 Well, welcome. My name is Clarence Lowe. I'm with Starforce. I want to introduce my lovely partner over there. She's with the poop hair be there. You can never forget your hair in the 70s, right? Believe it or not, my hair started out that way. I'm going to change there. Well, again, my name is Clarence Lowe. I'm with Starforce. I'm going to be the facilitator of this conversation today. I see the sign up here. I'm looking at the screens and it says, Community Work Session. I'm going to make an executive decision and change that to Community Empowerment Work Session. How do you like that? We're going to be in Empowerment Work Session today. But before I do anything else in terms of this, in the context of what we're going to be talking about today, I want to introduce the other speakers you'll be seeing today. So if we could just introduce Laura please. Laura, please introduce yourself. Laura Salinas Martinez. I'm the Interim Assistant Director of the Neighborhood and Process Services Department. Okay. And? Hi. Good evening. I'm the Director of Neighborhood and Housing Services at the University of Pennsylvania. All right. So let me just ask very quickly. One or two people, why did you come and spend this time with us today? Let me ask you. Let me begin with you. Why did you come and spend this time with us? This has been a really bad time for a lot of people. Okay. And I would like to see it resolved. Okay. And they need some kind of assistance and help to make the decisions that they have to make. Excellent. Excellent. Well, again, what I've done is changed the title to say Community Empowerment Work Session, right? All of us know that San Antonio has experienced a great deal of improvement. A lot of improvement in the city. A lot of renovating. And that's always a good thing for the most part. But that impacts a lot of people, right? It impacts some people positively. But it also impacts some people negatively. And we're going to talk about some of those negative effects a little bit. But we're going to kind of narrow the scope of the conversation to talk specifically about the one thing. Knowing that there's some negative impact to a lot of the residents that really feel the effect of some of the renovation that's happening in the city. The city has taken, I believe, the proactive step to try to do something about it. But that includes you as part of that decision-making, part of that planning process. You need to be here so that the city can decide exactly how they do what you see here on the screen. This program that they're designing for the short-term emergency rental assistance program. That is why we're here. Now, again, I know a lot of the frustration that many people are feeling the cause of the renovation. There's a lot of history, a lot of things that can be said. But as you hear what the city is dealing with and what I know you're dealing with, you'll find that there's some boundaries to what can be done. But some things can be done. But you're part of that decision-making. You're part of that process. We want you to be part of that process. Does that make sense? Sure. You think you can do that? I like your head. I heard some conversation. I don't know what's better. All right, so before I do anything else, what I'd like to give here very quickly is show you something. And I think this is going to act as a framework for the conversation. For those of you who can see this, what do these two words say? Can you see that? Economic development. Economic development. Economic development, everybody agree? Okay. You guys are very good. You're okay so far. It's a catch. What's the catch? Yeah, it has to be a catch. This is what it actually says. Oh, okay. Now, what's the point of this? What do you think I'm showing you this? What's the point? Confusion, right? Why are you three years? It's so much different than the first. See, everybody comes to the table when they discuss issues with their own perspective. You saw that sign and it looked like it said economic development because, you know, famous language, you can spell, you can see the word. It looks like it says economic development. But based upon your own theories of what it said, based upon your own perspective, you came to the table thinking that this was the truth and this is what need to be done and this is how we were going to proceed. Everybody comes to the table, especially when we talk about these kind of hot-button issues where people are really being impacted with their own perspective. What I need for you to really do is look at this whole issue, this whole issue of the short-term rental assistance as not just an individual that might need the assistance, but how does this affect the community? We're trying to find answers to the entirety of the community. Is that okay? Any questions for me so far? No rocks? No, so I think they're okay. Any questions? Okay, so let me explain very quickly what we're going to do. I'm going to make my introduction because I'm just done. We're going to have representatives of the city talk about the program, some of the boundaries of that program. What's going to be expected of you. We're going to have three different tables as you see actually come up with some conclusions, some ideas wrapped around some questions we're going to ask you about this program and then each table is going to report out what your ideas are. Then we're going to close and talk about some of the next steps in the process. Any questions? You're okay? George? Not yet. Not yet, okay, that's all right. Get ready, I'm ready. So is Laura here? Where's Laura? Laura's next, go right ahead. Can everyone hear me? Sure. All right, so what I'm going to go over today are the parameters of the community development block grant. So this short-term emergency rental program was funded with the community development block grant and this funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. And so I wanted to share with you what the minimal requirements are, the minimal thresholds and then you can provide input on the program design so long as it's within these parameters. Okay? And so these are non-negotiables and with these programs they're wonderful. They provide a lot of wonderful funding for community development and affordable housing development but it does come with a lot of compliance requirements and it comes with a lot of documentation requirements. So here in this first slide and all of you, if you don't have copies, we put the presentation up in the sign-in sheet. If you don't have any copies, Eric is going to make sure you have a copy because this will be helpful when you start your work session work. So the first item on there is the short-term, it has to be one-time short-term emergency grant payments. And also it has to assist households at 80% or below a median income. And what this means is that there's a threshold that's adjusted by household size. And I can show you a chart just a little bit after this slide to give you an idea of what that means for a family of four. Say for example, we need to make sure that when we income qualify families for this program that they do not exceed those income thresholds. Also the rental assistance payments cannot exceed three consecutive months. And the rental payments have to be made directly to the landlord. Now these are the income limits I wanted to share with you. They're kind of tiny, so if you look at your PowerPoint it'll probably be a little bit better. But what this means is, for example, if you have a household of four. So if you have a single parent with three children or you have two parents with two children, then their annual household income cannot exceed 50,800. That's what that schedule means there. Now the next slide talks about what we're required to document. Because these funds have to be used for emergency need, we have to be able to document that. So some of our, have received these funds. These are the types of, this is the type of documentation that they use. They either have a copy of a late notice or an eviction notice from a landlord. They have a copy of the proposed rent increase to show that their new level of rent is less affordable. Or they provide proof of a financial hardship, such as loss of employment or an unexpected medical expense. So that's it. That's the threshold that we have to meet. Now in order to design the program, that's where we're bringing you in to provide your feedback for that. And that is... Do you have a question? Yes, please. Where can we find all of the information? So this is, it's going to be a little, a little challenging, but the Code of Federal Regulations is 24 CFR 570. But to read it a lot easier, I would look up basically CDBG. It's a high resource guide. So basically CDBG for Community Development Block Grant. That