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FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	11/28/2022
Subject: Council on Homelessness 2022 Quarter 3 Report
Submitted For:	Anna Roth, Health Services Director
Department:	Health Services
Referral No.:	5
Referral Name:	Homeless Continuum of Care / Health Care for the Homeless
Presenter:	Jaime Jenett, Health Services Community Engagement Specialist	Contact:	Enid Mendoza, (925) 655-2051

Information

Referral History:

Council on Homelessness Bylaws and Seat Appointments
As an Advisory Board of the Board of Supervisors and to the Continuum of Care, the Council on Homelessness (COH) assists and provides guidance in the development and implementation of long-range planning and policy formulation of homeless issues in Contra Costa County. The bylaws stipulate the names of the seats, which are designed to best represent key stakeholders working to address homelessness in Contra Costa. The terms of the seats are two years, and every year approximately half of the 19 seats on the Council expire.

We are recommending 11 candidates for open seats. We are also proposing, through edits to the Bylaws that have been reviewed and approved by County Counsel, the conversion of one of the Public Safety seats to a second Lived Experience Advisor seat. This will increase the representation of people with a lived experience of homelessness on the Council. Increasing opportunities for people with a lived experience of homelessness to share power is in line with best practice across the nation.

Homeless Continuum of Care Health, Housing and Homeless Services Division staffs the Council on Homelessness, which functions as both an advisory board to the Board of Supervisors and the governing board of the Contra Costa County Homeless Continuum of Care. The Council provides advice and input to the Board of Supervisors on the operations of homeless services, program operations, and program development efforts in Contra Costa County.

Homeless Continuum of Care Report
In November 2014, the Board approved “Forging Ahead Towards Preventing and Ending Homelessness: An Update to Contra Costa’s 2004 Strategic Plan”, that renewed the County's 2004 plan with the latest data, best practices, and community feedback and reaffirmed the County's commitment to the Housing First approach. As such, “Forging Ahead” establishes this guiding principle:
“Homelessness is first a housing issue, and necessary supports and services are critical to help people remain housed. Our system must be nimble and flexible enough to respond through shared responsibility, accountability, and transparency of the community.”

The Strategic Plan Update identifies two goals:
1) Decrease the length of time people experience homelessness by focusing on providing Permanent Housing and Services; and
2) Decrease the percentage of people who become homeless by providing Prevention activities.

To achieve these goals, three strategies emerged:

Implement a coordinated entry/assessment system to streamline access to housing and services while addressing barriers, getting the right resources to the right people at the right time; and
Use best, promising , and most effective practices to give the consumer the best possible experience through the strategic use of resources; and
Develop the most effective platforms to provide access, support advocacy, and connect to the community about homelessness and available resources.

The Homeless Program of the Health, Housing and Homeless Services Division partners with the Homeless Advisory Board and Continuum of Care to develop and carry out an annual action plan that identifies the objectives and benchmarks related to each of the goals and strategies of Forging Ahead. Further, the Homeless Program incorporates the strategic plan goals into its own delivery system of comprehensive services, interim housing and permanent supportive housing as well as contracting with community agencies to provide additional homeless services and housing with the goal of ending homelessness in our community.

The Council submitted its last quarterly report to the Family and Human Services Committee on September 26, 2022, which was approved and accepted.

Referral Update:

The Health Services Department Health, Housing and Homeless Services division and the Council on Homelessness have prepared revisions to their bylaws, accepted applicants for seats on the Council on Homelessness, and prepared the attached Homeless Continuum of Care 2022 Quarter 3 report and presentation. Please review the attachments for the quarter 3 updates.

