COMMITMENT • INTEGRITY • LEADERSHIP	View full PDF report View Selected Abbreviations
Homelessness in California State Government and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Need to Strengthen Their Efforts to Address Homelessness Report Number: 2017-112

Response to the Survey From —
Alpine, Inyo, Mono Counties CoC

 

HUD provides two lists of California Continuum of Care (CoC) key contacts: one for Northern California and one for Southern California.
You can find these lists at https://www.hud.gov/states/california/homeless/continuumcare.

1. Enter the CoC number for which you are completing the survey.
   
   CA-530
2. Enter the CoC name for which you are completing the survey.

   Alpine, Inyo, Mono Counties CoC

   
   

3. Enter the organization within the CoC that you represent.

   Inyo Mono Advocates for Community Action, Inc.

4. What type of organization do you represent?.
Joint Powers Authority
County government agency
City government agency
Non-profit
Other (please specify)





5. How many staff (full-time equivalents) does your organization employ?

   37

6. Does your organization provide homeless services directly for clients?
   No Yes (If so, what types of homeless service programs does your organization provide?)
   
   

   Emergency Shelter, Rapid Rehousing and Homelessness Prevention. In addition, we are the HMIS lead agency and compile information for and submit ESG CAPERS, HUD Performance, AHAR and other reports to HUD and CA HCD.

7. Are you a direct recipient on your CoC's HUD application?
   No 
   Yes
8. Approximately what percentage of the funding your organization administers is from HUD for the CoC program?
   

   50

9. If not your organization, is there another organization in your CoC that administers the majority of homeless services funding?
   Not applicable. My organization administers the majority of homeless services funding.
   No. There is not one organization in my CoC that administers the majority of homeless services funding.
   If yes, what is that organization?
   
   

10. Does your CoC conduct an unsheltered Point-in-Time (PIT) count annually? (Including those years not required by HUD)
    No (Skip to questions 17-19, and resume the survey on question 20.) 
    Yes (Continue on questions 11-16, and resume the survey on question 20.)
11. In which year did your CoC begin conducting an annual unsheltered PIT count?
    

    2015

12. Why did your CoC decide to conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count?
    
    

    To collect more information on the homeless population within the CoC geographic area and to have an annual benchmark from which to gauge our progress toward the goal of reducing homelessness.

13. What funding sources do you use to conduct the annual unsheltered PIT count? (Check all that apply.)
    City funding
    County funding
    HUD planning funding
    Private funding
    Other (please specify)
    
    

    Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)

14. How did your CoC facilitate the annual unsheltered PIT count?
    (For example, did you increase the number of volunteers, or find additional funding?)
    
    

    The number of volunteer enumerators has increased over the last few years and there has been a growing interest from other organizations in assisting with the Count.

15. Did your organization have any challenges in implementing an annual unsheltered PIT count?
    No.
    Yes. If so, what were they and how did you overcome them?
    
    

    The CoC service area includes over 14,000 square miles, which is larger than a number of states. Much of this area is public lands with mountains, deserts and wilderness. Count volunteers have a difficult time accessing some of the region, especially in Mono and Alpine Counties during the last ten days in January when the Count is conducted. It is also difficult to send volunteers out on an extremely cold night (counts must be conducted from sunset to sunrise) in the winter to encampments where many of our homeless are located. We have moved to more service-based surveys (HUD approved methodology) rather than a night-of-the-count census to overcome some of these challenges.

16. How has conducting an annual unsheltered PIT count affected your CoC's operations and/or outcomes? If you have any data or analyses, please share specific metrics.
    
    

    We will conduct our fourth Count on January 25, 2018. In accordance with direction provided by HUD, we are striving for completeness and accuracy in our Count and trying to get consistent results for analysis. The Counts have helped us identify where homeless are staying and we have targeted more outreach to those areas.

17. Why does your CoC not conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count? (Check * all that apply)
    
    Lack of funding
    Lack of volunteers
    Lack of internal capacity
    HUD does not require an annual count
    Annual variations in numbers are not enough to justify the expense of a count every year.
    Other (please specify)
     
    

18. Please elaborate on the reasons why your CoC does not conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count.
    
    
    
    
19. What would cause your CoC to conduct an unsheltered PIT count in the years not required by HUD?
    
    
    
    
    
20. What sources does your organization use to fund the HUD-required PIT count of unsheltered homeless? (Check all that apply)
    
    City funding
    County funding
    HUD planning funds
    Private funding
    Other (please specify)
     
    

    Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funding

21. How much did your CoC's 2017 PIT count cost?
    
    $1,500
22. How many people did your CoC require to conduct its 2017 PIT count? (Staff, volunteers, and others)
    
    

    Twelve (12)

23. How many of those identified in Question 22 were volunteers?
    
    

    Nine (9)

24. Does your CoC recruit volunteers for its unsheltered PIT count from organizations outside the homeless services community?
    No.
    If yes, from which organizations/communities (outside of homeless service providers) did you recruit volunteers for the 2017 PIT count?
    