would be the easiest place to kind of read it in so that it's easy to understand. The Code of Federal Regulations is a little confusing. And the regulations as well. Yes, 24 CFR part 570. CDBG is pretty flexible in what you can do with it. And then you go further into... These are the, what is required in the CDBG program in the Code of Federal Regulations. That's the minimum threshold. For this program test. Yes, do you have literature already printed that you've developed in the public? This is what we printed for you. The Code of Federal Regulations has hundreds of pages. So we don't have that printed. But for this CDBG, you can do a lot of things with the Community Development Block Grant for Community Development and Affordable Housing. But for this program in particular, these are the requirements, the minimal requirements for this program in particular. Yes, sir. How do you define short-term? Short-term cannot exceed three consecutive months. And that's in the head regulations. Yes, ma'am? I guess first of the clarification might be irrelevant. My understanding of the vote by city council is that they approve the funding. But they didn't define the uses. That's correct. They allowed the reprogramming. They voted to approve the reprogramming. But did they, was there a definition that these fundings would be, these funds definitely would be for emergency rental assistance? Yes. Yes, so the funding was approved for short-term emergency rental assistance. Now, we in the Department of Neighborhood and Housing or Neighborhood and Housing Services Department, we oversee the entitlement and we oversee the monitoring and oversight of these programs. So therefore, let me finish. So therefore, what we're going to do is DHS will be delivering the service so they're in charge of program delivery. What would happen normally with any funding is that we would have the person providing the delivery outline the program to us and then we would look over to make sure that it meets the federal requirements. And then we give a notice to move forward and run a word notice or we execute a contract to provide the services. Okay, so really as the way I see the requirements they are really for specifically for short-term emergencies and it wouldn't really be relevant for people whose rents go up and will continue to go up because it's only three months correct system. And it also wouldn't be relevant for persons who so it would get jumped for someone who is displaced because what you end up doing what this does or if it's seen as addressing it is someone gets displaced by increased rent and they don't have a financial they didn't have a financial hardship in the beginning they didn't lose a job they just can't record the rents anymore. So in fact those people get rent for only three months and if they have to find a location that's affordable it might be someplace and be able to do that with the three month funding but they would also have to go someplace else that is of a lower rent which is not in their neighborhood which is not by their schools etc. That might be the situation, yes but that's the parameters of this program in particular. My question is that we have this program here for the three months of the rents now it's where to go and find the dwelling because the housing gave us a list and I have called that there is a 4 to 7 year so where am I going to go after the nine months of my contract with solar I have to give 60 days notice so where am I going to go to use this program. Right, I don't have the answer for that but we do have the Department of Human Services Edward Gonzales met with you and is committed to working with you to try to find something that is more of a long term solution most immediately we're just trying to help people that are impacted by the increase in rent. Just a quick question my father is in the state we've applied everywhere it's like two years in a house I applied everywhere so the situation okay I understand and we are working on those concerns with the Mayor's Housing Task Force this work session was really took for the design of this program and to provide input. If I did the last two questions I already find a different place as the plan is going out and it's kind of worried I'm asking for money I'm just asking for time that thing won't want to just hide to find place. So I didn't get to say what I wanted to say if I may what I wanted to say is that in the work session perhaps you want to come to the table that's going to be part of what gets folded into we'd like the program to address this and help us think of ways in which to address it so that's part of the program in sight. Laura gave you the parameter but if you say but the program really needs to address this other question then that's the conversation about the program in sight. All of you have great questions and they're very legitimate questions but I want you to keep in mind that there are some parameters to this correct me if I'm wrong this is a federal grant that you're using this money for so there are some constraints that the city has there are a number of things that could probably should be done but there are only certain things that can be done within those constraints all of you have legitimate questions legitimate concerns and then have to kind of narrow the scope to what's discussed here because you're exactly right Veronica a lot of these questions are going to be answered and we hope to have your participation in how we design the program going forward not just to help you but those who might be experiencing the same thing the same thing I understand my daddy's not right there there's more I totally agree I totally understand there is a weight in this work scene I mean it's two plus seven years let me ask you would you like to join and participate in the work group to find some answers to that how will you proceed with that okay well I tell you what why don't you come forward and maybe sit in and we'll discuss some of those things because what we're about to do right now let me ask one more question and then we're going to stop at this point last question okay I know that Veronica said that at this time but I think if you talk to all the people who came here for experience in housing and security the detrimental effects that it has on our lives and well-being and if you spoke to probably about about 80% of San Antonio you would recognize that there is absolutely a health crisis going on so this is a great I guess if it's developed well it could be a good short term solution but what we'll talk about right now is what's really great but what we ultimately need to do is because I know that it's a very flexible method and as long as it's done did you guys consider any sort of other ways to put that into creating more permanently affordable housing? we already did that so we received entitlement grants from government, home funds we built multi-family affordable housing we had this conversation multi-family affordable housing single-family housing for home ownership we're already doing that the problem is there isn't enough money so in the mayor's task force the task force is making a lot of recommendations to put more funding into development looking at other options so that definitely is something that we want everybody to participate in I think what we usually see though is that affordable housing is creating luxury condos ours cannot be used for that we have to help families 80% or below so whenever it comes from DHS the neighborhood human services that goes directly to affordable housing entire complexes we fund affordable housing through affordable housing with affordable housing developers so we fund projects we fund all of us here we fund DHS to provide supportive services we fund senior projects but it's just not enough money I'm talking about the ways that 10 to 20% will go towards affordable housing we have some great questions what we're going to do now though is we're going to table some of those questions for the end of the conversation so we can actually get into some of these working groups so let's get into some of these working groups based upon the parameters that you have they should have their PowerPoint worksheet and the parameters listed on that PowerPoint before you start is there anybody who will arrive late that will be welcome to participate in these focus groups this is an opportunity where we're all coming together for the betterment if any community tries to enter they're all locked I just have one more question just something for everybody to think about there's a bunch of senior what is it maybe boomers are on the right so a lot of nurses are hoping senior homes and I just think there could be more seniors well again what we're trying to do in these working groups is