Petaluma expected to tap $850K for homeless services, expand contract with Downtown Streets Team

Flush with funds from a new one-cent sales tax, the city of Petaluma is poised to increase its support for a homeless support program following a year-long test run.

But the nonprofit Downtown Streets Team looking to tap $350,000 in city funding has not met key benchmarks for success, raising questions about the efficacy of the program designed to help people find housing and secure jobs.

City Council later this month is expected to approve $350,000 to fund the Downtown Streets Team for another year. The total represents a $100,000 increase from last year’s amount, and it’s tied to a slate of funding increases for homelessness services citywide.

All told, the City Council at its June 21 meeting will consider an $850,000 investment in homeless support programs and services on the heels of recent camp clearings and as local leaders appeal for more countywide support to tackle what many officials acknowledge is a growing crisis.

“We feel really strongly that this is one of the community’s top priorities, which is taking care of our unhoused community,” said Assistant City Manager Brian Cochran, adding that the investment was made possible through the voter-approved Measure U sales tax. “We want to provide the services that are critical for our vulnerable community members. We have done bits and pieces over the years, and we felt this was the time to build out a more robust program, and the Downtown Streets Team is part of that.”

Championed by city staff and downtown business leaders, the volunteer Downtown Streets program expanded to Petaluma last year with the goal of helping homeless individuals find permanent employment and housing.

But the 16-year-old San Jose-based nonprofit has been dogged by allegations of sexual harassment and pay discrimination by former employees, and its business model — volunteer labor in exchange for access to support services — has raised concerns.

City officials have stuck by the program, recommending a renewed contract and additional funds despite the group’s failure to meet employment and housing targets promised in its contract with the city, according to data from the first 10 months of the contract. Full numbers for the final two months of its operations in the city, May and June, have not yet been reported to the city.

Founded by former venture capitalist and tech CEO Eileen Richardson, the San Jose-based Downtown Streets Team operates in 16 Northern California cities, recruiting homeless residents to volunteer their time to pick up trash around the city in exchange for various housing, job and health services.

The team is comprised of two employees and up to 15 volunteers who spend four hours each weekday picking up trash throughout downtown Petaluma.

Karen Strolia, director of the North Bay for Downtown Streets Team, said volunteers are encouraged to take advantage of various services and types of assistance, ranging from housing and job assistance, medical and legal aid as well as gift cards for food or transportation. Volunteers can stay on the team for up to one year, and in recent months, Strolia says there has been a wait list for those interested in joining.

Since launching in Petaluma on July 16, 2020, the nonprofit has had mixed success.

Between July 2020 and April – a time period with the most complete set of data via city records – eight volunteers were placed in jobs, or 53% of the stated target.

However, according to city data, retention has been less successful. Though the contract sets a goal that 100% of the 15 employed volunteers will retain their jobs for three months, and 70% will retain their positions for at least six months, Downtown Streets Team reports five have lasted for more than three months and none have yet lasted to six.

Within that same 10-month span, 60% of volunteers remained without housing, while 24% moved to emergency shelters and 11% found permanent housing with support services, according to the records.

Cochran said the program deserves another year to get its footing in Petaluma, saying it offers a critical lifeline to many unsheltered individuals who typically are harder to reach.

"I think they’ve worked incredibly hard to get ramped up through one of the most challenging times we could have started any program,” Cochran said. “Not to use COVID as the universal scapegoat, but I think it was challenging. Folks had hesitancy to come onto a program where they would be in contact with others. I don’t believe that they’ve had the full benefit of a full year of a full team.”

City records also show documented successes for the program.

As of June 4, Strolia says the team has picked up 83,000 gallons of debris from the city, including 41,000 cigarette butts.

And surveys managed by the nonprofit show an operation that is meeting targets around mental health support, substance abuse help and self-esteem, all either meeting or vastly exceeding goals.

Among the volunteers, 86% said they experienced an improvement in mental health since joining the team, and 83% saying they’ve either sought out or remained in treatment for mental health. Another 64% say they’ve sought or remained in treatment for substance abuse.

Current volunteer numbers are hovering at 15 people, Strolia says, with some people coming in and out of the program. After two months on the ground, the team had nearly double its threshold with 25 volunteers, and over the last few months has remained steady with a 15-person team.

“When we first launched, it took a minute to get the name out and build the team up,” Strolia said. “Then people started getting housed and employed really quickly.”

Council member D’Lynda Fischer supports the program, and said she wouldn’t deny an extension based on the first year of data.

“Is success ultimately getting someone housed?” Fischer said. “It is the goal, but I think we could say success also about creating a job for people who otherwise wouldn’t have one, and giving them that step up, and providing a community, and helping them feel like they’re a part of something or are being useful. I think that in itself is a measure of success.”

