HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/17/2025 - Meeting Minutes -NIINI FITS
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130;ARD M11:1-ING (('DCIf)
Mondav, November 17`' 20215
5:00pin
l. Board Members Board Members Not Present
Brad Christensen Seak Weeks
Joseph Murphy (Jurphy) Cooper Fankhauser
Devon Schechinger Jenny Bonk
Dallin Jones (Online)
Staff Present
Kerry Thomas
Deiuiis Rutledge
Sarah Neilsen
Alexandra Hall
Jack Markman
Also Present
Parviz Faiz
Isaac Wight
Mindy Garfield
Peter Frost—AAU
Andrea Sherman—AAU
Abi Feenstra—FSH
Heidi Justice—THRIVE
Mike Young—TRH
Alexa Wrench —TRH
Saundra Stokes—YWCA
Robert Ferris—Advantage
Services
Janell Cerva— UCA
Peter Shipman — Fit to
Recover
2. "Terms
FJC - Family Justice Center
3. Welcome and Introductions
Ms. Thomas begins the board meeting at 5:01 P.M.
4. Approval of Minutes
There is no quorum so minutes cannot be approved. A vote will take place at the next meeting.
5. Application Kra irIN: ( 1113(; I'ti
Ms. 1 hollw, , 11lt10dl1kV1- till' 11.111 of till' ( I)It( i 1'ti a1t1111k,;Il 011 W\ Il•\\'. I hl' board Illti-miIICCs
thCili,, •1\l s to till
i. Asian .kssoriatiou of, l t:rh (AAU) RV1,1114ce Re11111l-Assist: lice and (lousing
`t:>Ihilit�
\lr. I rest inl hi• or):;nll/Mion's RCfu},Cc Rcnlal A,,sistancc I Ic s;1y',
dl:\ \\III 'ISSCSs c henl. 1i61. their needs, support housing, stabilization. ;111d 11,,c
rc t'01,11• to "lippicilicnt assistance the\ Illay he unahlC to llrovi(IC.
Q. Vr. \11111\h\ mentions that the ('I)I;(j I'S finl(Is arc the most competitive and asks
\\holler the program can continue with partial funding.
A. \1r. Frost ans\vcrs \es and that they would rc(luec lhcir estimated output, and the
majority of the tunding would go to rental assistance and staffing.
Q. Ms. Sclhechinger asks to clarify why 60 tam111CS would equate to 100 in(fividuals
\1r. From answers tllcy take the average household size to come up with the
calculation.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks what average 2-months of rent costs.
A. Mr. Frost answers it is difficult to predict because some households will only use
I month, but they try to limit to 2-months of assistance or about S 1200.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks to clarify where the 17% of unspent funds comes from.
A. City staff answers it is mostly from ESG. Mr. Frost adds that they have
previously underspent on staffing costs.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks about AAU's leadership team stability.
A. Mr. Frost answers that much of the leadership team has been with the AAU for a
significant amount of time, himself having been with AAU since 2013, and they
have recruited a new housing coordinator within the past 2 years. He adds that the
program has grown 10-20% since.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks if the program is more a prevention program.
A. Mr. Frost answers this is correct and they aim to stabilize folks on the brink of
homelessness.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks how they get the word out about their program.
A. Mr. Frost answers that many clients come through referrals from coniniunity
partners.
ii. Asian Association of Utah (AAU) - Stability-,Opportunity, Assistance,and
Resilience for Survivors of FraffickinL(SOAR)
Ms. Sherman inU-oduces the SOAR program. She says that they target a unique
population ofsurvivors ofhunran trafficking. She says the requests tar this progr.un
�n�i�l�ntIv ItM(•I!'II the Iundnrt I I,nI . "h(mnu, ri )1ilini_wd (Icrnnnd fI r the
1)101'1,1111.
Q. III i_ci ;ISk� \vIi,iI the rctenIlot rile u(Ihe prof_rarn i5.
�. A1�. �licrna;rn ,rn"\\cl. 11 s dillicull to prc(Iicl hecause their clients don't silway5
St:r), 1n toII"II. hul she csfilnalcS that ,S5 oI'pcople the AAU was able to reach went
,�r, 1� ra,nnutin housinr_.
Q. A1s S:hcchin'-cr asks xv by it is dillicuIt to Ballow up with their population.
A. Ats. shcnnan answers that since they have a high volume for this program, not all
Clients vgill he;able to rcccivc lull case-management services at the same time and
contact bew cell AA[' and those receiving case management and those receiving
crisis scrN ices is different.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks how AAU would prioritize between the two applications.
