[snorts] Bridget, you can go go up on that. >> Do you guys sit in particular seats every night? >> Wherever you like. >> Turn off the camera on the end. [laughter] I think all of it was on camera cuz the camera's straight at it. So, you really
can't miss it. >> Oh, are you on the board now? >> Yeah. >> Well, I'm too excited. [laughter] >> I saw you on camera. >> I didn't even re like realize. And then during the pandemic, one of my friends was like, I saw you on TV last night.
And I was like, what? What are you saying? And she had watched it on, you know, whatever channel 10 or whatever it is. Oh yeah. as soon as
I beat >> I beat Earl here. That's >> something [laughter] [clears throat] What's your What's your last name? >> Moss. >> Moss. >> Okay. >> How are you? >> Good. How are you?
>> I don't know. Um, do you know if Javier and Black are coming? >> I don't think Javier is on board anymore. >> He is. >> Oh, he is. >> Yeah. >> His term ends June 30th and he'll be reappointed or city council make a
decision after June 30th. >> Okay. >> Okay. At least that's what's in our board agenda uh packet for city council. >> Well, he could decide not to. >> I saw something and he was
from the board. >> If so, city council didn't receive anything. >> All right. Maybe he's taking the day off. Maybe he's going to Maybe he resigned. >> Well,
>> there are a lot of options here. All right. [snorts] Looking too comfortable. All right, everybody ready? Okay, we'll call the meeting to order. Um, can
we have a roll call, please? >> Commissioner Payne >> here. >> Commissioner Aor, >> here. >> Commissioner Rosenl, >> here. >> Commissioner Hicks, >> here. >> Commissioner Moss >> here. Thank you. Uh we will now take a moment
of silence please. Okay. Um before we move to closed session, I think the last thing that I had said it was um we were saying the reason was for acquisition. Is that still accurate? >> There should be two reasons
uh discuss legal legal matters uh and the acquisition A3 should be legal matters acquisition. >> Okay. Um all right. Uh, be it resolved that the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing [clears throat] Authority will convene in a closed session
pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act as sorry this is small as amended to discuss the following matters which are specifically exempted from public disclosures by the code section referenced below. um discussion or
consideration consideration of deacquisition of real property for a public purpose or the disposition of publicly held property. Um where discussion and open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public
body as authorized by section 2.2- 2-3711A3 of the act and also to discuss legal matters >> that being under 2.23711 A7. >> Oh, there it is. Thank you. >> Sorry,
>> it's written there, but I was reading the other thing. Yes. 2.2-3711 A7. >> Can I get a motion to move to close session? >> Motion. Second. All in favor? >> I. >> Yes.
>> All oppose. >> All right, we'll be back. >> Do we have to go to that same room that only Michael can get us in? >> Yes. >> All right. Here's one here. >> Oh,
yeah. What if you mold? >> I've like destroyed mine. >> Okay. Oh, wait. Let me find Okay. All righty. Whereas the authority has convened a
[music] closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. And whereas section 2.3712D of the 1950 code of Virginia as amended
requires a certification by this authority. that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law. Now therefore, upon motion duly made, oh wait, and seconded, be it resolved that the authority hereby certifies that to the best of each
commissioner's knowledge, one only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting, and two, only such public business matters. Oh my gosh.
as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed or considered by the authority. Can I get a motion please? >> So moved. >> Motion second. >> All in favor? >> Yes.
>> All >> okay. Uh, next up I'll open up for public comments followed by far comments. Thanks Emily. Hello. My name is Emily Drifus and I'm making comment tonight on behalf of FAR.
Um, I'm on their advisory council and as you know I work closely with them. Things are cooking along this summer. The main thing that FAR is working on this week is outreach for their board of directors elections. So, if any
residents are watching and are interested in being um on the FAR board, the public housing association residents, please call the office and I'll give the phone number. It's 4349843255. And um it's a very simple process to
nominate yourself. You just call and volunteer or um you can send an email and there will be a form going out to every household this week. So you will also get the paperwork. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Emily.
Um, do any commissioners have updates? >> No. >> No. Other than we have a have a new commissioner if you want. >> Yes. Oh, yes. We have a new commission remark. >> Uh, Bridget Moss, welcome. Um, >> welcome. >> Welcome. Welcome.
>> Tell us about yourself. >> Y I've made it as awkward as possible. I'm so sorry. >> [laughter] >> You want remarks? >> Sure. If you have remarks. >> I know I don't have remarks. I thought you said >> Oh, no. You don't have to have any if
you don't want to. Um, okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I've made it so weird. Um, all right. Next is approval of the board minutes from April 27th, 2026. I would move approval of the minutes
from the April 27th, 2026 meeting. >> Um, my my only thing is uh had Commissioner Cleavel already uh res resigned at that point? That was my question, too. I think that she had.
So, uh, if so, if I just want to remove her name. >> Um, with that change, is there a motion to approve? >> Motion. Second. >> Second.
>> All in favor? >> Yes. >> All oppose. >> Okay. Motion passes. Okay. Uh, Miss Glenn Matthews and Miss Banks, you're up with the eviction diversion update.
