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Suzanna Fritzberg, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor, stated, The best information we have <br /> from the service providers is in no way does it reflect their homeless population. By and large, <br /> the vast majority of these individuals are from South Bend that have been here for twenty(20) <br /> years. Every time you provide services there is a calibration level that is appropriate, but there's <br /> not a concern that by us providing services that we will attract more people. <br /> Mr. Rebman stated, People say that all the homeless people go to Florida during the winter <br /> because it's better weather—that's just not true. It's not true because we do a point and time <br /> count every year to find out where people are from. First of all, homeless people are not going to <br /> leave their current environment ever. They aren't going to leave their current environment <br /> because they know where to get food and that is where their friends are. They don't have the <br /> funds to just decide to take a bus somewhere. The only time I see homeless people going from <br /> community to community is usually a law enforcement situation. There is no evidence to support <br /> either of those claims. <br /> Committee Chair Broden asked, What is your experience in grant writing and proposals? <br /> Mr. Rebman replied, Emergency shelters are no longer being funded by the federal government <br /> because they are unsuccessful. Transitional housing funding is going away next and right now, <br /> all the money from the federal government that is currently in place is for housing first <br /> initiatives. <br /> Committee Chair Broden recessed the meeting for a brief period of time. The meeting <br /> reconvened at 7:32 a.m. <br /> Mr. Rebman continued, Shelters should be nothing more but a pathway to housing. We need a <br /> more permanent solution to housing. Giving people the stability and structure will help those <br /> decompress and make better life choices. People that have been homeless for a long time, you <br /> are never going to see them. If they are good at being homeless,they are going to be completely <br /> off your radar. The only place you will see them at are the feeding programs. The people you see <br /> the most are panhandling for other reasons. Most importantly, to one (1)thing I would like <br /> people to take away is that this problem is solvable. The only measure of success is whether or <br /> not these people are in a house. We want all the dollars to go to getting these individuals housed. <br /> And in a lot of communities, the continuum can usually only go so far without having issues. <br /> Sometimes a continuum cannot fight for dollars like an individual could. For example Mr. Bailey <br /> in Orlando could get up on a soap box and fight for things that were important, where the people <br /> in continuum can only do so much of that. There is the talent here in the community already to <br /> fix this. There is better collaboration in this community than any other community, even <br /> Orlando. South Bend could be a model for the nation. The first step is funding the lead position. <br /> The next step is getting an emergency shelter. The key is private dollars. This problem could be <br /> solved in eighteen(18)to twenty-four(24)months. <br /> Committeemember Karen White thanked Mr. Rebman for collaborating and sharing his ideas. <br /> 5 <br />