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CITY OF MUSKEGON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM CITIZEN’S DISTRICT COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, May 3, 2022 5:30pm AGENDA I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Approval of Minutes (4/5/2022) Action Item IV. Public Comments V. Old Business • Annual Action Plan 2022 Budget VI. New Business • None VII. Staff Reports • HOME ARP Submission VII Adjournment • Next Meeting – June 7, 2022 AMERICAN DISABILITY ACT POLICY FOR ACCESS TO OPEN MEETINGS OF THE CITY COMMISSION AND ANY OF ITS COMMITTEES OR SUBCOMMITTEES The City of Muskegon will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and audio tapes of printed materials being considered at the meeting, to individuals with disabilities who want to attend the meeting, upon twenty-four hours’ notice to the City of Muskegon. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the City of Muskegon by writing or call the following: Community and Neighborhood Services Office 933 Terrace Street Muskegon, MI 49440TDD: Dial 7-1-1 and request a representative to dial 231-724-6705 Minutes Citizen’s District Council Meeting City of Muskegon CDBG City Commission Chambers Muskegon, Michigan April 5, 2022 CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Jeremy Lenertz at 5:31 pm. ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken by Samantha Pulos, and a quorum was present. Present: Perry Dennie Jennifer Ross Veania Coleman Bre’Onna Sanders Absent: Ationza Smith Excused: Jeremey Lenertz Paul Kurdziel Staff Present: Oneata Bailey Samantha Pulos Others Present: Rebecca St. Clair, City Commissioner APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion to approve the minutes from February 1, 2022 (Action Item) was made by Jennifer Ross; Veania Coleman supported the motion, which passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. OLD BUSINESS: HOME ARP: Comments about past allocation, budget and proposed activities should be sent to Oneata or Sam by 4/30/2022. NEW BUSINESS: Introduction: Everyone (board and staff) introduced themselves, welcoming Bre’Onna Sanders as the CDC’s newest member. Annual Action Plan 2022: We have until April 30th to give comments, most important to understand that Norton Shores, Muskegon Heights, and City of Muskegon are in the plan together, our funding allocation have not been announced yet. We will not take this to commission until we have dollar amounts. STAFF REPORTS: None. GENERAL DISCUSSION: None. ADJOURN: Veania Coleman motioned to adjourn the meeting, Jennifer Ross seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 6:31 pm. NEXT MEETING: The next meeting date is: May 3, 2022. HOME-ARP Funding The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 appropriated $5 billion to provide housing, services, and shelter to individuals experiencing homeless and other vulnerable populations, to be allocated by formula to jurisdictions that qualified for HOME Investment Partnerships Program allocations in Fiscal Year 2021. Of this appropriation, the City was awarded $1,218,250.00 and will be used to assist a vulnerable population in an impactful way. These funds must be used to create new programs or services. Funds have to be expended by 2030. HOME-ARP Eligible Activities • Production or Preservation of Affordable Housing • Summer Youth Employment Training Program • Supportive Services • Purchase and Development of Non-Congregate Shelter. These structures can remain in use as non-congregate shelter or can be converted to: 1) emergency shelter under the Emergency Solutions Grant program; 2) permanent housing under the Continuum of Care; or 3) affordable housing under the HOME Program. City of Muskegon, Department of Community and Neighborhood Services Proposal Across Muskegon County, community leaders have been working to find stable housing options for unaccompanied minors between the ages of 11-17. Approximately 800 homeless youth have been identified as unaccompanied minors. It is believed the number is significantly higher based on youth who choose not to disclose their present location of residence. In the absence of a stable, permanent home setting, these unaccompanied minors are faced with, for example, living out of vehicles, affected by abusive relationships or relying on the sporadic and inconsistent grace of acquaintances who make a couch available. We intend to use these funds to develop collaborative community partnerships and alternative solutions to address this unmet need. Muskegon County is the only county that does not have any resources for unaccompanied minors who are termed doubled up, which is described as the sharing of housing of other persons due to the loss of housing, or economic hardship. Typically, children who are displaced from families are able to be placed in foster homes that may lead to permanent housing. Currently, there are facilities located through the county Department of Health and Human Services office and Arbor Circle who are providing available resources to youth who face homelessness or separation from parents. The frequency by which these unaccompanied minors change the location of their residence unfortunately does not create the legal standard, as recognized under the federal McKinney-Vento Act and our county’s Continuum of Care, to receive critical housing services. The Boys and Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore is an important partner that provides a safe, positive outlet and environment for area youth. We are fortunate that the BGC offers a sense of belonging, supportive relationships and meaningful opportunities. They offer programs that will help with academics, develop character and leadership, healthy relationships and meals. Although these are all wonderfully supportive and important programs they do not directly address the youth homelessness crisis in our community. HOME-ARP Funding The AYA Youth Collective, located in the City of Grand Rapids, is another model example of a facility that offers drop-in programming or access to supportive housing for youth who are in crisis that require services, including but not limited to, access to meals, transportation, medical services, storage of personal items, and personal care services. This facility is able to meet the many needs of youth who face homelessness or are in unsafe environments. This program also serves as a connector to transitional housing to those 18 and older who are able to sign a lease. Proposed Ideas • Youth Center - o The City seeks to invest in a community Youth Center that will be available for Muskegon County youth. We are seeking to renovate an existing structure in the city to make it publicly accessible and suitable to house youth. • Youth Crisis Center - o The City desires to replicate the AYA Youth Collective model to provide similar programmatic offerings that meet the immediate needs of our unaccompanied youth. • Stakeholder partnerships - The City seeks to engage community stakeholders to explore streamlining their existing service offerings for the benefit of a new Youth Crisis Center. o Explore current building capacity of Muskegon Covenant Hall, and any available property on site, to assist in housing impacted youth. o Explore development opportunities with the nonprofit organization, Kids Belong, which is seeking to create additional space for post-foster care, aged-out youth on property under their control. o Explore the past experiences of Dwelling Place which is investigating a scattered site land trust model that would allow for affordable home ownership options with capped growth – to allow for building wealth while also keeping homes affordable. Dwelling Place is also experienced with tax credits for affordable housing developments. o Explore programming options with The Hope Project whose mission is to mitigate the suffering of human trafficking. They seek to create transitional housing plans for women and provide the necessary wrap-around services such as mentorship, assistance with court appointments, jail visits, transportation, personal care, etc. • Rental rehab partnership w/ Landlords- Mentorship to homeownership o The City currently has under its control 1 housing units which could be used to create housing instantly for youth. o Incentivize current landlords to establish more affording housing options by making funds available to renovate their property listings. HOME-ARP Funding The City’s goal is to create impactful housing options that meet the needs of unaccompanied minors in our community. Through the collaborative services offerings of multiple community stakeholders, we will succeed in bridging the gap between youth homelessness and interdependence. It is critical to establish long term housing stability in the formative years of these youth to put them on a successful path of person growth opportunities. Through the financial participation and programmatic offerings of stakeholders, the needs of this vulnerable population are destined to be met.