>> Hello everyone. Um, for anyone online who doesn't know, I'm Kathleen Glenn Matthews and um, happy to see you all tonight. Oh, good. It came up. Um, I just wanted to give some updates on the eviction diversion program and Miss
Banks is online and can also um comment or answer questions. Um, our grants and development coordinator Katrina was um helpful and went through a lot of the data that we had collected in our database as well as looking at our other
systems and put this report together for us. is covering a period of April of 2025 to um it's actually the beginning of June 2026, but most of the data just goes to the end of May. Um these are the
number of households um 94 that have participated in the eviction diversion program since April. We've averaged about 25 um people joining a month that are referrals that we're getting from primarily from property management.
Um we've had 143 families who have um exited the program which means that they have um been able to um get back into good standing. We average about 20 exits a month. Um
74% of the households are carried over from previous months. So, it's not uncommon at all for us to work with a family and have them exit the program and then um come back on our list due to some other struggles.
The average time spent right now on our eviction diversion program is 68 days and um that's just for the amount of time we've collected data for. um she just pulled together some numbers of individuals she saw that had been in
the program from our data from our data bank. And um you can see on the report here um she also was looking at the um number of households that have enrolled um and
participation wise and that's 41%. Um we um I should probably check this number. I think might have gotten a little higher, but um this was the amount we had um since April 2025 to the
end of May. And that's it. >> This is only six street. >> Oh, I I apologize. >> This is the breakdown to drill down into the ants. >> So initial page is the overview. Second page is the
drill down into street and scatter. >> Quick question. When we say 41% of households, are we saying that 41% of all the household on Sixth Street in the scattered sites needed to enroll or is
41% of the households facing eviction >> in those sites enrolled? >> It's 41% of all households have been referred at some point to the program. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, and from this AMP, I apologize I didn't correct that, but
from this AMP, um, we have 18 households who are currently enrolled. And, um, that's why this number now makes sense to me. Um, for the amount owed, um, we've had 67% of back rent repaid.
Um, the average of that was, um, 1,912. Um the range here shows that it went from $62 um to 9,230. It's, you know, a significant range there. Um
we have um with this amp, we've had a quite a bit of rental assistance, which you've listed here as well. Um, I thought it was helpful that Katrina was able to pull out the average day spent in our program is 114
and um, 64% of the households um, have exited successfully, but um, I can't say that a lot of them have also returned. Um, but we're that's something we're constantly looking at. Um, so 39% of the
household exited have been reenrolled, >> I think. Uh, okay. Is that okay? Sorry. So that's so that's 39% of the 64%. Yes. Then Okay. >> Yep. >> So um you know we've talked about this at previous meetings. We're continuing
to notice patterns um and trying to learn from this as well. Um some of the things that um you know we've talked about before are you know some of the big challenges. We know that um you know
financial assistance alone is not always enough. Um we have people who have been in the program as well for other things such as housekeeping or other um challenges with the lease. We find that you know when we look nationwide that um
programs that combine rapid rent relief with ongoing supportive services yield the lowest recidivism rate and eviction rates. and we really want to be able to find funds for rapid rent relief. Um
it's really challenging to um you know have a family come in that is one of the ones that you know has been on this list many times and has maxed out all local resources and to have to call all the agencies and learn that they cannot
access any more funding and we ourselves don't have access to funding right now. Um we um have had some really I was really grateful today we got to um have a conversation with Emily and legal aid and um we we hear people that you know
we agree that um eviction prevention requires shifting from you know reactive court-based evictions to proactive holistic support and would really like to focus on how to build out these holistic programs but we need you know
some rapid rent relief Before that, um, another thing I just wanted to share tonight was that, um, I really want us to be, um, starting to have some intentional conversations with our team about third party groups that can, um, we have third party groups that can do
mediation, but having those groups actually do active outreach because currently it's our staff having to refer people to the third parties. And it would be really great if we could find partners who are actually willing to do outreach to our community. Um, as we've
said before, one of our biggest struggles is, um, you know, getting people to come and talk to us so that we can help them. And, um, I think, you know, working with third party mediation is going to be something that could be really helpful there, particularly if, you know, third parties are doing
outreach in our neighborhoods and encouraging residents to come talk to staff. Um, that's what I have now. And, um, Miss Banks, did you have anything? >> Um, good evening to the board and
everyone there in person. Um, uh, I just wanted to just remind the board that EDP is not just rent based. It does cover all barriers. um whether it be housekeeping, rent, um
wellness, um familial issues and problems and barriers. Um so I just want to remind everyone that it's not just rent um not being paid that continues to create barriers for our residents. Um, I
did want to also mention that a lot of um, our participants monthly tend to for the most part be the same uh, families. And so we, as Kathleen said, we are open to ideas and collaboration,
not just to assist or mediate or intervene, but to kind of see how we can better get to the roots and really change the generational u mindset of our residents so that they can have sustainable um success going forward. Um and also
maintain housing and also just overall wellness. Um, and if there's any questions, I'd be happy to answer. >> I I have I have several questions. I don't know if people go for it. Okay. >> Um, so I guess um
>> one one question to start is um what percentage I think of of families who who need eviction diversion are not getting it or not receiving it or not coming to the table? Um and what like like what kind of what percentage of the whole is the are these numbers that
we're looking at right here? >> Um these are the numbers of individuals that have been referred due to not being in good standing. >> Right. >> And um I might need to lean into you, Miss Banks, as far as the number that um you
are finding like with Miss Green that you're not getting contact from. If I had to say a percent, um I I'm I really don't know the percentage. Um,
I know that I can say that since it tends to be the same people um in the same families, um, we always have a a group that will communicate and reach out um,
continually. And then you have those that we are continuing to work on, continuing to reach out to send letters, um, make phone calls, um, reach out to agencies on their behalf because we're not getting response. Um, and we talked
this through with legal aid today. It's communication is the main thing for whatever reason. And usually in that first meeting, if we can just get them in and have a conversation, that kind of opens things up. But sometimes it can
take months to even get the family to come in or participate in any type of conversation. Um, so I'm going to say maybe 40 to 50% right now. Um,
but you know, we can probably pull some more accurate numbers uh next month, but right now I feel like it's about 40 to 50%. That we're still just it's a communication uh a communication barrier. It's not for lack of trying.
