2026-10-27 - Advisory Committee on Homelessness

00:56All right.

00:58>> All right, it is 5:15, so we will call

01:00to order this meeting of the Advisory

01:02Committee on homelessness.

01:05I didn't trust everyone got a copy of

01:06the agenda and the packets.

01:09We start with the first item on the

01:11agenda, which is introductions. Please

01:13keep the introductions to just name and

01:15position only. I will start. My name is

01:17Allison Buzzle. I am the director of

01:19marketing for Hollywood Casino and the

01:22committee chairperson. We will mix it up

01:24and go to my right this time.

01:26>> Hi, I'm Melissa Rhodes. I'm the director

01:28of property management for Kennett

01:30Square Housing.

01:31>> Hi, I'm Jason Goodrich.

01:33>> I'm Cecil Vasquez and I am a community

01:37and property person.

01:39>> I'm Amy West. I'm a nurse practitioner

01:41and the clinical director of Homeless

01:43Health Services for PCCHC.

01:45>> I'm Tony Ingham, psychiatrist. I'm with

01:48Community Services I think

01:50so.

01:52>> Excellent. Um

01:54>> We do staff last week.

01:56>> Um we can only do it now.

01:57>> Yeah, yeah, do it now. We'll we'll go

01:59over this in case you guys speak up. If

02:01that's part of an order.

02:07>> Uh Bruce Hughes, uh

02:09Sorry. Uh homeless response coordinator

02:12for the city of Bangor. Almost the

02:13Bangor Police Department.

02:16>> I'm Steven Earl, I'm the administrative

02:18assistant

02:20>> Jen Gonerman, director of Bangor Public

02:22Health and Community Services.

02:24>> Excellent. Counselor?

02:26>> I'm Carolyn Fish, Bangor City Council.

02:29>> Awesome. Now, with that formality out of

02:31the way, we can move on to the meat of

02:33the agenda. So, item number two is

02:35updates. Um the first update is on the

02:38warming shelter. So, uh I don't know if

02:41Bruce or Jen have any updates on where

02:43we stand.

02:45>> Um

02:46The update

02:46>> up.

02:49>> Yes, I do have updates.

02:50So, we will be starting I mean, really

02:53it's just that we met this morning to

02:55talk with the Together Place. Uh I don't

02:58>> The vote passed. The vote passed.

03:00>> The vote passed, yes.

03:01And uh yes, and um there there has been

03:05kind of talking about getting ready for

03:07November 15th.

03:09And uh really that's kind of the update.

03:13>> Any questions for city staff regarding

03:15the shelters?

03:16>> Um over here, uh did anything of

03:18interest or note come up in the meeting

03:20with Together Place?

03:24>> Uh we talked We were just talking about

03:26um how we're going to

03:28get the weather report out to them and

03:30that kind of stuff.

03:32Um and so, we're just going to have

03:33another meeting next Monday and they're

03:35going to get all that straightened out

03:37this week and so, we'll have a more of

03:39an update next time.

03:41>> I think I just want to emphasize that

03:42one of the things that we want to see

03:43this as as a collaboration with Together

03:45Place. We don't want them to feel like

03:47they're on their own and I think one

03:49thing that came very clear last night in

03:51some of the public comment from Pastor

03:52Leon is this is a collaboration on

03:55all of the shelters. And so, we want to

03:58be an active partner in helping to make

03:59decisions and make sure

04:01there's efficiency and effectiveness and

04:04Bruce has helped a lot last year and can

04:06forward to this year.

04:09>> So far. Any other questions?

04:11>> Um just one. Do we know time frames for

04:15like

04:16is it November to April? November to

04:18March?

04:20>> Yeah, it's it's um November 15th to

04:23April 15th.

04:29>> Awesome.

04:30>> All right, we also had formed a

04:32subcommittee. I know Ben is not here

04:34today.

04:35>> Give them an update.

04:36>> But you guys can give an update.

04:37>> Absolutely.

04:38So yeah, unfortunately Ben could not be

04:40here, but Ben has been hard at work

04:42putting together a drive um you know,

04:44drafts that he's worked on and also some

04:47data from last year that was put

04:49together by Jen. Um

04:52so yeah, we've mostly been pouring over

04:54the drive trying to schedule a meeting

04:56date with Bruce so that we can really

04:59hammer everything out. For my part, um I

05:01have been in contact with Portland

05:03trying to get um records from them and

05:07to see what their agreements are like uh

05:09to see if they have any sort of tips and

05:11tricks that we might employ here.

05:14And that's the update.

05:15>> Excellent.

05:16Thank you for the update. Any questions

05:19regarding more micro shelters before we

05:21move on?

05:23Moving on. So next item on the agenda is

05:26the three-month report. So I'm actually

05:29going to pass this off to Jen Gunderman

05:31to speak a little bit about uh the

05:33three-month report and what it is we

05:34need to put together.

05:36>> Sure. So funny thing when you review the

05:38order, you find things like a

05:40three-month report and a quarterly one

05:42due after that. So um I did identify

05:45that we are expected the committee is

05:47expected to produce a three-month report

05:49and a quarterly report after that. I

05:51asked the uh city manager's office if

05:54there was a template for committee

05:55reports and there isn't one. There are a

05:58list of committees that do annual

05:59reports, but there isn't a specific

06:02format to follow. So the question to you

06:05all is, you know, what do you want to

06:07see as highlights in that report in the

06:10future? It can be drafts of pieces of

06:12the strategic plan to make sure the city

06:14council is seeing that and put

06:16comment to guide your work. But, for

06:19this first one, really the question is

06:21what would you like to be in that

06:23report?

06:25>> So, Matt Fire back asking, you know, um

06:28what is typical? I mean, you're on a

06:30couple of the committees, too. Um

06:32what is the typical content of a report?

06:35>> Yeah, so usually in what most of the

06:36ones that I'm involved with, it is more

06:38financial related uh

06:40and it's it's annual as Jen mentioned.

06:42So, it's it's not like a quarterly

06:44update like this one is. So, I think

06:45this is a little bit unique. Um

06:48I think from my perspective, it it

06:50should just kind of talk about where we

06:53have kind of come from, right? Like,

06:55we've now been at this for 3 months. Um

06:57we've had some really fantastic

06:59discovery meetings, right? And that's

07:01really what these first 3 months have

07:02been about is trying to get a better

07:04understanding of the the the nature of

07:06the problem

07:08um so that we can moving forward and

07:11we'll get into it a little bit more down

07:12on the agenda so we can move forward on

07:14the strategic plan. And as Jen

07:16mentioned, um being able to in the next

07:18quarterly report actually be able to

07:20say, "Hey, here are some draft pieces to

07:22the strategic plan.

07:25Please give us feedback. Are we on the

07:27right path?" And so on and so forth.

07:29Um

07:32but welcome to other input as well on

07:34what you guys would like to see.

07:37>> So, I think the first one I mean, this

07:40is the first one.

07:41I think it's really to kind of

07:44share I think a couple of small things,

07:46but really just are we on the right path

07:48because

07:50now, this is what we hope to achieve in

07:51the second quarter. And

07:53if she says no, then we still have time

07:55to correct it.

07:57Change it totally depends on the

08:03Never thought I expect this is going to

08:04be a fairly a report.

08:07>> Yeah, I I would presume so. I I I'm not

08:09envisioning nothing more than probably

08:10two pages. Right? I mean, and and that

08:12might even be a little bit of a stretch.

08:14I I think just a very high level, like,

08:16"Hey, here's where we are and here's our

08:18path our planned path moving forward.

08:20Are we on the right path?" Right? Um

08:23again, this it's not like we have

08:24financial support um

08:26anything like that. So,

08:28I think

08:29>> I mean, I think there are a few

08:29highlights that in my observation is,

08:32you know, you have met every other week

08:34on a regular basis and had quorum.

08:37That's already a success. Um but some of

08:38the other successes that you had a

08:40public comment period that you provided

08:43three two specific recommendations to

08:46City Council. You

08:48spoke about the road map. So, you have

08:49come to agree to the, you know, had some

08:51discussion about those buckets. And I

08:53wrote one more. Oh, and then you've been

08:55been planning on providing comment

08:57around the warming centers. So, to me

08:59that jumps out just in my small

09:01participation, accomplishments, and

09:03highlights of the work you've done.

09:07>> I'm sorry.

09:07>> I I agree with Jen. I think they're just

09:09looking um for you to maybe extrapolate

09:12the highlights as Jen said to kind of

09:14just give a brief overview. When they

09:16watch the meetings, we discuss a lot.

09:18And I think sometimes it's hard for them

09:20to pull those kind of highlights or

09:22those nuggets out of conversations. So,

09:24maybe just something that kind of

09:25bullets those few topics and probably

09:27would.

09:28>> Would it be helpful, I mean, I know

09:30people have public comment about the

09:31plan. You know, I'll keep it in mind.

09:34Was it

09:35helpful to

09:38have public feedback about how they see

09:41the three months too? I mean, is it a a

09:43simple cloud?

09:45What can I say to get out of it?

09:48>> I guess I'm not sure.

09:49>> example, I mean, I'm just being, you

09:50know, kind of just concretely like,

09:52"Okay, as for feedback, if someone said,

09:53'Well, in three months I see that you

09:55guys have solved the fact that you guys

09:56have done this.'"

09:58I think it's good for us to see because

10:00in a way, I mean, we're serving City

10:01Council, but we also base on some

10:03feedback from public as we try all the

10:05times give feedback from

10:07Again, I I I'm sure like some of them

10:09maybe there's substance that we can use

10:10on

10:11just

10:12you know, comments on the side I think.

10:14But I think it may be helpful because uh

10:18Yeah, but there may be stuff on the

10:19other side that

10:22>> So, are you envisioning then like

10:23putting a plan out there beyond just

10:26submitting it or that not the

10:27>> No, no, no, no, just submitting but

10:28submitting a plan is like, "Okay, what

10:30do you guys think? Do you think you

10:31don't need this information?"

10:33Yeah, I

10:34No.

10:34>> I do feel like going through a lot of

10:36these emails I

10:38and really trying to deep dive into them

10:40that there is like they are addressing

10:43some of that in here like what they may

10:45be feeling we are not doing.

10:46>> So, just a side

10:47>> I mean, can you I mean, that's feedback.

10:49>> Yeah, there's a lot of it in here.

10:51Um there's a a lot of good information

10:53in them, too. So, I don't know. I mean,

10:55obviously not everybody uses email in

10:57there. So, we we we could still do that.

11:00I just think that if if everybody kind

11:03of really starts to read these

11:05thoroughly, you'll feel see what they're

11:07looking you know, people are looking

11:08for.

11:09>> Well, and and I would say that is that

11:11is a bullet point to talk about email

11:13specifically in the communication. We

11:14made that a standing.

11:15>> Yeah.

11:15>> Yeah, okay.

11:16>> All right. Yep, so we but we also

11:19um

11:20once we

11:21figure out on the report side of things,

11:23we'll move more into detail on the email

11:25piece. So, um

11:27>> I hear you.

11:28>> Yeah, it was just more saying like what

11:30he was saying instead of having a whole

11:31other bullet like there's a lot of that

11:33here. So, and I know we have it on here,

11:36but just a side it was a note to say

11:38that if if we read them thoroughly, I

11:41think we'll be able to pull some of that

11:43out.

11:43>> 100%.

11:45>> Um so, back to the report.

11:47>> I had a question for Nina about the

11:48report. Uh when is the report due?

11:52>> There is no due date, but based upon

11:55when your first meeting was, I think the

11:58report is

12:00like the 3 months was about October

12:0217th. Typically in the world of

12:04reporting, you submit within 30 days of

12:06that. So, I would say mid-November would

12:09be the time to do that.

12:11>> Thank you so much.

12:15And and [clears throat] the report is

12:16something that

12:18Jen, you're you're going to assist with

12:19drafting, correct? And then would be

12:21able to get back to the committee for us

12:23to review and say, yep, this is what we

12:25want for for council. What we need to

12:27figure out right now is make sure that

12:29Jen has a good idea of what we want to

12:31go into that report, what council is

12:33expecting to see.

12:36>> I think the bullet points you already

12:37hit on, Jen, were perfect.

12:39>> I think being able to include the

12:40proposed strategic plan schedule in

12:43that, I'm sure that was something that's

12:45probably going to be included anyways,

12:46but is helpful for

12:48where we're at and what our measurable

12:50outcomes are intended to be.

12:54>> [clears throat]

12:56>> What I also can do with that report is

12:58very clearly at the top

13:00we state the purpose of the committee,

13:02because I think sometimes people get

13:04lost in the purpose and your purpose is

13:06around that strategic plan in 12 months,

13:09so I think that can help set the stage

13:11for the report.

13:15>> Anything else regards to the report?

13:17>> [clears throat]

13:20>> All right, none will move on. Do we we

13:22don't need any type of motion for that,

13:24right? It's just a

13:26All right, so speaking of emails and

13:29communication, so I know we've talked

13:32about we talked briefly last week and

13:33we've decided to add this to the agenda

13:35as a standing item. Um,

13:37what I would like to propose as a

13:40recommendation is that rather than

13:43spending 10 or 15 minutes reviewing

13:44every single individual email

13:47that we pull from those emails the

13:50pertinent data that may be

13:52relevant to that discussion for the day.

13:54Um, and so that way we're not just

13:57re-hashing this to your point, right?

13:59There's a lot of recurring themes in the

14:01emails, so rather than spending 30

14:04minutes of our limited time

14:06reviewing the same notes, um, just kind

14:08of pulling those nuggets out.

14:11Thoughts on that approach moving

14:13forward?

14:14>> I I agree with that.

14:15>> Yes.

14:17>> Keeps us focused.

14:20We're trying.

14:21>> [laughter]

14:22>> Yeah, and they're all kind of laid out

14:24differently, so they're

14:25they're going to have emails and they've

14:27got their bullet points sticking

14:29straight out of it. And that's great.

14:30And then you know, some of them you

14:31really have to pull from.

14:34And you know, it's a there is a lot of

14:35common theme

14:37in there.

14:40This is what we just talked about and

14:42some of them all would be

14:43hard. And they sound some of them would

14:47not in a bad way, just

14:49We they all have that same concern.

