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Robert Norse Questions Housing Matters
BY SARAH RINGLER
The 77 Wonders band added smooth vibes as they performed at the Duck Pond for Soupstock last Saturday.
PHOTO BY TARMO HANNULA
Robert Norse has been active in homeless issues for many decades. He has been tireless in objecting to the mistreatment of people who cannot afford housing in Santa Cruz and have been forced to live outside. Most are locals; 75%-89% lived in the county when they became homeless according to the 2022 and 2023 Point-In-Time Counts conducted by counties over the country under the US Government's Housing and Urban Development. He has fought against the destruction of camps where people have gathered to feel safe by police at the request of city government. He advocates for services that can truly help people find a place to live.
At the celebration of 44 years of Food Not Bombs, Soupstock, that was held last weekend at the Duck Pond in San Lorenzo Park, he issued a written list of questions directed to Phil Kramer, Chief Executive Office of Housing Matters.
In Norse's open and brash style, here are some of his questions:
"How many Housing Matters clients are in stable housing and at what cost?
"When will Housing Matters admit it has no “pathway to housing” but a revolving door to the street for most?
"What percentage of Housing Matters funding actually gets diverted to buildings & salaries?
"How long will the community fund poverty pimpery and greedy grant-grabbing by funding services like Housing Matters which since 2015 have ignored the needs of the many?"
I decided to check up myself on Housing Matters. Using their webpage and 2023 Annual Report for Housing Matters this is what I found. I will present this to Mr. Kramer and print his response next week.
Housing Matters is a non-profit that was formed more than 30 years ago by community and faith-based groups. It is the largest organization addressing homelessness in the county with a revenue of $11.9M in 2023 that it received primarily from donations, 46%, and government grants, 46%.
Listed on their website, Housing Matters has an executive team of four, an administration team of 15, a program team of 87-95 what they call "professionals," and 13 Board of Directors. Their total expenses for 2023 were approximately $13M with approximately $7M in personnel expenses, $3M in client services, $1.3M in office and administrative expenses, and $1.8M in facilities expenses.
They offer hot showers, restrooms open all day, every day, and mail services for those who don’t have an address. They also have three emergency shelter programs at their Coral Street campus providing beds for 180 people, accounting for half of the shelter beds in the county. They also have programs that support helping families, veterans and people with disabling condition get housing. They have also opened seven units of housing at Casa Azul with 120 unit in development. Phil Kramer is their Chief Executive Office.
In this year’s 2023 Annual Report for Housing Matters it was reported that their revenue increased from $6.2M in 2021 to $11.9M in 2023. The report states “This financial growth has enabled us to expand our dedicated team from 59 to 95 professionals in that same time period. The revenue and staff growth of Housing Matters allows us to scale our programs to support people living unhoused in our community.”
The report continues, “The team has helped 335 people find stable housing to date this year and we are on track to grow that to 400 by the year end. A nearly 30% increase in move-ins over last year!”
How effective is Housing Matters at providing housing, the primary need for unhoused people? Charity Navigator, a reputable website that rates non-profits and charities generally considers that an effective charity spends 70% of its revenue on program. Housing Matters spends only 23% on client services but spends 54% on personnel, 10% in office and administrative expenses, and 14% on facilities.
Housing Matters seems heavy on staffing. With the expansion of its “professionals,” to 95 last year, they helped 335 people find stable housing. Even with the prediction cited above that the number would be 400 by the end of the year, that works out to about four people per year for each “professional.” Staffing does not seem like the most effective expense in trying to get people into housing.
Robert Norse has more questions that will be addressed in the future. He holds meetings of HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) every Thursday 1:30-3:30pm at the Sub Rosa Café, 703 Pacific next to the Bike Church.
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