Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Enter into an Agreement with Operation Dignity for Homeless Case Management Services and to Appropriate $242,242 from the General Fund Available Fund Balance for Services and Site Management. (Recreation and Parks Department 001-5120)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Authorize the City Manager to Enter into an Agreement with Operation Dignity for Homeless Case Management Services and to Appropriate $242,242 from the General Fund Available Fund Balance for Services and Site Management
BACKGROUND
Homeless encampments in Alameda and across the entire Bay Area region have grown in recent months and the City is working to address this issue throughout the Island, including at the future Jean Sweeney Open Space Park (Sweeney Park). Staff felt it was critical to begin addressing this issue, especially with the near-term and future development of Sweeney Park and the significant number of homeless people camping on the site. Staff brought together a committee with representatives from Alameda Point Collaborative, Operation Dignity, the Social Services Human Relations Board (SSHRB), the Paramedicine Program and the Community Development, Police, and Recreation and Parks Departments. This committee drafted a Homeless Action Plan and began a collaborative process to address the homeless issue in a direct and compassionate way.
On September 1, 2016, the City entered into an agreement with Operation Dignity to provide an initial assessment of the homeless population throughout the City. To accomplish this, its mobile outreach team directly contacted and surveyed people at various encampments over a six week period. The intention of this assessment was to provide more data as well as to start developing relationships with Alameda homeless residents in order to begin connecting them with needed services.
On September, 27, 2016, City staff, in collab...
Click here for full text