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<br />San Leandro Homeless & Housing Task Force 5 <br /> <br />solutions to their homelessness. Clients receive domestic violence support and <br />education; weekly case management; housing assistance; mental health services; help <br />with medical issues; and dedicated services for children including counseling, school <br />advocacy, and therapeutic activities. Building Futures also provides groceries and <br />meals; clothing and toiletries; employment information, resources, and referral; and <br />transportation. Building Futures’ Housing Resource Center provides monetary <br />assistance, landlord advocacy, and household establishment help to those who are at <br />risk of homelessness or who have recently become homeless. <br /> <br />Building Futures uses the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) <br />definition of “homelessness” for data gathering purposes and for most of their program <br />eligibility unless program guidelines allow them to expend the definition. Building <br />Futures uses the Homeless Management information System (HMIS). As a recipient of <br />HUD Homeless Assistance Funding, Building Futures is required to add client data to <br />the Alameda HMIS InHouse Databaseand staff are required to complete HMIS training <br />programs to obtain access to the database. <br /> <br />Since 2007, Building Futures has been a housing first agency, linking their clients to <br />permanent housing as a top priority. Alameda County’s ranking of permanent housing <br />outcomes for its 15 homeless shelter providers, consistently places Building Futures’ <br />two homeless shelters in the top five. Building Futures has provided Housing <br />Assistance through its Housing Resource Center. The Housing Resource Center builds <br />on the federally funded program Building Futures administered between 2009-2012 <br />which ended homelessness for 2,000 individuals in need. <br /> <br />From January through September 2014 at its San Leandro Shelter, Sister Me Home <br />Safe House, and Housing Resource Center, Building Futures served in San Leandro <br />422 individuals who identified themselves as homeless. <br /> <br />Despite expertise and breadth of service, Building Futures identifies the lack of <br />affordable housing as critical service gap. Rising rents, even with new funding for rapid <br />re-housing, and the dearth of stock make it difficult to place people into housing that <br />they can then maintain. The continued volatility of funding for homeless programs and <br />shelters also creates a challenge to maintenance of services and agency infrastructure. <br />Building Futures believes it is crucial that funding for safety net programs be available <br />from year to year. <br /> <br />The lack of Mid-County shelters for homeless men and the lack of street outreach <br />teams are additional service gaps Building Futures identified. While the pilot warming <br />center and an Outreach Coordinator will assist in providing needed services, Building <br />Futures foresees that it will take a bigger commitment from both the County and the City <br />to make this on-going service available to unsheltered homeless people on the streets. <br />Access to healthcare and mental healthcare is also a huge barrier faced by this <br />population. <br />