actually talk about exactly what you're referring to so what we hope to have in these working groups is that kind of discussion so why not just come on here and join us it was so crazy I didn't even know that alright guys so this is what we're going to do based upon the parameters that you just heard mentioned by Laura and Veronica we're going to ask you two questions that we want you to discuss in your own working groups so if indeed you need to move around or actually take some notes we have to report out part that the staff will be assisting you with so who are going to be our staff members doing this anybody okay do you want to sit here I swayed I was ready to sway great great questions good to have you good questions we're going to have one staff member for each group assigned to you to actually transcribe your ideas so I'm going to ask you the very first question we're going to spend approximately 15-20 minutes on this one question how would you design this rental assistance program now again remember we're talking about this in a narrow scope many of you asked some very broad scope questions and were very legitimate however we're going to narrow the scope here so that we can really find Tina Taylor for the people who are being impacted so here's the question again how would you design this rental assistance program this short term rental assistance program how would you decide to meet the needs of those being affected so let me give you about 15 minutes to talk about that amongst yourselves we have one trans squad share your ideas with them I tried at one meeting and it was like that's the tell what it is to be getting I'm not that great as long as this is legible this is really important and we don't want any to miss and get us to have fun so this will come back to the question what would this rental assistance program look like the situation the specific situation that they're talking about is people who are being displaced is that what they're doing? it's being displaced we're saying the assistance program three months ago we're on any of us issues those times we might need someone to get a rental they're like a way to meet so one thing that people matter is storage facilities for their needs so that while they're looking for a stable place they at least don't end up using all their belongings so my services along with also like storage personal items so that they're not forced to use everything they own like just because they don't want to do an honest short notice for a crisis situation I understand the story but okay I can help my daddy they're saying they can't move so we need a possibility for like movers money for movers a lot of these people women've been there for like 12 years and has come a lot of years even if she's in a place she's going to help her yes sir the savior is going to be a rental they need to the first is the mission trail a trailer call the emergency rental if they knew that they would actually be in with it and the second is the apartment complex that I believe this gentleman needs is a sofa we're moving with our residents our meeting is going to close we're going to close we're going to close all of them the resort miss on trails all of them we are at the same time they're going to use us as examples for example anybody coincAllah so there are trails they're one of the first to use this money for those contents I'm saying yes Right now, they're right here with samples, right? And the last one said that we don't sit around and not sit in front of people. I understand. I guess I'll raise my hand up because I need to fix it. So you're putting someone in front of someone to ask so many questions. Do you agree much where we're going? Maybe there's more access to people. Do you agree with all of that? Like, is it worth you? Do you agree with that? Or how do you do it? So possibly maybe 10 questions, like, I make sure much more was mixed in a few years. Right. Also, we're working on some more time for the face of a little bit of a round-up. It's still just that we're working on everything that we do. So maybe one more. So, the thing I'm not interested in is where you're going. We'll say, are you coming? I'm a student. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I'm a senior. I see a question here, make sure that they can hear hearing that you're both talking about the same thing. For that reason, we want you to not have anything different. We don't want them transcribing some notes and her transcribing different notes in the matter. We've got five different things going on. Oh, I do have a message. So, my father does have a lot to do with money. Okay. Because he is like, I don't like to think of this opportunity now that we are contacting him. I don't want him to be responsible for us. But this is with the Marks and Buckets. Like any place out here raised a rate of interest. No, they had 25 at the first. That's the one. We can't change the situation. If he takes for the moment the table and the Marks and Buckets by April 3rd, and there's nothing that we can do or try to do, we can't change the situation. I do. But make it a manager. I can't have so much. So, the same thing? Is it against? Oh, no! It's more than a thirty-eight percent. So, I'm so happy that I'm a thirty-eight. I'm with the rest of the members. When you say that after the thirty-first they need to come in to say, okay, we need to leave today. No, that's not how it works. They cannot do that by all means. They have to give them the notice saying, you're not going to do this much. You know that you have thirty or sixty days to play. That notice has to be given. But, like, what? Whenever they choose to say, we're not going to end it. We're no longer going to be in the game. So, we're no longer going to go a hundred months or more. Here's a thirty notice. Here's a sixty notice. Yes, kind of like he's happy. He's trying to not give that notice. Because I didn't ask him to play. Just like he's asked to give that notice when he's going to leave. They have to give him the notice. So, I don't have any. Can I make it? No. I'm sorry. No! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Hope you have a great day. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks for being here today. Thanks for being here. Thanks for being here today.Smile to you. Thanks for being here today. Okay, so those really, yes, are out of the role, and you were for $525,000 per individual's habitat, and then for the part of the group, it would not exist. Right, so I wouldn't be the same number, but they would still need the help to be able to get, but did you talk to each other? Yes, and normally with the CPS, if you've never had an account and they can charge anywhere from 75 to 70 dollars per apartment, so, and then start services. They should then start filling these out. If you had service in the past, it would be all balanced. They would have to make sure that you're all the way up from the present. If you have service in the past, it would be a significant transfer over, and then some will charge the transfer fee and come down to your payment history. They wouldn't charge that at all. So we need help with utilities. So the utility deposit. We're transferring. We're transferring. To make sure everybody has, like, running water. Can I ask you a question? It's a long-time program. So once you get to three months' worth, you won't be part of the whole thing. It depends on the landlord. It should be a minimum of 30 days, correct? Yes. But it depends on the level if it's one of those three days. Because in the lease, I'm pretty sure they have a warning that says, in 60 days, we need you to give a certain notice saying that you're going to leave the unit. That is the same thing with them. They would need to give a notice as well. I'm not sure what to know. It has to go based on your priorities. