Concord continues to make progress on its Homeless Strategic Plan, which is nearing completion. The 11-person working group will be meeting on Monday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. at the Concord Senior Center (2727 Parkside Cir.) to continue discussing strategies for addressing homelessness in our community.
On Tuesday, Nov. 7, the City Council will receive an update on the project and provide input to the team. That meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Council Chamber (1950 Parkside Dr.).
On Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 15 and 16, the project team will host community meetings to share updates on the plan, and participants will have an opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions. The Nov. 15 meeting will be hosted at 6 p.m. on Zoom with Spanish translation; and the Nov. 16 meeting will be hosted at 6 p.m. in person at the Concord Senior Center.
For more details and to find the Zoom link for the Nov. 15 meeting, please visit the Homeless Strategic Plan web page.
Once complete, Concord’s Homeless Strategic Plan will identify ways in which the City can invest $5.4 million in one-time funds ($2.4 million from Measure V and $3 million from ARPA), which have been set aside specifically to address homelessness.
Read more on the back page (page 4) of our recent Measure V update.
Addressing Homelessness
The City of Concord remains committed to addressing the challenge of homelessness, which affects cities around the nation. In March, the City launched a Measure V-funded effort to develop a Homeless Strategic Plan.
With the commitment of an 11-member Working Group, City staff, and consultants, the team has completed the first phases of Plan development. In addition to publishing a draft background report, which identifies gaps in regional services, it also adopted a vision and is close to adopting goals.
The Vision is:
“The City of Concord envisions a community where every person has a safe, affirming, and stable place to live. This vision endeavors to reduce homelessness through community involvement, collaboration with partner agencies (government and non-government), and enhanced services that are carried out in a dignified, compassionate, and equitable manner.”
The team is finalizing key strategies and creating an implementation plan that is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
The Plan will identify ways in which the City can invest $5.4 million in one-time funds ($2.4 million from Measure V and $3 million from the American Rescue Plan Act), which have been set aside specifically to address homelessness. The team is also looking for ways to leverage funding from Measure V to pursue grants and additional funding sources for on-going work to assist the unsheltered.
In addition, Concord continues to fund a variety of direct services, including the County’s Coordinated Outreach, Referral, and Engagement (CORE) team that interacts with individuals experiencing homelessness and makes referrals to supportive services. In Fiscal Year 2023-24, Concord will provide approximately $1.2 million in funding to a variety of programs and services providing shelter, food, emergency childcare, employment services, case management, and more. Of this, $445,000 is Measure V dollars dedicated to CORE. To learn more about these efforts, or to sign up to receive email about this project, please visit cityofconcord.org/homelessstrategicplan.
Previous Stories:
- July 14 – Richmond and Antioch See Largest Gain in Homeless Population in Contra Costa County
- July 5 – Concord Seeks Input for Homeless Strategic Plan
- Dec 19 – Concord Seeks Applicants for Homeless Strategic Plan Working Group
- Dec 13 – Concord City Council to Create Working Group for Homeless Strategic Plan
1 comment
Hire a bus, move them to Antioch. Problem solved.
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