It's just some people just they don't they don't want us in their business. They need the help, but they don't want us in their business. So, um, it's kind of an uphill battle, which as Kathleen said, we're still trying to work on. We're still trying to find creative ways
to get that engagement um, oneonone with the families. >> Great. I think it would be really helpful, maybe others will disagree with me, but for me, I think it would be interesting and and helpful to see like what does what is the kind of communication like? What do the touches
look like, right? Like how many touches are there before we do a filing? what happens after the filing kind of just so that we can get a sense of what how it looks from the resident perspective like as they're negotiating whatever it is that is making them you know um unable
to successfully you know go along with the lease um whether it's payment or other issues um but I think that that might be may be helpful so that we can start to help you get creative about what are other mechanisms for improving communication or bringing in third parties etc
Um, I don't know. Does anyone else want to ask a question, but I don't want to I don't want to monopolize. >> Go for it. >> Okay. Um, I'm also I'm like curious about this $62 thing. Like I I'm like I'd hate to be evicting somebody because there's they don't they don't they
they're $62 behind in rent. Um, that seems like a little miserly um for lack of a a better word. Um, so yeah, I don't is there like could we could there be like a threshold at which or we can be in conversation but we're not necessarily
wi like spending money filing unlawful detainers for people who only owe you know a couple dozen dollars. >> Um, and I I I might defer to Delane on this um because I think it is part of a
larger conversation. Um, number one, most housing authorities are up to 50 $50 minimum rent, right? And we're still at 35. And the idea that's been kind of thrown out there is let's get rid of this
minimum rent. However, um, we we we cannot pick and choose if someone owes $1,000 or $62. We have to I see you, Delaney. I'm going to give it to you just a second. Um and we again we had this conversation with legal aid
earlier. Um we have to follow our procedure and go through our procedure for everyone. Um and I I'm just I'm going to leave it there and let Miss KS um
Yes. Hi. Um, so you're right, um, Miss Banks, it is an issue of fairness and more importantly, we could expose the agency to liability if we decide to randomly set a threshold or pursue some evictions and not others. You also have
to keep in mind, maybe $62 doesn't sound like a lot of money. However, some households owe $62 and they pay it. So, it would not be fair to those who pay their rent if we start forgiving it or have a policy in place that we're not
going to pursue any type of collection or eviction if someone only owes $50 or $60 or $70. The only outcome of that would be that people will stop paying the $50, $60 or $70 that they owe. It's
just not fair to the housing authority and it's not fair to the households that do pay their rent and do pay it on time. What I can tell you is that someone is not just randomly evicted for owing $62. There are weeks of work and
conversations with the household that take place ahead of eviction proceedings. We don't simply immediately go down to the courthouse to file an unlawful detainer. I understand that's the perception and perhaps that's the narrative that some are pushing, but
it's simply not accurate. That's not what happens. We work with the families. We only pursue eviction as a last resort if households refuse to work with the agency to come up with a strategy, a repayment plan or some other eviction
diversion strategy. We have a network of nonprofits that can help, etc. There's a number of alternatives. We don't just kick people out of their housing because they owe $50. And I would like for that to not continue to be the narrative
because it is simply inaccurate. >> Sorry, I didn't mean to uh say that we're we're just kicking people out because like simply because they owe $62. But what I'm saying is like is there could we have a threshold at which we work in a different system that
doesn't go to eviction when the level is so low? Not that they never pay it back and we're just giving everybody, you know, we're giving everybody a free pass necessarily if it's under $100, but like can there be a different mechanism in place if they haven't met the threshold? Could that be something that the board
puts, you know, forward as a policy change that then does not leave us up to liability, but protects residents who obviously if you can't pay $62 over months and months and months of contact, you can't pay $62, right? So that's like, you know, in terms of trying to keep residents first and follow the law,
understand the law, and make sure that we have policies in place that allow us to do both. Keep residents first and protect the the agency and follow the law, right? Um I'm I'm not trying to say like we are being flippant here, but what I am trying to say is that seems
like a kind of very low threshold, right? And so is there a way that we can obviously if a family can't pay $622 like that family is is really struggling, right? Um so just trying to think through are there creative ways that we can maneuver legally um in the
way that we create policy and enforce and implement policy. >> I will say we do have something on the books already. It's called a hardship exemption. Mhm. >> Families who are zero income can uh enter submit for hardship exemption and have their rent reduced uh to a Z amount