14:53>> Well, and I think the intent is just to

14:54make sure that people understand that we

14:56are reviewing the emails, people that

14:57are providing feedback to the committee.

14:59It's not going unheard.

15:00>> Yeah, and there are people that are

15:01asking for that. Like that they they're

15:03getting that feedback, so they just

15:05don't know. They

15:07they want to hear that we've reacted or

15:09reading them.

15:10So, if you hear

15:11>> are.

15:12>> [laughter]

15:13>> Yeah, I thought I'm curious if there's a

15:15way in this

15:17maybe tricky, but I'm curious if there's

15:18a way for us or someone to be able to as

15:21they review an email, kind of identify

15:23what bucket maybe that email falls into

15:25cuz I would hate to see if somebody

15:26sends a very thoughtful email that's

15:29strategy four, but because it was sent

15:31to us a month ago, we don't think to

15:32revisit that. So, I don't know if that's

15:34a possible possibility, but could be

15:36really helpful to make sure we don't

15:37miss any.

15:38>> Well, we may have to we first have to

15:40start coming up with buckets.

15:42>> Yeah, which we have.

15:43>> You think this is true?

15:44>> Yeah, we have some of those buckets and

15:46because of the plan schedule an idea of

15:49when we might address that bucket of

15:50work.

15:53>> Yeah, I think that's a really great

15:55point. I don't know that it's something

15:57is would city staff be able to do that

15:59or is that something that a member of

16:01committee would kind of need to

16:03monitor?

16:04>> We can we can work on that.

16:06Sorry. We can that's something that we

16:07can do. I don't think

16:09the amount of emails that are coming in

16:10are not uncontrollable. Personally, I

16:12can take a stab at it.

16:14>> And I think basically what happens is

16:16something that's kind of ambiguous, they

16:18can come to us and say maybe conditional

16:20offer.

16:20>> Yep.

16:22>> I like that.

16:23>> [clears throat]

16:24>> Great point.

16:26Any other

16:27thoughts about the email and

16:29communication?

16:30Is there anything in this week's emails

16:32that we didn't have a a preset

16:35bucket to talk about? Was there anything

16:36that stood out to anybody that they want

16:38to discuss?

16:40>> I would just um Voytek had sent the

16:44Preble Street conference on licenses.

16:45I've attended that conference. I think

16:47it's a great conference and a great way

16:49to network with other agencies and

16:51organizations that are doing similar

16:53work. So, I would anyone's able to

16:54attend it, I would highly recommend it.

16:57Um I would like to try to get there this

16:59year. I'm just not sure if I'll be able

17:00to with our current financial

17:02constraints or

17:04my organization something.

17:05Um but I definitely wanted to highlight

17:07that and having been there in the past,

17:08I think it's a very valuable conference.

17:11>> Is there an associated cost to attend?

17:14>> Um it's it's nominal to attend, but um I

17:18know for me as a clinician

17:21to get a whole day off of work time to

17:22attend is the trickiest part for me

17:24personally.

17:26>> Yeah. The one to mail to.

17:28>> Yeah. Someone is going out, I'd love to

17:30carpool.

17:32And our vehicle is other.

17:35She's on her last legs.

17:36>> [laughter]

17:38>> Don't ask, it's correct.

17:40I'm not sure you can get the car.

17:43>> It would be my good hand and finances

17:45are constrained. Do you know what I

17:46mean?

17:50>> Like a bus ticket or something or like

17:51what?

17:52>> Community network pilot.

17:55>> Any other thoughts about some of the

17:57emails that came in?

18:01>> Am I correct that we didn't get a poll

18:02out this week?

18:03>> Yeah.

18:04>> Yeah, they were I didn't see.

18:06>> A poll.

18:09>> One of the first points. Yeah, the

18:11points but that's

18:13I'll go.

18:16>> I mean they did raise a lot of good

18:17points about why

18:19it's important. stuff.

18:24Nothing else regarding email, we will

18:27move on to item number five which

18:29>> One one thing, sorry, one observation

18:31kind of don't think anything. Hopefully

18:33some of these emails are really thought

18:35out. They're not like just someone

18:36having an impulsive line of two lines. I

18:39mean they're really system. So, I kudos

18:41to these

18:42various writers.

18:43>> Okay, yeah.

18:45And there is some [clears throat] great

18:46content sent in for sure and

18:49I think you hit the nail on the head and

18:50yes, when we start digging into these

18:52buckets being able to go back and pull

18:54the pertinent emails,

18:57um it's going to be really helpful cuz

18:58people put a lot of thought into this.

19:03>> We got a lot of good information.

19:11>> All right, moving on to item number

19:12five, strategic planning.

19:14So,

19:15as you all saw in the agenda, we have

19:17put forth a proposed strategic plans

19:20schedule. Um so, the intent here is to

19:23be able to keep the committee on task

19:26um and on a timeline that allows us to

19:29meet the the the expectations of

19:32council.

19:34In order to do that, we wanted to take

19:35everything and break it down into kind

19:37of bite-sized

19:39big big bites, but more bite-sized

19:42chunks

19:43um using the road map that we had talked

19:46about in previous meetings

19:49um and and essentially just going right

19:50down the line, right? Starting with um

19:53the proposed schedule, November 10th

19:56would be um a discussion on prevention,

19:59right? And the idea here is that first

20:02meeting

20:03is really discussion

20:06um it is insight is trying to figure out

20:09like what the problem and where the

20:11committee can potentially make

20:13recommendations to help.

20:15Um I think

20:16pulling back from a previous meeting, I

20:18think a focus on uh policies that can

20:21help in prevention

20:23um is where we can be effective for

20:26council and so

20:29that first meeting kind of having those

20:30conversations but also figure out what

20:33questions we need to answer to be able

20:35to really put this into the strategic

20:37plan.

20:39The second meeting so in this proposed

20:41timeline November 24th

20:43we would kind of take that initial

20:46strategic plan

20:49document for prevention

20:51review it look through it we could Jen

20:54Jen and the team would put it together

20:55bring it to us

20:57we would review it make any edits that

20:59we needed

21:01and kind of work through that.

21:03>> Well that would be also around the third

21:05three month plan or something like that.

21:07>> Yes but she's got that

21:09>> So far okay.

21:10>> Yeah it's it'll be separate the three

21:11month plan is separate from this.

21:12>> Okay.

21:13>> Or the three month report excuse me

21:14three month report.

21:17And then December 8th we would

21:19preliminarily approve the prevention

21:22section of the strategic plan and

21:24immediately flip into that next one. So

21:26essentially we have two two and a half

21:28meetings for each topic. The first one

21:30is discussion and

21:32identifying the issues and then the

21:34policies that we think could be

21:36implemented or need to be adjusted.

21:39Second is reviewing the document that

21:41city staff brings back to us

21:43we approve it and then we move on to the

21:45next section.

21:46Following the laid out timeline would

21:49allow us to get to a place where a full

21:51strategic plan

21:53could be

21:55at a place for review

21:57May 25th.

21:58>> Okay.

22:00>> Following our existing

22:02schedule of meetings

22:04and barring the need for any obviously

22:05additional meetings or anything or any

22:08cancellations or anything like that.

22:11It also facilitates

22:13our ability to have a public comment

22:16after [clears throat] that final plan

22:17draft is put out there. So we'd be able

22:19to get the back draft done

22:22then go to the public and say hey we're

22:23going to host a public comment. Please

22:25just come give us feedback on the

22:26strategic plan."

22:28Time to take that public comment,

22:30implement any recommended

22:32features that we believe, and then still

22:34get to council on time.

22:35>> Okay.

22:37>> So, I just said a lot.

22:40I will be quiet for a minute. Questions?

22:42Thoughts?

22:45>> I only thought and it's not really

22:48a

22:48>> [clears throat]

22:52>> It um is that we

22:54I think when we were going over the

22:57beautiful um

22:59guidelines that you came up with, um

23:02I think a few of us, mostly coming from

23:04our own

23:06sectors of practice, you know, we all

23:08had a view. Like, I didn't feel like

23:11this was inclusive enough or I didn't

23:12feel like this was language, you know,

23:13in a way that perfectly represents my

23:15little area of the world. Um

23:19So, I think that, you know,

23:20because of that, we need to be careful

23:24about

23:25to make sure that we're weaving those

23:26things in to,

23:29you know, the various blocks of time

23:32that we're we're giving for each one of

23:34these strategies.

23:36You know, I mean, just thinking in my

23:38own little domain of recovery, you could

23:42put that under any one of these

23:43categories, and, you know,

23:46my worry then would be, you know, did it

23:48get its time in the sun?

23:50Um and so, like, I would just

23:54for all of us to keep in mind keep in

23:55mind that we're

23:57you know,

23:58from our own little domains, well, where

24:00where that could go in,

24:02and um bring that into the family of

24:04prevention and bring that into the

24:05family of connection and make sure that

24:06we're still allocating our time.

24:07>> And and so, and I think um here the key

24:10point for you is a lot of things that we

24:12all represent hits every single point on

24:15this thing. It's not just one of the

24:16other. I mean, it's it's not that

24:18simple.

24:19But, I think the other thing, too, and

24:21again,

24:22if it's just, you know, speaking from

24:25each one, I think you can see mine it be

24:28the full front almost every single one.

24:30I think this is where we as a group can

24:32help. Okay, what do we need to

24:33prioritize in each section? Yes, we are

24:35not going to take, you know, we are not

24:37going to minimize the don't do yours,

24:39but may not rank as high as this so I'll

24:41be ranked a lot higher. So, so I think

24:43that's a group where we have to just

24:45look at that.

24:46>> I'm sorry, go ahead I'll turn.

24:48>> I think that I think you you hit the

24:50nail on the head there Dr. Tony. I I

24:52think the thing we have to do is look at

24:53it holistically, which is what these

24:55bucket because everybody on this

24:56committee brings an area of expertise,

24:58right? And so by looking at the through

25:01the lens of these buckets allows you to

25:04bring the recovery perspective allows

25:06mental like allows everyone to bring

25:08their expertise to that bucket so that

25:10we can formulate the right plan so that

25:12we're looking at it holistically rather

25:15than focusing in on one piece, right? I

25:19I think we want to avoid getting into

25:21the trap of just looking at it from one

25:23lens. We have a lot of lenses at the

25:25table. That's why everybody's here. So,

25:27we want to look through all the lenses

25:29to be able to figure out, okay, what is

25:31the best way what are the best policies

25:33we can recommend to council to prevent

25:35people from even falling into home. What

25:38are the best policies for us to ensure

25:40that providers are being connected to

25:42the folks that they need to be connected

25:44to and vice versa, right? Rather than

25:47looking at it from a single lens as a

25:50group. Does that make sense?

25:51>> Yes.

25:52>> And I think I keep coming back to like

25:54Gen Capital C City Capital C City. What

25:57is this are we're recommending like what

25:59is the city's responsibility? So, again,

26:01like me as Amy a nurse practitioner as

26:03Amy a human, what I think is the perfect

26:07way to respond to homelessness is not

26:08necessarily what I expect the city of

26:10Bangor to be responsible for. So, for

26:12instance, with prevention, I don't

26:13expect the city to be able to prevent

26:15all evictions, but I expect the city to

26:17have a repository of resources and

26:19referrals that can be provided to a

26:22client that is realistic and accessible

26:25for people no matter where they fall and

26:28why they're at risk for eviction, right?

26:29So,

26:30again, I think it's so important for us

26:33that was a really helpful framing for me

26:35last meeting to remind myself this is

26:38what is the city's responsibility.

26:41And how do we support whether it's a

26:44resource recommendation or a policy

26:45recommendation versus clearly when I'm

26:49as a PCHC or as a nurse practitioner

26:53the way that I respond is

26:55as a nurse practitioner and not as a

26:58advisory committee member if that makes

27:00sense, right?

27:01So, I

27:03I don't know how to make sure

27:07that we're kind of following that

27:10mantra, but I think we really get lost

27:12in the weeds if we're not like keeping

27:13that um

27:15>> I think but I think that's where you may

27:16want to build a structure where I mean

27:18this is a living document. I can't see

27:20it doing this in this couple of hands

27:22and that's the end of the calendar.

27:23I mean the city of whoever is going to

27:24be happy constantly do this. Okay, now

27:27do we need to shift here for the project

27:28phase? Do this, pull this, pull that

27:30based on needs. So, I think we have to

27:32kind of build in for that process for it

27:35to be continue to evolve. I mean you

27:37don't want to turn it to be a huge

27:38document by year two or three and be

27:40like this, but you just want them to

27:42this is a road map. Like this is not a

27:45full content. Do it, do this, do this,

27:47do this and

27:48100%.

27:50>> I think you're this is the this is the

27:52initial document to your point. I think

27:53it's

27:55council's intent is that this is a

27:56living document, which is why the

27:57committee has no end date. Um

28:01it it is here to be able to review these

28:03things as the needs of the city change,

28:06as the technology change, as the

28:08resources change.

28:11This committee and whatever whoever is

28:13on it will be able to go back and look.

28:14We're just been charged with creating

28:16[clears throat] that initial

28:17>> Yeah.

28:18>> document.

28:22Other thoughts?

28:27Any concerns with the timeline or with

28:30this plan?

28:31>> I just I think that we should also view

28:33the timeline as a little living as well,

28:35you know?

28:36Because, you know, it may be that

28:38like

28:39just to

28:40literally drop from fantasy, like we it

28:42may be that prevention

28:44we find that we have an abundance of

28:45resources there and we have an abundance

28:47of knowledge. And then for connection,

28:48we have, you know, not a lot.

28:50>> Yeah.

28:50>> And so, because of that, we may need to

28:52focus more on connection and do more

28:55footwork there. And so, I think that,

28:57you know, we should have a little room

28:59for that to be alive as well.

29:01>> And one of that recommendation could be

29:03the fact that, hey, let's build up more

29:05on the

29:06connection part because it's not

29:08strong enough, something like that. So,

29:10that could be one, too.

