Santa Clara Count3^de 5-Year Homelessness Continuum of Care Plan
2004 Status Report
Office of the County Executive
Office of Affordable Housing
October 5,2004

INTRODUCTION

The Santa Clara County 5-Year Homelessness Continuum of Care Plan (5-Year Plan)
was approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 26,2001. The 5-Year Plan sought to

create a compr^ensive and coordinated system of affordable housing and support
services for the prevention,reduction, and eventual end of homelessness. Five priority
areas were identified and specific action steps were described for implementation. The
5-Year Plan was to serve as a common blueprint to guide the Coimty, the cities, service
providers, the faith community, the business sector, philanthropy, and the broader
community in realizing the vision of a community where everyone's housing and life
needs are met.

The 5-Year Plan was developed over a 10-month period by committees of the Santa

Clara County Collaborative on Housing and Homeless Issues. The Collaborative
consists of representatives from more than 100 organizations including the Count3^s 15
cities and towns, local emergency and transitional housing providers, housing
developers,advocacy and community groups,and a comprehensive array of supportive
service providers. The 5-Year Plan included:
• Data on the number and characteristics of homeless people in the Coxmty
• Causes of homelessness,including the Count3r's high cost of housing
• An overview of data used showing types and levels of need or service gaps
The Plan is divided into five chapters, each of which addresses a key area of need in the
effort to reduce or prevent homelessness. Each chapter identifies priorities for that area
of need and action steps to guide implementation. Each action step was assigned a

specific year as a goal for implementation. Committees of the Collaborative for each
chapter have overseen the implementation of the Plan and reported to the entire
Collaborative on a regular basis.
2004 STATUS REPORT

This Status Report contains brief descriptions of each priority area, the status of
implementation,and ongoing challenges.

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Priority I; Make Connections through Outreach, Engagement, and Computer
Technology

The Continuum of Care system that addresses issues of homelessness Coimtywide must
be integrated and coordinated so that when homeless people make contact with one
agency in the system, they can be linked with the full range of housing and services
they need. Outreach services should be expanded, and greater publicity must be
generated for the existing systems. Action Steps should focus on improving the existing
information and referral system with standardized on-line database, reservation, and
assessment systems.

Implementation:

Online databases of homeless services were expanded by 10% in 2003, followed by
discussions about linking the databases to the HMIS and,in the future, to the 211 social
services phone number. Another website, HousingSCC.org, was created, and a
telephone message tape of the site's information is being developed. The existing
Shelter Hotlme and the Community Voice Mail program have been maintained. A
survey of technical capabilities of service providers was done at the start of the HMIS
project and will be used to identify which providers need technical assistance. The
Collaborative celebrated an enormous achievement when the Coimty Homeless
Management Information System (HMIS) went on-line in January of 2004. With the
success of the County HMIS,a regional HMIS is imder discussion.
Challenges:
The proposal of Silicon Valley corporations providing fax and internet access to
homeless service providers is no longer realistic after the downturn in the economy. To
make this proposal a reality, alternative sources of funding must be sought.
Priority II: Build Housing Now! For a Balanced Community
Strategies must be adopted that maintain and expand a full continuum of housing
options, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, supportive housing, and
permanent affordable housing. The existing stock of affordable housing must be
maintained, and new affordable housing must be developed. In order to prevent
homelessness, the Coimty must focus on supporting and expanding emergency
assistance, preventing evictions, and developing a comprehensive discharge plan for
those leaving the foster care, mental health, and correctional systems.
Implementation:
Shelters

The current shelter system is being sustained with federal, state, and local funds, in
addition to contributions from the private and foundation sectors. A countywide
survey of the system is imderway. A local shelter bed hotline has been successfully
implemented. Expansion of the shelter system is currently being explored, as is the

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establishment of specialized services for imderserved populations at existing shelters.
The County Board of Supervisors established an Affordable Housing Fimd to assist in
the development of new housing for low income, very low income, extremely low
income, and special needs populations. Three new "shelter hybrids" were hmded by
the County for a total of $5 million in the 2003-04 fiscal year.
Transitional Housing

The Coimty has attempted to increase the supply of transitional housing for
imderserved populations. Particular effort has been exerted to increase transitional

housing for migrant workers. The County allocated a total of $10,580,000 from the
Affordable Housing Fund in fiscal year 2003-04, which will result in approximately 975
new units or beds.

Permanent Affordable Housing
Funding for permanent affordable housing was, at first, difficult to obtain. However,
the County has made great strides with the Affordable Housing Fimd, which has
contributed more than $10 million to increasing affordable housing stock in several
categories. Efforts have been made to facilitate access to existing housing for extremely
low income households and to educate and lobby landlords on behalf of low-income
tenants. The affordable housing website, HousingSCC.org, serves as an affordable
housing database. Housing assistance services, enforcement of fair housing laws, and
the utilization of tmused/underused housing are all being enthusiastically carried out
by the Collaborative.

