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File Number: 16-444 <br />Homeless persons received various services, including three days’ worth of groceries up to <br />twice a month, emergency clothing, and household items. DSFRC Family Advocates/Intake <br />Specialists also provided these clients with information and referral to DSFRC's other <br />programs that include free acute medical and dental care, childcare, employment counseling, <br />housing assistance, and case management services. <br />Objective: Create Suitable Living Environment <br />Priority: Support public services. <br />Davis Street Family Resource Center (Davis Street) - Affordable Housing Services <br />In FY 2015-2016, the City provided City General Funds to Davis Street to assist individuals <br />seeking housing search assistance, specifically being placed into permanent housing. During <br />the fiscal year, Davis Street served 565 clients, of which 13 households were placed into <br />permanent housing throughout the City; 5 clients were assisted with security deposits, 3 <br />clients were assisted with past due rent, and 7 clients received emergency hotel vouchers. <br />Davis Street also provided 487 homeless or at risk of becoming homeless individuals with <br />information on local services to help them with their housing search. <br />Priority: Maintain and expand activities designed to prevent those currently housed from <br />becoming homeless. <br />Housing Rehabilitation Program <br />Under the City's Housing Rehabilitation Program, extremely low- and very low-income <br />homeowners, particularly seniors, have their homes improved in order to remain permanently <br />housed. The following grants are available to income-eligible homeowners: Minor Home <br />Repair, Mobile Home Repair, Accessibility, Exterior Clean-Up, Exterior Paint, and Seismic <br />Strengthening. Of the 9 grants awarded, 5 were provided to very low income seniors this past <br />fiscal year. <br />Rental Housing Counseling <br />Using City General Funds, the City contracted with ECHO Housing for Rental Housing <br />Counseling services to help keep people in their housing. Information and referral services <br />were provided to 619 landlords and tenants. In FY 2015-2016, ECHO Housing handled 78 <br />cases related to eviction and succeeded in preventing 10 households from being evicted. <br />Staff also assisted with 17 landlord-tenant inquiries related to repairs, 13 cases regarding <br />security deposits, 99 instances involving rent increases, 7 occurrences of unlawful entry by <br />the landlord, and 5 cases involving retaliation by the landlord. There were also 75 <br />miscellaneous inquiries (e.g., information on rental contracts and unlawful detainers, providing <br />general information on tenant and landlord rights with referrals to attorneys, eviction defense, <br />small claims court, and mediation services). ECHO Housing staff assisted 62 households <br />with conciliation/mediation services including successfully conciliating 12 rent increases cases <br />and the aforementioned 10 eviction cases that were successfully conciliated as well. Lastly, <br />staff referred 18 households to attorneys/small claims court and 57 households to other <br />appropriate agencies. <br />Additionally, the City provided City General Funds to ECHO Housing to assist staff in <br />administering the City's Rent Review Program, which provides a non-binding arbitration board <br />Page 5 City of San Leandro Printed on 9/13/2016