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. What happens if one of these years is over for 30 days so that you tell the area of 60 days worth of eligibility that you would need this program again and go back and say, look, I only use 30 days in my own eligibility. Could I read why? Because I have 60 days left. But I didn't get in. I didn't use the 60 days. The reason that she did this was that it would be a one-time assistance for the mountain and rain board. So it would have to be a one-time. So if you manage those are the ones that are trying to get it, all you need to get is a one-time. If you have any two-time, it's a massive treat, but only a one-time situation. So I want to get this straight. Yes, sir. So I'm not going to use the names. It's 90 days of eligibility. One time you get 90 days, one day. Yes, sir. We want to make that change. We want to make that change. Yes, sir. Okay. You go somewhere and you're displaced, and then the same thing happens in another place. We used to qualify for that. So we're like, it's a different situation. But the program won't cost a lot of time. We're the same persons. We're lifetime. Well, we don't know the parameters of how long you might be here by the two years. We don't know the exact parameters of that year. So I would suggest it would be a precondition because with the way the development is happening, a lot of families are afraid that we take different parts of the city, and it doesn't matter where they're coming from, because there's so much development happening, and they're always going to be the most vulnerable because they're going to be in those spots that it might continue to happen to them. There you go. And then I also work with domestic violence survivors, and when people are in that middle ground, even in that kind of situation, it helps have assistance for hotels because there's a point in time when they leave where sometimes the place that they're going to be is in the same timeline as the place that they're leaving. And if we don't want homelessness, like people on the streets with women and children, then there needs to be some kind of emergency assistance for the hotel. But if we're looking at this funding for people and getting it done out like this, that's specifically seen at rental housing, so it wouldn't have, it wouldn't include a hotel. In rental housing, I have the point that they take more time to get it done. I know we're talking about rental housing, so that's where it's used to be. We're not going to get it done somehow. Is there a program that you guys do? Is there already a program? Is there a county that helps with that? With domestic violence? With domestic violence, but I mean like, it's transition to housing to avoid homelessness. To avoid homelessness, there are several programs such as San Ministry of Transitional Housing, supportive housing, supportive housing as well as you have different shelters in San Antonio, some programs such as Family Endeavors that helps with the sustainability of supportive housing as well. And then of course, for individuals that are experiencing domestic violence and have their shelter, the thing is that even for people with domestic violence, they don't have one of those videos. That's all the stability that they have. They don't want them to enter another state. It's like, there are already so many problems that's the one thing that everybody's hanging on to. If we could just put a partial amount of other things that we need that may not be addressed by this program, but that we could look at whether it's the resources or maybe those partners that can start to you could start looking at how we can do that. That's not understanding. Yes, and then I also know that if an individual is homeless, if an individual don't become homeless and they do have to enter a shelter, then they can also, if I'm talking about the schools that they're at, no matter what part of the city they're at, all they have to do is apply to the McKinney family. And that will allow them to be able to participate in transportation. Well, with the commitment that has been to buy either transportation or bus, we'll offer the bus voucher. I've talked to different that they've applied to programs at the time that these are like, they're way too long for these programs, and that's when they've managed to pass because it's like, say things don't happen at the time that they should, so that's where we're going, so that's why we decided that they are my life's great, but we need some time to figure out if that's the right way to go. I have a question which is, if you're a homeless person, how do you try to go? And maybe this seems like a mindful issue, but I bring it up. We do have some that are in the seniority, but I'm going to write on that, and they say that we will all carry out what we call the one month seniority by North Star Mall and it's still out front, the community that writes that the North Star Mall is a program that's going to be called 30-day leases. Now, give me some clarity on the seniority's number, but what this program applies in your entire situation or how do you figure it out? Well, on the 30-day lease, will they allow you to continue what you want that for? And the basic they won't allow you to continue what you want, yes. For an individual to locate something affordable, something safe and where they want to be. And if that's an idea, that's something that some of us I just wanted to make sure they could So any type of retrograde whether it's a type of matter or a management company as long as they want to provide the needs of that stability. I guess for the all of you, what type of movements are we discussing that would be eligible for the next five years? Okay, we're going to split another three or four minutes on this one question from the audience. How does it all, like how does the between one and two members do work for each one? Alright. The next thing is probably following our period to deal with the state of of is it do you want to go to the document team and you all Because it's just a lot of things to think the same people do. We always have emergency all the time. Because if you look around the side of the table, we don't know for sure what it has to happen. So we have to make sure that we're given this person, and here we have these services. So we have to make sure that's why people are doing that. But also, again, what other program parameters are promising, which I'll have to see in just a couple of minutes left. I think that's going to be on the back end, because you're moving out. Yes, such as, like a bee waiver. Yes, a bee waiver. They can be coerced in the same circle. They can be coerced in the same circle. But if they're not coerced in the same circle, that's going to be a good person. What do you want to do now? They don't need to pay for it. But now they can't. Now all of a sudden they need to pay for it. What is the opposite of how this works? It's one of the best methods you need to get in the direction of all the rules. Like there was no one left behind you, and then I played in the season. That's a good way to do it. So we're going to have to make sure once in the end. Right now we're in a planning process. Therefore, we plan with the policy that's implemented. So we're going to have to make sure that we can answer this. How far off are we before? What are some ways? I'm not going to be able to answer questions that are related to the program right now. But I would like to just re-focus everybody on the task, which is that we're asking for input on the design of the program. We haven't had very much time with these questions. Let's rather see more focus on the work. What would you like to see in the program? Well, come on, let me see. And maybe actually, I don't know if you can do this, but it's still 30, 60, maybe 20 days. And Saturday, or Saturday. Or month-to-month lease, if you can notice. I didn't notice in 90 minutes, because that's full. Do you need the assistance? That was pretty good. I'm just going to ask this one question, the middle of the year, to the next question. And the reality of that is I watched what happened during the program. And they were absolutely... That's not a legal issue, also. I want to check with that, because they should give you a different answer. They should be the people on the list. They should be the people on the list. We know what they see. We have to look at what they see with that stuff. So are we okay with this? They said writing. Yeah, I wasn't writing. 