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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 04191994 - IO.15 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 1 .0.-15 f _ Contra FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE ` Costa o s April 11 1994 County DATE: p � srAcoiiy'� SUBJECT: APPOINTMENTS TO THE HOMELESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . APPOINT to the vacant "consumer seat" on the Homeless Advisory Committee to complete an unexpired term ending March 1, 1995 : Albert Garner 3500 Waller Avenue Richmond, CA 94804 '2 . APPOINT to the vacant "provider seat" on the Homeless Advisory Committee to complete an unexpired term ending March 1, 1995 : Benita Harris c/o Phoenix Programs 2820 Broadmoor Avenue Concord, CA 94520 3 . APPOINT to the vacant "business seat" on the Homeless Advisory Committee to a full three-year term ending March 1, 11997 : Ashok Patwardhan 1076 St. Francis Drive Concord, CA 94518 4 . APPOINT to the vacant "voluntary organization seat" on the Homeless Advisory Committee to a full three-year term ending March 1, 1997 : Vincent Lombardo 5195 Alhambra Valley Road Martinez, CA 94553 CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES - SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMI 1A O CO ENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER JEFF SMITH MARK DeSAULNIER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER i VOTE OF SUPERVISORS �( I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE, IL1._UNANIMOUS(ABSENT � ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS O,N-THE IDATE SHOWN. �y�.f ATTESTED I(1 )1QQ1� Contact: PHIL BACHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF !r cc: See Page 3 SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY 1)AAtQQ-0 DEPUTY I.O.-15 5 . REAPPOINT to their current seats on the Homeless Advisory Committee for full three-year terms ending March 1, 1997 : Mary Lou Laubscher 1122 Lovell Court Concord, CA 94520 Janet Bruce 2608 Tulare Avenue E1 Cerrito, CA 94530 6 . REAPPOINT to their current seats on the Homeless Advisory Committee for full three-year terms ending March 1, 1996 : Susan Prather P.O. Box 236 Crockett, CA 94525 Jerome Knott c/o Mission Outreach 2301 Willow Pass Road Bay Point, CA 94565 Jennifer Baha 3161D Putnam Boulevard Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 P.J. Rodriguez 4736 Buckboard Richmond, CA Mary C. McGovern 142 Verde Mesa Drive Danville, CA 94526 Frances Greene 56 Barrie Drive Pittsburg, CA 94565 7 . DECLARE vacant the "city seat" presently occupied by Kent Stromsmoe, on the basis that Mr. Stromsmoe has advised us that he is unable to continue to serve on the Homeless Advisory Committee. 8 . AUTHORIZE the members of the Internal Operations Committee to write to the Mayor of each city and town in Contra Costa County, expressing the County's interest in having nominations from representatives of cities to serve on the Homeless Advisory Committee in order to assist the Board of Supervisors in planning and implementing comprehensive and coordinated programs which will address the root causes of homelessness in Contra Costa County, rather than assuming that homelessness is caused by -the lack of a permanent address and is, therefore, solved solely by providing a temporary shelter for a homeless person. 9 . AGREE to conduct a Workshop with the members of the Homeless Advisory Committee, the Directors and staff of the Health Services Department, Social Services Department, Contra Costa County Housing Authority, those private non-profit agencies with which the County contracts for services for the homeless, the cities, and other individuals or agencies identified by the above departments and agencies as appropriate to include in such a Workshop. DIRECT the Executive Director of the Housing Authority to take the lead in scheduling the Workshop, inviting all appropriate parties to participate - in the Workshop and prepare an agenda for the Workshop. REQUEST the Executive Director of the Housing Authority to try to schedule the Workshop for a Tuesday afternoon in June, 1994 when all members of the Board of Supervisors can be present and the other essential participants can also be present. 2 I .O.-15 BACKGROUND: The Homeless Advisory Committee consists of 24 members in several different categories, such as provider, consumer, voluntary agencies, business, advocates for the homeless, citizens at-large, the Legal Services Foundation and the cities . There are currently 15 vacancies, resulting from either resignations or expiration of terms . At our March 14 , 1994 meeting with the Co-Chair of the Homeless Advisory Committee, we asked to meet with the entire Homeless Advisory Committee, not just with those who are applying for appointment or reappointment to the Advisory Committee. On April 11, 1994 we met with 10 members of the Homeless Advisory Committee or applicants for a seat on the Homeless Advisory Committee. We were most impressed with the background, dedication and concern for the homeless which was expressed by all of the members and applicants . We are, therefore, recommending the appointment or reappointment of all members and applicants who were recommended to us by the Homeless Advisory Committee as is outlined above. Of perhaps more importance than who is on the Homeless Advisory Committee, we expressed our concern about the need for additional community awareness about the problems of homelessness, the causes of homelessness, the extent to which homelessness can and does affect all communities in our County, and the need for a much more comprehensive approach to solving the problems of homelessness . This is not a problem that can be solved in a comprehensive way without the input and consultation from the cities since the homeless are present in every city and town in our County and come from every city and town in our County. We are, therefore, asking that our Committee be permitted to write to each city and town in the County asking that they nominate individuals to represent their city on the three vacant "city seats" on the Homeless Advisory Committee. Finally, because our Committee and the Homeless Advisory Committee strongly believe that homelessness is not caused by the lack of a home and is not, therefore, solved solely by providing a temporary shelter to a homeless person, we are asking that the Board of Supervisors agree to sponsor a Workshop on the problems of homelessness with the participants identified in our recommendations above. It is clear to us and to the Homeless Advisory Committee that there are medical, economic, social, mental health, substance abuse, self-esteem and family factors, each of which can either cause homelessness, be a contributing factor to causing homelessness or be caused by homelessness . These causative factors must be identified and addressed in each individual in order to eliminate homelessness and restore each individual to the point that he or she can again become a self-supporting, contributing member of the community. We believe that such a Workshop can share information and ideas, heighten awareness, agree on a plan of action, and assign responsibility for the next steps in designing and implementing a truly comprehensive program to address homelessness in Contra Costa County. cc: County Administrator Social Services Director Health Services Director Executive Director, Housing Authority Lorna Bastian, Mental Health Director Chuck Deutschman, Substance Abuse Program Director Each appointee 3