A. Mr. Frost and Ms. Sherman answer that funding either application would be
considered a success for the AAU.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks how those that experience human trafficking know to come
to the.AAU.
A. Ms. Sherman answers that they work closely with community partners for
referrals. They also do outreach via tabling or community education presentations.
Thev also have a weekly drop-in center for those who are high risk of being
trafficked or have been trafficked.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks how they verify eligibility.
A. Ms. Sherman answers they use the Adult Screening Tool from the Federal
Office of Trafficking Persons that assesses the likelihood that clients will behave
been trafficked.
First Step House (FSH)—Housing Case Management
NIs. Feenstra introduces herself and FSH's program. They provide case
management, set actionable goals, and connect their clients to a network of resources
to use both in the program and when they graduate. It is a growing program, and
they aim to use these funds to add another case manager to their statf.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks how FSH delineates their funding.
A. Ms. Feenstra answers that they code their funding depending on the funding
stream in their accounting system. She believes it will be spent on the one statY
position.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks fbr more infbnnation on eligibility.
A. Ms. Feenstra says that most clients come to FSH for the substance abuse
treatment and then graduate into the housing program. However, they also have
people who come to them for their permanent supportive housing program, and they
have contracts with other housing providers to help any individual who is low-
income and at risk of homelessness.
Q. \h \ttnl)h\ asl.s If'Ihe rasr nuurnl cry for I ,I I have to have genic through the
,i,� a chcnl to work fir VSdI.
ccwlra answers fhal it can happen ifa program graduate goc,,, on to study
sok i;rl sCIN iees. but Illost of tlicir current case managcr:s arc in the social work
1VO.iZrarrr ai the I 'niversii. of I!tali.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks ifthe case managers are often filled by a practicum
placement.
A. A1S. i'ecnstra answers that Is correct.
i�. THRiVE — integrated Services for Torture Survivors
Ms. Justice introduces herself and THRIVE's program that provides therapy, case-
management. psychiatry, and medical advocacy for survivors of torture.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks what other funding streams they have.
A. Ms. Justice answers they are funded through the Office of Refugee Settlement for
about 40% of their program. They also take funding from private foundations,
individuals, and other local government contracts.
Q. Mr. Clu-istensen asks if they bill any insurance or Medicaid.
A. Ms. Justice answers they started accepting Medicaid, but they only bill for
therapy not case management.
Q. Mr. Jones asks what torture encompasses.
A. Ms. Justice answers that they use the federal definition for torture and often
assess a person's experience through a series of questions. In general, an individual
must be targeted by the government and suffer an act meant to cause intentional
harm. This applies to groups as well.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks about their waitlist.
A. Ms. Justice answers that they have a waitlist of about 15 individuals currently
that was previously 80.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks about the turnover of their organization.
A. Ms. Justice answers they have about 14 staff and have historically had turnover,
especially with therapists due to the difficult subject matter of the job as well as
there being more money in private practice.
Q. Ms. Schechinger asks how THRIVE staff practice self care to handle the
difficult subject matter of their work.
A. Ms. Justice answers that they aim to meet the needs of their stag salary-wise by
keeping up with the market rate for their positions. She adds that staff are allowed
2 self-care days a year, paid lunch hours, and generous PTO, etc. They also
practice trauma-informed care.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks if Ms. Justice has an anecdote she'd like to share.
A. Ms. Justice shares her experience with an individual who needed intensive
medical care due to his torture experience and was able to access it pro-bono
tlir� u�_li 1 Ill�l\ I � i�n�s,i�nn.
Q. A1. Aicl�cn ,1�1, hrrc then bcnclircnic. %vIII be h1( tiled.
V V1 1u�l1"c cu Ih(,v will be vvIthin the S,tll I Ilk, ( itv I mil)(LITIc".
1 hr Road Home (TR11) GLAIR('
\1r. l oun,-, introduces himsclfand i RIi's (fail MIIIcr RCsoLII-CC('cntcr((IMRC). flc
tha dune is a ,knowing demand fir shelter. i Ic says that in the last fiscal year,
1 10 indi\iduals go on to find more stable shelter-.
Q. A11. C htistensen asks what the average length of stay is.
A. Mr. Young answers that. our their program. it is around 130 days, but this
timefi-amc is increasing due to the worsening housing crisis.
