03 - Laserfiche WebLink

fllameda Count}nvide //omeless and Special Needs Housing Plan Recommendations This plan's Sponsoring Agencies and stakeholders developed recommendations in support of five major goals. F.ach goal is critical to ending homelessness and preventing housing crises for the plan's populations. The five goals are: 7 ^ Prevent homelessness and other housing crises. The most effective way to end homelessness is to avoid it in the first place. Prevention requires making appropriate services accessible at the time they are needed, which is why this plan envisions a "no wrong door" approach to services. In particular, people leaving institutions including foster care, hospitals, jails and prisons need interventions that prevent their exiting into homelessness. Increase housing opportunities for the plan's target populations. People who are homeless need affordable and supportive housing. Increasing housing opportunities requires creative use of existing resources, developing new resources, and using effective models of housing and services. A detailed estimate of the housing needed and the cost of providing it appears later in the plan in the chapters entitled Housing Assistance Needs of People Who Are Homeless and/or Have Special Needs and Housing Goals and Cost Estimates. ^ Deliver flexible services to support stability and independence. Culturally competent services, particularly services coordination, must accompany housing. Access to clinical services will be important for a segment of the population. Direct service providers in all systems throughout the county must have a degree of knowledge about and access to a range of housing resources and complementary support services. ^ 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. The other recommendations can only be achieved by developing along-term leadership structure that can sustain systems change activities. Implementation of this plan will also require building political and popular support for its vision and activities and sustaining it for the next fifteen years. The following pages present each goal with its associated objectives and strategies. For initial action steps, please see the accompanying document, Action Plan (2006-2007). Additional steps for each system appear in the following chapters in the plan's Companion Materia/s: 3. Next Steps for the Homeless Continuum of Cure System; 4. Next Steps for the Behavioral Health Care System; and 5. Next Steps for the HI v/f1IDS System.