No oversight. No transparency. Grand jury slams Fresno government’s homeless response

Fresno’s response to homelessness lacks oversight and cohesion, which threatens progress, according to a new report issued by the Fresno County Grand Jury.

“This lack of coordinated effort has contributed to the problem rather than support successful outcomes,” they wrote.

The report, published in October, was put together by a group of citizens selected by the county superior court each year to investigate civil matters and hold local government to account.

H Spees, director of strategic initiatives for the mayor’s office and a leader of the city’s homeless response, characterized the findings as “critical thinking, not criticism.”

“They’re thoughtful attempts to move our progress forward,” he added.

What happened to Street2Home?

Among other things, the grand jury found that the program designed to become the backbone of Fresno’s response to the homelessness crisis has yet to launch.

Street2Home was supposed to oversee all homeless services to create a more cohesive response and oversight. It was officially proposed in a report by Barbara Poppe, former executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness under President Barack Obama, whom the City of Fresno and Fresno Housing Authority contracted in 2017.

Westcare, an addiction rehabilitation center and a partner in Fresno’s homelessness response, was tasked with applying for a grant to fund the program. They received $150,000 from Kaiser Permanente in 2019 to hire an executive director, facilitator, and data manager — but the positions remain empty, according to the report.

Spees attributed the failure to get the organization off the ground to political disagreement and the pandemic.

“At that time, there was a new city council, and there were some significant questions about whether that was the best direction to go. There was hesitation. There was a pause in the progress we were making,” Spees said. “And just then, COVID hit, and all that was put on the back burner.”

When asked where the money went, Spees said they redirected it to help people in shelters make safe exits. He said he has no doubts they will get more funding when they are ready to hire again, likely late next year, he said.

Laura Moreno, program manager with the Department of Social Services, said that while Street2Home hasn’t launched yet, the county has implemented many other recommendations in that report.

Spees said changing the agreement with Kaiser was made “with integrity.”

“The money was not shoveled in the dark of the night. It was done with Kaiser’s permission,” he said.

And although it’s a large sum of money, they are getting tens of millions from the state for other projects, like Project Homekey, that have demanded greater attention, Spees said.

“Every one of those pots of funds have been very transparently allocated through the public processes at the City Council and at the Board of Supervisors,” he assured.

Lack of transparency, conflicts of interest

The report also criticized the Fresno-Madera Continuum of Care, saying the organization lacks transparency. The Continuum of Care is a local extension of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Agency, staffed by volunteers, which streamlines the application process for federal grants and coordinates the local response to homelessness.

Among other issues, the grand jury found in March the Continuum of Care hadn’t updated its website since 2015. They updated the website for the first time in years last month, according to Moreno, who leads the planning body. She also said board meetings are open to the public through their newly launched website.

The Grand Jury also found the potential for conflicts of interest in the allocation of homeless dollars. The Fresno Madera Continuum of Care recommends funding allocations for federal grants — but the same people that vote on funding lead the organizations that receive that funding, the report states.

Moreno explained that an independent review board, comprised of people who don’t receive funding, do most of the work. They rank applications based on rigorous criteria, with the help of an independent contractor. The CoC board only then votes to approve those rankings. According to the report, they “have never changed the committee recommendations.”

Through interviews, the Grand Jury also heard contracts for state funding are not “adequately monitored for compliance by the County of Fresno.” The county, however, demonstrated to the report’s authors they have a “rigorous” monitoring plan, whereby contracts are monitored by trained analysts. Oversight is also required by funding agencies, like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which demand invoices, audits, and site visits.

The Grand Jury has recommended Street2Home fill all board vacancies and staff positions by early 2021. They also urged increased transparency on behalf of Street2Home, the city, and the county. Elected government officials have 60 days to respond to the report, while other officials have 90 days.

Homeless advocate Dez Martinez believes the report confirms “everything I have been shouting about for the past four years.”

“It’s hard to trust anybody in these positions, reading these findings and knowing that they knew they were actually hindering helping the homeless. They have that CoC is not transparent. Why are they not transparent with funds? Why? It makes me feel like you’re hiding something, and all these years, I thought they really did want to help the homeless.”