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.
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 is submitting a 2022 Quarter 1 report with updates on the homeless Continuum of Care and work of the Council on Homelessness, as well as recommendations for the Board of Supervisors from the Council on Homelessness Advisory Body. |