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2 Alameda Countywide Homeless and Special Needs Housing Plan How this plan got started The groundbreaking approach of this plan-----i::ombining three systems and sponsored by nine agencies-has not been undertaken by any other community in the nation, despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of systems integration. Prior to this plan, the Alameda Countywide Homeless Continuum of Care Council had completed homeless plans that also addressed HIV/AIDS and mental illness with a homelessness focus. The Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) had combined the use of both local formula funds through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPW A) program and national HOPW A technical assistance resources to create a multi-year HIV/AIDS housing plan in 1996 that was updated in 1998. The Office of AIDS Administration's annual Ryan White Title I planning activities have been tracking housing and service issues over the years. Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (BHCS) had examined housing issues of its clients internally and identified the need to undertake a community plan in partnership with housing and homelessness agencies. In 2004, all of these agencies and the Alameda County Social Services Agency, together with the cities of Oakland and Berkeley, initiated the Alameda Countywide Homeless and Special Needs Housing Plan, each contributing funds to support this unique effort. The collaboration creatively leveraged knowledge, funding, passion, and expertise to address countywide multidimensional Issues. The plan's sponsors came together to develop this plan because they shared: · A recognition that many people who are homeless and/or have disabilities have difficulty finding and keeping housing in Alameda County, both due to the high-cost of market-rate housing and the relatively limited amount of housing affordable to those who rely on disability Incomes. · A recognition that the homeless, mental health, and HIV / AIDS systems serve people with many similar needs, and in many cases, the same individuals. · A recognition that many people, including those with HIV/AIDS or a mental illness, exit other systems, such as foster care, criminal justice, and hospitalization, into homelessness. · A desire to build on successful interdisciplinary programs in Alameda County and elsewhere that have proven to stably house and increase the quality of life for many people, including those with long histories of homelessness and multiple disabilities. · A desire to bridge the historical division between housing and service systems, and to seek innovative ways of combining resources in order to more effectively serve populations in need. · A desire to maintain and increase resources that are dedicated to serving people who are homeless or are living with serious and persistent mental illness and/or HIV/AIDS, and a desire to increase political and popular support for these and related issues. For more information about the people who participated in developing this plan and the planning process, see Companion Materials, 1. Planning Participants and 2. Overview of the Planning Process. For notes from the consumer focus groups, please see Companion Materials, 11. Consumer Focus Groups.