There was an extensive recruitment process to solicit applicants for open seats on the Council on Homelessness. A nominating panel, created of non-conflicted Council on Homelessness members, reviewed the applications, and following a strict rubric (last attachment of this report) made recommendations to the Council. The Council voted, at the November 3, 2022, to recommend the following representatives for the following seats with two year terms:

1) Affordable Housing Developer, Iman Novin, Novin Development;
2) Behavioral Health, Margaret Schlitz, The Hume Center;
3) City Government, Teri House, City of Antioch;
4) Educational/Vocational, Alejandra Chamberlain, CC Office of Education;
5) Emergency Solutions Grant, Gabriel Lemus, Dept. of Conservation and Development;
6) Healthcare, Mia Fairbanks, Healthcare for the Homeless;
7) Homeless Service Provider, Deanne Pearn, Hope Solutions;
8) Lived Experience Seat #1, Juno Hedrick;
9)Lived Experience Seat #2 [pending approval by BOS of creation of the second Lived Experience Seat through pending Bylaws revisions], Jo Bruno;
10) Veteran, Jai De Lotto, Department of Veteran Affairs;
11) Workforce Development; Janae Thomas, Swords to Plowshares; and
12) Youth, Anastasia Padilla.

The attached “COH Applications 2022” document provides information about the applicants for each category, including number of applicants and any application materials received. Should all of these recommendations be accepted, there are no predicted vacancies on the Council on Homelessness for 2023. Please note: The Council is recommending Jo Bruno fill the Lived Experience Advisor #2 seat if/when the BOS approves change to the Bylaws.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

1. RECEIVE and ACCEPT the recommended changes to the Council on Homelessness bylaws; and

2. RECOMMEND to the Board of Supervisors the reappointment of the following candidates for seats on the Council on Homelessness for two-year terms through December 31, 2024:

1) Affordable Housing Developer, Iman Novin, Novin Development;

2) Behavioral Health, Margaret Schlitz, The Hume Center;

3) City Government, Teri House, City of Antioch;

4) Educational/Vocational, Alejandra Chamberlain, CC Office of Education;

5) Emergency Solutions Grant, Gabriel Lemus, Dept. of Conservation and Development;

6) Healthcare, Maria Fairbanks, Healthcare for the Homeless;

7) Homeless Service Provider, Deanne Pearn, Hope Solutions;

8) Lived Experience Seat #1, Juno (Renee) Hedrick; and

9)Lived Experience Seat #2 [pending approval by BOS of creation of the second Lived Experience Seat through pending Bylaws revisions], Jo Bruno;

3. RECOMMEND to the Board of Supervisors the appointment of the following candidates for seats on the Council on Homelessness for 2-year terms:

1) Veteran, Jai De Lotto, Department of Veteran Affairs;

2) Workforce Development; Janae Thomas, Swords to Plowshares; and

3) Youth, Anastasia Padilla.

4. ACCEPT the Council on Homelessness Q3 report; and

5. DIRECT staff to forward the Q3 report to the Board of Supervisors for their information, and the bylaws revisions and seat appointments to the Board of Supervisors for their approval.

Fiscal Impact (if any):

There is no fiscal impact tied to the recommended actions.

Attachments
COH Presentation
COH Bylaws with Revisions
COH Bylaws with Revisions - Clean Version
COH Q3 Report
List of Applicants for COH Seats
I.Novin Redacted App
D.Alcala Redacted App
M.Schiltz Redacted App
A.Ashoori Redacted App
T.House Redacted App
R.Morgan Redacted App
G.Lemus Redacted App
M.Fairbanks Redacted App
N.Carter Redacted App
J.Eckstrom Redacted App
J.Heath Redacted App
T.Jacobs Redacted App
A.Khodayari Redacted App
L.Murray Redacted App
D.Pearn Redacted App
J.Russell Redacted App
J.Lotto Redacted App
J.Bruno Redacted App
E.Cross Redacted App
Z.Franet Redacted App
S.Gallion Redacted App
B.Gonzales Redacted App
R.Hedrick Redacted App
A.Jenkins Redacted App
B.Martinez Redacted App
J.Taran Redacted App
J.Thomas Redacted App
A.Chamberlain Redacted App
S.Hart Redacted App
M.MacDonald Redacted App
A.Padilla Redacted App
COH Applicant Rubric