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Office of Adult and Family Homelessness
may 20, 2020
Office of Adult and Family Homelessness
Please forward to sub grantees and other interested parties!
Circling back
The “new normal” must be better than before – we have the responsibility
to make it so!
Greetings, and welcome to an overdue edition of the OFAH Newsletter!
It’s good to be back, and we have some important updates and information to
share in this issue. First, let’s start with Thank You!
The Department of Commerce is grateful for all the critical services
that homeless housing providers are delivering as we address the impact of
COVID-19 across our state. We hear countless stories of outreach teams,
shelter providers, housing case managers, nonprofit leaders, local
government staff and others who are developing newer and safer ways to
serve people experiencing homelessness. And we join the chorus of advocates
who recognize that we need to do better for people who are
disproportionally impacted and were already struggling to be seen and
supported. The last few weeks have shown a bright spotlight on our homeless
crisis response system, and while we’ve been making strides in some areas,
the pandemic has exposed both our strengths and vulnerabilities.
The next few months are going to be really tough.
More and more people are facing hard decisions about how to pay rent and
bills while buying food. While there are pockets of rent assistance, for
some people, it may feel like a whirlwind. A person emailed us: If you spin
around long and hard enough at the right time, at the right moment you may
be lucky to grab something.
Amidst all of the economic uncertainty, we will experience new impacts
of the pandemic on the homeless crisis response system. Where we can do
better we will.
The Office of Family and Adult Homelessness is committed to examining
our state and federal grant guidelines and allowing maximum flexibility
wherever possible. We applied for federal waivers for some of the HOME TBRA
requirements, and you can learn more about changes to the state
Consolidated Homeless Grant and Performance Measures and the Coordinated
Entry Guideline here.
We will continue to post updated county isolation and quarantine housing
plans here
and share best practices as widely as possible. We will also learn to
better use technology so we can continue to hear from grantees,
stakeholders and the people most impacted by the crisis.
Thank you for everything you are doing to keep people safe, housed and
cared for during this crisis.
Emergency Response Grant for Tribal Governments
In April, Commerce announced $5 million in emergency grants available to
the 29 federally recognized Tribes in Washington to bolster their response
to the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of grant activities include:
Community outreach and education
Supplies and equipment need to expand food distribution programs
Increasing elder care services
Creating quarantine and isolation housing
Costs associated with Tribal enterprises that have had to furlough
employees
More information about the grant is posted
here. To learn more about the federally recognized Tribes in the state
of Washington, please see this
resource provided by the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs.
If you have questions about the COVID-19 Emergency Response Grant for
Tribal Governments, please contact Emily Burgess at emily.burgess@commerce.wa.gov.
Ensuring Racial Equity During the COVID-19 Homelessness Response
Historic and systemic racism have exacerbated the vulnerability of
marginalized populations during the pandemic. The National Alliance to End
Homelessness recently provided a webinar on Ensuring Racial During the
COVID-19 Homelessness Response. The webinar examined strategies to center
race during this crisis:
Collecting data that includes race and demographic information is hugely
important, since comprehensive data helps us tell the story.
Create decision-making structures that are inclusive, because as presenter
Pascale Leone stated, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
Consider ways to compensate frontline staff fairly, including hazard pay
and bonuses. See more on hazard pay in the Did You Know section below.
Continue to pursue long-term systems change. Presenters encouraged us to
take bold action now.
You can find the full presentation here.
Public Charge Rule Updates and Impact to Immigrants Needing Access to
Housing Programs
The Public Charge Rule has been around for many years but recently
underwent some changes that may impact immigrants experiencing homelessness
or housing instability. It is important to note:
Changes to the Public Charge rule do not affect whether someone is
eligible for a housing program, nor do they impact all immigrants. Also,
only homeless housing programs in the link below are included at all in a
public charge analysis. All other programs are exempt at this time, and we
should encourage those who need them to access them.
You can find more information about what the Public Charge Rule is, what
non-housing programs were included in the expansion, and what resources you
can give to immigrants about these changes here: Understanding
Housing Assistance under the Public Charge Rule.
Is it Okay to 'Take Drugs' in a Homeless Program
Some homeless programs may inadvertently be discriminating against
individuals with an opioid use disorder.
The best practice treatment for an individual with an opioid use
disorder (OUD) is for an individual to take a prescribed medication.
Medications that individuals can be prescribed to help treat their OUD
include methadone, buprenorphine containing products (such as Suboxone or
Subutex) and naltrexone (Vivitrol). Some homeless housing programs may be
confused and discriminating against people in their programs who take these
medications.
An individual with a substance use disorder is protected under state and
federal disability laws. Individuals taking these prescribed medications
for OUD are protected from housing discrimination under the FHA,
Rehabilitation Act and ADA – same as individuals with other disabilities.
You can learn more here.
Despite these federal laws being in place, housing discrimination occurs
with some frequency for those with opioid use disorder in the context of
recovery residences.
Individuals who live or want to live in residences for individuals in
recovery are sometimes excluded strictly on the basis that they are trying
to treat their substance use disorder by taking a prescribed medication for
the treatment of their OUD. When this happens, this is illegal.
Accordingly, these residences may neither categorically exclude people
taking medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder nor insist that
these individuals abstain from taking their prescribed medications for the
treatment of opioid use disorder.
