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What is the
Continuum of Care?
The Contra Costa Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) is a system of care that organizes and delivers housing and support services for homeless individuals and families across the county. In addition to being a coordinated network of service providers, a CoC also acts as a planning body that coordinates housing and services funding for homeless families and individuals. The decision making body of the CoC is the
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MEETING CALENDARS
FOR:
Council on Homelessness and Community meetings  |
Health, Housing and Homeless Services
(Staff to the Continuum of Care and Council on Homelessness)
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
1320 Arnold Drive,
Suite 202
Martinez, CA 94553
P: (925) 313-7700
F: (925) 646-9420
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Continuum of Care
Newsletter
Have news or an announcement to feature in our newsletter? Click News Submission 
Questions or Comments about the Newsletter?
Click Email Us |
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| LETTER FROM THE CHAIR |
SPRING EDITION 2017
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Gabriel Lemus
Chair, Council on Homelessness
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Greetings,
As many have seen, the Trump Administration's first budget proposal for FY2018 calls for a $6.0 billion reduction to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This could potentially lead to drastic reductions or elimination of specific HUD programs that benefit low-income and homel
ess
persons/households, not only in Contra Costa County, but throughou
t the Country.
Keep in mind that the first proposal is essentially a "starting point" for Congress to look at to begin their work with writing and voting on their own budget resolutions. This process is a lengthy negotiation within Congress and the first proposal is rarely the final budget that gets signed into law. With that said, the first budget proposal for FY2018 is eye opening, especially for domestic programs that support those in need of critical services, and the budget process will be something that we on the Council on Homelessness will be keeping a close eye on.
Read on for more information about all the great things happening in our Continuum of Care including the roll out of our new Coordinated Entry process, upcoming events marking
Affordable Housing Week (May 11-21) and meet our six new Council on Homelessness members!
Sincerely,
Gabriel Lemus
Chair, Council on Homelessness
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HEALTH HOUSING AND HOMELESS SERVICES WELCOMES NEW COORDINATED ENTRY SYSTEM MANAGER
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We are pleased to introduce
Juliana Pooley as the new Coordinated Entry System manager for the Contra Costa Continuum of Care!
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Coordinated Entry System Manager, Juliana Pooley |
Juliana joins the Contra Costa Health, Housing and Homeless Services Division as the Coordinated Entry System Manager. Juliana has provided direct services to and advocacy on behalf of homeless and at risk populations at Salt Lake City's Housing First program, Jewish Family Service in Seattle and most recently at Trinity Center in Contra Costa. Juliana also brings experience leading program development and systems change, including the launch of a winter shelter, at Contra Costa's Trinity Center. Juliana earned a BS in Human Development, with certificates in Gerontology and Family Life Education and has a Master's in Community and Economic Development.
If you have questions or feedback about Coordinated Entry, you can reach Juliana at
[email protected]
or call 925-313-7708.
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COORDINATED ENTRY SYSTEM UPDATE
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The first phase of Coordinated Entry (CE) is underway! In case you missed our Coordinated Entry
Launch meeting on March 6th , these are the parts of Coordinated Entry that are currently implemented:
Three access points for Coordinated Entry:
- 211: This toll free phone number is now a central access point for people seeking homeless services including information about C.A.R.E. Centers, C.O.R.E. outreach teams, and other homeless and housing resources
- C.O.R.E. Outreach: Our daytime and nighttime Coordinated Outreach Referral and Engagement (C.O.R.E.) outreach teams are now working throughout the county to engage and stabilize homeless individuals and families living outside. These new teams connected with over 500 people during their first month of operation!
- C.A.R.E. Centers: Coordinated Access Resource and Engagement (C.A.R.E.) centers (formerly known as Multi-Service Centers) are offering expanded services including Housing Navigation (see below), Substance Use Disorder treatment and connections to mental and physical health services.
C.A.R.E. Center Locations
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CONCORD
(next to Concord Adult Shelter)
2047-A Arnold Industrial Way
M-F, 8 am-5 pm
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RICHMOND
Details Coming Soon!
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CONCORD
Specializing in Families and Seniors
(Monument Crisis Center)
1990 Market Street
Walk in hours : M-Th, 9 am-Noon & Tu, 5 pm-7 pm
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WALNUT CREEK
(Trinity Center)
1924 Trinity Avenue
M-F, 8 am-5 pm
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Other new services now available
- Warming Center: The Warming Center in Concord is a safe place for a limited number of vulnerable individuals and families to sit and rest overnight when emergency shelter is not an option. Referrals are only available via C.O.R.E. outreach.