Petaluma is the only city in Sonoma County so far to welcome the Downtown Streets Team, remaining its farthest North Bay expansion yet, followed by teams in Novato and San Rafael.

The organization’s footprint extends as far south as Salinas and its eastward boundaries reach Sacramento and Stanislaus counties, along with teams in several Bay Area cities including San Francisco and Oakland.

Like Cochran, Strolia also said launching the program in the middle of a pandemic proved difficult, and said she expects the program will reach more people as they build trust with homeless individuals and as the pandemic eases.

“We haven’t even hit one year and we’ve already had an incredible impact on the community,” Strolia said. “The additional funding will help us do more outreach.”

Council first approved the program January 2020, offering $250,000 in its first year, while the Downtown Business Association committed $25,000 and the Downtown Streets Team raised $75,000 to meet total yearly operational costs.

Those costs remain the same this year, but with the city promising another $100,000, Strolia says the Petaluma branch will hire an additional employee and have more bandwidth to increase outreach and add on more volunteers.

Potential renewed support for the program is linked with $300,000 in proposed annual funding for the Committee On The Shelterless and another $200,000 for a mobile shower program run by Downtown Streets Team. The investments come as Petaluma prepares to launch its $1 million inaugural team of mental health crisis responders meant to minimize interactions with armed police officers.

The mobile shower program is expected to hit the streets sometime this fall, once the three-stall truck is built, quadrupling shower access for the city’s homeless population, according to staff reports.

City Manager Peggy Flynn spearheaded the Downtown Streets Team’s expansion to Sonoma County’s second-largest city last year after working with the organization as assistant city manager in Novato. Despite its support in Petaluma, the nonprofit has attracted some less flattering attention.

Downtown Streets Team in late 2019 was embroiled in controversy following public allegations from several former employees who alleged sexual harassment, promotion of a “toxic” work atmosphere and inequitable pay among women employees, according to the Pacific Sun. In response to these allegations, Strolia said she has never observed any such misconduct within the organization. Flynn said last year she was made aware of the allegations before the contract was approved, and said she hasn’t seen “any indications of impropriety in our work with the Downtown Streets Team.”

To others, the program’s cost and exchange of volunteer labor for support services also raises questions.

Jason Sarris, an activist and homeless resident at Novato’s Camp Compassion, said he likes the Downtown Streets Team’s approach, but he said he’s not sure it’s run as well as it could be.

Sarris, who recently announced a run for Marin County supervisor, also said the cost of the program was a concern.

“I think it’s a good idea; and I kind of understand what they’re trying to do,” Sarris said in a phone interview last week. “But I think it costs a lot, and it takes up a lot of (government) funds when it could be used to serve the homeless directly.”

In a letter to the editor published in the Argus-Courier July 30, 2020, Petaluma resident Sarah Quinto questioned the city’s decision to invest in the nonprofit instead of using the money to help individuals afford the area’s exorbitant rent prices.

“If we want to have a street clean-up program, let’s pay people a fair wage via a permanent job, allowing them to afford rent… $350,000 could cover a year’s worth of rent for 10-15 individuals in a market rate rental,” Quinto wrote.

Despite some local criticism and controversy, support for the program remains strong among city leaders.

Mayor Teresa Barrett said in a text Tuesday that she’s glad the city contracted with the team last year.

“I believe the pilot program has been a success and I think their services have been greatly appreciated both by those they serve and those who enjoy the cleaner downtown streets made possible by those employed by (Downtown Streets Team),” she said.

Councilman Kevin McDonnell, who serves on the county’s continuum of care board, a primary local driver of homelessness services, said he supports the program and sees it as necessary to increase engagement and reach homeless individuals who are living outside, making them harder to reach.

“I think we give it a chance to grow and hit their goals,” McDonnell said this week. “There are not very many programs set up to do this kind of thing, and not many do it as well as Downtown Streets Team does. All their other cities appear to be going well, so we need to get this one up to full speed.”

With another year of funding secured, Strolia says she’ll be able to hire another employee to focus purely on helping people find jobs.

Currently, the team conducts bi-weekly outreach with COTS to various encampments around town to build relationships with the homeless population not living in shelters or transitional homes. Strolia says she has a list of more than 70 people living outside throughout Petaluma.

There is an estimated 296 homeless individuals living in Petaluma, 133 unsheltered, according to Sonoma County’s 2020 point-in-time count.

“My goal here is with this funding to maintain things here, and to bring on additional members so we can expand our fundraising bandwidth to do even more,” Strolia said. “We’re thrilled and honored to be here and we look forward to another year.”

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story misstated City Manger Peggy Flynn’s prior position and has been corrected.

Contact Kathryn Palmer at kathryn.palmer@arguscourier.com, on Twitter @KathrynPlmr.