both in HCV program and public housing. >> Okay. And so then maybe that conversation is also that like we need to continue to research the minimum rent option being zero, right? because that if that's something that we're relying on, then maybe having that policy to begin with is something that would
actually be helpful and and would again serve our residents as well as allowing us to stay within the boundaries of the law. >> Already has all these procedures in place. There is legislation on the hardship exemption. It's not something
that housing authorities come up with on their own. And there are requirements with regard to what documentation the housing authority needs to collect in order to apply the hardship exemption if a household requests it. So all of this
is already in place. Maybe there's some other very creative way um out there to help families who are um suffering a hardship that perhaps does not fall within the category of an official HUD
hardship exemption. And that's possible. Maybe we can look into that. But you already have tons of tools. >> Yeah. I mean, I think right obviously like I think we all understand that we have tons of tools. I think right like
what is not necessarily getting across to residents is the the vast network of tools that exist and resources that exist. Right. And so like I'm just trying to be thoughtful here about, you know, making sure that whatever communication
we have with residents, whatever programs we have in place, right, that like we like residents get a better understanding and feel more comfortable coming to the table to have these hard conversations like as Miss Banks was saying, understandable that they don't want necessarily everybody in their business and like living in public
housing and and affordable housing, you have more, you know, kind of oversight into your lives than um others might have. So there that already exists and I I understand that. But I'm just trying to say like, you know, obviously we have a lot of residents who who really need help. 41% is very high if just looking
at these, you know, um these sites. And so just trying to think out loud here about like what can we as an entity do to support the families who are struggling. Um, and I just wanted to add to um that
we we have been more proactive about talking about resources and what it looks like, how you should report, when it's important to report, even if there may not be a change. Um, timing of reporting, the hardship rent exemption.
U again, we had this conversation today with legal aid. >> [clears throat] >> We have had people so people are aware of the the the minimum um rent hardship exemption and we have had several people just in this year alone um reach out to
um to exercise the exemption. Um, in two out of the three [laughter] cases that I can remember off the top of my head at the last minute, they didn't need it because they got a job or they had some other resources come open that um and they reached out to us and said, "Hey,
we don't, you know, we we're going to go a different way. We we have something that we need to report and we're going to move forward that way." Um, and so I just want to mention that the hardship exemption is temporary. It is not a long-term solution. Um, and I can
appreciate all the tools that our residents um, have, but we also want to again try to get to the root of why we have the same people in and out of the programs, have more conversations, um, and see what we can do to help them
change and have sustainability going forward. Um, because it's great to have resources, right? But we have to be accountable for ourselves. And sometimes that's going to be a harder conversation, but it can have better
long-term sustainability and um positive effects because, you know, when you you're talking about a hardship exemption, it's almost kind of like putting a band-aid on it. We want to see why are they still facing hardship? Like can we provide resources for jobs? And I think that's
part of EDP going what we've been doing and going forward. Um, you know, I know Kathleen's department does a great job. They take people to job interviews. Um, transportation kind of continues to be an issue um with people getting jobs.
So, there's a lot of different things. Um, and there's a lot of roots down. And I think if we start kind of focusing more on what are the roots and how do we get the roots out so that people can grow and flourish in a different way. Um
that's a more positive, you know, direction that we can probably go in. Um and we're more than happy to do some moreformational sessions and we get people to show up and give them this information. Um I'm totally open to it.
>> Awesome. Thank you, Miss Banks and Miss Karns. I appreciate that. Um I think um yeah, it sounds like there's kind of two avenues it sounds like that EDP is moving in like both kind of increasing awareness and also just increasing com like comfort with people coming to the
table and then also thinking about like what structural things can CRA do to support people's long-term you know financial um and and you know like personal well-being. Um, and I think obviously one of those seems like a
little bit more long-term. Um, and something that, you know, is also a little bit dependent upon like the like what how the economy is doing and the fact that like we're in this era of inflation. I think it's a really important goal um to keep in mind. And so I think we should we should just kind of all be aware of these two prongs of
like what EDP is attempting to do so that we can be really clear about our strategy and also understanding where we're being successful and where we need to continue to improve. Um so that's awesome and I really appreciate all the time and and effort that you all are putting into this uh program. Thank you.
