Council On Homelessness: November News

Greetings,

November is going to be a busy month!  

Read on for more information about what we need to end veteran homelessness by December 31st, activities for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week and so much more!

Sincerely,

Teri House

Chair, Contra Costa Council on Homelessness
Calling All Landlords!

Our December 31st deadline for reaching Zero on veteran homelessness through the Zero:2016 campaign is fast approaching and we still have people to house!  We are calling all hands on deck to identify landlords who may be willing to rent to the more than 60 veterans in our community who have housing subsidies and are still looking for housing.  If you are a landlord or know a landlord and would like to help, click here for more information and/or email cclandlordconnect@hsd.cccounty.us. 
Homelessness Awareness Toolkit
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (November 15th - 22nd) is just around the corner!  During the month of November, Contra Costa will join national efforts to increase awareness and promote solutions to ending homelessness. Every night there are nearly 4,000 homeless men, women, and children in Contra Costa County. We each play a part in ending homelessness in our community.  Our Contra Costa County 2015 Homelessness Awareness Toolkit is a great resource to learn more about what you can do in your community, 

Help Contra Costa County Move Towards Coordinated Entry

The Homelessness Continuum of Care (CoC) has been working to design  coordinated entry for people in our community who are facing homelessness.  The newly designed system will provide a more streamlined way for people to access housing and services so that people get the right resource at the right time. As the housing market continues to get tighter, efforts to coordinate access to resources and identify new resources become even more critical. 

Engaging and retaining landlords who will rent to special needs populations is essential for ending homelessness. One national best practice in landlord engagement is development of a Housing Security Fund (aka Landlord Risk Mitigation Fund). We are pleased to announce that the Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) partnered with the Richmond Community Foundation to host a Housing Security Fund in Contra Costa!

We now need your input to help prioritize possible uses for the future funds. Please click here to give us your thoughts. 

Summary of Quarterly
Council on Homelessness Meeting
Our October 2015 Quarterly Council on Homelessness meeting was packed with great information and resources!  
  •  Medi-Cal Enrollment: A team of trained financial counselors are available to come to community events or even to program sites on a regular basis to assess and enroll eligible individuals in Medi-Cal.  Contact Adam Down at adam.down@hsd.cccounty.us or call 925-957-5121 for more information. 
  • Supportive Services for Veteran Families: Offers veteran-centered services that include case management, housing counseling and search, and temporary financial assistance. For more information contact Shelter, Inc at 925-338-1038 or East Bay Community Recovery Project at 510-903-1200 or Berkeley Food and Housing Project at 855-862-1804.
  • Zero:2016 Update: As the December 31st deadline to reach Zero for veteran homelessness approaches, we are calling for ALL HANDS ON DECK to identify and recruit landlords who may be interested in renting to special needs populations!  
  • Coordinated Entry: Lavonna Martin, Chief of Homeless Services, presented the new, streamlined Coordinated Entry model for the County.  Big changes ahead include a centralized housing waiting list and strengthening of landlord engagement and outreach.
Presentation slides and handouts from the October 16th General Council on Homelessness meeting (and all other past meetings) can be found here:  http://cchealth.org/homeless/council/meetings.php .  

Executive Board Meeting 11/3
The Executive Board of the Council on Homelessness will meet:
Wednesday, November 3
3:30 pm - 5 pm
Contra Costa Housing Authority office
 3133 Estudillo Drive in Martinez.  

A copy of the agenda can be viewed here.   
Recruiting for Executive Board
The Executive Board of the Council on Homelessness is appointed by the Board of Supervisors and serves for a two-year term, which may be renewed. All Executive Board members must reside, or be employed, in Contra Costa County, demonstrate a professional interest in or personal commitment to addressing and alleviating the impact of homelessness, and contribute unique expertise, opinions and viewpoints on homeless issues.

To find out more about what the Council does, go to: http://cchealth.org/homeless/council/

If you are interested in applying to become an Executive Board member, please click here to complete an application: http://www.cccounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/6433

If you have questions about this process, please contact Jaime Jenett, Continuum of Care Planning and Policy Manager at jaime.jenett@hsd.cccounty.us or call 925-313-7720.