Key West The Newspaper

REPORT TO THE CITY OF KEY WEST
For May 2015

THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHTS

• SHAL was pleased to be recommended to the Monroe County Commission for a $50,000 award by the Monroe County Human Services Advisory Board. These funds will be used for programs that include housing support to help move homeless persons into full time, permanent housing up and down the Keys.

• SHAL is scheduled to open an office at Rural Health Network (RHN) on North Roosevelt, next to their medical and dental clinics. Starting in June, RHN will provide this space and help SHAL get clients enrolled in their programs, which will help get qualified homeless clients a free initial medical assessment and 340(b) prescriptions.

• Client Services Manager Elicia Pintabona has made arrangements to further increase SHAL’s presence in the community, with regular service contact sites now at SOS Food Pantry and the Senior Center on Truman Ave. Elicia and her Case Managers Amy Yancich and Channing Lamar will be adding these locations to others already regularly staffed, including KOTS, the Monroe County Public Library and St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen. Employment services are regularly provided to homeless clients at CareerSource Florida.

• New KOTS manager Mike Tolbert has enlisted the assistance of volunteer homeless persons to pressure wash pretty much everything possible at the Shelter, bringing the facility to a much higher level of cleanliness. Mike has addressed some regular repair needs and arranged for a second Pepsi machine.

KEYS OVERNIGHT TEMPORARY SHELTER (KOTS)
Shelter Usage

HMIS shows that total of 159 unduplicated individuals used the Shelter in May 2015. KOTS was full by 9 pm on 1 evening, with an average of about 120 clients sleeping in the Shelter on an average night. Only 2 EMT calls were made for Shelter clients in May.

Males 134 (84%)

Age 18               242
Age 25 – 62      123
Age 63+             34

Other populations

Veterans: 19

Domestic Violence: 2

Chronic Substance Abuse: 5

Other Disability: 13

Severely Mentally Ill: 2

SHAL OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Service Summary Report • May 2015

Total Services Rendered: 295 (Sheltered: 147, Unsheltered: 148)

Health Care Services Rendered:

Health Care Appointments: 5

Mental Health Referrals: 3

RX Assistance: 3

Alcoholism Referral: 1

Other Services:

Case Management: 46

Information Services: 22

Cell Phones: 21

Mailing Address: 5

Food/Clothing: 2

Identification/Residency Services: 31

Individual Counseling: 2

Housing Assistance: 3

SS Issues: 3

Birth Certificate Assistance: 33

Birth Certificate Payment: 9

EBT Services: 10

Street Outreach Contacts: 43

Long Distance Relocation: 16

Local/Lower Keys Bus Passes: 12

Local Transportation: 18

Coordinated Assessment System (CAS) Forms Completed: 39 (Sheltered: 16, Unsheltered: 23)

CAS Referrals to Other Agencies: 3 (accepted into housing program)

Highlights this Month

• Provided payment for a doctor’s appointment for a client with a broken ankle.
• Paid for clients’ medication for acute illnesses.
• Continued shower services to unsheltered clients.
• Continued to provide temporary mailing address for SS, Food Stamps and Birth Certificates.
• Continued case management services to jail clients.
• Continued to provide local bus passes to mobility challenged clients or those actively seeking employment.

Special populations:
-Continued to Assist the Public Defender’s Office with relocations.
-Numerous clients relocated and reunited with their families.
-One client relocated to a stable living situation with healthcare options available.
-Client relocated to his hometown, where he will have work and affordable housing.

May Relocation Summaries
Total relocations: 16 (Sheltered: 4, Unsheltered: 12)

T.B. was a sheltered male who suffered from mental illness. SHAL worked with dePoo hospital while he was there and he was taken into the Case Management program upon his release from the hospital. We worked with him to attempt to obtain a birth certificate, but were unsuccessful without any forms of ID. He decided that it would be best to return to a family member who was willing to give him a place to stay. The family member would also be able to assist him in getting his birth certificate.

M.M. was a sheltered female who had come to Key West approximately 6 months ago. After obtaining a job as a waitress at a local establishment, she broke her ankle. This was a tough break (pun intended) for her, because she was now unable to work, also. After some supportive care and counseling, she decided to go back to her hometown, where she would have a support system and find work. Upon follow-up, she is doing well and has found an affordable place to stay and has found a dependable job.

J.C. was a sheltered male, who had been unsheltered for about 2 weeks before coming to stay at KOTS. KOTS provided him a safe place to stay at night, and also the availability of Case Management. Through speaking with J.C. it was discovered that he wished to return to his hometown and seek employment. He had held factory jobs all of his life, and felt that it would be best to return to an area in which he could do what he had training and experience doing. We relocated him to a stable living situation, and he was hopeful that he would find work quickly.

A.H. and D.H. were an unsheltered couple who had been in Key West for a few months. They had some mobility/health issues that caused them to struggle with the heat down here. They had made a contact that lived on the mainland of Florida, who had found them a place to stay and had a job for D.H., however, they had no way to get there. Through our relocation program, we were able to get this unsheltered couple to their new affordable housing opportunity and employment.