100%? That would be the best section. But that's the thing with my brother. There isn't writing. That's the contract. It's a month-to-month. And I'm going to wonder if we can get a month-to-month. But this is coming out. Have you tried different agencies or different situations? Have you tried eight colleges? I have. They've tried eight colleges. And I even went to the House of Authority. I did that. And I did the disability counseling. But I think that we can have, you know, like, that people know they don't have to sign. Again, we're trying to put this program to life. We can't pretty much be retroactive with that situation. I mean, what if we come to the status quo? Could there be something like that? Could there be something where, like, when people move out, you can help with the deep process? And we've been attentive to people that are ready to accept months to months to get off the bat and people that are in for the seniors who will be transitioning into possibly a waitress. So that because it's a really dangerous situation for seniors to see. So that's a little beyond this program, but some of the things you mentioned are things to consider. So we feel like a parking lot right there? Yeah. So that's part of what I wanted to say. So I know we want to get programs to sign ideas out of this, but I don't want to discourage you from talking about the other issues that are also there. But this program, the funding starts at strength. It's not ideal for any situation. Okay, so let's try to make this work the other thing. But some of those could be final response. Just make sure you capture them. Okay, so nobody's really writing there? Who's going to write? I will not. Okay, good, thank you. I heard 90-day notice. Yeah, 90-day notice. And then in the parking lot, we wanted to put the help with, for people that are waiting for waitresses, especially seniors, to have a help with any deposit that they need and then also encourage renters to take them on month-to-month until they can transition into their housing situation. I have a very good question. But is it like my dream right here? All right, by the time, let's stand around. Both of you, here for both of you. I can just hold on. Give me your both of you, just hold on. That also, that also works. So it's how do I, yeah. And then get your focus for just a moment. Okay, everyone, our very first question, and it has a lot of good conversation, I think, was how would you design this rental assistance program? And again, I know that a lot of the conversation was more broad than that, but I think that was okay. We need to talk about those things, too. There's some legitimate concerns that you have. So I think we have, in some cases, a parking lot on each of these slides, on each of these categories that people have basically said, we need to talk about this some later today, right? So what I want to do is really begin with this table and have a community representative or resident from each table really talk about what they conclude it should be some things to consider in the design of the short-term rental assistance. And again, remember, we're talking about things that they added or complimented to this existing program. There are a number of other concerns. I know them, but we're talking about this one existing program. Do you have anyone here that can do that or do you want me to do that over here? Okay, here, okay. Everybody may have your attention here, okay? Because there may be something here that your table exists or can add as well, all right? There was also a parking complex that exists, but that is a lot of the apartments are already overbooked or don't have accommodation. So maybe there's a benefit. Okay. So did everybody hear that? One of the concerns here on this table is that, yes, you folks receive a list of apartments. I think you were talking about that. But it's not very effective because it's massively produced. It's not effective in that it really narrows the scope of those available partners or apartments that would be, I guess, able to assist you in an rapid rate more than anything else. Is that correct? So I think that was a conversation I heard at several other takings. What's the second one here that you have? Well, the increase of rent to a more than 5% I believe or so. Yeah, I think the confidence there as the president should be. You need to know in the subsequent next apartment. Okay. You may experience an increase in this, but you know that there went to being 5%. It doesn't have to be just 5% if you're going to 5%. I see. And I think I've heard that at a couple of takings as well. All right. What about this third and last one? I'm hoping with the resident to have the regular list you need. Okay. So, again, I think this was something I heard at every table leading to the background here. So, again, help with really the negative effects that a regular list, the existing list can cause. Some of you were talking about that needing help with that, right? Okay. Anything else that you did? We'll get right to that table, sir. We'll get right to that table in just one moment. Okay, second table here. Is there someone that's going to report out here regarding these comments? Okay. Who's going to read it? It sounds like you're going to vote. On the edge of the table. Okay. The biggest word on that board is communication. Presently, there is none. And I'm talking about tenant management and the city of San Antonio. There's not enough communication. If we improve on that, we can get more proactive. We can get more involved. Sometimes because of bureaucracy, you have to wait, you have to wait, you have to wait. Why do we have to wait so long in the housing situation in Sao Paulo? Why hasn't the city addressed it and what are they going to do about it? This is going to be generously good for us. May I ask you a question on that? Yes. Because that's a very good point. And that's always something that you hear in community engagement sessions, right? Not enough communication. May I ask you, many of the representatives and residents here, what form do you think that communication should take? Some people are on their iPhones, some people receive emails. How do you think we should communicate or the city should communicate with them? What's the best form? Let them tell about it. I think management and the city has to go above and beyond. They have to, we're looking to the city for guidance. How do we resolve this issue? And we need, I think if we have proactively approached management without, like we're going in there with pitchforks, they're willing to sit down. He's a group of representative tenants meeting with capstone. It shows the other tenants that capstone is willing to sit down on top of this and they know what the issue is. We've got to realize they're in the business of managing these environments. Maybe there's something they can do to make it into effect. So better communication. What else do you have here? Residence sensitivity. And if I correct me if I'm wrong it has to do with tenants that I know have moved into so force one since they were open in the mid-70s. You've got maybe two or three, two bedroom apartments, you've got one, three bedroom. They've been living in there since 1975 when they first moved in. When it comes to this process, it's part of the eligibility criteria and, correct me if I'm wrong, you're a length of time at the complex that needs to be taken into consideration. So that would express sensitivity. Another element is to make sure resident sensitivity is that the management and the city have to understand what you're saying is that the wide variety of communication channels and messages and language channels that meet the residents where they are instead of requiring the residents to take transportation to go somewhere or are available only on certain days. Very well said. Which is why I asked the question, the city and management and anybody and everybody within this loop of conversation may believe that they indeed are communicating, but if a flyer doesn't do it for you, we need to know what does that for you. An e-mail, a phone call, what does that mean? It may be communicated, but what they're doing is not communicating enough. Okay, so it's more. They need to expand. Bollywood variety. Okay, what else, George? I see user-friendly language, so obviously make sure that things are translatable. To the communities, these are our policies. You're going to give them out to us, put it in English so we can understand what all the experience councilmen politically are. It goes along with it. Planing. The word we use is like cultural sensitivity. That's something even though. Fantastic. Anything else here? Let's see if they'll turn in metrics. What do you mean here? Before we need documentation, we need to define what success of outreach is, and one possibility is that either the management or the city gets written acknowledgment. You know, acknowledgment from 100% of the residents and they understand the program and they understand their options and they, you know, just acknowledgment from 100% of the residents. Very good. Are we taking into consideration any additional incentives that capstone, for instance, can use? When I first moved in, you get $25 off a month through your rent if you're over a certain age. I'm not aware of that. Can anyone in the city respond to that? I mean, that's probably just the management's way of dealing with the issue, but that in itself can be an incentive. So additional incentives, something that we can talk about in a later date. Okay. I just, you know, leave it alone. Okay. Can we take something to the additional incentives? Sure. If you drive around San Antonio, you'll see signs and unless your ice pack is very poor, it will say something like move in today and get one month's worth of rent free or get one half month's worth of rent free if you move in today. So some of the properties are for marketing purposes and some of the bedding of the list that we talked