29:12>> Yeah, I mean,

29:13I I agree, Teal. I I think we need to be

29:16flexible with it, but I also think that

29:17we need to uh

29:19keep a timeline that allows us to stay

29:21on track, right? It Having a kind of a

29:24deadline like this allows us to be a

29:26little more

29:27uh deliberate in our conversation and

29:29prevents us sometimes from sometimes

29:31wandering off into the wilderness that

29:34we can

29:35um because there are a lot of important

29:37topics that need to be discussed,

29:38obviously. Um and then we end up trying

29:40to to talk about 10 of them

29:42and we get nothing accomplished, uh

29:45which is why we like being a But I

29:47agree, having some flexibility, there

29:48are going to be conversations that are

29:50probably going to take a little bit

29:51longer.

29:52>> One one thing

29:53again, you can do this business a little

29:55longer.

29:56Um

29:58We have a vision that hold the layout

30:01for this coming year, right?

30:03But, you know, the back end of the city

30:04council. Uh I know

30:06things change could change in November.

30:08Um and that priorities could shift 100%

30:11almost like as soon as they get in. I

30:13think they get in like January 1st,

30:14something like that. I can't remember.

30:15Is it January 1st?

30:16>> Uh no, they actually get sworn in like

30:18February, I think.

30:19>> November 10th, is it?

30:20>> Okay, so okay. So, we should be prepared

30:22potentially we need to suddenly shift

30:25gear quite a bit. Again, I have no idea

30:27because I I know that's a topic of many

30:28of the candidates and so

30:30>> So, I would I would

30:32>> Just to be clear, this is a an order.

30:35So, you would actually have to go

30:36someone would have to go back and change

30:38the order

30:39and go through all of that.

30:40Yeah, so you'd have plenty of sort of

30:43warning.

30:44Probably input but it is definitely more

30:46of a formal process to change your

30:48order.

30:50>> I would also say that we don't want to

30:51get bogged down in worrying about that

30:52piece

30:54because that will cause us to

30:56to bog down. Exactly. I think I think

30:59right now we've got a a good road map

31:01here to be able to put our heads down.

31:03And get some get some solid work done

31:05towards this strategic plan that again

31:08is going to be a living document. So

31:09that's the other piece. Right like like

31:12we we can't necessarily anticipate or

31:15expect that this initial strategic plan

31:18is going to solve all of the city's

31:19problems.

31:21Our goal is to get that initial document

31:23up and then

31:25future committee meetings will be able

31:26to go back and and add additional. So it

31:28doesn't need to be all inclusive of

31:31every

31:33every single policy or best practice but

31:36we want to get the key ones, the most

31:38important ones that are going to have

31:39the best impact for the city. I think.

31:42Councillor, correct me if you feel like

31:43I'm wrong.

31:44>> I believe you're right.

31:46I I believe that's what we're looking

31:47for. And we know also when the city gets

31:50it we have to look at it seriously and

31:53or the council at the time will have to

31:54look at it seriously to see what

31:56resources you know we have, what we can

31:58do, what we might need, where we might

32:00be able to get those monies, what type

32:02of coalitions and partnerships

32:04we need to um

32:06make stronger with you know the parties

32:08we have and where else we have to maybe

32:10look for more. So um they're going to

32:12have to take some time to to see how

32:14that can be

32:15you know this is

32:19>> third box.

32:26Jay, I mean questions or thoughts?

32:30Excellent.

32:32All right.

32:35>> [laughter]

32:37>> So the other piece to that then is the

32:40actual strategic planning kind of

32:44formatting. And so, that was also

32:46included here on page three.

32:49Um and so, this is an example of a

32:52possible

32:53um

32:54format that could be used

32:57for the strategic planning.

32:58>> this together?

32:59>> What's that? Actually, this was I

33:01believe Jen put this piece together.

33:03>> She's our

33:05>> So, um in collaboration, we chatted

33:07about it, but uh Jen did all the legwork

33:09and her team at the city. So, thank you

33:11guys.

33:12Um but, this is a a nice

33:16um clean

33:18example that I would like to recommend

33:21that we use as a committee.

33:23Um

33:24and and again, we just go through each

33:26bucket so that it's really easy.

33:27>> Yeah.

33:28>> Prevention, we may come out of

33:30prevention conversations with two, three

33:32strategies that we feel like are are the

33:35core starting point, right? We put those

33:38in here,

33:39plug in the objective, you know, plug in

33:41all the the data and all the things,

33:44um and then we can move on to that that

33:45next bucket and so on and so forth.

33:48Um but, it just

33:50it's kind of

33:52really clean. Jen did a fantastic job.

33:54So,

33:54>> If kudos are

33:55>> due.

33:56>> Yeah, the word processing is great and

33:58the style is great. Um

34:01my only grip would be to finalize it

34:03now. Um I have a few ideas and uh again,

34:07word processing is one of the things

34:08that's in my domain and I would like to

34:10take a stab at at some edits and

34:12suggestions.

34:13So, that would be my only hesitancy is

34:15just like say that it's like

34:17>> Can I add a quick comment? This was

34:19totally like the words are absolutely

34:22examples. And the format was And one of

34:25the things I I even looked at it is just

34:27based upon your conversation, another

34:29bucket you might actually want to

34:30consider something called like lingering

34:32questions or lingering issues, things

34:35that you want to capture, but you don't

34:37really have an answer or strategy or an

34:39activity around at this moment, but you

34:41don't want to get lost somewhere.

34:45You That could actually be at the You

34:46could actually put it for each domain

34:47and then compile it at the end.

34:50So, yes.

34:51>> Okay.

34:52>> I just want to make sure that I am not

34:53necessarily proposing all these

34:55strategies and activities, although some

34:56of them I think are okay.

34:58But, just that that format. So, thank

35:01you, Teal, for offering to make it even

35:03more robust.

35:05>> I would also I'm curious if it would be

35:08helpful for us

35:09from

35:11like per

35:12um

35:15bucket

35:16the data or what whatever the measurable

35:18outcomes we would like to track to see

35:21if there's success

35:24on the following year. I'm already

35:25thinking year two, but as we roll out

35:27the strategic plan and we're looking to

35:29see how effective it is in the future,

35:31what are the measurable that we're

35:33looking

35:34that we're looking at. So, for instance,

35:36Jen, the example like objective one, I

35:38love that there's prevent at least 12

35:39evictions. So,

35:42is that a measurable outcome and how are

35:44we planning on collecting that data so

35:46that we we can set ourselves up for the

35:47future for determining if it's an

35:50effective strategic plan or not.

35:54>> And how do you measure it? Well,

35:56>> Right. That's like

35:57>> Yeah. Because you would never know they

35:59got evicted. I mean, they would never

36:00know that they didn't get evicted. But,

36:02our prevention people would know.

36:04>> Okay.

36:05>> Right.

36:06Exactly. So, like that's where I would

36:08look to work. How do you collect that

36:09data? Who collects that data? Where does

36:11the data get stored? But, having an idea

36:13of what our measurables are per

36:15strategic area um can be helpful to see

36:18if it's an effective plan or not.

36:20>> Um I could tag on to that um in terms of

36:23like

36:26looking at uh

36:28So, this is an ongoing thing.

36:31Like

36:32I'm sort of and and also thinking about

36:35my domain and what I what I bring as a

36:36lens. Like, I think that, you know, in

36:38terms of the topic of recovery in terms

36:40of the topic of health and uh you know,

36:41mental health needs health, like

36:43you know, but there there's a pretty

36:45established pattern, which is that

36:46people go through this whole system. You

36:48know, they're prevented, and if not

36:49prevented, they're connected, and then

36:52from connected, they're sheltered,

36:53they're stabilized, they're housed. And

36:55then all of a sudden, maybe it's the

36:58next day, they're on the streets again.

36:59Maybe it's 6 years later.

37:01And I think really that is what recovery

37:04is centered about. Like, how do we go

37:06from a state of feeling,

37:09you know,

37:10maybe like you're not part of the city

37:12itself to being a part of it again.

37:15Um and

37:17I think that like it might be good or it

37:19might be decent to have a bucket that's

37:21just dedicated to that, uh sort of as

37:24like an ongoing

37:25thing of like how are we addressing

37:27people who have fallen through all of

37:29these cracks. Um

37:31or you know, because

37:33like obviously shoring up these areas is

37:37important, but if we're auditing

37:38Bangor's crisis fairly,

37:41what we have to realize that we have all

37:43of these professionals dedicated to

37:45purely these things, and people are

37:46still falling through the cracks. So, it

37:48feels like to me that in itself bears

37:50its own,

37:52you know,

37:53>> But I think that falls along with what

37:54she was saying, David Gardner.

37:56Because almost every single step, I

37:58mean, it's the data that will tell me

38:00this.

38:01So, that's going to be my clue if it's

38:04the crack is happening.

38:06But I think that's where we need to

38:09at least identify or point directions

38:11>> to where they can collect that data.

38:13Each any of these things. I think I

38:15think maybe that's a way to think about

38:16it. For each thing we identify, we pair

38:19it with data. Like, how do you even

38:21capture

38:22and then therefore we just don't have

38:23some like ice cream and everyone happy

38:25kind of thing without knowing what that

38:26means.

38:29>> And how is that data held accountable?

38:31>> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

38:32>> And

38:32>> Yeah.

38:33>> Like, you can save pe- you know, people

38:35like you said, they get to that last

38:36point, and that that last part, and then

38:38forgotten. Right? So, then they're back.

38:40Then you see them shortly after, but we

38:42collect that data to say, "Okay, 12 were

38:45housed, nine are back out, you know, and

38:48did we do we

38:50Where did that fall? How did that fall?

38:52And where's the accountability for that?

38:56Because I see it every day.

38:58>> Maybe the

38:59So maybe the thing is like, you know,

39:01let's just say 12 are housed, nine got,

39:03you know, you got sick of that. And then

39:05you may want to see how how soon did

39:06they get like there's difference between

39:09someone who gets, you know, homeless

39:11again within a week versus someone who's

39:13been able to make

39:14stability within a year.

39:16It's different process going on.

39:18>> My My only thought about that, and I I

39:20do I am trying to understand that

39:23that uh we do have a data-driven

39:25mandate.

39:26But, you know, the thing is um

39:29when it comes to when it comes to people

39:32falling through the cracks,

39:34you know,

39:35I'm not saying that that is bad, but our

39:36eyes are are helpful here, too. Like,

39:39you know, we can walk out

39:40[clears throat] front um

39:41city building right now and see how

39:44that's going.

39:45So, I do think that, you know, it's

39:47something that we need to tackle.

39:49Uh you know, it's as worthy

39:51as the other bucket items to have a

39:53consolidated

39:55>> Well, I think having your input, too,

39:57like as the recovery voice or as a

39:58health care voice in each bucket for

40:01where you think where are the potential

40:04cracks

40:05to prevent people from falling through

40:07with the recovery lens at each of those

40:09buckets of work. So, that way

40:11systematically we're thinking ahead and

40:14creatively to prevent the problem from

40:17happening, and you're going to bring

40:18that voice from the recovery side.

40:20Ideally, I'll be bringing the voice of

40:22like the medical, mental health kind of

40:25recovery side as well, cuz that's

40:26certainly a big focus of mine and where

40:28I see a lot of the folks that I'm

40:30working with falling through the cracks

40:31at each and every bucket.

40:34>> Yeah, I'll agree with that. That's

40:35That's totally agreeable.

40:37Council.

40:38>> And And I think too that um

40:41I think that these concerns and comments

40:43are very helpful, but I think they might

40:44be more a little more futuristic. We'd

40:46like to I think this is we won't

40:48immediately, but I think we're going to

40:50have to implement a strategic plan

40:52to have basis to build on. So, if we do

40:55have a goal of 12 people this day house

40:58and nine fall out, that that first year

41:00or two is going to be our basis. And

41:01then after that, we can come go back and

41:03compare, well, this was better than last

41:05year, so I think we're getting more

41:07successful. Or no, this is worse than

41:09last year, so that would be a clue to

41:11backtrack. So, these are great

41:12conversations and concerns, but I think

41:14until we are have a plan we've

41:16implemented and then we can kind of have

41:17some data to compare and then talk to

41:20people that get together as experts,

41:23it might be easier to do identify where

41:24those clues are and where those threats

41:26are.

41:29>> As you said in play about data and going

41:31back to what Amy said about big C little

41:33C, so knowing this is a city strategic

41:36plan, I just want to caution us on

41:39finding the practical and related data

41:42source. So, a lot of the data that we're

41:45talking about for this strategic plan

41:47will probably be city of Bangor

41:49programmatic data, which is great. I

41:52caution us from using the full

41:55population of data of people

41:57experiencing homelessness for a couple

41:59different reasons. One, what data are

42:02you going to use? The PIT count or HMIS?

42:04Neither one we have control over.

42:07And what we know to move that needle

42:10takes way bigger than the city response.

42:14So, I

42:16I know that the city's responsible

42:18contribute to those numbers in in either

42:20direction. I just want to make sure that

42:22we're setting up for realistic,

42:24feasible, meaningful data sources and

42:27methodology for evaluation.

42:30>> And that's why I think it's again like

42:33the lens is so important

42:35or what data are we looking to measure

42:37on and to what end? Cuz clearly what I

42:40would like to see is different than what

42:42this city is

42:45able to provide realistically. Like I

42:47mean, I would like to end homelessness

42:48across the country.

42:50>> And that is a beautiful thing. I don't

42:51think the city of Bangor is able to make

42:53that happen um

42:55for everybody in the world. So,

42:58we already know that as we've looked at

43:00data over the past few months, the the

43:02data really can tell a story that might

43:06be very different than what we're

43:08what we're hoping to see. So, the I

43:10think identifying the measurable is so

43:13important to see.

43:15And the measurable are not necessarily

43:18what me as a nurse might want, but me as

43:20the committee member, this is

43:21realistically what I think the city is

43:23able to measure and and use as a marker

43:27for success or not in the future.

43:39>> Any questions?

43:42>> Can I add then what I'm hearing is that

43:46on this template, there might be a place

43:49next to objective that says like data

43:51source and methodology for measuring

43:55that objective.

43:56>> And that was one thing that I was going

43:57to to suggest adding um and

44:02yeah, maybe we can

44:08>> I thought about it all day. I just trail

44:10off and say things to people.