The Collaborative continues to advocate for a number of policies that would encourage
the development of new housing,such as increased funding for the Affordable Housing
Fund and the Housing Trust, increased allocation of property tax revenues to local
goverrunents that meet housing demand, greater set-asides for affordable housing, and
enhanced physical accessibility of affordable housing. The Collaborative supports
increasing densities, and completed a review of industrial use land for possible housing
development.
Permanent Supportive Housing
The Collaborative has successfifily advocated that Shelter Plus Care renewals not count
in each commimity's renewal burden, which has helped the funding of permanent
supportive housing. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation has promised to provide probono health services for homeless men and women who cannot afford insurance. The

Coimty joined housing advocates across the nation to persuade the federal government
to retain funding levels of the HUD Section 8 Voucher Program.
Prevention

Coordination of prevention services has been helped with the implementation of the
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). The Hospital Council at Valley

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Medical Center has made progress in discharge planning, which has also been helped
by the Silicon Valley Health Coalition's five-year grant to reduce emergency room visits
by homeless persons. The Office of Affordable Housing has convened a Discharge
Planning Committee to coordinate and improve discharge planning within County
health, foster care, and justice systems. The Collaborative has voted to support a Just
Cause Eviction ordinance cotmtywide,but the ordinance has not yet been passed.
Challenges:

Support for the expansion of HUD's Section 8 Voucher Program has been delayed by
the threatened cuts to Section 8 funding. Also, as with most housing projects, there is
community resistance to affordable housing. The County, the Collaborative, and other

housing advocacy groups have helped coimter this resistance by developing a public
education campaign. Service providers and affordable housing developers have
become more involved in helping to gain community acceptance. The Housing Action
Coalition and the Manufacturing Group coordinated Housing Week in Jime, 2004 and
conducted bus tours of housing projects to help combat NIMBYism and opposition
from elected officials.

Significant obstacles have prevented the committee from achieving its prevention goals.
Increases in relocation assistance and funding for poorly maintained affordable housing
units have been delayed by the lack of resources. Discharge planning services to
inmates have been stalled because HUD does not recognize incarcerated individuals as
homeless. However, a Discharge Planning Committee has been established by the
Coimty.
Priority III: Create a Successful, Stable Workforce

The County must address the need for emplojnnent at living wages, increase the
availability of pre-employment services, expand access to job training, and identify and
remove barriers to employment. Collaboration with mainstream and homeless
employment programs, as well as with the business commimity,is essential.
Implementation:

The expansion of pre-employment services is underway. Facilitating access to
vocational training for homeless people and coordinating to provide access to
transitional housing for those in vocational training are top priorities for this
Committee. The Committee is establishing connections with De Anza Community
College to provide assistance for clients with learning disabilities. The County is also
expanding the number of bilingual and bicultural employment case managers.

The creation of a Countywide money management program is in progress by several
agencies, as is the provision of comprehensive case management to newly-employed
workers who are homeless,formerly homeless, or recent TANF graduates. A network
of service providers has been established. The creation of industry-specific training
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programs for homeless people is a priority. Furthermore, the designation of homeless
liaisons with private, public,and nonprofit sector employers continues to be essential.
Challenges:

Increased visibility of existing and available resources is needed. Outreach to
employers to hire homeless persons needs to be increased and better coordinated.
Greater participation by homeless individuals in these efforts should occur.
Priority IV: Generate Wellness and Provide Life's Necessities

A key focus is on assisting mainstream agencies to more effectively meet the needs of
homeless people. Services should be comprehensive,integrated,flexible, and culturally
competent. Addressing educational needs of children and adults is a priority.
Implementation:

The Committee has supported an amended, more imderstandable food stamp
application. The County has supported a bill in Sacramento to allow felons to be
eligible for food stamps. The Coimty website, HelpSCC.org,provides coordination and
information about food service programs. HelpSCC.org also provides a database of
health and dental services. Gardner Mental Health and Valley Medical vans now
provide services to underserved parts of the County. Shelters that serve the mentally ill
have established peer groups to provide support when all other options are
unavailable.

The law now requires each school district to have a homeless liaison, which has
eliminated the need for an educational resource database for homeless children.

Certain schools offer special services to homeless youth, and the Girls/Boys Clubs and
the United Way offer mentoring for homeless youth. Childcare facilities now exist in
many shelters and transitional housing programs.
The Shelter Providers' Network provides monthly training for case managers on
specific criteria and service protocols. Peer support groups are being developed for
homeless persons with mental health and substance abuse afflictions. Clients eligible
for SSI are referred to organizations for help with applications. Outreach has been
improved through enhanced coordination with local agencies and increases ia bilingual
staff.

Challenges:
Unfortunately, a lack of resources has prevented transportation resources from meeting
the many transportation needs. The County transit pass program was reduced due to
budget cuts. Working to improve transportation from the outlying County and within

each community is beyond the scope of the Committee. Budget deficits have made the
development of alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs, early intervention

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programs, and mental health diagnostic programs infeasible. More service is needed in
the County's general child care planning.
Priority V: Maintain Vitality of the Continuum of Care Plan: System
Administration, Coordination, and Change
The County must maintain involvement in the 5-Year Plan through the Homeless
Services Coordinator. The importance of the Collaborative carmot be overstated.
Stronger partnerships between non-profit service providers and government and more
outreach to faith-based entities are essential.

Implementation:
Listserves that automatically send email to all members on a particular list and a
website have been created as communication tools for Collaborative members.

The

Administration will recommend that the Board of Supervisors establish a Task Force on
Homelessness to conduct a valid street count and to develop a 10-Year Plan to end chronic
homelessness in the County.

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