Title
Discuss and Recommend Board's Role on the Proposed Long-Range Planning for the Homeless and Development of Transitional Housing Option for Alameda's Unhoused
Body
To: Honorable President Christine Chilcott and Members of the Social Service Human Relations Board
BACKGROUND
On November 1, 2016, the City Council directed the Social Service Human Relations Board (SSHRB) to review the City's current policies and procedures to address homelessness. The task involved proposing revisions to the policies and to provide recommendations to support the City's unhoused population. SSHRB's Homelessness Action Plan Work Group partnered with the Housing Authority and City staff and developed the Alameda Homelessness Report, which was adopted by Council on March 20, 2018. The Report outlines the following four policy areas:
1. Services to Homeless Individuals - programs and policies focused on harm reduction, health and social support, benefits enrollment, and housing navigation but will not reduce the number of individuals living with homelessness. Initiatives under this policy recommendation include: Homeless Outreach Team, Community Paramedicine Program, and Supplemental Case Management.
2. Temporary Shelter for the Homeless - non-permanent shelter options that can reduce the time homeless individuals spend on the street but do not eliminate homelessness. This policy recommendation can be supported by establishing a Homeless Shelter, Winter Warming Shelter, and the Alameda Health and Wellness Center.
3. Permanent Housing - long-term solutions to homelessness that involve a commitment to house the homeless. This policy calls for local investment in housing for the homeless as well as construction of additional units of all types and prices.
4. Local Code and Strategy Action - policy statements and changes to the City's Zoning Code to better support other policy and programming recommendations contained in the Report. The Code and Action policy option advoc...
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