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Alameda Countywide Homeless and Special Needs !lousing Plan Executive Summary As many as 16,000 people are homeless during the course of a year in Alameda County, and more than 5,000 are homeless on any given night. Many people experiencing homelessness have disabilities. Thousands more with serious and persistent mental illness and/or l ITV/AIDS are living in precarious or inappropriate situations. This plan outlines a reorientation of housing and service systems to end chronic homelessness within ten years and significantly reduce housing crises for these vulnerable populations in Alameda County over fifteen years. Alameda County has a history of innovative and successful programs to address homelessness and specinl needs housing. While these programs have significantly assisted the people they serve, the Sponsors and Stakeholders who developed this plan acknowledge that simply continuing with the current approaches will not lead to ending homelessness. Achieving this vision will require dedicating approximately 15,000 units of housing to the plan's target populations, but housing alone is not enough. [n order to prevent and end homelessness for the plan's target populations, the plan establishes five goals: ^ Prevent homelessness and other housing crises. The most effective way to end homelessness is to avoid it in the first place, by making appropriate services accessible when needed. Exiting foster care, hospitals, or a jail or prison, should not be an expressway to homelessness. ^ Increase housing opportunities for the plan's target populations. 'T'his plan identifies a need for 15,000 units of housing for people who are homeless or living with HN/AIDS or mental illness, and estimates the cost of developing and operating housing and services over the next fifteen years at $2.1 billion. ^ Deliver flexible services to support stability and independence. Culturally competent, coordinated support services must accompany housing; for some, access to clinical services will also be important. Service systems must coordinate in order to make the greatest difference in people's lives and to make the most of their limited resources. ^ Measure success and report outcomes. Evaluating outcomes will allow systems and agencies to identify successful programs and target resources toward best practices. ^ Develop long-term leadership and build political will. These goals can only be achieved with a long-term leadership structure that can sustain systems change activities. Building and sustaining political and popular support for its vision and activities will also be required. Homelessness and housing crises are damaging to the physical, mental, and economic health of individuals and families, and leave them vulnerable to violence and exploitation. But homelessness and housing crises have serious costs to the community as well. For example, when children and adults are homeless or in a precarious housing situation at risk of becoming homeless, they cannot participate to their greatest potential in school, at home, at work, and in the community. Other costs to the community include the costs of providing emergency housing, mental health crisis services, emergency medical care, criminal justice and judicial system involvement.