Q. Ms. Schechinger asks how many of their clients have faced a recent eviction or
are ne,,N-IN, homeless due to financial hardship.
A. y4r. oung answers that the fastest growing demographics facing homelessness
are seniors that have been living on a fixed income and have been priced out of their
housing. He says a similar demographic is a large portion of TRH's clients. He adds
that the reality of their clientele do not match the stereotypical idea of homelessness
and another large portion of TRH's clients are new to homelessness due to the
increase in the cost of living and have never or not in recent times engaged with any
homeless service provider.
Q. Mr. Faiz asks for more information on how they reach underrepresented groups.
A. Mr. Young answers that they receive feedback for their program and have been
looking toward the marginalized communities as a result,though in the early stages
of the program.
vi. The Road Home(TRH)—Housing Staffin;
Ms. Wrench introduces herself and their application which aims to support housing
navigator staff for their housing assistance program.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks to clarify whether this funding will add staff or support current
staff and how many current housing navigators are currently employed.
A. Ms. Wrench answers it is for existing staff and that they have 8 housing
navigators.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks what application TRH would prioritize.
A. Mr. Young answers that since their programs rely on one another and that
community need is higher than ever, they can't answer.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks if there is any research to support the success of housing
navigation.
A. Ms. Wrench answers that they are collecting more data on how much case time
is dedicated to working with families and the length of stay,but it's difficult to
determine whether successes come from housing navigation or case management
h�'c;III�C the p1 o,l,l J111 clIcollIlm"'c" h('lh. I hm('\cI-, IIIIcl lull v, thcv hfR'C SCCII all
MCI C l,C in L'I'lICICM \ Ill PCII1111' Ihrir chrnls hlnl«'II
CA housing gild til:>liilil\ Access
\ls. slokc, illc 1 \1"( ,1's propwill \�Inch IM-ti"C�on hlnlsin{4 applications,
Imidlord iliC��IGllh�ll, C�Rc-Illallaf>clllCIll, hllilllcltll BS,tilstallCC, trall"pollaholl
lsslst;nl.c. c1 . l hc\ nclwork wilh at Ic;lst twelve connllunity partners that assist
ith lc;�;ll ;Ind mental hc;Illh .support. Ms. Stokes adds that 95°/,of their clients
i�icntil.N as Icnlalc and have children.
Q. Mi Aluiph\ asks the nlaiority oftheir clients in this program have transitioned
into it from the YWCA emergency shelter. He also asks for more information on
their outreach efforts.
�. Ms. Stokes answers that their program is for both those within and out of the
YWCA emcrgcncy shelter. They also receive referrals from the police department
and other community partners.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks why they expanded their services into housing support.
A. Ms. Stokes answers that, the moment someone experiences a DV incident, they
\\ill be unsheltered if they flee. Additionally,because of confidentiality laws, the
YWCA needs to work with sources that assist their clients in finding housing while
keeping their confidentiality.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks for more information on spenddown and staff turnover.
A. Ms. Stokes answers that there has been a lot of staff turnover in the past several
years due to COVID as well as burnout from the difficulty of doing crisis work.
Additionally, some staff who had been there for many years moved on to new
positions at different companies.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks if there would be any issues with spenddown if fully funded.
A. Ms. Stokes answers that they are putting in the effort to spenddown more
efficiently and there are a lot of opportunities to do so within staffing costs.
Advantage Services—Homeless Employment Program
Mr. f-erris introduces Advantage Services that works primarily with the disabled and
homeless communities. They aim to help homeless individuals with employment
and find permanent housing.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks what the CDBG funds would be used tor.
A. Mr. Perris answers that they intend to use the funding primarily tier staffing costs,
but there is more of a need right now to find funding due to changes caused by the
current political climate.
Q. Ms. Schechinger clarifies that the hiring li-eez.e they've placed within their
organization is due to a lack of funding to pay stafhand not tram a lack of work.
A. Mr. Ferris answers this is correct, though there has been less work available as
well.
Q. \1,,. `k,Itcrlti wci asks, it I'uIIN Ilnxlcd, N\helher Ihere is enough supportive
clnplo\meat.
A. Mr Ferris answers that there is aIvN ays vMork to he done and they aiinto keep
those rurr-enll\ clnplo\ed, so all S 100.000 minus the de nlinimis for administration
would go to those alrcadv employed.
