FAMILY & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: November 9, 2026
Subject: Annual Update on Homeless Continuum of Care
Submitted For: Dr. Grant Colfax, Health Services Director
Department: Health Services
Referral No: |910|Referral Name: Homeless Continuum of Care / Health Care for the Homeless
Presenter: Christy Saxton, Director Health, Housing, and Homeless Services and Mia Fairbanks, Public Health Nurse Program Manager, Healthcare for the Homeless
Contact: Jaime Jenett, (925) 608-6716
Referral History:
In November 2014, the Board approved “Forging Ahead Towards Preventing and Ending Homelessness: An Update to Contra Costa’s 2004 Strategic Plan”, that renewed the County's 2004 plan with the latest data, best practices, and community feedback and reaffirmed the County's commitment to the Housing First approach. As such, “Forging Ahead” establishes this guiding principle: “Homelessness is first a housing issue, and necessary supports and services are critical to help people remain housed. Our system must be nimble and flexible enough to respond through shared responsibility, accountability, and transparency of the community.”
The Strategic Plan Update identifies two goals: 1) Decrease the length of time people experience homelessness by focusing on providing Permanent Housing and Services and; 2) Decrease the percentage of people who become homeless by providing Prevention activities. To achieve these goals, three strategies emerged:
Implement a coordinated entry/assessment system to streamline access to housing and services while addressing barriers, getting the right resources to the right people at the right time;
Use best, promising, and most effective practices to give the consumer the best possible experience through the strategic use of resources; and
Develop the most effective platforms to provide access, support advocacy, and connect to the community about homelessness and available resources.
The Homeless Program of the Health, Housing and Homeless...
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