Some recovery residences also have policies that make it difficult for
individuals taking a medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder to
live there. For example, policies may prohibit the storage of methadone or
buprenorphine containing products at the residence. This is also
illegal.
Such residences must grant a “reasonable accommodation” for individuals
taking medications for the treatment opioid use disorder, provided the
requested accommodation does not require major financial or administrative
commitments that would be considered an “undue burden” to the recovery
residence.
Examples of reasonable accommodations include:
Recovery residences allowing individuals to store their prescribed
medications in a lock box in the house and having the individual be
personally responsible for it
Recovery residences arranging to have the housing facility keep a client’s
prescribed medications in a locked cabinet. Residences, of course, do not
have to accept every individual who applies.
Recovery residences applicants may still be rejected from housing if they
refuse to follow non-discriminatory house rules, such as violating rules
prohibiting drinking or illegal drug use.
If you are a recovery residence provider and would like to learn more
about how to ensure your site can have policies and procedures to allow
individuals with OUD to be able to access recovery housing free from
discrimination, technical assistance is available. Free technical
assistance is available to all Washington dtate recovery residences from
the Washington State Opioid Treatment Authority Jessica Blose.
Please reach out to learn more by contacting Jessica Blose at Jessica.Blose@hca.wa.gov
Did you know?
Did you know laptops are available for FCS and Recovery Supports service
providers?
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s Health Care Authority
has loaner laptops available for Foundational Community Support and
Recovery Supports service providers to ensure delivery of vital services.
Please complete an application only if you are unable to obtain a laptop
independently and the lack of access to technology prevents you from
providing telehealth services to clients. Fill out this online
application to submit your request.
Did you know that 'hazard pay' is an allowable expense with your
CHG and COVID-19 Emergency Housing Grant?
Hazard pay means additional pay for performing hazardous duties or work
that involves extreme hardship. Agencies may be performing duties that
involve exponentially greater discomfort and distress right now, especially
if personal protective equipment isn’t available, and/or doesn’t entirely
mitigate the risk involved in continuing to provide services to vulnerable
community members.
Direct service staff supporting people in person may fall into this
category. Hazard pay may be supplied in various ways, whether through a
bonus or a temporary increase in pay. Agencies have discretion on
implementation.
New Online Training Available Now
Visit the OFAH training web page to see the new online training videos:
https://www.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communities/homelessness/training/
Topics include:
Introduction to Housing First
Rapid Rehousing
Progressive Engagements for Programs and Systems
Landlord Engagement in Rapid Rehousing
Working with Survivors of Domestic Violence
Introduction to Diversion/Problem Solving
In-Person Trainings Moving to New Virtual Platforms
We are excited to let you know that the Trauma-Informed Services, Mental
Health First Aid, Racial Equity and LGBTQ+ Competency trainings will resume
later this summer – online. All of the trainers are working to adapt their
curricula to a new platform and are excited to make these available for
you. This approach will also allow for much more flexibility, as
participants won’t need to travel and will have more choice about when they
attend.
Other training and conferences
The Balance of State conference in Leavenworth is postponed
We are looking for ways to continue the BoS Coordinated Entry discussion
and bring you more training and learning opportunities. Stay tuned for
updates.
National Alliance to End Homelessness:
COVID-19 Webinar Series
Alliance staff and other experts will be discussing various tools,
guidance, and strategies relating to how providers and homelessness system
leaders can respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. View webinar recordings,
slides, and other resources below, and register
for COVID-19 webinars here. For an extensive list of resources relating
to COVID-19 and homelessness, visit the Alliance’s Coronavirus
and Homelessness page.
NW Fair Housing Alliance: Service Animals vs. Therapy Animals
Assessing a Person’s Request to Have an Animal as a Reasonable
Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act. This webinar will review the 2020
HUD guidance and discuss what is new in the guidance, what remains the
same, and HUD's best practices for requesting or verifying a reasonable
accommodation request and what types of assistance animals are allowed for
disabilities in different settings.
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2199852690757826049
Washington State Health Care Authority - Mental Health Resources
SAMHSA
Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance and resources
ACL
COVID-19 guidance and resources
VA's
Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) webpage
VA's
Coronavirus FAQs page
Questions? Contact Us:
Consolidated Homeless Grant & HOME TBRA Grant Manager
Jessica Simon jessica.simon@commerce.wa.gov
Emergency Solutions Grant, Systems Demonstration Grant
Julie Montgomery julie.montgomery@commerce.wa.gov
Consolidated Homeless Grant & HOME TBRA Grant Manager
Kathryn Dodge kathryn.dodge@commerce.wa.gov
Training & Benefits Verification System Coordinator
Linda Terry linda.terry@commerce.wa.gov
Consolidated Homeless Grant & HOME TBRA Grant Manager& Homeless
Student Stability Program Manager
Megan Kendig megan.kendig@commerce.wa.gov
Consolidated Homeless Grant & HOME TBRA Grant Manager
Sarah Harrison sarah.harrison@commerce.wa.gov
Stay connected
About Commerce
Commerce works with local governments, businesses, community-based
organizations and tribes to strengthen communities. The department’s
diverse portfolio of more than 100 programs and effective public and
private partnerships promote sustainable community and economic development
to help all Washingtonians thrive. For more information, visit http://www.commerce.wa.gov.
For information on locating or expanding a business in Washington, visit choosewashingtonstate.com.
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