Q. Mr. Mu111hy asks what the minimum amount they could use if partially funded.
A. Mr. Ferris ans\ycrs that in prcyious years they have managed their program with
funding v\-'thin S40,000 - S65,000.
Q. Mr. M1,l1lihy asks hoti they get the word out about their program.
A. Mr. Ferris answers it is mostly word of mouth as well as referrals from
Co111111u111ty partners.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks for more information on employee retention.
A. Mr. Ferris answers that they have a 66% success rate in retaining employment for
their clients either within their own organization, or other organizations. They also
emphasize hiring clients within their organization for higher level employment.
ix. Utah Communitv Action — Eariy Childhood Services
Ms. Cerva introduces herself and UCA's program that provides affordable, quality
childhood education for low-income communities. They serve over 2,000 children
yearly from birth to age 5 through their HEAD Start program and want to expand
into education services.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks more about their target population.
A. Ms. Cerva answers that it depends on their partnerships,but their main concern is
that childcare remains less than 7%of an individual's income and expect to serve
those low- to moderate-income.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks whether this would be a physical location serving SLC
residents.
A. Ms. Cerva answers this is correct, though they may receive more space through
community partners.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks about the recent discussions at the county level about closing
county run childcare centers and whether that impacts their program.
A. Ms. Cerva answers that it does not and compares the county childcare facilities
with UCA's vision for this program.
Q. Ms. Nielsen asks whether UCA would be able to begin the project immediately at
the start of the fiscal year.
A. Ms. Cerva answers they aim to run their program starting August 2026.
Q. Mr. Christensen asks what the family advocate position entails,
A. Ms. Cerva answers that they do case-management work but with children such as
needs asscssrllcnts, self-sufficiency matrix, etc.
�. Fit to Reco\cr Duce deals, ticholar_shi >I �, and Kcco�crN Resources for
111housed adults and .fit-Risk ) outh
\11 Shil)nlan hnn"cll an(I I it to 111(i mill Ihat "link II) provide a
'-(Ipl)t1111\C kV111111U1111\ 101 Illosl' rC('M CI Ill)' Ilolll adl1101011 as %VCll as hle-
rllanai-,enlcnt chars I hcs lntcnd to r\IMIld their se1VICC, in the coming year and
I& lanur of al risk populations.
A. \1r Jones asks \\hat the scholarships are li,r.
Q. \11 Shipman answers that they arc for the classes Fit to Recovcr provI(Ics for
Itli nuutaprnlrnl skills as well as all of Fit to IZecover's activities. He adds they have
pis en awaN S 0,000 in scholarships this year.
Q. Mr. ('hliatenscll asks for more information about the classes and how many
attendees thev have.
A. Mr. Shipman answers that at the GRMC they oflen do fitness and art classes and
ranee anywhere between 5-15. Additionally, twice a week they take clients from the
VOA and GRMC for community classes and a free meal.
Q. Mr. Murphy clarifies that their program is for individuals recovering from
substance use disorder but run more holistic well-being programs to engage with that
population.
A. Mr. Shipman answers that they are not a clinical recovery center but aim to
provide a safe space and peer support network for recovery.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks about staff size and executive turnover.
A. Mr. Shipman answers there is about 45 employees across three centers. The
executive turnover has been due to the CEO and his wife moving to Seattle, causing
them to transfer away from the founding director as an organization.
Q. Mr. Murphy asks Mr. Shipman if there is an anecdote he'd like to share.
A. Mr. Shipman shares a success story about two individuals recently released from
incarceration who were able to use their cooking skills and facilitated through the
program, have gone on to teach others and start a business. He adds that their
program outcome is above the national average for long-term sobriety.
Q. Ms. Schechinger asks what the continued vision of the program is.
A. Mr. Shipman answers that Fit to Recover aims to be a safe space for any
underserved community, even if those individuals are not struggling with sobriety.
6. Other Business
Ms. Schechinger asks about the AAU's low risk assessment scores. Ms. Nielsen answers that part
of the score was because they had much larger funding requests than average as well as a higher
turnover.
The board asks when they are getting an overview of Funding Our Future. Mr. Markman and Ms.
Thomas discuss adding it onto mini-final funding night or final funding night as well as some basic
ii1t,olI 31i011 011 litm Ihr Process \\ill linlrtioll.
7. Adiourn
Meeting linishes at 7:01 P.M.
X
CDCIP and Cha
This document along with the digital recording constitute the official minutes of the
CDCIP Board meeting held November 17"', 2025.