>> You're welcome. >> Any other questions? Um, I know this is something that's been discussed at previous meetings when this has come up, but to walk through it again, um, what is the the process at least on
paper for how CRA reaches out to a tenant facing eviction and the amount of contact points and what contact points are used. Um, so I think we, if I'm not mistaken,
we included this in our eviction diversion presentation that we did a few times. Um, but just really quickly, so we have an asset um, collections manager. It's kind of a housing stabilization manager uh, position as
well. um who as soon as we know that there are the first month that we know that there could be potential rent issues um we reach out we put them on the EDP spreadsheet so that Kathleen's team is
collaborative and they know that you know this person is in need of assistance. Her team will kind of sometimes reach out see what's going on. um our residents when they move in, they sign a release form that allows us to immediately refer them to our resident
services department if there should ever be any issues. Um so we do that at movein now and that release form kind of follows them through the lifespan of their residency. Um after that we have our asset collections manager. Our
property managers and assistant property managers are also required um after the fifth of the month and after the non-payments are issued to reach out and um and we can no longer doin talks because knock-in talks we cannot have a
confidentiality uh space there because you're outside on somebody's porch trying to knock on their door trying to get them to answer. Um, so everything is done through calls, through email. Um, in certain, like if
it's Crescent Halls, we'll knock on doors because we know there's more of a need there. Um, and it's a little more private setting knocking on the doors. Um, we send out letters. We say, "Hey, come in for a meeting. We notice, you know, you you have some past due rent."
Um, so we have all of that, including the legal notice, which is the 30-day non-payment notice. Um, and then Kathleen's team has calls, has emails, has reachouts, has meetings. Um, so
there's a lot there's a lot of communication prior to getting to the point of any even judgment and possession. I'm not even going to say the eviction, the actual eviction. um from the time that they owe rent to the
time that they do their first appearance um in court or even that as soon as that non-payment is issued for one month we reach out to them. Um so we do not take that lightly. Um and we do not skimp in that area and we are you know required
my team is required to document um their attempts every attempt whether it's email whether the person has walked into the office for another reason and they have a conversation whether it's a phone call. Um so all of that is required um
to be documented in the file. I know we've discussed this before. It was just helpful to, you know, um >> absolutely, >> you know, highlight it again. Um you know, just to use like a theoretical example, let's say there's someone who
owes $70 in rent and all those steps were followed. They were followed accurately and properly. That individual never gets into contact with CRA. Um, I know there's not I'm sure there's not a specific data point on this, but how
frequently is the problem, mental health, addiction, a resident who may be elderly and in cognitive decline or in a situation of you some kind of elder abuse where, you know, their money or payments are being diverted in a way
they're not expecting. Um, just kind of how frequently is that kind of the issue being encountered? Um, it really is. It honestly it depends on the time of year. It depends on uh what demographic we're talking about.
Um, if we're talking about the the elderly and disabled population, um, it could defer. Um, we are, and I think we've talked about this for a long time. We have seen a severe uptake um in
mental health. Um just in the last few weeks alone, I've been out on properties multiple times for um issues with people with mental health. And so, as we know, when there is a mental health issue, pretty much everything else kind of
wraps around that um and gets tangled up in it. So it could be rent, it could be children, care of children, it could be um someone in their household that is not supposed to be there. And so we have to intervene. Um and we are much more
active in that space than I will say even we were a year ago. Um because we are the people on the property every single day in the community. So when something happens, they call us sometimes before they call 911 or the fire department, they call the office.
Um, so it just depends on the demographic. It depends on what community it is and it depends on really the time of year. Like we'll see mental health fluctuate depending on the time of year. Um, holidays can be stressful on people. Um, or sometimes people make
decisions on the holidays that they're going to kind of buy gifts instead of pay rent. So, um it just it really depends and it really is just a mixed pot depending on the month um and really what's going on. >> Mhm. And fully recognizing CRA is not a
mental health provider and you know has strong limitations in just what it's able to do. But just to get a sense of if there is a situation where kind of the the primary barrier for a resident is mental health or addiction, what does that next step look like in terms of
what agencies they're referred to, what exists in the community recognizing, I think there's just kind of like systemic gaps in the the mental health care system locally that is far beyond CRA. Um >> right. Um and so again we've and I think when we did the um eviction end the last
one I mentioned that we have even um gone so far in the last I would say since the end of November of last year really doing intricate care plans for um
our residents with mental health because if you know anything about mental health, you know that it takes a while to get through to a person, a family. Um, and that's just one person. So, imagine if there's three people in the
household and everyone has mental health, right? So, taking the time to have those conversations, building rapport, building a relationship. Um, and so we have had several instances over the last 10 or 11 months where we've actually put extensive care plans
in place. We've had partners from four or five different community agencies trying to assist and help a family um multiple families. Um and in some instances it worked for a
while and then it didn't work. Um and it just depends. But you know as well as I do that, you know, like it's it's hard to sustain that as a property management person or just a staff member in the
community or a partner in the community because our mental health people will they'll be okay with the communication one day with partners then they'll not want to talk to maybe see maybe social services one day. So it is kind of again
like an up and down thing and it just depends on the day and the month like how long can we sustain that. We've done these intricate care plans. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. But I am I I mean I we I we have gone above