about, availability and apartments and housing. So let's talk about this table. What did you find? Who's going to be speaking for us here? We have said storage was necessary because that way people don't lose their belongings in the process. So the finances for storage? Yes. And then to take into account the numbers that movers will have to be hired especially when it's elderly and people like that that, you know, or single moms. So assistance with these things? I see storage, money for movers, counseling services? So counseling services would be there's a lot of stress that comes along with the move and to be able to also get kind of like an orientation about the services that do exist that might not be addressed by this that can be addressed or if they can come up with another package you could say, like even if it's just partners getting together to talk about special packages to develop for this kind of situation like support and then either money like in the form of cash or something or... As you said the counseling service any additional support that can be provided? Medical also because the stress of displacement causes people's medical conditions to get worse and so a lot of times we'll see increases in people going to the doctor or to see, you know, counselors for either depression or things like that or medications and then for the utilities and transfers like we're saying either cash or waivers an agreement with SAWS and those other places to waive those fees so people are not having to bear the burden of those types of those types of things and then there was a question about persituation because it was like this is a one-time deal and you've got to take it but if somebody is displaced one time and then they go somewhere else and they're displaced the second time and by no fault of their own then technically they should be able to qualify for more assistance because that was not there and the way the city is developing either on the west side, north side, I mean on the west side, south side or wherever it's like people are afraid that this is going to happen again and that's just going to add to their anxiety and then the 90-day notice because people are not being given, we have people saying that they're not being given the notice or it's very ambiguous especially people that are month to month that there have to be a 90-day notice not just a 30-day notice because when you're in a very vulnerable situation like seniors especially or single moms, you know where you might not have a support system that's like the difference between being on the street some assurance that this is going to happen and then we were told that these issues could be, we made a parking lot for issues that were not necessarily part of this program but we said like hotel assistance because say you don't, you are in a waiting list and you don't have accept, you don't get you're accepted into another rental situation to avoid homelessness have like an emergency fund for those emergency hotel assistance for the family so that they're not on the street and then as well as help with deposit and access encourage renters to do month to month so that people can so that people like because I guess it was a lot of talk about the seniors that are not qualifying for, they're on this long waiting list so they're on a month to month if they, you know you don't know when you're going to be accepted so if you make a lease with somebody else and then you get accepted then you're going to have to be penalized for breaking that lease just to get into this place so we need that month to month access for people in these situations I'm sorry per diem maybe and per diem expenses for people that have to get leave work in order to be able to do all of these things because there's no way that you can be working and trying to meet those deadlines I mean then you're not going to be important anymore Last question in this particular we're going to have to move to the next question yes sir I'd like to know is it possible maybe possible if there's any way they could maybe help us financially pay for these extra fees that we just can't make we could be our rent but these fees that would move more that's what's killing us and if people if the bill works we would appreciate the benefits the owners to show us a little dignity and a little respect I totally understand let us move now to the second question we have limited time with this question but it's a very important question so listen up so the first question was how would you design this regular assistance program the last question is this how should we document emergency need how should we document emergency need and again let's be very focused on this program excuse me can you give us an example alright someone who's more familiar with the actual program parameters anyone wants to speak to that this table talked about my rent is this my new lease is now 5% more than what I pay now so that's documenting the need because I can't afford the 5% or 10% more lease so that document that shows this is what I pay now this is how much it's going to go up by and the difference is 5% so that's a document okay thank you any other questions regarding that okay we're going to begin we're going to do this for about 10 minutes 15 minutes and then we're going to go how do we document yes good I have one thing I'd like to draw what would this be document I know that some people would cheat what would happen literally someone knows what the emergency is you can always write it down I'm glad for the policy program but what I'm saying could there be such a thing as verbal documents but verbal documentation let's say this person knows what the emergency is but it's not right she's known this language for years she knows he has an emergency I think we answered the question earlier with the legal forms of how a majority had to go about it but I'll write it down here we'll talk about it and is that talking to people like the party like if you you know like if you're doing that and they are not able to advocate for themselves like you and somebody who does help with that documentation you have to go through the legal steps you have to call an attorney and there's an employee and there's an organization who would help you do those things but I think in order to qualify as a federal program you have to have those people know just to realize because that might even be part of like a organization where people don't understand like how it happens and how it can be done so my question is what does it mean that's why we're here we're trying to get the input from y'all to see what parameters it says what needs to be met to help y'all what do you think you lost your job you're making big things that you would like to see let me interrupt your conversation for one second I think it's very important I have been really focusing you on the program that's necessary but I do not want to take away from the fact that you have other concerns so please feel free to voice those concerns with some narrowness simply so that we can be effective with the time and actually document those things in a parking lot form so that we will actually address them later okay I know that do you want medical? can medical really see people who lost their jobs and who have places to come to ask I am wondering how about how about information concerning people that could be a burden of burden how about someone can we take a little bit more what's the what's your family how about not having a little we don't have a place we have no place just to make sure basically we need something if the rent what is the 5%, 10% more than this program we can apply for so it has to be an emergency yes this is short term very much for an emergency emergency emergency so that's why we are trying to get people to know what the emergency is when it comes to when it comes to people on a fixed income of 5%, 10%, 10% because it becomes outside of their means especially if it's not giving enough notice and if there's like like through those little fees then it's like they can't afford it anymore but they have nowhere else to go select those fees they charge another for electricity and that's it's so hard for you to protect your garbage the the precursor to the disease is putting all these fees so that people won't have to sell on their own because they can't afford it anymore but they're moving to a safe place they're just they're just forced to go I have two small problems what happens what happens the person is suddenly involved in an accident all of a sudden their whole life is turned around because they're in an accident automobile accident so would that fall under a medical emergency? yes a medical emergency and the other one is they sound super small but I'll put it up that someone