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Health and Human Services Agency recommending the Board receive and file a presentation from El Dorado Opportunity Knocks representatives and community participants on the first draft of the 5-Year Countywide Homeless Strategic Plan and give feedback to the draft plan.
FUNDING: N/A
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
On September 10, 2013, Hangtown Haven, Inc., and the Mayor of the City of Placerville provided a presentation on homelessness in the County of El Dorado to the Board of Supervisors (File ID# 13-1132), following which the Chief Administrative Office directed an interagency task force (Opportunity Knocks) convene to examine the issue. The task force consisted of multiple entities in the community, seeking to develop and coordinate a consistent and regional presence and response to homelessness. Over time, Opportunity Knocks deepened its understanding about available funding streams and effective solutions for impacting homelessness. To better position the region to leverage these opportunities, a decision was made in early 2017 by the group to merge with the El Dorado Continuum of Care (CoC).
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires local communities that seek to receive federal homeless assistance funds to maintain a CoC that meets federal regulations. CoCs that meet HUD requirements are local planning bodies that help to coordinate the community’s policies, strategies, and activities to prevent and reduce homelessness. The CoC promotes a community-wide commitment to the goal of creating a system where at-risk households can maintain their housing and residents who lose their homes are not forced to remain homeless indefinitely. They help create capacity to connect unhoused residents to housing and supportive services where available. To achieve this, CoCs are tasked by the federal and state governments to track and support residents experiencing homelessness in a local Coordinated Entry System, while tracking data...
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