Community Questions for NSCO

Questions for NSCO and GCC Regarding the Pallet Shelter Pilot Program Proposal

Compiled by Cassie Mulivrana on June 30, 2021 with input from area residents and research on best practices for temporary/transitional shelter services.

General Questions

• Why have you chosen to partner with Everett Gospel Mission when the population they serve is supposedly different from your own?

• Have you visited other pallet shelters or transitional housing sites? What valuable insights did you gain or lessons learned?

• What research have you done on the effectiveness of pallet shelters as transitional housing? Have you encountered any data around programs similar to the one you a proposing?

• What is the total projected cost for this project? You mention the cost of the pallet shelter, but what about all of the other costs? Restroom facility rental, fencing materials, electricity, water hookup, sanitation, food, etc.?

• Does the church receive any financial compensation?

• What’s your funding source and what happens when it runs out?

Eligibility Criteria and Referral

• Will applicants be required to have ID?

• How will you store individual files and ensure confidentiality?

• How are you confirming/determining that individuals moving to these facilities do not have severe behavioral health or substance abuse disorders? Both diagnosed and undiagnosed? What kind of substance abuse or mental health screening will you complete?

• What kind of ongoing assessment of drug use or mental health stability will be required?

• What type of orientation will you provide to new residents? How will residents be informed regarding program rules and requirements, length of stay, safety protocols and resources (fire extinguishers, first aid, emergency assistance)

• What kind of initial assessment of the need for services will you provide?

Infrastructure

• How have you met all requirements put forth in the Marysville Municipal Code 22.C.110.050 Transitory Accommodations?

• Do you have a clearly defined plan for how you’re going to meet all of the basic needs of the homeless population you intend to serve? How has this changed from what was submitted to the city?

• How do NSCO and GCC plan to provide storage space to residents?

• How many residents will be housed? I’ve seen different numbers on different documents you have released. Are the pallets single occupancy?

• How will the weather potentially impact the shelters?

Water Supply, Handwashing and Bathing

• How do you plan to provide water? I’ve heard multiple plans, some of which are included in your proposal to the city but the most recent of which are not. If you’re planning to utilize the hydrant with a watch-dog meter:

• How will using the fire hydrant impact the fire department’s access?

• The nearest fire hydrant is over 100 paces from the proposed site – does this impact the use of the hydrant?

• How will hot water be provided if you’re using hydrant water?

If you’re bringing in a water tank:

• Where will the tank be located?

• How will you safely secure it?

Toilets, Sewage & Wastewater Disposal

• Who are you considering contracting with for restrooms and sanitation?

• How will excess water be removed (e.g. shower water after the shower is complete)

• How will you handle multiple residents needing to use the shower at once?

• Will you provide towels?

• How often will the portable restrooms be serviced? Is this a porta potty? What if it needs to be serviced more often than scheduled?

Electricity and Lighting

• The current site plan has existing planters and permanent light fixtures – will these be removed? How will lighting be replaced?

• How will you provide electricity to the units? Your current site plan states that you’re running electricity from the building and digging up the parking lot to trench the wires. Is this still the intention? What is the cost of this?

• If you’re bringing in a generator will this create excessive noise?

Cooking and Food Handling

• How will meals be provided?

• Can residents store food in their pallets? If so, how will you mitigate rodent issues? Ants?

• Are residents allowed to use cooking appliances in their units like hot plates?

• If you’re providing meals, are you also providing meals to other homeless in the area or only residents?

• What is your plan for meeting food safety and storage codes?

Bedding

• How will laundry service be provided?

• Will you provide towels? Bedding?

Refuse Disposal

• How will you address any issues of pollution or refuse not in the specified container?

Insect and Rodent Control

• How do you plan to address insect and rodent control?

Disease Prevention and Control

• What is your COVID-19 protocol?

Transportation

• You mentioned a shuttle for residents who don’t have transportation and/or the bus service won’t accommodate. How often will the shuttle be available?

• Does shuttle service need to be pre-arranged or is it on call? If it needs to be prearranged, how will residents arrange it?

• Will you be providing bus passes?

Social Services

• What social services will be provided on site, how often, and where will residents meet with social services? You’ve mentioned that you’re not opening the church building for the regular use of the pallet shelter program and residents. How will you ensure confidentiality and privacy for residents accessing social services with only a 100 sq ft office that is also being utilized by 24/7 security, 24/7 staff, residents signing in and out/accessing their keys, and you’ve also mentioned where residents may be potentially accessing their meals?

• Are residents required to access support services? How often?

• You’ve mentioned that your intended population is in their 50’s and 60’s - what special considerations have you made for seniors residents?

  • Connections to senior specific programs such as SSI, Social Security, Medicare, Senior Housing, and specialized assistance for depression and dementia

  • Senior specific health needs such as: diabetes testing, cancer scans, flu shots, dental cleaning, foot care, mental health, and chemical dependency services

  • Application navigation assistance

  • Arrange for staff/advocates to check in with vulnerable seniors and help them access and take medicine and eat healthy meals after they move into housing

  • Offer specialized services for hoarders and individuals with other mental health disorders that are prevalent in the senior homeless population.

• Effective tiny home communities as shelters require community gathering spaces for their residents. Reducing social isolation by focusing on healthy projects is critical. Normalizing life, even small steps, is the beginning of being in control again. How do you plan to provide things like common rooms, garden beds, and other gathering spaces and resident projects?

• Tiny house communities that designate a provider who can coordinate on-site and off-site case management services are the most successful. How do you plan to provide the following services at a minimum?

  • Mental health

  • Physical health

  • Chemical dependency

  • Financial education

  • Employment

  • Help getting next step housing

• Will residents be able to receive mail at this site or will you assist them in setting up another form of mailing address? How will they access their mail?