and beyond in care plans and and with families um and even providing things that they need that we think will help. um that's not necessarily something that we have to do, but we want to see them be successful. That is the goal. Um so
we we have the option of care plans. Um it is a lot of work. It's a lot of back and forth. It's a lot of communication. Um but is it worth it if it works? Yes, absolutely. >> And you this year for the first time we had a relationship with region 10. We
actually had a mental health professional on each one of our sites. Uh is it one one day per site, Kathleen? >> Yes. >> She's been pulled back since then, but for quite a while, we did have her able
to go to each site as a clinical social worker through region 10. Um, [clears throat] right. But I know that's far beyond, you know, CHA in our discussion today, but I know, you know, region 10 has a lot of resource limitations and limitations of
the amount and quality of service they can offer. Um, which just complicates it for you. Um I guess the just the final question which again I know in the past we've gone over but um and everyone recognizes this is a difficult issue because CRA doesn't want to be evicting
people because you know we're an affordable housing provider that just accelerates the problem in one hand on the other hand you look at in Washington DC there are affordable housing communities where the rent non-payment level has gone so high they're looking at needing to sell the entire property
and converting it to market rate because it's just not um financially sustainable anymore. I'm not saying CJ is at that level, but it um you have to have enforcement of payment if you want to, you know, maintain the
sustainability of an affordable housing site. Um and one of the things you touched on is getting there through building, you know, investment in self-sufficiency. Um could you just touch on some of what that works looks like as well as I know there's a budget request that was made
to the city that didn't make it into our budget but I know that was aimed at um if you could just walk through some of the aims of what that hoped to be able to accomplish. Um yes, I think I mean one of the biggest challenges is um you know a lot of agencies compete every year for pretty small amounts of money
to do eviction diversion programs and um and if you're lucky you can hire someone to work and it's usually funding for one year and if you're real lucky you have a little bit of funding to go with that but often that funding's is a nominal amount like $17,000 which does not go
far. Um, I really, um, we have, um, self-sufficiency programs that we're working with, but with what we're seeing with these numbers, I mean, that's why I'm really pressing for rental relief funds like emergency rent relief. So,
when we hear about the $70, you know, we have something to encourage a family to come to us. You know, we can say, "We have some funding. You need you can come meet with us." Um, because when we talk about working them to reach out to other providers. Sometimes there's past trauma
and reasons they don't want to do that or something happened with a provider. Um, and you know, we we've been really needing to have those funds. Um, as far as self-sufficiency, um, you know, we're
talking often about individuals that aren't ready sometimes to be in the self-sufficiency program. They're just surviving. And um and that's the part that um and why I keep coming and talking about rent relief because if you're just surviving um we need to get
you stable and then we can talk about things like like your budget, what's happening in your household and getting you counseling um once we've gotten to know each other and maybe you're starting to trust me enough that if I referred you to a clinical social worker, you might be more likely to show
up um at that meeting. Um, but I mean part of building the relationships is us being able to be consistent also. And if we don't consistently, if we can't consistently help people with rent relief, um, why are they going to want
to come meet with us sometimes? Um, and we can say, you know, part of it is we, you know, teaching our community to pay their rent. And there is a contingent of that that we really need to focus on. um Miss Banks was um did a really good job of talking about that. But when you're
talking about um the individuals who are really at risk, that's where emergency rent relief that you know it's a proven program um that you know we've seen the money just kind of go away for and we're just trying really hard to find ways to
um get access again to that type of funding because then we can get people to sit down with us. just sorry just pressing on that though Kathleen >> I not trying but like you're seeing a lot of repetition of the same folks coming
through um I think the tricky part of that is right like there has to be a limit you can't right and so I'm not saying we need to solve for this but just like plays playing devil's advocate a little bit right like so >> if I come to you for for emergency rent
relief and We want to be consistent, right? How do we mitigate like the people that are continuing to find themselves in this cycle showing up every month for emergency rent relief? >> Um there's requirements. Um if you're
able to actually build out, you know, a multi-year program, then you can actually have things that happen like the, you know, the way intake works the first time. If you're returning the second time, then we've talked the first time that if you came back, then we were going to, you know, have requirements that at that point we're actually
talking about um some budgeting classes and, you know, having different levels of budgeting classes, too. You know, that because some folks are ready to talk about things like home ownership and other folks just need to talk about not um using apps that are spending
their money before their paycheck comes. Um, and I think that's the big difference, you know, that we struggle with. Um, families that are just surviving and families that, you know, might know just how long they can go without paying their rent and but then
breaking that cycle like Miss Banks was talking about, you know, >> um, and a lot of that is about building relationships and us being able to be consistent so that if we're offering a program, you know, that we have the funding to make sure people know it's a
permanent program. um you'll come to us, it'll look like this the first time, the second time it's going to look like this. And we could talk about that at our meeting when you first come. Um right now, you know, we're saying we're here for you. We want you to talk to us
and then we're going to be reaching out trying to find funds. Mhm. >> Um uh so that I mean I think like for um correct me if I'm wrong, but like part of the impetus for creating the nonprofit was like in part to help with
this and where what's the update on that? >> Um we're working um closely with um Miss K to get her the information she needs >> and um she'll I don't know if you wanted to speak on that, Deline.
Um sure. So the the next step is um to come up with a name for the organization and a budget for the first three years. There are some other pieces of information that we need in order to file the required forms with the IRS.
