangement is very beneficial. At Madonna Place if they could add an ESL teacher 2 days a week they would provide childcare onsite so the parents could access those classes. Madonna Place & Norwich Adult Education wanted to make this a joint application. Mary Berry noted that the CDBG funding made them start to think about the relationship between the City and the immigrants and how that should be supported. Last year in the City Council Chambers they recognized all the people that became citizens. They are hoping to replicate it again in October and make it an annual event. Artworks – Marcelyn Dallis-Jones $5,000 Marcelyn Dallis-Jones wanted to thank the committee for their support last year and previous years for their Art Therapy Program. They provide alternative therapy for Norwich residents with mental illness and other disabilities like substance abuse. This year they are reaching close to 200 Norwich residents, running 12 groups a week with children, teens and adults. 75% of their clients that attend groups and programs are actively seeking employment and education opportunities. They are starting to look for ways to improve their lifestyle as well. They are still operating their 2 art galleries. They are providing that piece to the economic development in Norwich and giving artists an opportunity to show their work where they ordinarily wouldn’t get that chance. These are emerging artists not artists who have opportunities to show at more established galleries. There are people without disabilities are coming together to show their art. Marcelyn Dallis-Jones brought two young people with her and they spoke to the committee on how this program has helped them. One of the young people was a minority single mother who worked in the office for Marcelyn and had gained valuable job skills through her association with the program. The other young person was one who had been assisted through a traumatic event by the ArtWorks program. She had no health insurance and would not be able to participate without grant funding. CD Childcare Program – Jennifer Gottlieb - $15,000 Jennifer Gottlieb gave a brief presentation requesting $15,000 for the CD Childcare Program. According to the quarterly reports 25 families have been served with this grant to date and more applications are being processed currently. There are some testimonials in the application. One of the reasons that this was seen as an important priority was that a large group of people needing financial assistance for childcare so they could work were cut out of the State Program three years ago when the State drastically reduced the income guidelines for Care4Kids. The federal government didn’t require them to do it. the State chose to do that on their own. The state used to serve a moderate-income group but do not anymore, leaving those people to pay over 50% of their income in childcare sometimes, and leaving them vulnerable to insufficient funds for food and housing. People making even in the high $30,000 range can be completely shut out and if they are single parents, they have no choice but to work. The childcare cost effectively cuts their salary in half. In Norwich, census info states that 30% of Norwich children are from single parent families. Statistics from Norwich Public Schools said that 50% of Norwich children are from single parent families. The cost of fulltime care for an infant is $12,000 year, it is preschool is $7,000-8,000 a year for a preschooler. Jennifer Gottlieb told the committee that she is having great success with the program. There are no administrative fees because Norwich Human Services is administering the Program. They do the intake and they are very experienced and they do an excellent job. These funds don’t pay any salaries and all assistance goes to provide direct financial relief for parents. More than ½ of the parents that go through the program are single parents. We did have 1 single parent male. The next CDAC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. The Public Hearing ended at 5:28 p.m.