- Housing Navigation: Housing Navigation services are now available to help eligible homeless individuals and families find housing. C.A.R.E. Center staff can help refer and connect consumers to Housing Navigation services.
It has been an exciting month since the Coordinated Entry launch and we are grateful for all the hard work and great input from community members and service providers.
If you have any questions about Coordinated Entry or your role in this process, feel free to reach out to at [email protected] or call 925-313-7708.
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C.O.R.E. HOMELESS OUTREACH TEAMS HIT THE STREET
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Our community's new homeless (Coordinated Outreach Referral and Engagement) C.O.R.E. outreach teams,
now coordinated through the Health, Housing and Homeless Services division,
have connected with almost 700 individuals and families since they hit the streets in January!
Currently there are two daytime teams and one evening team, with three more teams scheduled to start over the next few months.
The C.O.R.E. teams
connect with people living in encampments, in cars and other places not fit for human habitation and
can offer in-the-field assessments for housing and health needs, connect people to benefits, provide linkages to physical and behavioral health and provide direct placement into shelters and warming center when available.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING WEEK: MAY 11- MAY 21st
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Affordable Housing week is May 11- May 21st!
Join a seminar with experts on code issues, redesigning space and financing alterations, making home sharing safe and the pluses and minuses of sharing.
Have more space than you really need? Want to reduce your housing costs? Learn how the new Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) legislation and code changes make sharing your home more feasible at an upcoming seminar.
EXPLORING NEW OPTIONS IN
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Wednesday, May 17, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church
55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek
For information about other Affordable Housing Week events in the community go
here
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING PANEL
DISCUSSION: 4/21/17
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The next Continuum of Care quarterly community meeting will feature a panel discussion on the topic of Affordable Housing.
Continuum of Care meeting: Affordable Housing Panel
Friday, April 21st
10 am - Noon
ZA Room, 30 Muir Road, Martinez
M
ore details, including an agenda and list of speakers will be available closer to the meeting.
To be added to the quarterly Continuum of Care meeting mailing list, please email
[email protected]
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H3 HOUSING MEETING: 5/16/17
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The quarterly Health Housing and Homelessness (H3) Housing meetings are an opportunity
for county and non-profit staff, housing advocates, consumers of our homeless continuum of care and the general public to exchange information, engage in dialogue and identify possible solutions and improvements to the homeless and housing services offered in our county
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Input and feedback from this meeting are brought to the Mental Health Commission's CPAW (Consolidated Planning and Advisory Workgroup) and the Contra Costa Council on Homelessness.
H3 Housing Meeting
Tuesday May 16th
1-3 pm
2425 Bisso Lane in Concord
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NEW COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS MEMBERS
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The Council on Homelessness is happy to announce the addition of six new Council members!
Behavioral Health Seat
Miguel Hildago-Barnes
Program Manager, Hume Center
CoC/ESG Program Grantee
John Eckstrom
CEO, SHELTER, Inc.
Community Member Seat #2
Cecelia McCloy
Community resident
Consumer/Consumer Advocate
Stephanie Batchelor
Formerly Homeless and Behavioral Health Community Support Worker
Government Seat #1
Anne Struthers
Homeless Manager, Contra Costa Employment and Human Services
Health Care Representative
John Barclay
Director, Community Based Services, Contra Costa Health Plan
Congratulations also to Doug Leich (Faith Community Representative), Brenda Kain (Government Seat #1), Joseph Villareal (Public Housing Authority Representative) for being re-appointed to their seats.
For information Council on Homelessness meeting, click
here.
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POLICY UPDATES
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Housing for a Healthy California (AB74)
is a proposed state-wide bill that
would create a state-funded rental subsidy program to house chronically homeless Medi-Cal beneficiaries receiving coordinated care through Whole Person Care pilots, Health Homes or other county services.
Homeless Youth Advocacy and Housing Program
(AB 1406) is a proposed state-wide bill that
would
help Continuum of Care programs work toward ending youth homelessness.
For more information on these bills and advocacy opportunities, click
here
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HOUSING SECURITY FUND
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We are confident we can reach our $50,000 goal with your help!
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n partnership with the Richmond Community Foundation, Contra Costa is building a fund to help address many of the barriers people transitioning out of homelessness face, including deposits, credit check and other startup costs.
The Contra Costa Housing Security Fund will be able to cover those costs and also offer financial benefits to landlords who offer our clients an opportunity. The fund will be managed by a well-established community nonprofit and all participants will be pre-screened.
To donate, go to
tinyurl.com/HousingSecurityFund
or send a
check to the Richmond Community Foundation @ 1014 Florida Ave #200, Richmond, CA 94804 (In the memo section, write "Housing Security Fund").
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