44:12You know.

44:18>> Anything else that we'd like to see in

44:20the strategic I think that's a great

44:22addition having the data source.

44:26As far as our visions go through the

44:28template of the document.

44:37>> So, basically in this

44:38I mean, I know we identify two

44:40strategies that potentially could have

44:41three goals.

44:42>> Yeah, we can have whatever whatever we

44:44decide. I would caution us trying to

44:47solve all of it.

44:48I mean, but I think we're if we can have

44:51two to three solid strategies that can

44:53be recommended to council.

44:57I think that's a pretty effective

44:58starting point. And then, as we've

45:00talked about, we'll be able to come back

45:02to the document in future meetings once

45:04this baseline document has been

45:06published.

45:09>> Exactly.

45:14>> [clears throat]

45:15>> And I did like the recommendation on the

45:16lingering issues. And so, I'm not sure

45:19if that lives in front of an appendix

45:21uh

45:22under each bucket, but I do think it's

45:24important to that point, right? Like

45:26like let's find the things that we can

45:27make a recommendation on quickly

45:30and put into the street strategic plan

45:32that is going to have impact. But those

45:34things that we know are still out there,

45:36keep those on a list somewhere so that

45:39after this is published, we can come

45:40back to them next time.

45:42>> And then we can discuss it.

45:44>> And so, those lingering questions, are

45:46those sort of like, you know, outliers

45:49where they're they're still part of the

45:51the issue of homelessness, but they're

45:53not

45:54implemented yet, but they're still

45:56things we have to keep our eye on, so

45:57they'd be some outliers or questions

46:00How would you identify them?

46:02>> Um I think it's sort of like I'm going

46:04to use the verbage that I honestly can't

46:06remember who said it earlier, but things

46:08we've captured, right? So, like these

46:09are things that we either already knew,

46:12have come to know, you know, or want to

46:14know.

46:15And not just maybe us, but maybe things

46:17that are reoccurring from feedback, all

46:18of these things that we are

46:19encountering,

46:20but are not squarely into the buckets,

46:24or if we were to put them into the

46:25buckets,

46:26they would derail us. So, but they're

46:28they're things that, you know, we could

46:30put there um either for, you know,

46:34the for the future um committee, or for,

46:38you know, we can put living document,

46:40you know, maybe that's tackled in the

46:41next round of planning.

46:43>> Yeah, and it may be one of those things

46:44where the data is just not available to

46:46us yet, but we want to put it out there

46:47in case the data could become available.

46:49I think it's

46:50could be any number of things, but

46:53certainly things we just don't want to

46:55forget about or future generations of

46:58this committee using this document to

47:00forget about.

47:00>> a time capsule.

47:03>> It will be.

47:04Nice analogy.

47:08Anything else?

47:14Very quiet tonight.

47:16>> Don't we want to get into the weeds

47:17about unsorted?

47:19>> Well, we're going to, don't you worry.

47:23All right, so everyone is good with the

47:26format and we've gotten

47:27>> [clears throat]

47:28>> any recommendations you'd like. Jenny

47:30captured all of those, so um we'll build

47:32a start putting that. So,

47:35are there any objections to

47:37>> [cough]

47:37>> post [clears throat] timeline and moving

47:38to um discussion of prevention on

47:41November 10th?

47:45>> Given that, I think it warrants having

47:47an initial conversation regarding

47:49prevention so that we can help gather

47:52the information sources so that we can

47:53help let the staff

47:54>> staff know if there are any outside

47:56resources we want to hear from.

48:00And and so that we they have time to

48:01gather those things for the

48:04the heavier discussion and the strategic

48:06plan piece.

48:07>> I have a bit of a question.

48:09Um

48:11this is sort of one of my lingering

48:12questions. Um

48:14and this also may be fruitful in terms

48:16of giving us a subject to get into the

48:17weeds about, but um one of the things

48:20that I

48:21when I was

48:24selected for this position, that I said

48:26that I would focus on

48:28in this committee would be

48:31like

48:32communication between the city and

48:35its people.

48:37Um

48:37and

48:39languaging and and building community.

48:42And making sure that, you know,

48:47the capital C city is transparent and

48:50accountable and compassionate in its

48:53languaging, you know, using um

48:59current standards of of of language and

49:03to to address this. And you know, I

49:05think one of the things I held on to,

49:08um

49:09maybe to everyone's dismay, is this idea

49:11of a dashboard. And not only do I think

49:13that like the dashboard is something

49:15worth

49:16worthwhile, but I also think that it's

49:19like it's indicative of a whole,

49:21you know, constellation of responses

49:24that we should be doing, right? Like

49:27seriously undertaking the emails, right?

49:29Like that is a part of this committee is

49:33our our communication and and the

49:36language that that we use

49:38because there's the capital C city, and

49:40then there's the people who

49:42created its existence.

49:44Um

49:45and

49:46um

49:47I like where would that fit in terms of

49:49this? Because, you know, like if if this

49:51is the final budget,

49:53you know, where do we get When do we get

49:55to that? When do we get to the

49:56dashboard?

49:57>> So, I I think communication, much like

49:59recovery, right, is the is one of the

50:02lenses that we need to look at each of

50:03these problems through, right?

50:05>> So, where is the dashboard?

50:06>> What's that?

50:07>> Where's the dashboard then? In the

50:09>> Well, it's it's not its own thing,

50:10right? It's I view the dashboard

50:13potentially as a component to the

50:16buckets, right? It's about communication

50:18of the the resources for prevention.

50:22It's about communication of the

50:24resources for stabilization.

50:27That might live on this dashboard, might

50:29not, might live somewhere else. But I

50:31think com- the communication piece, much

50:34>> It feels much like a lens.

50:35>> is is a lens that we need to look at

50:37each of these buckets through. Like how

50:39are we communicating the resources that

50:41are available? How are we communicating

50:43both to the general public, but also to

50:46those who need it, rather than it being

50:48its own

50:49>> kind of entity. We said affected others

50:51before, and that affected others

50:53mattered. Um

50:54and one of the things that affected

50:57others need, right, is

51:00is compassion and connection and

51:01community, right? Um and

51:05>> [clears throat]

51:05>> you know, if it if it's a lens,

51:09you know, like we're we're preventing

51:10homelessness, we're not preventing the

51:17So, like to to to put it into the

51:19perspective of prevention again to to to

51:21to say that we're working on that now

51:22for for the purposes of this,

51:25you know, um

51:27our we're we're trying to prevent

51:29homelessness, right? We're trying to

51:31prevent people from ever as as you said

51:33before ever entering the system in the

51:36first place.

51:37But,

51:38what I'm trying to square is how that

51:42works with our affected others.

51:44Obviously, that reduces the impact that

51:46they would have in total, right? Because

51:49there are less affected others if there

51:50are less primary affected. But, how does

51:52that help them right now, right? With

51:54the loved ones that they have on the

51:55streets, with the loved ones they've

51:56already lost, with the people, you know,

52:00um

52:01on the periphery [clears throat] of this

52:02issue who are

52:04creating agitation and turning neighbor

52:06against neighbor. How does that reach

52:07that person right now? And then we move

52:10on to connection and I feel like that

52:12question still lingers.

52:13>> Well, so I I I think it's

52:15one of the things that's when I when I

52:16do these kind of

52:18buckets and those things, I think of it

52:21as a cycle rather than a bucket. So,

52:24bucket we I mean, when you have like

52:26I'll say

52:27it's like, you know, it's like using

52:28public health models. Like you have the,

52:30you know, primary prevention, secondary,

52:32tertiary. But, when I do tertiary, in a

52:33way I'm getting spinning to get to the

52:36primary stuff, too. So,

52:39I think sometimes some folks are going

52:41to be basically they're putting in all

52:44three sections. Um and I think we have

52:47to look at the fact that even if you do

52:49the um

52:50the um

52:51stabilize sustain piece, you're in

52:54essence uh preventing,

52:56you know, from the homelessness. So, I

52:58think that's the way to look at it.

53:01Um and the thing with the dashboard, I

53:03think that's an important tool, but it's

53:05a tool. I think what this is looking at

53:07is tool. I mean, you know, for example,

53:09I'm just throwing this out there. Let's

53:10say say one of the things is you know,

53:12you mentioned compassion, maybe

53:14educating about homelessness is a

53:16compassion tool.

53:17And then how do you do that? You use the

53:19dashboard as well and have and have some

53:21other stuff. So, I think if we can look

53:23at it like that, then because some of

53:25the thing you talked about is basically

53:26I can use it in whatever you section of

53:28mention sustainable whatever it is. So,

53:32um but I think to me it's a tool but we

53:33need some at least general principles in

53:35each one that we can

53:37in conjunction with the city and the

53:38city actually can come up with tools and

53:40all of themselves. I mean, they know

53:41that dashboard is one of the steps,

53:43the suggestions we have. Maybe there's

53:45other things that's like those ones.

53:48>> Phil, do you think it would be helpful

53:50that as we work through say like we'll

53:52use prevention as the example again, but

53:55I think you make a really good point

53:56where it would feel unfortunate for us

53:59to be gathering all these resources

54:02and just kind of holding on to them in a

54:03space that's not accessible for folks

54:05easily for and knowing that we need to

54:08be communicating with

54:11affected others and constituents in the

54:13city

54:15as we kind of create this preliminary

54:18strategic plan for this category of

54:20prevention and we developed this

54:22resource list, is there a place that

54:24something like that could live in the

54:25moment? So, for instance,

54:29you know, if you have

54:31someone that you care deeply for that

54:33you're worried is going to become

54:34evicted, there is a place on say the

54:36city website that you could go and see

54:38the

54:39the referral or resource list that we're

54:41at we're actively creating

54:43>> for prevention.

54:44>> like an ongoing thing?

54:45>> Yeah, where like we're contributing it

54:47to to it as the strategic plan is being

54:49developed, so at least we're offering

54:51something to the community.

54:52>> I love that and and I think that like

54:57I love anything aspirational, but like

55:00you know, I worry about the capacity

55:03and I I think often times

55:06you know, it seems like

55:08the pattern that I fall into in this

55:09committee is I propose the aspirational

55:11idea or maybe I'm not even the one who

55:13proposed it. It just seems like a common

55:14sense easy knock it out of the park idea

55:17from someone in our community or someone

55:19from public comment and then it's

55:21you know, like

55:23what I hear in return is that this is

55:24sort of a philosophical thing that needs

55:26to be thought about every stage of the

55:28process and then I also, you know, in

55:31lieu of that like do we have the

55:32capacity to do that? And so, you know,

55:35like

55:37not to take your idea out in the

55:38backyard and shoot it, but you know,

55:40like

55:41what I would what I would say is are you

55:43volunteering to do that, you know?

55:44>> Well,

55:45what I think would be an easy enough

55:47thing is because this is going to be a

55:48document that we're like literally

55:50writing and I don't necessarily have

55:52access to like the city website, but as

55:54we're developing this referral list,

55:56it's we're documenting it. So, is there

55:58somebody that has access to

56:00>> I'm on board with

56:01anything aspirational.

56:04And it feel like most of these resources

56:07are already

56:09>> Yeah, so I want to interject here for

56:10just a quick second between the time

56:13that Alton and I

56:15came together with the agenda in today's

56:17meeting.

56:18Um, city manager Leah did share with me

56:20an example of what the acre committee

56:22does in terms of almost like having a

56:24blog page that [clears throat] the

56:26committee writes.

56:29Um, that's something we can include in

56:32the next time that we meet if that's

56:33something that you're interested in

56:35doing for that community piece.

56:38Um, and we do have a

56:42a spot on our city's website where we do

56:45have city programs addressing

56:47homelessness and eviction eviction

56:50prevention and um, outreach and other

56:52things. But maybe we can do is add for

56:55the next agenda an example of what the

56:57acre committee has done around

56:59communication.

57:00Um, that comes out of their committee.

57:03>> Do you feel like that's kind of hitting

57:04the concern here because I hear what

57:05you're saying and I think that's I think

57:07that's valuable.

57:09>> I appreciate that. I really truly do.

57:11And I appreciate what you've said. I

57:12really truly do. But I think that if it

57:14was addressing my concern, my concern

57:16would not like, you know, like you know,

57:18I you know, as as an artist person, you

57:21know, I hear a lot from people who are

57:22in the community, I hear a lot from

57:23house people, I hear a lot from house

57:25people. Um and I don't think that they

57:27feel reached out to and I don't think

57:29that they feel that the information is

57:31uh uh

57:32you know, ideally, right? In a perfect

57:33world, this information be at a glance.

57:36Not only would it be prominently and

57:38accessibly laid out, you know, but

57:42or sorry, I'll just leave that there,

57:44but um

57:46you know,

57:47I think so, you know, when I'm when I'm

57:50hearing the concerns from the public and

57:51I'm feeling my own concerns,

57:53I'm thinking that it is quite far away

57:54from from at a glance and

57:57you know, maybe the blog is a great way

58:00to do it, but maybe the blog has not

58:02been given the TLC and love that it

58:05needs to

58:06to be what it always should be.

58:08>> Uh the blog doesn't exist. Uh the blog

58:10doesn't exist.

58:11>> the committee.

58:12>> The So, the the the point is that

58:15um there is a a space where a platform

58:18that could facilitate having a blog

58:21post, although I do have the committee

58:23itself

58:25post things or the committee provides

58:27data to the city's communications team

58:30and they publish.

58:31>> I'll have to take a look, but I believe

58:32it is it is staffed by the committee.

58:35>> Okay.

58:36I think that the formula that you

58:37propose is is great, you know, like

58:39we're already

58:40budgeting time to do each one of these

58:42buckets,

58:44you know, why not say, you know, an X

58:46number of time on the bucket is for

58:49the blog or for the

58:52>> communication.

58:52>> communication.

58:53>> Yeah. Like up-to-date communication. So,

58:54I hear what you're saying with like,

58:56yeah, this is all well and good, but

58:57that doesn't help anyone for the next 6

58:59months, 9 months, 12 months. So, what

59:01can we provide that's

59:03useful for people in the short term

59:06while we're developing this plan.

