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i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Home Together 2026 Implementation Plan (the Plan) is a community-wide plan for Alameda County which lays out the goals, strategies and investments needed to dramatically reduce homelessness by 2026 and reverse racial disparities in homelessness through fully centering equity. The Plan’s overarching goals and time frame align with Alameda County’s Vision 2026 which holds as one of its primary objectives to “ensure the availability of diverse and affordable housing for all residents with the goal of eliminating homelessness in Alameda County.” Home Together 2026 builds upon many sources and efforts, particularly the 2020 Centering Racial Equity in Homeless System Design report (CRE) prepared by community partners and informed by system modeling and extensive interviews and focus groups with persons of color who have experienced homelessness. The CRE process modeled what an optimal system to respond to all homelessness and reduce racial disparities would look like and what gaps need to be filled. Home Together 2026 is also responsive to requirements laid out in the California Comeback Plan to draw down key State housing and health funding. It is informed by and consistent with other local and regional efforts, including the All Home Regional Action Plan, Plan Bay Area 2050 and local City plans to address homelessness. Companion County and City specific implementation plans that align with the Home Together Community Plan speak to the specific roles of local jurisdictions in co-leading efforts to address homelessness, and the key roles of county agencies, community partners and specific resources. On any given night over 8,000 people experience homelessness in Alameda County, a number that grows to approximately 15,000 people over the course of a year. More than 90% of homeless households in Alameda County are adults without minor children, including nearly 10% who are between the ages of 18 and 24. The homeless population does not reflect the demographics of the county. Dramatic racial disparities exist in Alameda County as in the nation as a whole, in which African Americans experience homelessness at more than four times their representation in the population (47% vs. 11%) and Native Americans, multiracial people and Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islanders are all vastly overrepresented in homelessness, among those newly homeless and in the rates at which they return to homelessness even after getting into housing. These disparities call out the need to invest both more and differently in creating program models and pathways that meet the needs of those overrepresented. Special populations such as transition age youth, Veterans, seniors, survivors of intimate partner violence, people with mental health needs and people who have had involvement with the criminal justice system have additional risks and vulnerabilities leading to homelessness and require responses to their needs and plans for targeted resources to address them. A systemwide needs analysis conducted in 2019-20 and updated in 2021 points to significant gaps in the current system in the type and availability of housing resources. Today, only an estimated 36% of those in need can be supported by local resources or are able to find housing or leave homelessness on their own. Each year, thousands of people remain homeless and each year new people who become homeless join them. Without significant effort and investment, homelessness will continue to grow.