But right now, we're trying to focus on some of the gateway items so that we can put in place the legal entity itself and its bylaws and then we can work on different sections of the application for tax exempt status. So, we're in communication and I sent to staff a list
of the items that we need in um in the short term and then we will work in more detail on the application itself after we're past that initial threshold of short-term items. >> Do we have a a target date for completing the filing?
>> Um not that I know of. >> Okay. Thank you. What' you say? >> Um, a target date for having everything filed. >> Yeah, I thought we were shooting for the end of the year. >> Yeah. >> The end of the calendar year. >> Yeah. >> Okay. And then it Am I making this up? I
feel like I heard Miss K say several months ago maybe that it's like a 6 to9 month turnaround time once we do the filing. Is that correct? >> So, it could be quicker. It depends on the budget which is why we need to nail that down. we need um to figure out
whether we're going to be really ambitious going in or whether we're going to be more conservative and start small with the entity, which I think is a preferred route because if you do start small and show that initially your
budget is not um more than a million dollars, let's say um and that you really have mapped out the grants that you're going to go after and how you're going to pursue certain activities and what you're going to do with the money. Then if you're fairly
conservative in in your estimates and how you plan to move forward, if the company is not going to have its own employees, for example, that's also a factor. If it's not going to own real estate initially, that's also a factor. So if you have a more streamlined
application, so to speak, then the IRS can actually get back to you in three to four months. If you have a more complex entity with a larger budget and uh more ambitious activities or perhaps employees of its own as opposed to
borrowed employees from CRA or perhaps the entity wants to own real estate in the first two years. things of that nature require additional explanations and agenda to the application and at
that point you are in the 9 months to 10 month realm. Those are estimates. It really depends on the IRS and their staffing with regard to review of those applications and how many other applications are submitted around the same time frame. So there is no
guarantee that we get a response from the IRS within a certain time frame. However, with regard to simple applications, I have to say in the recent six in the past six to nine months or so, the IRS has been really quick when it comes to simple applications.
>> Okay. Thank you. >> Um, so I'm going to bring us back because I think we've gone all all over. Uh, are there any other questions on um for on the update for eviction diversion?
No. >> All right. Thank you. Thank you. Um, okay. Next up, property management update. Um, the only thing I was going to highlight was um we have our
we have our next Well, I did want to highlight that we had um two staff members get certified. I don't think we've had a meeting since that happened um for a tax credit specialist. Um and we had two staff members do training last week um and
they'll find out in the next couple weeks for public housing uh specialists if they passed their exams. Um, our next um uh I'm sorry, our next beautifification
day is July is sorry, our next safety meeting is July 8th. Okay. And um our next beautifification day is in July as well. Um, and if you can come out or if
you need an a, um, a reminder as to when they are, um, the next one I believe is going to be West Haven. Um, again, we're going to do West Haven, so we're hitting it prior to, um, the community day. Um,
I don't have the exact date, but South First Street. Um, and the scattered sites will be having their community day in July. Um, so we're excited for that. Each year it gets bigger and bigger. Um, and we're expecting a really great time
this year. Um, we have a lot of partners on board to do things in community um, churches and just members of the community that are really excited about that. Um, especially as we move towards phase two of South First Street um,
getting leased up. Um, and I think that was that's pretty much everything for right now. We have a lot going on, but those are some of the things that we wanted to highlight. I think that uh the West Haven Beautification Day is July 17th. >> Thank you, Bridget.
>> You're welcome. I was trying to find >> all day. >> Find the email. >> Okay. Thank you, Miss Banks. Um, okay. HCV program manager update. >> Good evening. So, this [clears throat] program has been really steady.
Uh we had 429 families in the HCV regular program uh for a total have of 472,000 uh utility payments of 60,000. We currently have 1,726 families on our weight list. We have not pulled any families. We do not anticipate pulling
any families. uh mainstream uh you will see there's a slight decrease there. Uh that number is now at 33. It was at one point at 40. Uh that program had a shortfall last year and so we are hampered at how many we can release to
get to that 40. We will not get to 40 again uh because the rents have gone up compared to the allocation of funding from HUD. Uh so right now we are at 33 families and at Crescent Halls we have 50 of the vouchers leased out of the 52.
At South First Street phase one we have 23 leased out of the 24. At the crossings they have 15 lease out of the 21 eligible families. Uh there are three enhanced vouchers. Uh that was due to a previous redevelopment. Uh there are 10
emergency housing vouchers. You'll see within the next couple months those vouchers are going to merge with the HCV regular program because they are sun setting. Those vouchers were created during CO. Uh there are eight tenant protection vouchers due to relocation.