59:09And I think that those two things should

59:11be done in tandem to the best of our

59:13ability of like this is future state and

59:15how this document could be helpful for

59:16us going forward and in the short term

59:18these are the resources that we've been

59:19able to compile for each of these

59:22chunks of work.

59:24>> Yeah, I think that's I think that's

59:25great.

59:25>> in like a perfect future state a

59:27dashboard could look very much like I

59:29don't know if anyone's ever messed

59:30around in the main main drug data hub.

59:32I'm like a total nerd but [laughter]

59:34those dashboards are fantastic but those

59:36are all very measurable

59:39um

59:40data points that you could track year on

59:42year. What do the addictions look like?

59:44Are they improving? Like anyone could

59:46mess around on a website like that and

59:48and and get an idea of current state,

59:51past state um and identify trends.

59:56That's not for today or

59:58any that's for way down line but I hear

1:00:00what you're saying which is in the

1:00:02moment what can we provide for our

1:00:03resources.

1:00:04>> So can I give you another obstacle and

1:00:05then maybe you'll be able to cuz I'm I'm

1:00:07fully full support that like finance

1:00:09you'll

1:00:10onboard.

1:00:11Um

1:00:12which is as you can probably tell an

1:00:14undertaking to get me onboard thing but

1:00:16um

1:00:18you know like let's say I'm trying to

1:00:19look at the the health of the

1:00:21communication between the city and its

1:00:23constituents and I'm trying to look at

1:00:25the health between unhoused and housed.

1:00:29And like that's another thing that I I

1:00:31kind of take a little bit of concern

1:00:32with when it comes to capital C city.

1:00:35You know like it's fairly easy to rope

1:00:37ourselves tag ourselves out of that and

1:00:38say well what can the capital C city do

1:00:41about freedom of speech?

1:00:43Um but you know my thoughts on that are

1:00:46there are strategies for any group,

1:00:49culture, government, whatever to work on

1:00:52those issues and we see other cities do

1:00:55them. We see that you know if a city is

1:00:57having an epidemic of overdoses there's

1:00:59a page like it's like it's always like

1:01:02the city's name / Narcan or / whatever

1:01:05and it has the links of whatever.

1:01:08You know and I think that

1:01:10you know it would be quite easy for us

1:01:11to get out ahead of of some of these

1:01:13communications

1:01:14issues.

1:01:15You know not just in terms of like

1:01:17overdose and HIV and all [clears throat]

1:01:21the other fun stuff we're cooking up.

1:01:24But also

1:01:25like some of the cultural issues, too,

1:01:28of like, you know, this is what the data

1:01:30supports, right? Like this the data

1:01:32supports, you know, like if if if the

1:01:35data as I should say, you know, like

1:01:37um like what we see in other cities is

1:01:40that needle exchanges work. What we see

1:01:42in other countries, what we see in other

1:01:44places where the the population

1:01:45demographics are similar is that like

1:01:47data is there. You know, we could be

1:01:49languaging that in such a way to reduce

1:01:52some of the social stressors for the

1:01:54affected other and for the affected

1:01:57because that's what I am seeing a lot

1:01:59not just on social media. You know, I

1:02:01can open up social media and I'll see a

1:02:03thrilling video of people going into a

1:02:06campsite and filming someone who has

1:02:08recently used. And not only that, I'll

1:02:11see citizens doing it, too, you know,

1:02:13people filming their neighbors not doing

1:02:15any crimes, just existing in a way

1:02:17that's not approved of. And I think it's

1:02:19those strategies that, you know,

1:02:21So, I

1:02:22I don't want to cut you off, but I do

1:02:25want to also make sure that we recognize

1:02:28that this committee has no jurisdiction

1:02:31over constitutionally protected right.

1:02:34>> Right. That's why I did the whole

1:02:35freedom of speech analogy.

1:02:36>> And I think

1:02:38I think I worry sometimes about the

1:02:41possibility of if we're also trying to

1:02:44facilitate a blog to get things out

1:02:47there, that is one more thing that is

1:02:49going to take time from our from our

1:02:51already limited

1:02:53>> Mhm.

1:02:53>> time to get the strategic plan in place.

1:02:56I think one of the things we need to try

1:02:57to do as a committee, and this is just

1:02:59my opinion, is take a step back and look

1:03:02at the the the bigger

1:03:04picture, right? The long-term picture

1:03:07cuz that's what the strategic plan is

1:03:08for. We can't solve anything today. This

1:03:11committee can't solve anything

1:03:13today.

1:03:14>> I do think I like the theme I'm hearing

1:03:16from you though is the stigma component

1:03:18of things and making sure that anything

1:03:22>> Um

1:03:22>> that we're presenting is evidence-based

1:03:24and the reality of it is is a lot of the

1:03:26folks we're trying to serve with the

1:03:27strategic plan face stigma day in and

1:03:30day out constantly whether it's around

1:03:32their homelessness, mental health, or

1:03:33substance use disorder. So, I do agree

1:03:35with you and we did talk about stigma

1:03:37and anti-stigma campaigns and education.

1:03:40And and

1:03:43I don't know where that necessarily fits

1:03:45in, but I agree that I think that's so

1:03:47vital and valuable. Um so whether that's

1:03:52a

1:03:53a sidebar, but that is also something

1:03:55that is actionable

1:03:58prior to up submission of a strategic

1:04:01plan that can be addressed sooner than

1:04:04later because there's a fair amount of

1:04:07cities [clears throat] or the CD you

1:04:09know, the HIV fees being the thing like

1:04:11there is anti-stigma campaigns that are

1:04:12out there. Um

1:04:15So, I think that

1:04:17>> Well, the one thing I I imagine is like

1:04:19as we develop this plan

1:04:22the count council officials and all the

1:04:24people they going to see this

1:04:25developing.

1:04:27They going to say, "Hey, stigma is one

1:04:28thing the committee is looking at. They

1:04:30don't have to wait until February for us

1:04:31to say that." They can say, "You know

1:04:33what? Let's get on this right away

1:04:34because it sounds like this is a topic

1:04:36everyone will bring up. We think this is

1:04:38a doable thing we can do."

1:04:41They come up with the tools for that.

1:04:43And we say, "Hey, increase I'm just

1:04:45increasing awareness of what

1:04:46homelessness is."

1:04:48They And then they can go figure out

1:04:50what that tool was, a blog was, a

1:04:52dashboard whatever it is. And then they

1:04:54can come back and say, "Hey, you know,

1:04:56in find in uh looking at what you guys

1:04:58discussed, you guys emphasize stigma

1:05:00seems to be pretty big.

1:05:02We have the following options to try to

1:05:04increase that, you know,

1:05:06or whatever they mean.

1:05:07I think that's just kind of what I was

1:05:09thinking of because I don't want to give

1:05:10I'll give them the committee time and

1:05:13and uh timeframe and also the resources.

1:05:16I I can't get into the weeds of this. I

1:05:18think we just got to come up with the

1:05:19road map. Hey, we have to go west.

1:05:22And then, you know, Councillor Fish

1:05:23decide whether how she wants to get

1:05:24west. Does she want to take 202? Does

1:05:25she want to take 201? Yes.

1:05:27>> And

1:05:28>> And Councillor

1:05:29>> I know, I'm sorry. Raising my hand like

1:05:31we're in the

1:05:31>> No, I appreciate it. It's easier for me

1:05:33to navigate. You can put a hand emoji.

1:05:35If you can give me a hand emoji, yes.

1:05:38>> I I think too that uh it might be

1:05:40helpful as you guys make

1:05:42recommendations, even if it's on the

1:05:43quarterly report, maybe highlight this

1:05:46could be uh an immediate action.

1:05:48>> Yeah.

1:05:48>> You know, I kind of like the low-hanging

1:05:50fruit that we don't have to wait until

1:05:52the strategic plan is over. But in our

1:05:54conversation, hey, you know, this

1:05:57doesn't have to wait until the strategic

1:05:58plan is over. This is something we

1:06:00recommend or uh ask that you might

1:06:03consider doing immediately.

1:06:04[clears throat]

1:06:05Then it's up to the council to say,

1:06:07"Hey, yeah, let's do that."

1:06:10>> That a great point, Councillor. I think

1:06:12those are all great ideas. Um

1:06:16You know, the only thing that I

1:06:18take an issue with is what is the

1:06:19problem we're talking about now, and

1:06:20finding that out right now, right? And

1:06:23you know, I am well aware that the First

1:06:25Amendment does not fall into the

1:06:28jurisdiction of this committee.

1:06:30Um I did hear that um prior to coming,

1:06:33but

1:06:34what I am aware of is that, you know,

1:06:37the the AIDS and HIV crisis is a stellar

1:06:42example of an issue that was thought to

1:06:44be non-civic, that was thought to be

1:06:46non-governmental, that was thought to be

1:06:47non-policy, right? If if everyone just

1:06:50sort of continued to do what they were

1:06:52doing and didn't make meaningful inroads

1:06:55in trying to address the the stigma,

1:06:59that it would be fine. And what we

1:07:00learned is that the places that did best

1:07:03were the places where the committees and

1:07:05where the city council and where the

1:07:06staff created policy to address stigma

1:07:09specifically. And I don't think any of

1:07:11those people took issue with the First

1:07:12Amendment. I think what those people

1:07:14took issue was the stigma in the city.

1:07:17And I think that they tried to employ

1:07:20policies in their capital C city that

1:07:22could reduce that. And I don't think

1:07:24that that meant that they were burning

1:07:27any sacred objects. I think that they

1:07:30what they did was they went with data

1:07:32and

1:07:33you know, they found impartial parts of

1:07:37that component, impartial parts that

1:07:39could address the stigma and could

1:07:41reduce the stigma. And that's what I'm

1:07:43trying to say, you know, I'm not

1:07:45not asking you to to come with me on any

1:07:48any

1:07:49hit the protests, you know, maybe we

1:07:51could. I don't know. But in lieu of

1:07:53that, what I'm saying is I think that it

1:07:55would be interesting for that to be a

1:07:57policy focus, too. And I'm not saying,

1:07:59you know,

1:08:00that we should throw this out. I'm

1:08:01saying as we go, it should be a lens or

1:08:03philosophy or whatever we want to call

1:08:05it because I do think it can be

1:08:06addressed with policy. That's what I am

1:08:09trying to say.

1:08:12I object.

1:08:17Okay.

1:08:18All right.

1:08:21>> [laughter]

1:08:21>> Um

1:08:23No, I I think I think you're right. I

1:08:25think it it should be a lens that we're

1:08:27we're looking at these things. But what

1:08:28I want to avoid is us making it a topic

1:08:31that's every single week

1:08:34that maybe isn't weaved into that week's

1:08:37discussion and it but it keeps re-

1:08:39>> I don't mean for it to be that all.

1:08:41>> But I I think that's one of the reason

1:08:42why you're on the committee, right? Is

1:08:43to bring that perspective, to bring that

1:08:45that lens.

1:08:47Um you know, again, I mean we keep

1:08:49saying it, everybody at this table has a

1:08:50different area of expertise and has

1:08:52different life experiences to bring. I

1:08:55think we finally got to a point where we

1:08:57can start putting those lenses to good

1:08:59use and start creating the the document

1:09:02that we were tasked with as the number

1:09:05one thing

1:09:06um in the order was

1:09:09strategic plan, right? Strategic plan

1:09:11and things the council sends to us is

1:09:13basically

1:09:15summarizing not in legal language. Um

1:09:18But that's essentially what the order

1:09:19thinks. So

1:09:20>> And I think, you know, kind of

1:09:22I I hear what you're saying. Um

1:09:25I think those things like stigma or

1:09:26whatever maybe it's across every one of

1:09:29these things you do. It's not just one

1:09:31or the other.

1:09:32And again, it's like no different stigma

1:09:35there's also going way that's not done

1:09:38discriminatory either. So, you kind of

1:09:40want to put that you know, you don't

1:09:41want to keep I think there's maybe for

1:09:43the like

1:09:45it's just like when you do this

1:09:46document, you can put a like a preamble

1:09:48about how you want to address these

1:09:50things in terms of hey, this document

1:09:52serve as road map for stigmas.

1:09:54And it kind of gives people that kind of

1:09:57no base expectations that this is

1:10:01you know,

1:10:02this is to serve with that as you do all

1:10:04those things. I think that's going to

1:10:05reinforce that. Um [snorts]

1:10:08because I I hear you because every part

1:10:10of this is stigma attached to it because

1:10:11And again, just because you're not

1:10:13stigmatizing in prevention doesn't mean

1:10:14that stigmatizing your shelter.

1:10:17So, but yeah, I'm just going to work on

1:10:18it. I think we just set some like base

1:10:20on hey, we're going to play we're going

1:10:22to do this. We're going to do it fair.

1:10:23That's how we're going to do

1:10:25I'm sorry.

1:10:26>> I think I think what I'm hearing is

1:10:28there's certain overlays that hit every

1:10:30single one of these. Like we've said

1:10:31communication, recovery, stigma. So, it

1:10:34sounds like every single

1:10:36topic we have in our

1:10:38strategic plan, there's certain topics

1:10:40that are going to overlay I think that

1:10:42So, maybe in the preamble there would be

1:10:44these things sort of

1:10:46apply and overlay

1:10:48to the whole plan.

1:10:51So, we have the communication, the

1:10:52stigma, the recovery, and maybe we'll

1:10:54even come up with a couple more that'll

1:10:56overlay everything.

1:10:58>> Jen?

1:10:58>> Just to offer a quick suggestion. As

1:11:00you're going through these different

1:11:01buckets and come up with these

1:11:03overlaying topics, you could pull out as

1:11:07the timeline suggests at the end when

1:11:09you compile everything together, there

1:11:11might be a place where you say, you know

1:11:13what? We want a bucket that says

1:11:15overarching issues. And it's

1:11:17communications, it's data quality, it's

1:11:20stigma. And so, you can sort of take

1:11:23those things and still have a place for

1:11:25it when you get to the end. You can say,

1:11:27what are those things that we've missed

1:11:29here that we want to make sure that we

1:11:30capture?" So, that might be an

1:11:33opportunity.