    

    We advertised using local media to recruit for volunteers and received a number of offers from private citizens.

25. Please share your perspective on the reasons your CoC's unsheltered homeless population in 2017 did or did not change from that in its previous unsheltered PIT count.
    
    

    Our unsheltered homeless population decreased slightly from 119 in 2016 to 116 in 2017. The reason we counted fewer last year was because there was a great deal of snow on the ground in the northern section of our service area, the weather was severe and there are no permanent shelters available. Many homeless simply left the area temporarily for a warmer climate.

26. Has your CoC reallocated funding in the past?
    No.
    Yes. If yes, please provide additional details or comments regarding reallocation you would like to share.
    
    

27. How often does your CoC reevaluate final priority rankings for the HUD CoC Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), based on HUD priorities?
    Never
    Every year
    Other (please specify)
    
    

28. How often does your CoC perform the following gap analyses?
    
    Housing gap analysis—Have not completed housing gap analysis.
    
    Funding gap analysis—Have not completed funding gap analysis.
    
    Service gap analysis—CoC has not conducted service gap analysis, but Agency conducts one every two years.
    
    Other (please specify)—
    
    
29. In what year did your CoC perform each of the following for the first time, or leave the row blank if it is not applicable.
    
    Housing gap analysis
    
    
    Funding gap analysis
    
    
    Service gap analysis
    Agency conducted service gap analysis in 2017.
    
    Other (as you identified in question 27)
    
    
30. Does your CoC employ specific strategies for identifying alternative funding for programs that are reallocated or do not receive HUD funding?
    No.
    Yes. (If yes, please share some strategies your CoC employs to identify replacement funding.)
    
    

    CoC is implementing the HUD-mandated Coordinated Entry System which will enable us to better identify resources available to assist the most vulnerable homeless population. CoC stakeholders collaborate to determine funding sources for needed homeless services and decide which organization will apply for those grants.

    
    
31. Does your CoC have a strategic plan that integrates other publicly-funded programs that provide services, housing, and income supports to poor persons whether they are homeless or not (mainstream benefits and services)?
    No. (Skip to question 36.)
    Yes. (Continue to questions 32-35 and skip question 36.)
    
    
32. Please provide a web address to your CoC's most recent strategic plan or email it as an attachment to CoCSurvey@auditor.ca.gov.

33. When did your CoC complete its first strategic plan?
    
    

34. How often does your CoC update its strategic plan?
    
    

35. How has your strategic plan benefited your CoC?
    
    
    
    
36. Why has your CoC not developed a strategic plan?
    
    

    The CoC was established in 2014 and does not have the financial and staff resources to develop a strategic plan. However, Inyo Mono Advocates for Community Action, Inc. completed a Strategic Plan this year which includes goals and objectives related to reducing homelessness in the service area. Additionally, the CoC is working on specific strategies to address the homeless crisis in several communities within the tri-county region.

37. What grant-seeking or fundraising activities does your CoC engage in?
    
    

    Homeless service providers in the CoC have applied for Emergency Solutions Grants, No Place Like Home, Housing and Disability Advocacy, and HUD Planning Program funds. The CoC entity does not have any fundraising activities.

38. Are there any strategies or unique actions your agency takes that have strengthened your CoC?
    
    

    Working together to address specific homeless needs in the Eastern Sierra has strengthened the CoC over the last couple of years. The CoC still struggles because funding for our geographic area is limited and partner agencies focus on their primarily mission which is typically not homeless services. Implementing the Coordinated Entry System for the CoC will enable partner organizations to collaborate more effectively.

39. Please provide any information about these strategies or actions.
    Feel free to provide web addresses to any reports or email them as attachments to CoCSurvey@auditor.ca.gov.
    
    

    No additional information.

40. If you have any additional perspective or concerns, please provide this information in the space below.
    For example, if you would like to share additional information regarding homelessness, services, or funding.
    
    

    CA-530 (Alpine, Inyo, Mono Counties CoC) is relatively new (established in 2014) and we are still developing programs and projects that will help reduce homelessness. HUD CoC funding during the last three years has been allocated mainly for renewal of existing projects, and since our CoC does not have any, we have had to find alternative grant programs. Operating effective homeless programs without adequate funding and staff resources will continue to be a challenge for our Agency and the CoC.

Back to top