8E Consent 2014 1201 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

San Leandro Homeless & Housing Task Force 2 INTRODUCTION On December 8, 2013, a homeless man was found dead on the streets of Hayward. Temperatures were near freezing that Sunday morning and the cold weather likely played a role in his death, along with the death of six other homeless persons in the bay area over the prior two week period. In response, Mayor Stephen Cassidy asked for Davis Street Family Resource Center’s assistance in distributing sleeping bags to help mitigate the winter’s cold weather for those sleeping unsheltered in San Leandro. In the aftermath, San Leandro’s social service organizations recognized the need for a unified effort from the City and the nonprofit community in identifying and implementing long- term strategies for addressing and reducing homelessness in San Leandro. Earlier this year, Rose Johnson, Executive Director at Davis Street Family Resource Center, spoke to City Council on behalf of the three main nonprofits serving homeless individuals – Davis Street Family Resource Center, Building Futures with Women and Children, and Interfaith Homeless Network/April Showers – asking that a Task Force be formed to develop a unified effort and identify immediate steps to serve the homeless this winter. At the direction of the City Council, a Homeless and Housing Task Force was formed to develop a plan to respond to immediate homeless issues in the City of San Leandro based on the priorities outlined in San Leandro’s new Housing Element. The formation of the Task Force was the City’s response to the needs of its unsheltered, chronically homeless residents. The Task Force consists of the following individuals and organizations: Moira Fry, Interfaith Homelessness Network (IHN)/April Showers Rose Johnson, Executive Director, Davis Street Family Resource Center Ronald Keeney, Interfaith Homelessness Network (IHN)/April Showers Dan Martinez, Congregations Organizing for Renewal (COR)  Liz Varela, Executive Director, Building Futures with Women and Children Since September 2014, the Task Force convened six meetings. The meetings included Task Force members, City staff from the Community Development, Police, and Recreation and Human Services Departments, members of the public, as well staff from Alameda County Housing & Community Development, EveryOne Home, the San Leandro Unified School District, San Leandro Hospital, and the Downtown San Leandro Community Benefit District. The Task Force immediately recognized that to more effectively and efficiently respond to the immediate needs of homeless San Leandrans, they are tasked with the following work:  Identifying the homeless. The Task Force needs to identify the City’s homeless residents. Currently, who, where, and how many homeless residents there are in San Leandro are unknown.