1:11:37>> So, given the time, I do want to circle

1:11:39back to

1:11:42prevention will be the topic of

1:11:43discussion for November 10th. So, what

1:11:46resources, what questions do we need to

1:11:49pose to city staff that they may be able

1:11:51to go find us answers for, what are the

1:11:53resources they can bring in

1:11:55to help facilitate a meaningful

1:11:57discussion that will result in a drafted

1:12:01strategic plan from city staff?

1:12:04>> One thing I don't know if such thing

1:12:06exists is, I mean, honestly, anyway,

1:12:09is there do we have a process or

1:12:13mechanism to

1:12:16pre-identify people at risk? Like, how

1:12:18do I identify people at risk? Eviction,

1:12:20by that time, it's too late. So, you're

1:12:21fighting fire.

1:12:23I I want to be able find that person,

1:12:25hey, you know, you may not have all the

1:12:2710 factors associated with homelessness,

1:12:29but you got five of them. So, I need to

1:12:31help figure out how to address those

1:12:33help you with those five before it

1:12:36become a full, you know, inferno, and I

1:12:38got to really kind of start finding

1:12:40everything to help you.

1:12:41I think if

1:12:43if there's way we can do that, I

1:12:45I'll pull and also I think kind of link

1:12:47going back to what you were saying,

1:12:49education about homelessness, too. Cuz I

1:12:51think people homelessness you come to

1:12:54work with us, you're homeless every day.

1:12:56So, I think maybe I have to define or

1:12:58help people understand what do you What

1:13:00do you mean when you say homelessness?

1:13:02>> That would be a great example of

1:13:03something.

1:13:05>> [laughter]

1:13:06>> I love your enthusiasm.

1:13:10>> Um maybe one one idea I'm not so not so

1:13:14much about recovering and you know,

1:13:16where we could prevent in that other

1:13:18than education, but for eviction, a

1:13:21resource might be going to the greater

1:13:22Bangor, they call Boma. You know,

1:13:24there's about 200 landlords in that, and

1:13:27they know who's about ready to get

1:13:28evicted. So, you know, some of that

1:13:31might be confidentiality, but at least

1:13:33if there was a connection to

1:13:36partner, you know, as part of the

1:13:39strategic plan, this might be a good

1:13:41resource to go. These are the people who

1:13:42are going to know who's at most risk of

1:13:44potentially becoming homeless.

1:13:46>> Well, it would be interesting and I

1:13:47don't know if you have any information

1:13:49or have access to information on what

1:13:51the causes of or what the reasons for

1:13:54eviction were, right? I mean, I think

1:13:56understanding what the root cause of why

1:13:59people are being evicted may help us be

1:14:01able to identify strategies to to

1:14:03approach those challenges.

1:14:05>> Does Main Care like give data to on

1:14:07something like this? Like I mean, Main

1:14:09Care like for example, can we

1:14:12just on the side, I don't know if this

1:14:13would I have someone who used Main Care

1:14:15a lot be evicted? Someone who probably

1:14:17at risk because they can't handle it.

1:14:19Take care of themself physically or

1:14:21psychiatrically.

1:14:22>> I mean, anyone who's using Main Care

1:14:23benefits is at a greater risk, but as to

1:14:26how actionable that is.

1:14:28>> Not necessarily. That that would be

1:14:30tricky to pull. I mean, you can

1:14:31you can pull data around like

1:14:34people how many times like homelessness

1:14:36was billed as an IT ICD-10 that kind of

1:14:39thing. But, I think one of the things

1:14:40that's

1:14:41I think specific to Binghamton is what

1:14:43data do we currently collect around

1:14:45evictions? Do we track how many numbers,

1:14:48cause, those kinds of things? So, what

1:14:49data do we currently connect collect? Do

1:14:52we have that data to

1:14:54review or include in this as a baseline?

1:14:57And um what does the current referral

1:15:00process look like for someone that's

1:15:01facing eviction? If an if a landlord

1:15:03does identify someone as being near

1:15:05eviction, like how do they get them how

1:15:08do people refer and connect? And then,

1:15:10are there any um current city policies

1:15:13that are related to eviction that we

1:15:15should be aware of?

1:15:17>> So, I have two thoughts if that's okay.

1:15:20Um

1:15:22Go ahead, Joe.

1:15:22>> That's good. Good Go ahead. You started

1:15:24before. What might be in that? Go ahead.

1:15:26I know it's you.

1:15:26>> That's what I said. Skill then

1:15:27counselor.

1:15:29So,

1:15:29>> I'm an air traffic controller, waiting.

1:15:32Thank you, Tyler.

1:15:35So, my is there something that we could

1:15:37use self-reporting for? I mean

1:15:39could we because landlords have an

1:15:41incentive to work with us here and

1:15:43people who could go into for future

1:15:46homelessness have an incentive to work

1:15:47with us here. So, could we not on our

1:15:49city website have say a dashboard um

1:15:54where [clears throat] people could say,

1:15:55you know, we could say, "Do you feel

1:15:57like you're however, you know, we want

1:15:59to language it, you know, uh do you feel

1:16:01like you're kind of falling off the

1:16:02wagon here?" Um and then that way we

1:16:05could get a head start on referring that

1:16:06because it's like you said, right? An

1:16:08eviction is usually way too late. This

1:16:11person already has debt, you know, now

1:16:14this person is scrambling to pick up the

1:16:16pieces. The last thing that they are

1:16:18going to be ready for even though, you

1:16:20know, it might be their next option is

1:16:22like a GA fight or whatever. Like that's

1:16:24that's huge documentation. They need to

1:16:26sit in front of a computer pouring over

1:16:28records to do that. That is a huge ask

1:16:30for someone going through eviction. You

1:16:32know, especially if they're feeding

1:16:32kids, you know, working, whatever. Um

1:16:35>> Do you think it would be useful to hear

1:16:37I mean we have a housing stabilization

1:16:39and eviction program that focuses on

1:16:41eviction prevention. So, I'm wondering

1:16:43what would be helpful in this quest

1:16:45we're talking about prevention is Bruce

1:16:47could walk through what that looks like

1:16:50um so that you can have a basis to

1:16:53either what you might want to recommend,

1:16:55maintain, or approve, or change. But at

1:16:58least maybe you can get a little bit of

1:16:59baseline from what we do right now if

1:17:02that's helpful.

1:17:02>> I think that would be great and that was

1:17:04one of the things that I was going to

1:17:05ask for.

1:17:07Um but I also think that if we did

1:17:09something like that, we did some sort of

1:17:11self-reporting thing, I don't know how

1:17:13we want to phrase that. Um

1:17:15but

1:17:16like in order to prevent

1:17:18someone from getting to that point of

1:17:19eviction which can be quite a struggle

1:17:21for some people.

1:17:22Um it would be very helpful to get them

1:17:24to workforce services way before then,

1:17:27right? Someone who can say, you know,

1:17:28"We'll train you to go do this new job

1:17:31and we'll give you an e-bike to get

1:17:32there."

1:17:34That would have hopefully stopped their

1:17:36eviction, but as to if they're aware and

1:17:38as to if they were aware that they had

1:17:40that need, you know, could

1:17:42but the thing that brokers is that be

1:17:45something like that, you know, could we

1:17:46tell landlords, "Hey, you know, if you

1:17:48have a client that is in this boat, you

1:17:50know, give them this sheet of

1:17:52pre-printed you know, pre-languaged

1:17:55paper that tells them about workforce

1:17:57services, that tells them where they can

1:17:59go, you know, maybe they solicit some

1:18:02city services and that's where we get

1:18:03the data and then

1:18:05um

1:18:05>> The [clears throat] only thing about the

1:18:07self-report while helps but it's also

1:18:09sorry, it's

1:18:10>> Thank you, Calvin.

1:18:11>> I I have this plane just intrude on your

1:18:13runway. Um

1:18:15but yeah, but I think it's also

1:18:18in the mind of the beholder. Like I

1:18:20could think I'm home running into risk

1:18:22of homelessness when I'm not because

1:18:24something's happening below my face and

1:18:26I say, "Oh my god, I'm going to lose my

1:18:27house." But when you step back, wait a

1:18:29second, you know you're close to losing

1:18:31your home.

1:18:32>> But you were closer, weren't you?

1:18:33>> No, no, no, it's a thing the

1:18:35Well, no, I'm not saying the person is

1:18:37obviously she's his or her perception is

1:18:39the fact that she's at risk. But in

1:18:41terms of priority

1:18:43you you don't want to get into

1:18:45responding to allow this voice because I

1:18:47actually worry that people who don't

1:18:49report are the ones who actually going

1:18:51to be at risk. The ones who highly

1:18:52report, you know, you joke and I'm going

1:18:53to lose my home and every attention is

1:18:55on them because they're the loudest, but

1:18:57they may not be the one who actually

1:18:59most critical at risk.

1:19:01>> Real quick, Teal. We had a comment over

1:19:03here.

1:19:03>> Yeah, sorry.

1:19:05>> This is just my wheelhouse, so this

1:19:06>> That's what I would like to hear.

1:19:08>> This is where I just want to jump on it.

1:19:11Um but and I think we definitely can get

1:19:14into some of these conversations a lot

1:19:16deeper and because what you're saying,

1:19:19Teal, too, is great and I think, you

1:19:21know, it's easy to sit, right, when you

1:19:23know people are being evicted and you

1:19:25don't know what landlords are doing and

1:19:26and there's many many of us out there,

1:19:29so everybody does things differently for

1:19:31sure. But I can tell you it's not like

1:19:35there are

1:19:36all kinds of stuff to prevent and we try

1:19:39and we try and try. The problem becomes

1:19:42when those wait lists hit, there's not

1:19:44enough out there, there's not enough

1:19:45people and we can say it's it's

1:19:49it's sad for the person at risk when we

1:19:52refer and we push for them to get the

1:19:54help and they get the door slammed.

1:19:57Um so

1:19:58and then they're waiting, right? And

1:20:00then there's they're in court and then,

1:20:03you know, there's all these processes

1:20:04we're trying to put in place after we're

1:20:06done and, you know, okay, we're going to

1:20:08keep you another 12 months, but if you

1:20:10fail at any of this, you're out. Like

1:20:11but in the meantime in those 12 months,

1:20:13we're going to try to connect you to all

1:20:15of these things, right? And then those

1:20:18again, it's it's not so much that these

1:20:20things aren't sitting there, it's how to

1:20:22get these them in there

1:20:24and beef up the service because there's

1:20:27not enough. There's just not enough help

1:20:30in in within the service. So and then

1:20:34what happens is is is probably what you

1:20:36said, these workloads get huge. So you

1:20:38have a worker with 35 people. That is

1:20:42not manageable. You know, it it is not

1:20:45and then, you know, as a landlord, I

1:20:47become a case worker as well, you know,

1:20:49because even today I can tell you there

1:20:51was five people I was trying to assist

1:20:53that wasn't even a my tenant. What two

1:20:55of them were not even tenants, they were

1:20:56people calling and were calling services

1:21:00and told to call us because that's going

1:21:03to be the answer and that we're going to

1:21:04help [clears throat] them, but yet

1:21:05that's really where I need them to be to

1:21:07get that case worker to help them find

1:21:09the housing cuz I have wait lists that

1:21:11are closed, right? Um

1:21:13so anyway, that's just me on my little

1:21:16bandwagon, but

1:21:18>> Okay.

1:21:19>> Sounds like there's under profession is

1:21:21already, you know, different categories

1:21:23so I'd say there's the and, you know,

1:21:25hopefully we can intercept this person

1:21:27before they come homeless, maybe with

1:21:29communicating with, you know, the the

1:21:31landlord association and even realtors.

1:21:33I could tell you three stories just in

1:21:35the last three months where I think I

1:21:38told one with the mental health, the

1:21:39son, the mother moved, she couldn't take

1:21:41him and then, you know, and that

1:21:43spiraled very quickly. Very sad. So,

1:21:46there's So, even if you do identify the

1:21:48person who may be becoming and you want

1:21:50to help them, the resources aren't

1:21:52there. And then, so we've got not only

1:21:54identifying the person who might become

1:21:56homeless, then you've got to identify

1:21:59where the resources going to be able to

1:22:01help.

1:22:02>> Are you raising your hand?

1:22:03>> I am a little bit. I can't I don't love

1:22:05a hand.

1:22:06>> want me to raise my hand before you and

1:22:07then how many times? I can't let you in

1:22:09here, Sherry.

1:22:10>> You don't have to raise your hand, but

1:22:11it does make it easier.

1:22:12>> It does help and I want to be mindful.

1:22:14Um

1:22:15so, it sounds like the other information

1:22:16that will be helpful for us next meeting

1:22:18is what current resources are we able to

1:22:20connect people to. I'm curious if

1:22:23there's different resources for a single

1:22:24adult versus

1:22:26family and as the expert in that area,

1:22:30where are the bottlenecks, right?

1:22:33And like which resources

1:22:35flow smooth and which resources don't

1:22:38flow smooth.

1:22:39Um

1:22:41the affairs like obvious

1:22:44checks in the chain, so to speak.

1:22:47Breaks in the chain

1:22:49of resources.

1:22:50>> So, one thing I do want um

1:22:53about housing too, too, is I think we

1:22:56also think housing is very generic

1:22:58thing.

1:22:58Because um you know, things we we had

1:23:02psych psych world is folks used to be in

1:23:05the ultra psych facility. It's not like

1:23:07they go you got a house, do you got a

1:23:08car?

1:23:09They struggle to make it in the house,

1:23:11but they it's not the right housing for

1:23:13them. They put them in a place that they

1:23:15are scrambling because they can't

1:23:17navigate resources and things like that.

1:23:19And I think

1:23:22it it it's

1:23:24we set them up to fail. We house them,

1:23:26but we almost like it's because it looks

1:23:28good on my metrics.

1:23:30But the chance of them surviving

1:23:32homelessness I don't know how house in a

1:23:34year from now slim because they can't

1:23:36function. So, I think that's

1:23:38something we need to consider about

1:23:40housing, whether it's a right match

1:23:42right match and right support off. And

1:23:45then the other thing too is, you know,

1:23:47we have a big constituent people of

1:23:49Bangor who are landlords.

