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21 Corresponding System Performance Measures Progress on this goal area will be tracked using two system performance measures and corresponding measures of increased racial equity. 2a. Reduce the number who become homeless for the first time 2b. Reduce the racial disparities among people overrepresented within who becomes homeless for the first time, African Americans, Native Americans, Multi-racial people and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders. 3a. Reduce the number of persons who return to homelessness after exiting homelessness. 3b. Reduce the racial disparities among people overrepresented within who return to homelessness, African Americans, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders. 2) Connect People to Shelter and Needed Resources To reduce homelessness and create additional and more rapid pathways to housing, people experiencing homelessness need access to shelter and critical service supports while in crisis and while in the transition to housing. This will require expanding and supporting the network of agencies that serve as entry points for the system and provide housing problem solving and navigation services. It also necessitates reducing the barriers to entry to services for people experiencing homelessness. Additionally, this will involve working closely with mainstream services such as hospitals, jails and foster care to help people in those systems avoid homelessness. In 2020 and 2021, Alameda County’s system of care significantly expanded access points and undertook improvements to the coordinated entry process which connects people in need to shelter and housing. Changes were made to increase the availability of Housing Problem Solving services targeting creative housing solutions, allowing Housing Resource Centers (designated access points) to support everyone who is experiencing homelessness who accesses their services. A separate crisis queue and process for shelter and transitional housing resources was established to shorten the time people in need wait for shelter. Greater transparency was also built into the process with access points providing real-time communication to participants about available housing resources, their likelihood of receiving a match, and support with appropriate next steps. Continued oversight and improvement of coordinated entry is a priority for the future and monthly Regional Housing Coordination meetings and Learning Communities are focused on improving coordination of care and increasing collaboration. While this plan focuses primarily on expanding housing to end homelessness, it also plans for a significant increase in shelter to provide people safe places to be off the street and to connect to the rest of the system’s resources. During the 2019 PIT Count, nearly 80% of the population experiencing homelessness in Alameda County were unsheltered. During the COVID-19 pandemic the community rapidly stood up over 1,000 temporary shelter units in non-congregate settings such as hotels and trailers. People sheltered in these sites were connected to housing at much higher rates than those in traditional (congregate) shelter and unsheltered settings. An analysis of the unsheltered population using homelessness data and health system data indicates at least 48% of unsheltered people contacted by a street outreach program have one or more vulnerabilities such as advanced age, a health or mental health condition, and/or barriers to housing like eviction history or criminal justice system contacts. Vulnerable unsheltered people in the county are also more likely to be African American than any other race or ethnic group. Shelter resources will be added to the portfolio of resources in the county for vulnerable adults and children, while still