Title
Recommendation to Approve The Road Home: A 5 Year Plan to Prevent and Respond to Homelessness in Alameda. (Community Development 10061831)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City Council has identified addressing homelessness as one of its key priorities. As a result, in January of 2021, work began on a five-year plan to address homelessness. Staff is recommending that the City Council review and approve The Road Home: A 5 Year Plan to Prevent and Respond to Homelessness in Alameda (the Strategic Plan) (Exhibit 1). The Strategic Plan provides an achievable roadmap to addressing homelessness in the City of Alameda (City) based on an evaluation of existing programs and systems, the latest available data and established best practices.
BACKGROUND
From 2017 to 2019, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the city rose by 13%, to 231 individuals. Of these, 132 individuals were unsheltered. Though unconfirmed, this number has likely increased over the last 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.
While any number of people living on the street or in their cars is too many, homelessness challenges are solvable with the right strategies. With fewer than 300 people experiencing homelessness on any given day, and only half unsheltered, the scale of the problem presents an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on preventing and reducing homelessness in the community.
In January of 2021, work began on a five-year plan to address homelessness in the city. To assist with the strategic planning process, staff contracted with Homebase, a nationally recognized expert on homelessness with extensive technical assistance and facilitation experience.
Homebase has completed an assessment of existing programs and systems in and conducted extensive stakeholder engagement, including Steering Committee meetings, two community meetings, an online survey, and multiple focus groups and individual interview...
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