Local Government and The Maple Street Shelter

Question: In what sense did the Maple Street Shelter in Redwood City arise from a local need or perspective? Why do you think local governments did not fill this need adequately? To whom is the Maple Street Shelter accountable? Is the Maple Street Shelter constrained or affected by Federal policies?

The Maple Street Shelter is located in Redwood City, California and is apart of the InnVision Shelter Network which has dedicated itself to "helping homeless families and individuals across Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Peninsula return to permanent housing and self-sufficiency". According to their website, InnVision "operates 17 sites from San Jose to Daly City, providing interim and stabilization shelter, permanent supportive housing, outreach, rapid re-housing, and homelessness prevention services". The InnVision Shelter Network was formed in 2012 through a merger of two non-profit organizations which served the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley. It is also said that InnVision Shelter Network is "one of the leading shelter/housing and supportive service providers in Northern California, supporting over 20,000 homeless men, women, and children annually".

The Needs of the San Francisco Bay Area:

The San Francisco Bay Area is a place of bustling innovation and technology. Known throughout the world as the home to tech corporations like Apple, Google, Oracle, and Microsoft, the region includes the five highest California counties by per capita income and two of the top 25 wealthiest counties in the United States according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The current wealth in the area is massive, but the disparity between rich and poor has also become massive. When walking around the quaint cities, it all seems absolutely picturesque. The unfortunate truth is that the cost of living in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties is nearly 50% higher than the national average. With such high housing costs, many people earning minimum wage live on the brink of homelessness and this is the local need that prompted the creation of the non-profit organizations InnVision the Way Home (founded 1973) and Shelter Network (founded 1987).

Source: http://www.ivsn.org/about/faqs/

During the late 1970's, San Francisco experienced a development boom and in the early 1980s, homeless populations began to arise as a result of multiple factors including the closing of state institutions for the mentally ill, the drastic cutting of federal funding for Section 8 housing benefits, and social changes which increased the availability of addictive drugs. The problem soon became an epidemic and continues to plague the Bay Area today. The economy of the San Francisco Bay Area continues to flourish and contribute to the cities and counties it contains but more needs to be done to address the rising housing costs.

State and Local Efforts and Failures in Preventing and Ending Homelessness:

San Mateo County: 

In a 2013 effort to reduce the homeless population, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday set aside $1.5 million of Measure A sales tax revenue approved by voters in November for two programs. One, a homeless shelter in East Palo Alto that operates during the winter and early spring, would receive $1.2 million over two years to stay open year-round. The other, which sends county workers to find and assist homeless people, would get $300,000 over two years to add the equivalent of 2.5 full-time employees. 

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_23220682/census-12-percent-more-homeless-san-mateo-county

Santa Clara County:

As part of the Valley Homeless Healthcare Program (VHHP), a county and grant funded program launched in 2004 and operated through the Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System, Kriegsman and his colleagues provide medical care to more than 7,000 homeless patients each year. Their staff of 35 is composed of physicians, nurses, mental-health experts and outreach workers who care for Santa Clara County’s homeless through walk-in clinics and a mobile unit that travels once a week to local homeless encampments. As of January 2014, many of California’s homeless were newly eligible for Medi-Cal under the national health law that allowed states to expand the program to include poor people without children or disabilities.

Source: https://www.scvmc.org/newsroom/Pages/valley-homeless.aspx

In 2013, over 26,000 people were homeless in the Silicon Valley and Peninsula. 

Source: Homeless Census and Survey for Santa Clara County and San Mateo County. 

Federal Policies Effects on InnVision Shelter Network and the Maple Street Shelter:

Many federal policies do affect the Innvision Shelter Network. The Shelter system gets 60% of it's funding from public (government) sources. "IVSN is funded through a combination of foundations, corporations, individuals, federal, state, and city grants. Approximately 60% of our annual budget is publicly funded, and 40% is privately funded." If there are cuts made to the grants that benefit the shelter system on federal, state, or local levels, the company and its mission will suffer. Thankfully almost half of the $16million annual budget comes from private donations and contributions which can ease the lack of public funding but it still needs to come from somewhere.

Aside from funding, there are many other regulations that homeless shelters need to comply with if they choose to provide services. Facilities need to be in accordance with many federal standards for health, safety, building and fire codes, etc... and also comply with state and local standards which may be more strict than federal guidelines.

The Maple Street Shelter is accountable to the state, county, and city it serves and receives funding from, the individuals who donate money privately to the cause and mission of InnVision, the community and individuals it directly provides housing and services too, and finally, the federal government whom it receives a portion of its funding from.

The Maple Street Shelter provides interim shelter and services for 75 adult men and women. About 90% of IVSN graduates return to permanent housing every year by providing families and individuals with the resources and skills they need to return to self-sufficiency and avoid becoming homeless again in the future.





Services Offered at the Maple Street Shelter

• Case Management: Our trained Case Managers support clients’ unique needs, helping them manage budgets, connect with resources, and make active progress toward regaining permanent housing.

• Housing and Job Search Assistance: Staff and volunteers provide clients with training, tools, and resources to find and secure affordable housing and employment.

• Financial Literacy and Savings: We teach clients to manage a personal budget and save for emergency needs. Clients in transitional housing must save at least 50% of their income.

• Life Skills Education: We empower our clients with skills for long-term success through nightly workshops on financial literacy, parenting, nutrition, and other life skills.

• Additional “Beyond the Bed” Services: We offer an array of services that go “beyond the bed” to meet our clients’ unique needs and enable them to become self-sufficient for the long term. Source: http://www.ivsn.org/services/single-adult-services/maple-street-shelter/