in the family who would generally be detained ends up in jail and they're the rest of them stop because the person who would normally be detained is now in Bird County jail incarcerated and the remaining family members have no money to pay the pay the in other words they have to look because they don't even pay the rent they don't I've changed that to the ability to access funds or rent thank you sir thank you thank you I'll just say rent I just changed a little bit the inability to access funds this is like specific and actually they're both they're really they're both really good the inability to access funds for rent that would be a good general way actually they both need it they both have a place to work with people that don't have what it is suggestions they're undocumented they provide access so for there to be is not any kind of bias thank you we need to put something here okay what like no no social security numbers but why how should we but maybe some other you know that they were living there and that they were I have another one let's say his county already checked to pay their rent and they know who I am so I denied your place when they were money This is the document in actual emergency, so may we are part of what happens if I guess it might come under denial of benefits, what happens if someone gets a letter saying because of X and the actual benefits and the cut in your benefit means you can't pay the rent. What else would be a reason that may be yourself or somebody that you know would lose your power if you get a loan? How about one other one? I'm full of things. If we had more time, I'd give you more, but we only got ten minutes, so I'll give you one more. How about a letter from an organization documented in the person's situation? For example, St. Vincent D. Paul, let's say this person has gone to St. Vincent D. Paul's, and whoever they have talked to at St. Vincent D. Paul has said this family is in need of assistance. In other words, a letter or some sort of note. I'm not going to say this is part of the reference, right? I'm going to say this is part of the reference, right? They get a lot of people to see. We have to be real. We have to be real. We have to be real. We have to be real. Everything that I learned is going to be true. Emergency red. I'm going to be talking about the documentation. The documentation. Yes, ma'am? I understand how this is going to be. There was no problem with the animal boxes. Is this mean that we're going to get case management? To the public. I mean, I think that would be necessary because otherwise it's, that's fine. Case management? Yes. Is that what you want? I think it kind of went into the communication issue. Like, if there's that case management happening, then from the beginning until they're in there. They are also not home by social counseling. Yes, by social counseling. But instead of referring them up to just the brand, they're more likely to be like, making sure people are okay. All right, let's wrap up. Like, do you have food? I have one in a quick one here. Yeah, we're pretty good. How about, of course like we have a lot of quick progress in this particular case. So I'm going to ask you to do the same thing you did before to report out at the state. So let's begin with this case. Do we have the same person here? Let's give our attention to this individual at this table, okay? That's the whole point. Very nice. Just one more. All right. What's the first thing that we saw? Oh, well, the general case, it's too much to do with what was written on paper, but they wanted to do two more things. Okay. That was showing existing leads versus new leads. Existing leads versus new leads. So they can show the increase of their rent. Okay. And also have a graph of a clause for a new developer to be presented. They're, you know, they'll be taking action on the next. Maybe have a graph of a clause for the current residents to stay in that building. Taylor's saying rent until they either decide if it's on their own or are they deceased. So this was in addition to what you've already received in terms of specific requirements. All right. Very good. Very good. What about this state? This is going to report out for us. Is it you again, George, or who? Obviously. All right. You can take it. Now we came up with what's the rent increases, unexpected life situations, death, unemployment, health, eviction, divorce and separation, and becoming a senior. I think you've got everything covered. I don't think we missed anything on this one. I think I found myself in a unique situation where the city is turning around and asking us for guidelines. You know, we don't have anything in writing that we can offer you, but get involved, give us your input. It can be put into something that council members can vote on later on. So we could be making headline history here. I would love to think so. We do it not just for this community, but for every community. That's the whole point. That's the word empowering. That's the word movement. There you go. Excellent. All right. Are we finished with this table? Yeah. Okay. All right. This table, who's going to talk to us? So we said basically emergency needs. So medical emergencies, job loss, because they would have no income. People that are just in situations where they're just based from their homes, where they have no home or they're in a situation where there's no real health. It's not very healthy or there's no safety or their safety issues. The rent increase for people in a fixed income or low, you know, that are very fixed income, a 5% or more increase can be a crisis. And that can be in the form of all those little fees that people that are tagged on little by little, little by little until you can't even afford to live there anymore. So to consider that part of the situation and crisis of people when they're in a fixed income, especially seniors, if the family member or whoever is the rent payer, if they're in a situation where they're incarcerated or they're in detention and their people, family members or whoever is not able to access funds. So inability to access funds for rent, like if there's an interruption or an emergency that causes that. And then yes, if you can turn that. We also said like for people that are undocumented but are also in these situations to find ways for them to qualify also because a lot of times people don't qualify for those programs and yet they're even more vulnerable for all these other things. So then also if people are denied their benefits or they lose them in some way, that makes them vulnerable. A natural disaster or also, I guess somebody mentioned a reference letter from an organization or school where somebody else says this is an emergency. I feel like this person is going to end up, they need assistance so that they're not homeless and that would be it. And then we put in the parking lot, we put case management. I think it goes back to the communication issue that we're talking about. There shouldn't just be one time. Like if you're in this process, there has to be somebody checking in to make sure even if you're not totally out of the clear, in the clear, do people have access to food? If they don't, maybe there's a senior who doesn't have transportation and they can't go and they really need to go to a food bank or something. Or did somebody fall through the cracks? So is there going to be somebody that's there that's checking in so that they can catch people before they become homeless? So like case management? Yes, there needs to be case management and then also we put continuous counseling services so that if whatever this program, instead of just being told, oh, our program doesn't do that, that then we're able to place people where they need to go. Excellent job. Give yourself a clap. Everybody, just give yourself a clap. You guys did a fantastic job. Again, this was about empowering you, not just filling the check box to really hear what it is you have to say about this program but make sure that we include some of these things to the best of our ability. Any other comments? Any other responses? You have something to say, Joel? Yes. I need to. Is there any topic given to adding on, we've come up with a whole bunch of great good ideas? I think so. I would like to suggest a proposal. We have a follow up session. So do we need to, do we need to define these things before you take them to the city hall? Or do you just take those with a tap and straight money involved? As a matter of fact, Veronica is going to close this session by responding to exactly that point, okay? But I thank you again. Thank you for indulging me. You guys have a great evening. Yes, sir. I just hope that everything we do here today will not be for nothing. Our words will be heard. Our voices will