• How will you assist residents with computer and phone access to receive communications from providers and employers?

• What is your plan for regular and routine communication with the shelter residents?

Community Concerns and Outreach

• Have you done any additional outreach to your community besides the events you had already planned (letters to residents within 600ft and this Community Zoom) and responding when contact is initiated by others? If so, please describe.

• According to Marysville Municipal Code, “the applicant shall identify potential adverse effects of the proposed transitory accommodation on neighboring properties and the community and shall develop measures to mitigate such effects.” When are you planning to provide a copy of your written transitory accommodations impact mitigation plan?If you’re planning to launch a pilot program within the next month it would stand to reason you would have this completed prior.

• What is your plan for ongoing communication and accessibility to the residents in the surrounding community? How should they reach out if there are questions or concerns? If they want to help/make donations? Do you have a 24 hour number they can call? A regular public meeting? How are you gathering input from members of our community that do not have the internet and/or lack the technological expertise to attend zoom meetings?

• Who will you be contracting with to provide 24/7 security (required by Marysville Municipal Code) and what are the limitations of security staff in regard to pallet community residents and suspicious activities occurring in the immediately surrounding area (e.g. public sidewalk out front or across the street)?

• Yesterday (Tuesday 6/29) you met with Mayor Nehring and other city departments to discuss this proposal. They have also provided you with alternative proposals. Have you considered these alternatives? Are you working to collaborate with the city to find a solution that meets the needs of the homeless, the surrounding community and the City of Marysville? Or are you closed to any idea besides a pallet shelter?

• How do you plan to communicate with the community on an ongoing basis and for the duration of this project? Not only to address questions or concerns that arise but for community members who want to get involved through donations of goods or time?

• Have you been in communication with the child care facility located within 600ft of your proposed site? What were their concerns/questions?

Security and Staffing

• What type of training will your on site staff have? Staff and volunteers need to be adept at helping people retrieve personal records, accessing transition services, specialized benefits for senior services, financial resources, job training and employment opportunities. They also need to be able to handle community questions and respond to and deescalate the situation when issues arise between residents. Effective services require trained staff, volunteers, and provider partners who understand and have the capacity to engage and serve the target population, using evidence-based service strategies which incorporate trauma-informed care and motivational interviewing approaches

• You’ve mentioned 24/7 staffing and 24/7 security – are you providing both?

• What security company are you planning to use to provide the 24/7 security? What restrictions will there be on their interactions with the residents and community?

• What communication have you had with local police? Have you set up regular communication and/or safety patrols? Do the local police have the resources to support this pallet shelter program?

Code of Conduct

• What happens if the code of conduct is violated?

• How many times can the code of conduct be violated before a resident is removed? Is once enough or three strikes you’re out?

• What is the plan for ejecting residents from the campus if needed?

• How is excess noise defined?

• Does the code of conduct only apply when they are on the property? What if they are in the neighborhoods across the street?

• Why is there no mention of loitering in the surrounding neighborhoods? There is no mention of the surrounding community or neighborhoods in the code of conduct.

• Where will the designated smoking areas be located?

• Weapons and illegal substances are not permitted on the shelter site – can residents be under the influence of drugs or alcohol if the substance was not brought onto the site? What prevents them from getting high or drinking across the street in our neighborhoods?

• Will you be drug testing before residents are placed? Will you continue to drug test?

• Are there limitations on the type of animal allowed? What if the animal barks excessively or is untrained? Will pets be allowed off leash? How will pets be fed? Will NSCO be providing food for the animals in addition to humans? Will you provide animal waste disposal bags?

• No visitors are allowed – what if residents meet up with visitors at the park across the street? On the sidewalk? How do you plan to keep visitors off site? Will you have a badging/identification policy in place to positively identify residents?

• What if a resident doesn’t turn their keys into the office when leaving the property? What if they give their key to a non-resident? Will NSCO keep duplicates of all unit keys?

• How will you address conflicts between residents? Fights?

Contingency Plans

• What responsibility does NSCO have if other unsanctioned housing occurs in the greenbelt surrounding the church property?

• What should neighbors do if they observe residents loitering in neighborhoods? Do we report them to NSCO? The police?

• What contingency plans do you have in place to ensure that crime rates do not increase in the area?

Program Effectiveness and Measurable Outcomes

• What specific data are you collecting to determine whether your program is successful? How is this data being collected and by whom?

• How will the pallet shelter pilot program impact the current community programs and outreach at Generations Community Church?

• The city is also required to review data on how the pallet shelter pilot project impacts the surrounding community. What criteria do you have laid out to measure whether it is negatively affecting the community? How measurably accurate are these criteria?

• There is a need for strong recordkeeping when providing transitional housing. How do you plan to collect the following data at a minimum:

  • Move-in demographic characteristics and length of homelessness prior to entry of persons living in each unit of housing

  • Post move-in changes in at least one or two service outcome areas such as education, employment, subsidy access, emergency room usage, detox, criminal justice engagement, and housing status to determine potential return-on-investment

  • Resident compliance with housing-related volunteer and work requirements (if any) and, as applicable, rental payments

  • Ongoing data about space usage, turnover, and length of residency to demonstrate efficient utilization of space

Beyond the 90 Days...

• Pastor Craig has said on multiple occasions that if the project isn’t working (however you define that) the church board will shut it down. How do eviction laws etc. impact your ability to shut down the program whenever you’d like?

• You’ve mentioned that it is possible that none of your residents will transition to permanent housing within the 90 day pilot period. If you are unable to continue the program beyond the 90 days, what are you plans for continuing to support the residents?