Millbrae homeless outreach program reporting success

“I am so impressed with the process and the progress and the numbers,” said Mayor Anne Oliva, who was joined by other councilmembers in lauding the early results.

The program consists of two social workers who conduct outreach near the train station in the evening and at night with the goal of guiding people to services offered regionally. People who may be using the trains as shelter often end up at the station, which is at the end of the line, as a result of being forced off when service stops for the night.

“This is what we know we are most successful at, connecting with clients at night when it’s cold, when they are desperate to be under shelter and under warmth and we are able to support them,” Isabella Karabed, a senior director for LifeMoves, said.

The program received funding for a year of operation last year, with $150,000 budgeted from the city’s general fund and $100,000 granted from the county’s Measure K funds. The City Council has in the past made efforts to receive aid from BART or increased county funding to little avail.

“This council and our city manager, we took it upon ourselves to say we want to be part of this project and we were going to self-fund it,” Oliva said, who also expressed her gratitude to Supervisor Dave Pine for contributing to the effort.

County officials have described a plan to achieve “functional zero” homelessness, meaning the county’s capacity to provide shelter would exceed the number of people unhoused. The county’s last count in 2019 found roughly 900 people living outside or in vehicles — only nine of whom were counted in Millbrae.

At the time, 600 individuals were also living in the county’s shelters or supportive housing options. With a boost from federal pandemic relief grants, the county added to its stock by converting old hotels to housing with services for those exiting homelessness. Officials hope such options, combined with safe parking sites — areas where people can live in their cars with access to bathrooms and other resources, will add the opportunity for another 700 people to get off the streets by the end of the year.

Karabed explained that programs like Millbrae’s are the gateway to those options. “San Mateo County has what’s called a coordinated entry system which is the only way our clients can access shelter and housing services,” she said.

The process starts by building trust, she said, and then clients are enrolled to start receiving case management. Of the 84 people who have taken that step in Millbrae, 15 began receiving “intensive case management,’’ which involves multiple meetings a week, and six have received housing vouchers, a guarantee to receive permanent housing and one has been placed in permanent housing, according to LifeMoves data.

“The team started being very successful right away,” Karabed said. The program set out with a goal of enrolling 100 clients in the first year, she said.

Councilmembers agree the results were “wonderful” and the money was well spent despite the city’s ongoing budget deficit.

“Millbrae can be a leader in this, and we’re that much better — 84 people’s lives are that much better because of our effort,” Councilmember Anders Fung said.

Councilmember Reuben Holober said he hoped BART would take notice of the effort and “be willing to step up and help us with this project,” in addition to expanding the model to other stations.

LifeMoves will provide another update on the program later this year.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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