PART 1: The team from HomeFirst, which handles Coordinated Entry for the county, came before the Sebastopol City Council to explain how homeless people are chosen for permanent supportive housing
This seems like a novel, untested system to me. The programs I know that have been successful in housing unhoused people with mental health and/or addiction problems all have the following structure, or steps. First is residential recovery and addiction treatment for 3 months to a year. After that is completed successfully, social workers help individuals clients who've completed their recovery programs successfully apply for and find housing in the different units available for low income folks, including seniors. Seems to me like the Sonoma County program is going in a different direction, rather than following the best practices of successful Bay Area programs for housing unhoused folks. If active drug and alcohol users are included in low income, affordable housing communities, one can expect problems like have been described.
It's like we're missing a big part of the standard approach, here in Sonoma County, like we have untrained do-gooders instead of trained professionals calling the shots, designing the programs. And where are the county social workers? Have those jobs been farmed out to the non-profits the county contracts with? Or have the social worker positions been de-funded over the years?
I wonder how many empty housing units there are in the county. Somehow, we must learn to intelligently, fairly and compassionately re-distribute the wealth in this country.
Was it "During that time, about 2,500 people have left the system into permanent housing, and about 3,600 people are served by the system each year." At a rate of three a week, I'm not sure how they get to 2,500--even with a few whole housing complexes thrown in there. I'll follow up on this.
This seems like a novel, untested system to me. The programs I know that have been successful in housing unhoused people with mental health and/or addiction problems all have the following structure, or steps. First is residential recovery and addiction treatment for 3 months to a year. After that is completed successfully, social workers help individuals clients who've completed their recovery programs successfully apply for and find housing in the different units available for low income folks, including seniors. Seems to me like the Sonoma County program is going in a different direction, rather than following the best practices of successful Bay Area programs for housing unhoused folks. If active drug and alcohol users are included in low income, affordable housing communities, one can expect problems like have been described.
It's like we're missing a big part of the standard approach, here in Sonoma County, like we have untrained do-gooders instead of trained professionals calling the shots, designing the programs. And where are the county social workers? Have those jobs been farmed out to the non-profits the county contracts with? Or have the social worker positions been de-funded over the years?
Thank you.
I wonder how many empty housing units there are in the county. Somehow, we must learn to intelligently, fairly and compassionately re-distribute the wealth in this country.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
The apparent refusal to address the disconnect between their goals and who was living there is crucially deficient to me.
Lies, damn lies and statistics
Plus bad grammar, what a deal
explain?
Was it "During that time, about 2,500 people have left the system into permanent housing, and about 3,600 people are served by the system each year." At a rate of three a week, I'm not sure how they get to 2,500--even with a few whole housing complexes thrown in there. I'll follow up on this.