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Item Title: Status
Report on the Ending Homelessness Ten-Year Action Plan
Specific Action Requested:
That the Board of Commissioners receive the status report.
Item Summary:
At the December 1, 2003, County Commissioner’s meeting, the Board of Commissioners authorized county staff to work in partnership with the City of Raleigh and the Wake Continuum of Care to put together a plan to end homelessness in Raleigh and Wake County in the next ten years. Commissioner Phil Jeffreys serves as the County’s liaison to the group.
The
County has several reasons for helping create a Ten Year Plan to End
Homelessness. The County has invested significant resources in services that
are directed to the homeless population. Ending homelessness means helping
homeless persons become self-sufficient by obtaining permanent housing and
stable employment. This reduces long-term, more expensive services that the
public now bears such as visits to hospital emergency rooms, admissions to
psychiatric hospitals and incarceration in jails.
One
expected outcome of the plan is that services operated by the County and
partnering agencies will improve and be more efficient. Participating in the
plan also fits the Human Services Department’s desire to achieve outcomes
through partnerships with community agencies. It will also be helpful as Human
Services conducts a study on the direction of programmatic strategies for homeless
persons.
The
Ending Homelessness Plan Partnership (City of Raleigh, Wake County, Wake
Continuum of Care and Triangle United Way) has coordinated four public forums,
client focus groups, and a series of Leadership Forums during the past months. A working document of plan recommendations
and other background information, including a summary compilation of public
comments and best practice studies of programs across the country, has been
produced and is presently available on the City of Raleigh’s web site www.raleigh-nc.org, select “Ending
Homelessness”. A public forum has been
scheduled for October 7, 2004, to review, discuss, and begin prioritizing the
draft recommendations.
In
June 2004, Craig Chancellor, who serves as one of the co-chairs of the “Ending
Homelessness: Ten Year Action Plan” Steering Committee and is Executive
Director of the Triangle United Way, provided the Board of Commissioners with a
status report on the plan’s development.
Today, Scott Cutler, who is the other co-chair of the Steering Committee
and is with Clancey and Theys Construction Company, will give an update on the
plan.