be heard. We respect it. It's people and do me. I agree with you. 100%. Just one more thing. Are we going to get emailed all of these notes so we can review them and, you know, kind of make sure that it was documented in the way that we wanted them to be? I'm going to let Veronica respond to that because she will be talking about the next steps. That's what I'm here for. And I'm going to buy it all. Okay. Make sure you did sign in. And I think we have the sheets with emails and phone numbers because that's a way for us to communicate back out. So first of all, I really want to thank you for spending this evening with us because we know your time is valuable and that you'd probably rather be somewhere else with your family than spending time with your friends here. So thank you for that. Thank you for that. Councilman Treviño is here, so I do want to thank him for joining us and being part of the conversation. Thank you. I know you've been at this particular complex as well and have elevated our conversation and had resource fairs, at least LATED resource fairs and meetings. Thank you for being at another meeting with this rest of the picture. I'm sorry. I just briefly want to thank everybody. You know, I really, what I saw today was a lot of really great ideas and that really brings value to what we're doing and I want to reassure everybody that listening is something that is considered to every single person going through some of these issues, listening loudly, clear and we'll continue to work hard. I want you to know while we're talking about some very specific things, we're going to keep looking for others. We're going to turn over every stone that we can to find more funding, to find other strategies to help our housing neighborhood services be over a bus. This is a conversation we're going to be taking up in this new budget setting session that we're coming up on. So we're going to take all these lessons and learn from it. You guys are helping to set up that example. I just wanted to thank you very much. Thank you, Councilman. Thank our facilitators, parents, and other patrons. Thank you. We did a great job. We wanted to bring them to the outside because we know some are very specific to be dealing with the bureaucrats because there are trust issues that we wanted to bring someone who would set up a neutral space for us to have this conversation. They did a great job so I want to thank them for that. I love my second hole. Okay, my second hole! Our staff with the program and the staff closest, Department of Human Services who will be the ones who will be delivering on the program. We have Barbara, Patti, Erica, Richard, and Sylvia. And I think we have right now We had this other folks, I know it's even our city and community came back to be here to just listen to the conversations. They're the ones that really make our department shine and make the city shine. So I want to thank them for being here and being part of this as well. Let me talk a little bit about our next meeting. I want to assure you that not everything you ask for can be delivered. So I want to manage my expectations quite quickly. And we pay various points. Sorry. You turned around. Is that it? Sorry. I think for me that is. No. Sorry everybody. No. Sorry. A train of thought. I want to assure you we are listening. But that's not everything that you're asking for is something that you can address right away. But we're listening. That's why we said there should be on this program that we want you to listen. So we're being generous and we've pushed us hard. So I want to thank them for pushing us to do better and be better. Jessica. We've had meetings in parks. We've had email exchanges. I know they're always going to hold this to a higher center. Just like you should hold this to that higher center. We're listening. We want to make a positive difference. But even we can't face everything. So just realize some of those parameters. But we're listening. All of us care about these programs. We want to make sure the money keeps coming to the city. We want to be sure we do it right. We want to make sure we address as many different sorts of problems. This program is not perfect for all the issues you have and all the hopelessness that some of you are feeling. And I know what it's like to do like that. So we're trying really, really hard to address it. So be patient with us because this is not unlimited, no strength attachment. And there is no unlimited money that can solve all the issues. But I want to assure you we're listening and we're going to continue to listen to shape the best recommendations for people. So for these next steps, we do want to document. So that's why signing in is important. We have additional items, parking lot right before you leave in one of the other parking lot. And make sure they're there. I think many were captured for just in case so that we can document. The Department of Human Services is going to do the program. We haven't, we've shared drafts internally, but we want you to see a draft. So our timeline and size and richer, make sure I'm right. On Friday is when we want to share a draft. What's it Friday? Monday, Monday. Friday, they're going to share it with us so we can preview Monday of next week. We want to share the draft program. At that time, I think we could share the notes so that we can make sure, we did capture everything and you can see the draft of the notes for that account to go. So Monday, make sure you're there so we can send that information. We're going to ask for a fairly quick turnaround for feedback and comments back because we do want the program up and running very quickly. So we want to be able to go and tell but give us this rest of the week till Monday to do that draft and then if it's out Monday of next week for us in the following Friday, following Monday one week's time, you give us feedback on that draft. We will have internal medias so we're already talking feedback back on April 30th. I know it's fiesta, I know. But we're asking for feedback back so that by the end of that week between Human Services and our department, we can have a program that you feel captures most and we're not everything will be addressed. Most of what you're looking to be captured is that we kept a list of all the other issues that couldn't be addressed in this program. So that's our commitment. George, you wanted perhaps an additional meeting. Let us see what feedback you get on the draft. Maybe we can do that. Fiesta and Kurt, you're part of the group together. Let us see what kind of feedback we get once we email the draft back. Maybe we'll do a, you know, here's the draft email us back if you want another meeting or if the draft captures that. If we need to, we'll see how we can work that out. Is that, will that work? If it's feasible, I mean, do we actually have a quick turnaround? Yes, yes. I think it's pretty important that we all come together with a draft that's right there so we've got a whole little bit of information about having something to look at and really just discuss the practical. No, that's why we wanna turn around and get your feedback and give you a draft before it's at all. We're gonna come together and have a fun and get a whole draft. That's awesome. And you can still email me. I wanna go back to a comment you made about the city can't solve all the issues and the problems that are going on in front of it. But you have the resources. In fact, if I come to you with an issue that the city cannot, you know, you know, you're in a hurry. So in essence, you are, you know, you're in the end of all the problems. I'm your owner. I realize that city can't solve my problems. Yes. Does this move against the city? Does this move against the city? I don't think so, I'm sorry. I just don't know what to say. I think we're in the table-side mic. I know we've heard the process and seen it on the news. So there's some of that. I have to read every draft for us. I'm moving it in my direction. It's all around here, it's the address or the case where it's here. So there is a mayor's conference task force at the meeting. They have a genitive meeting scheduled for May 15. Some of you have been here, they've been here. So they're addressing these kinds of issues. They have work groups that are reporting these issues. Five-thirds of them, this space, May 15. That's open and public. When you have an opportunity there, we pack some of that work even though there are a lot of tough ways to do it. But I want to thank you and assure you that we're listening. I know it's a lot of time with us. And I encourage you to keep talking to us and keep sharing your thoughts with us. But thank you so very much for being here with us tonight and sharing your evening with us. Well, you have to be able to get here.