1:23:51You know, whether it's within Bangor

1:23:52Housing or whether it's on private

1:23:53stuff.

1:23:56And I think it's important sometimes

1:23:58it's easy to pit them as evil doers

1:24:00because they're evicting people.

1:24:03I will say I don't have a I don't have

1:24:04halls of residence. I'm not a landlord.

1:24:05I'm just speaking from my

1:24:07you know, people I know who are

1:24:08landlords like that.

1:24:09And and they do sometimes try.

1:24:13But I can hear stories of them trying,

1:24:15but they also have a hard time because

1:24:18the person is not able to accept the

1:24:20help or is not able to whatever. So,

1:24:23they basically said I have I have a

1:24:24friend who lives here who said I have a

1:24:26tenant who's never there, but I've had

1:24:28this apartment that I could be giving to

1:24:29somebody, but he's never there, but you

1:24:31know, he barely he and he's not paying

1:24:34it. I just can't do anything about it.

1:24:36So, I think there's there's

1:24:38some I'm not saying it gives you a

1:24:39program, but something to think about

1:24:41that housing got to be the right housing

1:24:44for the right, you know, with the

1:24:45resources rather than to say let's make

1:24:4715 apartments we can put 15 people in

1:24:49and

1:24:50you know, like where do we go with this

1:24:52thing?

1:24:53>> Yeah, I think our housing conversation

1:24:54is going to be very

1:24:55>> Yeah.

1:24:56>> I think that's going to be like a

1:24:57stabilized component because like that's

1:25:00one of the things that's really missing

1:25:01from the entire like business complex.

1:25:03Like we say we love saying supportive

1:25:04housing, but like what supportive

1:25:06housing truthfully means is case

1:25:08management, therapy, you know, workforce

1:25:11services, rehabilitation, physical

1:25:13therapy, like it is such a constellation

1:25:15of services, right? Like, you know, we

1:25:17take an unhoused person with a chronic

1:25:19back problem because when they were a

1:25:20construction worker they fell off a

1:25:21roof. And we put them in housing and you

1:25:24know, they get fired or whatever. Like

1:25:25they're right in the same bucket. So,

1:25:27the supportive housing aspect of that

1:25:29piece was so big. So, I think that

1:25:30that's something

1:25:32>> I think by the way that's actually what

1:25:33the studies just the people do well

1:25:35supportive housing, not just housing

1:25:38itself.

1:25:38>> Yes, agreed. But those are topics for

1:25:41future

1:25:41>> Yes, I actually

1:25:42>> So, let's bring us back

1:25:44>> [laughter]

1:25:44>> to prevention

1:25:46and what resources we need.

1:25:47>> So that's what I

1:25:50But that's the education part.

1:25:52>> Yeah, 100% absolutely.

1:25:53>> So what I'm hearing to prepare for the

1:25:56conversation to start talking about

1:25:58objective strategies key activities is

1:26:00that it'd be helpful for you all at

1:26:02least to know what we currently do in

1:26:04the city

1:26:05around eviction. So

1:26:08Bruce is going to give you a good

1:26:11conversation on our current rules

1:26:14and just to

1:26:16be able to understand.

1:26:18I think that makes sense.

1:26:19>> I think that that makes sense, but I

1:26:21also think that like prevention

1:26:23you know, like is primarily a workforce

1:26:26issue in this country, you know,

1:26:28fortunately or unfortunately.

1:26:30Um

1:26:31>> [clears throat]

1:26:31>> and so like that's somewhere we need to

1:26:33kick the trees to to see what I think

1:26:37that's where if there is data on

1:26:40eviction rationale, I think that would

1:26:42help either make that case or or not,

1:26:46right? I mean, are people being evicted

1:26:48because they can't pay their rent or are

1:26:50they being evicted because they're

1:26:51destroying the property or they're

1:26:53>> So what I can tell you is we're not

1:26:55going to be able to provide you with

1:26:56city data on those particular causes.

1:26:59What we'll have to do is go to the

1:27:00research and what says puts what puts

1:27:02somebody at high risk for eviction and

1:27:05that's going to be domestic violence,

1:27:07that's going to be

1:27:08rent went up, it's going to be mental

1:27:10health, it's going to be substance

1:27:11abuse, it's going to be foster care, you

1:27:13know, knowing how to live in in a house

1:27:16because you haven't had to. So that's

1:27:18going to come from a literature search

1:27:20that might be a little bit bigger than

1:27:21maybe what we're able to provide for

1:27:23next week, but I can at least look at

1:27:25some resources with staff to see if

1:27:27there could be some summaries of what

1:27:30puts somebody at risk for eviction.

1:27:32>> But can I before I

1:27:34yield, I wanted to say my original thing

1:27:37or another airplane

1:27:39having an air traffic control is having

1:27:41a huge

1:27:42impact on today.

1:27:44Uh and I did appreciate everything that

1:27:46you said, Jen, truly. Um and I think

1:27:48that's what I I was trying to say, too,

1:27:50is that like

1:27:51maybe what I should have what maybe what

1:27:53I shouldn't have said was that workforce

1:27:55is the primary issue. Maybe that's more

1:27:56of a controversial thing. Workforce is

1:27:59one of the large issues that is an

1:28:00arguably large issue.

1:28:02Um, and that is something that we need

1:28:05some sort of data or some sort of combo

1:28:07for, some sort of prep for. And so,

1:28:09that's all I wanted to say about that.

1:28:11And I did want to tag on

1:28:13to the

1:28:14earlier thing.

1:28:16I'll I'll just I'll do my line items,

1:28:18and I'll yield to Jay, and then

1:28:19hopefully it will all be okay.

1:28:22Um,

1:28:23but I think that like the self-risk

1:28:25thing that like

1:28:27a lot of people or the self-reporting

1:28:29thing, like

1:28:30I'm not saying that we need to should

1:28:32triage that person and, you know, deploy

1:28:34all the workers from the hive to go and

1:28:36help that Though that would be ideal,

1:28:38right? In a perfect world, we would do

1:28:39that. But

1:28:41at least in this world, we would have

1:28:42that data, right? Like and what's the

1:28:44harm in that person who is a stable

1:28:46homeowner or who has one bad

1:28:50you know,

1:28:51day trading cycle. Now they're a little

1:28:53worried because they're behind on their

1:28:55mortgage. I don't know. I don't want to

1:28:56hold my you know, that

1:28:58uh, scares me, frankly. But

1:29:01um,

1:29:02wouldn't it help us? Wouldn't it behoove

1:29:03us to still have that data? That this

1:29:05stably housed person moved from feeling

1:29:07that way to moving to feeling from

1:29:08somewhere else? And that way we're

1:29:10collecting from, you know, like I just

1:29:12feel like that would be helpful. And the

1:29:14reason I brought it up is because you

1:29:15mentioned feeling like we didn't have a

1:29:17way to find those people.

1:29:19>> [clears throat]

1:29:19>> You know, and so maybe

1:29:21maybe the first step in in quote unquote

1:29:23saving them would be to know that they

1:29:25are there, and maybe a good way to have

1:29:27that done would be to make sure that

1:29:29like if there is a resource where we

1:29:30could do like self-reporting or a send a

1:29:33ticket in or whatever and put it on the

1:29:34city website. Like landlords knew where

1:29:36it was. They have a nice big pamphlet of

1:29:39communications communication education

1:29:41part. Something from [clears throat] the

1:29:42city they could print out boilerplate,

1:29:45you know, um,

1:29:47and that one other thing. One other

1:29:48thing, I'm sorry.

1:29:50I may I may have lost it too.

1:29:52Truthfully, maybe gone.

1:29:53>> I know, I might need a gapple.

1:29:57Or a weapon.

1:29:58>> No no weapons.

1:30:00>> Um apple

1:30:02I forgot though.

1:30:04>> Jay,

1:30:04go ahead please.

1:30:05>> We've we've talked about buckets. We've

1:30:07talked about prevention, connection,

1:30:08shelter, staple stabilization, housing,

1:30:12sustaining, how to sustain.

1:30:14Um I wonder if another way to look at

1:30:16this and it's something Amy that you

1:30:18said that kind of sparked this was to

1:30:20make sure that we look at every piece of

1:30:21the population that's going through

1:30:22those. Do we so that

1:30:25>> [clears throat]

1:30:25>> we would have very specific

1:30:29headings like unaccompanied youth. Let's

1:30:31talk about unaccompanied youth and what

1:30:33the prevention

1:30:34domestic violence. Let's talk about what

1:30:36that prevention looks like.

1:30:38Uh veterans, what's that look like?

1:30:40Um chronic homelessness, we talked about

1:30:42individuals who are uh unaccompanied

1:30:44individuals, but some are chronic,

1:30:46they've been a long here a long time,

1:30:48and some are situational. They've only

1:30:50just had their first or their second or

1:30:52very short-term homeless situations. So

1:30:55if we were to look at the population in

1:30:57these buckets and specifically make sure

1:30:59we address those populations

1:31:00individually.

1:31:03>> So my only my only concern and this is

1:31:06just my humble opinion is that that

1:31:09would get us so deep into the minutia

1:31:11that we wouldn't be able to move forward

1:31:14on anything meaningfully to be able to

1:31:15get the full strategic plan. However, I

1:31:19do think that is one of those great

1:31:20examples of um what were we calling it?

1:31:23Our um

1:31:25What is it?

1:31:25>> The lenses

1:31:26>> No, like the tidbits that we were going

1:31:27to throw on at the end.

1:31:30Uh

1:31:31>> The parking lot, bullying and grief

1:31:32issues.

1:31:32>> The lingering, that's the word I was

1:31:33looking

1:31:33>> Let me ask a question, Jay. Where are

1:31:35you envisioning this this demographical

1:31:37approach? Are you envisioning this in

1:31:39>> In each time. Every time we talk about

1:31:41one of these buckets in prevention, we

1:31:43go through the list, we say how does

1:31:45this affect

1:31:46uh family services?

1:31:48>> Oh well then then I'm with you.

1:31:49>> How does this affect unaccompanied youth

1:31:51at the Shaw House? What does this look

1:31:53like for someone who's in a domestic

1:31:55violence shelter tonight?

1:31:57What does this look like for a veteran?

1:31:59What is this looking like for someone

1:32:00who's been on the streets for 5 years?

1:32:02What does this look like for someone

1:32:03who's been sleeping in their car for the

1:32:05first time

1:32:06uh for the last 3 weeks? Because

1:32:08prevention looks different for each one

1:32:10of those people. Each one of those

1:32:11groups of people.

1:32:12Uh and there are some pretty overarching

1:32:15groups just like this is an overarching

1:32:17bucket of overarching buckets, there's

1:32:19overarching groups that fit into those

1:32:21buckets. And I would just be afraid to

1:32:23miss somebody if we didn't kind of kind

1:32:24of like check the box. So, we've we've

1:32:26we've discussed domestic violence, we've

1:32:28discussed veterans, we've discussed

1:32:30unaccompanied youth.

1:32:31Each time.

1:32:33Each time.

1:32:34>> I wonder if identifying

1:32:37like sub-populations

1:32:39and just kind of keeping that

1:32:42as

1:32:44I hate to say it once again, but like

1:32:47genuinely writing down those particular

1:32:49populations that are going to have a

1:32:51different experience

1:32:53depending on what population they fall

1:32:55into. And then

1:32:56to prevent the minutia piece of it, are

1:32:59there any glaring issues for any of the

1:33:02identified populations and how they

1:33:03would navigate this

1:33:06this book of work. And if we

1:33:08identify a ton, then maybe that's worth

1:33:09a little bit of time. And if we don't

1:33:11identify a ton, then maybe that can go

1:33:12into the parking lot for

1:33:15future

1:33:16future work to be done.

1:33:18And that way we're not overlooking

1:33:19anything because when I think of

1:33:21prevention, certainly preventing a

1:33:23family facing eviction is very different

1:33:26than a single adult facing eviction.

1:33:29And the resources for a kid in that

1:33:31graduated Shaw House are going to be

1:33:33different than a a veteran, right? So, I

1:33:37definitely I think there's value in

1:33:39that. And I'm I wonder if there's ways

1:33:41for us to be able to

1:33:43address that without getting

1:33:45>> I mean, we

1:33:45>> I think that's what I'm just trying to

1:33:47say, right? So,

1:33:48>> Well, that's I mean, I I feel like we

1:33:49could easily probably spend an entire

1:33:51meeting talking about um unhoused

1:33:53veterans and how do prevent them from

1:33:55becoming unhoused, right? And that's my

1:33:58concern because we do have a finite

1:34:00timeline to present a strategic plan.

1:34:03And so that's where I like your idea

1:34:06Amy of taking those

1:34:09subsets of population and looking at

1:34:11them. I'm going to use it though lens

1:34:13through those lenses to say, hey, are

1:34:16there policies that can touch the bulk

1:34:19of these these subgroups might not hit

1:34:22all of them, but that's where and we

1:34:25come back once the strategic plan is is

1:34:28live right? That's those are those

1:34:30opportunities to come back and fine tune

1:34:32it, but we we have a fixed timeline to

1:34:34get the strategic plan to see how so

1:34:36>> Maybe one prevention piece could be one

1:34:39goal is to identify vulnerable groups

1:34:41and look at there.

1:34:43Because you could be better could be

1:34:44anybody. So maybe that's the timeline.

1:34:46It's just one of the objectives to say,

1:34:48hey, get which group and that could be

1:34:50almost anything because along that line

1:34:53a vulnerable group group could be people

1:34:55who are homeless but not from the Bangor

1:34:57area. And I know we had this discussion

1:34:59before people well, are you from Bangor

1:35:0015 years ago? I understand that, but at

1:35:03the end of day

1:35:04there's a difference between

1:35:07current residents in Bangor who are

1:35:08homeless who become homeless versus

1:35:10someone suddenly coming in from

1:35:11somewhere else and became homeless here

1:35:13because I think that's some of the

1:35:14frustration

1:35:16uh in terms of how to get data though

1:35:18because it's so transient and two

1:35:20I think that's where some of the hard

1:35:21feelings come into for people you know

1:35:23for folks is that yeah, if I only know

1:35:2510 I can work on 10, but if I can't

1:35:27figure out how many people coming in,

1:35:30why do I feel like I'm spending money on

1:35:32folks that let's say Portland is like

1:35:34that I'm not saying they are, I'm not

1:35:35saying they are, but but that's that's

1:35:37the perception.

