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We are pleased to introduce Rachel Bereza who joins Sacramento Steps Forward as Deputy CEO. Rachel is a multi-lingual nonprofit executive specializing in Workforce Development and Financial Capability with over 15 years of leadership in the nonprofit community. Her experience ranges from farmworker services to vocational training, housing and homelessness issues, program design, and organizational development. Her lifetime grant awards exceed $20M in funding from foundations, corporate, State, Federal, and private entities. She was honored by the California Legislature Assembly for outstanding work in enrolling countless Californians into Covered California in 2014. She is an alumnus of the University of California, Santa Barbara in the fields of Global Studies, Chicano Studies, and Slavic studies, and is a current candidate for a Masters of Science in Applied Psychology from the University of Southern California.

The City of Sacramento, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, Sacramento Steps Forward, and the County of Sacramento are collaborating to keep you informed about our collective efforts to address Sacramento homelessness. In this newsletter, read about ordinances recently adopted by the City and County of Sacramento. 

The Sacramento Continuum of Care (CoC) is eligible for funding to address unsheltered homelessness (Sacramento is not eligible for the rural homelessness funding) up to $10.6 million through this competitive Special NOFO process. Through this Special NOFO, HUD will award funding to communities to implement coordinated approaches–grounded in Housing First and public health principles–to reduce the prevalence of unsheltered homelessness and improve services, health outcomes, and housing stability among highly vulnerable unsheltered individuals and families. The new deadline for local applicants to submit Special NOFO Project Applications is Monday, Sept. 19th, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. For more information, please visit the Special NOFO webpage and send any questions to Dena Fuentes.

Upcoming TA session:

September 14, 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81693486994pwd=cFRLalRIN0wxRUNyNm5NbG5tQ3FQZz09

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in August for the annual funding competition among approximately 450 Continuums of Care (CoC). The Sacramento CoC's local project review and rank process is underway, with the CoC Board expected to approve the Projects Priority List at their September 14th meeting. Sacramento typically receives close to $30 million through this competition, which funds the majority of the permanent supportive housing in our community. The HUD application is due September 30th. 

The Coordinated Access System (CAS) project is underway. SSF is beginning a phased approach for bringing shelters on board to ensure each shelter’s specific needs and processes are considered. We expect to have four phases in total with each phase lasting about a month to complete. Phase 1 shelters, referral entities and 211 staff are currently being trained and updated on changes that will be happening. The public launch will occur after all waitlist management and referral processes have been integrated into 211’s processes, allowing callers seeking homeless and housing assistance to be triaged and connected to appropriate resources, including CAS shelters.

This August, we facilitated the second of four housing problem-solving trainings; 10 different providers attended, some of who will become problem-solving access points. Our PLE Coordinator is now co-training and is aiming to eventually build a team of trainers who will continue providing these valuable skills to the community. The next two trainings will occur in October 2022 and January 2023 for 211 staff, outreach and targeted homeless providers who will be engaging in housing problem-solving through CAS. 

SSF also received 3 proposals in response to the CAN RFP that was released in June. All proposals were reviewed by a non-conflicted panel made up of providers, persons with lived expertise, and government entities. We’re excited to announce the selected CAN agency soon!

The Sacramento Homeless Policy Council met for the third time on August 12, 2022. The meeting focused around the recently adopted Sacramento Local Homeless Action Plan and on-going gaps analysis work. The meeting presentation is available on our website. The next meeting is currently scheduled for October 7, 2022, a registration link will be posted to our website when available.

Did you know that the number of agencies in our HMIS system has doubled since 2020? With so many new community partners, we've added nearly 300 new programs and over 900 new HMIS users in these last 2 1/2 years! Despite the growing numbers of people in need, our CoC continues to transform lives and give individuals and families hope for their futures. Our small but mighty HMIS team is honored to play our part in this vital and rewarding work. Thank you all for your relentless dedication and collaboration.

If the HMIS Department can provide your agency with more assistance, please email us. You can also find out much more about our department, including information on how to get access to our system, in the HMIS Department section of our website.

The Center at Sierra Health Foundation has awarded $150,000 to Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF) under the COVID-19 Community Health Project 3.0 campaign to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates across California communities with the greatest social and health inequities. This is a collaborative statewide effort that builds upon the work and learnings from community COVID-19 response all around. Through this funding, SSF will be able to further build our community’s capacity to respond to the public health needs of under-resourced Sacramento communities. SSF will continue to leverage trusted COVID-19 Vaccine Ambassadors and partner with local system providers to ensure that we protect our most vulnerable communities by providing them COVID-19 resources that are equitable, accessible, and convenient. Please contact Kathreen Daria to learn more!

The Racial Equity Committee is collecting demographic data from the CoC Board and Committees members to help identify potential inequities or disparities in access to opportunities or outcomes for our community. Please be aware that all personal information that include names and identities will not be shared and will be kept confidential. CoC Board and Committee members be sure to complete the demographic survey by 3:00PM, Thursday, Sept. 15th. If you have any questions, please contact Jillyan S. McKinney.

The SSF Staff continues to grow! Please help us welcome Cynthia Marinas, and Vivan Nguyen. They are all dedicated to ending homelessness in our communities by using their gifts in the Finance and Coordinated Entry Departments.

We’re hiring! We are currently accepting applications for the new Family Collaborative project and for the Coordinated Access System. We encourage you to browse our job postings and share them with your networks.

The Sacramento CoC meetings occur on a monthly basis. Stay informed by attending the upcoming September 2022 meetings:

• 09/08 | Coordinated Entry System Committee
• 09/14 | CoC Board Meeting 
• 09/15 | Point-In-Time Count Committee
• 09/21 | Racial Equity Committee
• 09/22 | System Performance Committee

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