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County government agencies representing three separate care systems homeless services, HIV /AIDS services and mental health services that share overlapping client populations. The collaboration arose from their recognition that stable housing is a critical cornerstone to the health and well -being of homeless and at -risk people, and our communities. Rather than continue on their separate paths toward housing solutions, the agencies creating these plans realized that they serve many people with similar needs and in many cases, the same individuals and came together to develop one plan with mutual goals and joint effort for implementation. The collective knowledge, funding and expertise of the collaborative, joined with extensive input and guidance from a wide variety of community -based organizations and service consumers, yielded the Alameda Countywide Homeless and Special Needs Housing Plan, now known as the EveryOne Home plan. The plan is a regional and multifaceted response to address the social and economic issues of homelessness and housing instability that affect communities throughout the county. In January 2008 EveryOne Home became a community based organization to implement the Plan and now serves as the County's Continuum of Care. EveryOne Home coordinates local efforts to address homelessness, seeks to maintain the existing service capacity, build new partnerships that generate greater resources for the continuum of housing, services, and employment, and establish inter jurisdictional cooperation. EveryOne Home leverages substantial federal, state, and local resources for homeless housing and services, standardize data collection, and facilitate a year -round process of successful collaboration. EveryOne Home includes representation from HOME Consortium jurisdictions and CDBG entitlement jurisdictions in the County, service providers and advocates, homeless or formerly homeless persons, representatives of the faith community, business representatives, and education and health care professionals. EveryOne Home receives administrative funding through Alameda County's General Fund as well as contributions from each of Alameda County's jurisdictions. EveryOne Home envisions housing and services system that partners with consumers, families and advocates; provides appropriate services in a timely fashion to all who need them; and ensures that individuals and families are safely, supportively and permanently housed. To achieve those objectives, the plan is structured around five major goals that outline multi faceted solutions for a multi- dimensional problem: Prevent homelessness and other housing crises. The most effective way to end homelessness is to prevent it in the first place by making appropriate services accessible at the time they are needed. In particular, people leaving institutions such foster care, hospitals, jails and prisons need interventions and planning that will prevent them from exiting into homelessness. Increase housing opportunities for the plan's target populations. Increasing affordable and supportive housing opportunities requires creative use of existing resources, developing new resources and using effective models of housing and services. This plan identifies a need for 15,000 units of housing for people who are homeless or living with HIV /AIDS or mental Strategic Plan FY2010 FY2014 City of Pleasanton Page 20