1:35:39>> Agreed.

1:35:41Do you have something?

1:35:41>> Um oh yeah. Um

1:35:44Well, what I was going to say is I think

1:35:46that it might make sense to rope that

1:35:48into in terms of like reaching

1:35:49marginalized people and people who have

1:35:51special support needs. Might make sense

1:35:54to if we're going to have lenses and if

1:35:57we're going to have them represented on

1:35:59the document in some way, shape, or

1:36:00form. My biggest fear about that is that

1:36:02it sort of

1:36:04cracks in the system that we talked

1:36:06about earlier. And

1:36:09I would also caution us that like trying

1:36:11to come up with any sort of

1:36:12generic-sized plan,

1:36:14you know, in my opinion, right? Um is a

1:36:17very bad idea for Bangor. Um and we talk

1:36:20a lot about like our shelter capacity.

1:36:23And if we have the shelter capacity, why

1:36:24aren't we really utilizing it? And you

1:36:28know, and if we have the shelter

1:36:30capacity, why is there still open-air

1:36:32drug use? Um and not just a little bit

1:36:36of open-air drug use, but like actually

1:36:38a whole whole whole whole whole lot of

1:36:40it of open-air drug use.

1:36:42Well, you know, in my experience, not

1:36:45just um

1:36:46>> [clears throat]

1:36:47>> doing unhoused outreach, but from all of

1:36:50my, you know, research and other

1:36:53committee work and and everything else,

1:36:54it would all point in the same

1:36:56direction, which is that people who are

1:36:57not utilizing those services

1:37:01are

1:37:02in any of the groups that Jay just

1:37:04mentioned. And that is the primary

1:37:06reason

1:37:07that, you know, like I I've heard of

1:37:09people who, you know, have wheelchairs

1:37:12and walkers who can't get down um

1:37:16into a warming shelter because of their

1:37:18layout. Um

1:37:20I've heard of, you know, LGBTQ people

1:37:23who won't go to, you know, uh certain

1:37:26shelters because of bad experiences.

1:37:36>> So, you just brought up a great point,

1:37:38right?

1:37:39Talking about somebody who has mobility

1:37:42issues,

1:37:43right? Is there the possibility that we

1:37:46we need to look at ADA accommodations

1:37:48when when licensing a shelter or when

1:37:51allowing a shelter, right? And and does

1:37:54that

1:37:54>> shelters?

1:37:55>> Well, well, not with the city.

1:37:57>> Doesn't do that.

1:37:58>> But to to allow them to I mean,

1:38:00most businesses have to follow ADA

1:38:03law. And so

1:38:06is that something and if that is

1:38:07something is there what's the burden on

1:38:10them

1:38:10like

1:38:12you're bringing a great point up.

1:38:14So I want to I just want to make sure

1:38:16that we're

1:38:17we're

1:38:18>> And the same thing with the sub

1:38:19committee can look at it too.

1:38:21Um the sub committee can look at it too.

1:38:23My my one concern

1:38:25with that is if we were to say

1:38:29and I'm thinking of a real place but

1:38:31like if we were to say you cannot

1:38:33provide this because you don't have

1:38:34wheelchair accessibility would they be

1:38:36able to be a provider at all, right? And

1:38:37that would be something that you know

1:38:40um

1:38:41obviously we'd have to keep in mind

1:38:43mostly parts but painting the strategic

1:38:46plan with a broad brush is something

1:38:49that would scare me

1:38:51very deeply because we do have a

1:38:53constellation of I mean that's one of

1:38:56the things our critics say about us the

1:38:58most is that Bangor is just overburdened

1:39:01with NGOs

1:39:03that um are soaking up dollars from

1:39:06different places.

1:39:08But and and then there's still open air

1:39:10drug use. So

1:39:13there's only so much we can attribute

1:39:16to the system because we have a lot of

1:39:18government we have a lot of

1:39:20non-government, we have a lot of

1:39:21philanthropy, we have a lot of churches,

1:39:22we have a lot of community, we have a

1:39:23lot of local action

1:39:25all focused on this. And yet we still

1:39:28see open air drug use, we still see

1:39:30unsheltered people, we still see people

1:39:32dangerously and that's because we have

1:39:33been painting in my opinion we've been

1:39:35painting with [clears throat] such a

1:39:36broad brush, right? If you were to talk

1:39:38with any of these individuals at length

1:39:40which is what I do

1:39:42um you would find out that the reason

1:39:44they didn't go to the recovery center,

1:39:46the reason they didn't go to the

1:39:47hospital, the reason they didn't pay

1:39:49their bill, the reason they didn't is

1:39:50because of one of Jay's factors.

1:39:54And so I think that like

1:39:56that if anything should be the primary

1:39:58component not the secondary or tertiary.

1:40:02Also

1:40:02>> I mean and and I think uh Jay made a

1:40:05good point, but it also seems like it

1:40:06applies to every category again along

1:40:08with re-categorizing. I know it's it's

1:40:10not uh

1:40:11you know, these are are primary and they

1:40:14kind of have a general, you know,

1:40:15emotion or aspect to it where Jay's has

1:40:19a category of different people that are

1:40:21in different places for different

1:40:22reasons, but it kind of applies to every

1:40:24single thing again. Maybe in the

1:40:26preamble or in conclusion, it is part of

1:40:29the strategic plan when you recommend it

1:40:31to council. You would say, "But keep in

1:40:33mind, you know, these

1:40:35each of these aspects affect these

1:40:37categories differently."

1:40:39So that it can be addressed because you

1:40:41make a good point. Uh a lot of times the

1:40:43one's going to be different. Love it.

1:40:47>> Yeah, I think that's the critical point.

1:40:48So thank you for mentioning it, Jay. Um

1:40:52>> And I also see that like

1:40:54in those different categories on

1:40:56evictions,

1:40:57I believe like I find that there

1:40:59resources may be stronger for

1:41:03a single person, right? But when I have

1:41:05to evict uh

1:41:06single mom with four or five kids, like

1:41:09that was that is a very scary situation

1:41:12and you know,

1:41:13I've I've done everything to prevent it,

1:41:15but you know, not even all the time

1:41:18and babies, littles, it's heart- it's

1:41:22heartening. It's there is not So in that

1:41:25aspect like for me looking at like the

1:41:27families with kids, I find that and

1:41:30maybe I just don't know all of those

1:41:32that they're not easily found.

1:41:34Like that resource for that is not

1:41:35easily found. Um

1:41:37>> Actually, it makes along that line where

1:41:39there's auto prevention or whatever it

1:41:41is.

1:41:42Um

1:41:43Is there [clears throat] a way we can

1:41:44touch on how to make sure people the

1:41:47system and people don't get worn out? I

1:41:49don't know how to say that,

1:41:51but just something keep in mind because

1:41:53like that kind

1:41:54you know, we call moral injury, but

1:41:56that's not wear and tear of the planet.

1:41:57So to a point where she may say, "You

1:41:59know what? I'm done. I can't do this

1:42:01anymore." And you know, I just also want

1:42:02to actually make a difference to

1:42:03somebody.

1:42:05Council.

1:42:06>> And along with

1:42:08Phil's idea of dashboard, I I think you

1:42:10know, when listening to everybody,

1:42:11whether it's the landlord

1:42:13family in my situation where family just

1:42:16ignored the delivery person, anybody

1:42:18that might be able to go or anyone from

1:42:20these categories is you know, the

1:42:23landlords kind of had a somebody came in

1:42:26their radar, they could go to dashboard

1:42:28so they could say they'd know where to

1:42:29go where they might not. Realtors, we

1:42:32see problems because someone's losing

1:42:33their house and we go in they don't have

1:42:35any heat and you know, we know that they

1:42:37you know, can't feed their dog anymore

1:42:38or you know, and that's a comfort to

1:42:40them.

1:42:41We have a lot of red flags and but we

1:42:43don't know where to go.

1:42:44>> Like we talked about clicking on the

1:42:46link like But we you know, it's like

1:42:48it's we got to get there, right? So I

1:42:50think it's someone said what Teal said,

1:42:52it's like we keep talking about that

1:42:54like it's like when do we get there to

1:42:56be able to say, "Okay, I'm going to

1:42:58bring this, you're going to bring this,

1:42:59you're going to bring what you have."

1:42:59cuz we all have something different.

1:43:01Like I you have a resource I don't know

1:43:03many probably and so if we all create

1:43:06that dashboard with I just bringing it

1:43:08doesn't even have to be a big

1:43:09conversation really is bringing each of

1:43:11those links and data so somebody can put

1:43:14it on a dashboard. So when you go as a

1:43:16landlord you can say, "Oh, okay, this

1:43:18one will work." You know, let me click

1:43:20here or my cell or families. "Oh, I

1:43:22didn't even know that existed."

1:43:23>> So for communication and connection

1:43:25which could then again fall into

1:43:27prevention and you know, all the other

1:43:29categories.

1:43:33>> I would argue should fall in all of the

1:43:35other categories. We have to communicate

1:43:37all of the resources at all of these

1:43:39different stages.

1:43:41All right. So So circling back, is there

1:43:44anything else that we need from city to

1:43:48be able to dig into

1:43:51prevention conversation at the next

1:43:53meeting?

1:43:54>> My only thought is, you know, I know

1:43:57Capital City uh but

1:44:00um

1:44:01you know, I think it would be very good

1:44:02for us to know what's already working

1:44:04not just from the city perspective but

1:44:06from our

1:44:08community partners because why wouldn't

1:44:10it benefit us to parasitize off of

1:44:12whatever every strategy they have if

1:44:13it's working, right? And we could call

1:44:15up our church, together place,

1:44:19McDonald's, whatever,

1:44:21you know, and say, you know, what have

1:44:22you done that brought joy?

1:44:25You know, why wouldn't it behoove us to

1:44:29to say, hey, there there's probably

1:44:30something there and there maybe there

1:44:33might be something specifically

1:44:34Bangorium there that we didn't know

1:44:36about before.

1:44:37>> Fresh Start might be one.

1:44:39>> Fresh Start.

1:44:40>> I can tell you that Bruce is one.

1:44:41>> I was going to say I I feel like Bruce

1:44:43is going to bring a awful lot of that in

1:44:45his presentation next week.

1:44:46>> Well, I don't think Bruce will brag

1:44:47about himself, but I can

1:44:48>> He can present next week, no one's going

1:44:50to be able to listen.

1:44:51>> I can say yeah,

1:44:52but anecdotally when I've talked to

1:44:54patients that have been chronically

1:44:55unhoused and are having success being

1:44:58housed for the first time ever, it's

1:45:00because of the touches from Bruce and

1:45:03his team and

1:45:05the work that he continues to do with

1:45:08the landlords.

1:45:10And calling on his personal rolodex of

1:45:13resources that he's created over the

1:45:14years, so I think there's a way, I hope,

1:45:17that you brag about what you've done

1:45:19differently

1:45:20because I can I know I see it and

1:45:23clients report it to me constantly and

1:45:26they feel reassured knowing that they

1:45:28have someone that they trust that can

1:45:29help them navigate a system that they

1:45:31have not been able to navigate. So, if

1:45:32there's a way for you to articulate what

1:45:34you've been doing that's new and

1:45:35different, I think that could be very

1:45:37valuable for us.

1:45:43>> Anything else that we

1:45:47>> It was like it's like you just opened

1:45:48that up. I mean, you didn't even need to

1:45:50ask us at this table.

1:45:52>> [laughter]

1:45:55>> Any other issues or questions that we

1:45:58need to discuss before adjourning today?

1:46:01>> I have one.

1:46:02>> Yes, ma'am.

1:46:03>> Ash, I don't think she's going to

1:46:04mention it, but Councilwoman Ash, I want

1:46:08to say thank you for your time, your

1:46:12dedication.

1:46:13It is so clear that you care so much

1:46:17about everyone in Bangor. And I know

1:46:20that you and I have had different

1:46:21perspectives along the way, but I want

1:46:23you to know that I have learned a lot

1:46:25from you. I really appreciate you being

1:46:27a part of this committee as it started

1:46:30off. You not only just represented the

1:46:32council, you represented Bangor and you

1:46:34represented a lot of heart. So, I want

1:46:36to say thank you.

1:46:37>> Thank you. We're lucky to have you, too,

1:46:39Jim. And I know sometimes we've had

1:46:40different perspectives, but I've always

1:46:42respected and always felt we're very

1:46:44lucky to have you and your whole group,

1:46:45Bruce, we're very, very lucky. And uh

1:46:48police department, too.

1:46:51>> [laughter]

1:46:51>> They're probably not really happy with

1:46:53me sometimes.

1:46:54I do love Bangor and I I'm so excited

1:46:57for this committee and uh I will still

1:46:59be watching and involved in some way,

1:47:01hopefully positive way.

1:47:03>> And please give us a council with a nice

1:47:05warm handoff.

1:47:10>> Very well said.

1:47:11>> And I don't know what my role would be.

1:47:13I'm sure they'll post something. I'm

1:47:14hoping that they [clears throat] let me

1:47:15stay,

1:47:16but I don't know. Like I don't know cuz

1:47:19I know my term extends beyond, but I

1:47:21don't know how long that's going to be

1:47:23cuz we're a new committee.

1:47:24I don't know if my term will allow me to

1:47:26continue or if it has to be a new

1:47:29member, you know, I don't know what's

1:47:30going to happen.

1:47:31>> I'll say something to Jim.

1:47:32>> We love to see you there.

1:47:33>> All right. Well, last

1:47:34>> I'm sorry. Thank you for

1:47:36>> being a member of the board.

1:47:37>> Yeah.

1:47:39>> Very thoughtful of you.

1:47:40>> I appreciate that. Thank you all.

1:47:41Appreciate it.

1:47:43>> With that, um it is 7:02. I will call

1:47:47this meeting We'll adjourn this meeting.

1:47:50>> Yay.

1:47:51>> Thanks.

1:47:53>> I just saw a video.

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