Uh there are seven relocation vouchers, TRVs from Crescent Halls. There are four VAS vouchers. We're one uh that's on the street that's looking. Uh there's 17 FYI vouchers out of 25
and then there are 16 portable vouchers which means individuals have ported to us uh to live. Oh no, I'm sorry. These folks have ported outside of Schawsville who are billing their organization that they move to for a total of 615 participants at a half amount of
$686,000 a month and utility bills of $73,453. The CISA program has been steady at 66 families for a total HAP of $73,911 a month. Uh you'll see a little note
that says do not go over 70,000. We are slightly over 70,000 because we have not reached our goal of serving 70 families. Uh and we did not want to um impact any families by reducing it. The rents have
gone up naturally on those units. And so if you do that 73 911* 12, it's almost eating up the entire $900,000 that was allocated by the city just on rents. There are currently 16 vouchers on the street and those vouchers are individuals that are moving that already
a part of the program and there were two new admissions and those were through the um project based voucher programs. You guys have any questions for me? All right, thank you. Um, [clears throat] Kathleen, did you have more um for
resident services update? >> Um, share some upcoming things that are being worked on that are in the packet. We're pretty excited about these cooking classes that are going to impress Halls um around healthy eating
and also um we're having our first um end of school youth awards Mr. Sales with our youth coordinator transportation for this event and we're pretty excited about it. Um she doing some final planning for it over
the next couple days. Um our Ross program's been doing an empowerment session on Saturdays over at Sford Street and we've um been gradually seeing some numbers grow with that. Um, Fight Like a Girl has been a big partner
with that and um, we're they had a sound bath this past Saturday and we're looking at um, doing another series like this again. So, we've had a lot of good feedback on it. I want everyone to know West Community Day is coming. Um, it's 29th one. Um,
it's going to be all hands on deck for us August 1. So, I just want to make sure it's on everyone's radar. It's always hot that day. >> Mhm. >> The dunk tank. If you want to sign up to be in the dunk tank. >> That's you, John.
>> I'm already number one on the list. >> Amazing for the dunk. >> Thank you. Um, one I have one comment. Um, an additional food little food pantry
uh has been is it installed, John? Not yet. >> Not yet, but it's being installed um in Riverview. So, Riverside Riverside, I mean, yes, Riverside. So, that means we have them now. Sixth Street, Mickey,
Madison, >> Riverside, Sixth Street. You have one Crescent Halls, Sexy Pantry. >> Yes. So, we have Sexy Pantries and Crescent Halls and South Street, West Haven. >> Yeah. >> And now, um Riverside. So, uh,
>> that's exciting. We just we'll just keep putting pantries everywhere. >> The pantry is going to go up in conjunction with the message board that you were working on, Bridget, before you left. >> Awesome. >> So, that should be going up as well.
>> Awesome. So, um, so yeah, little food pantries everywhere. Um, okay. I will open it up again for uh FAR or public comments. >> Thanks, Emily Drifus. And I'm wearing my
Legal Aid Justice Center hat, not wearing my FAR hat. I wanted to make a couple comments about the eviction diversion program. And before I forget, I also wanted to ask um a couple things about transparency discussions. I'm wondering how the vacancy rate is
because I haven't seen that in the property management or executive director reports in a while. Um, but I may have missed something in the packet tonight or in the past. Um, but I know that with all the evictions that have been filed, um, and also with the
challenges sometimes getting turns made where units are cleaned out and ready for the next person, getting those done in a timely manner, the the vacancy rates have been difficult in the past. um been an area of challenge
um on the um eviction diversion program. I wanted to um thank the staff for meeting today. It was um educational I think for all of us and my personal concern is that there's some real
quality control issues. Um, there are people I've talked with and our attorneys have represented who have been evicted after one month of lateness. And that is not something the housing authority says they were doing, but I
don't know whether that's a um training issue for a property manager or or an oversight issue where um someone needs to be checking all the people going to the docket and how long their debts have been accumulating.
Um, if residents first is really the the motto of this housing authority, then I think what Miss K said about being not fair for the housing authority is something to consider deeply. Like fairness for the residents is what your
primary goal should be. I I totally understand that there are some accumulations of debt that make it very um difficult to continue along and you know ignoring. But when people owe a small amount of money, there are housing authorities that just
don't allow those folks to get a court notice. So I would urge you all to consider that. So I think um one I most recently heard about was $500. So, if you have a debt less than $500, which many people do in this housing authority
that are being brought to court, um they don't go to court because it's a really destabilizing, traumatizing experience and it's difficult for families. It's difficult for everyone and it's a lot of resources for the housing authority. Um I do understand that when someone
accumulates thousands of dollars, that's a different story and there needs to be a different level of response. I can understand why people would feel that way. Um, there's one other thing that I meant to ask about and I'm not coming up with it. So, I will just email that or talk
with you all at different time. Oh, the other transparency issue, the lawsuit. And I'm sure you all have been discussing it, but that needs to be shared for the public record what's going on. And um, I would hope that you all will make a comment about that
before you adjure tonight. Thanks. Thank you. >> Well, I would just say for now we did discuss the issue in close session. At this point, you know, I don't think the board or I don't I can't speak for staff, but the board, you know, isn't prepared to comment on legal matters at this time, but it was discussed. We're
definitely thinking about it and I'm there will in the future be communication about, you know, everything about it. So, we are aware of it and discussing it. >> Yes. but not prepared >> to. Thank you, Emily.
>> Okay. Um, is there uh that concludes our agenda for this evening. Is there anything else anyone would like to raise? >> All right. May I get a motion to adjurnn? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Second.
>> All in favor? >> All opposed? Motion.