City Council Priority Issues Oct-Dec 2005

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PRIORITY ISSUE: Develop a Strategy to Help the Homeless in Eugene Contact: Angel Jones, Executive Director, Library, Recreation and Cultural Services, 682-6065 Mike Magee, Staff Lead, 682-2858 Reporting period: October -December 2005 At the February 2005 retreat of the City of Eugene's Mayor, City Council, and executive managers, eight strategic issues were identified, one of which was to "Develop a Strategy to Help the Homeless in Eugene." Based on the discussion outcomes, a desire was shown to determine the City's future role in addressing this complex, international issue. The Homelessness Action Planning Team will develop a 3-5 year action plan with the greatest focus on the first 18-24 months. Because homelessness has the potential to touch every resident and area within the City, the team has expanded the definition of "the homeless" to include community members who are "at risk" of becoming homeless because they cannot afford food and shelter. This action plan will identify gaps ` in current services, promote public awareness, foster collaboration with stakeholders, and propose appropriate actions. The team's original plan, brought before the Mayor and City Council on July 13, 2005, was comprehensive and broad-based but did not present specific recommendations prior to conducting meetings with key stakeholders. While the Mayor and City Council generally agreed with the original plan, they asked that the team host those meetings first and come back with a revised plan that had specific recommendations on ways that the City could help this population. Once completed, the action plan was again presented to the council, and on November 30, 2005, it was approved. OUTCOMES The problem of homelessness is not isolated to Eugene; the City will need a great deal of assistance, especially from Lane County, the State of Oregon and the federal government. The following were goals and actions taken by the City's staff team in order to make recommendations to the City Council: • Examine ways to more efficiently deliver service with existing resources based on the evaluation of City service delivery to homeless/at-risk populations. • Assemble community stakeholders and forma "collaborative base" to identify the areas of most critical need. These stakeholders will include, but are not limited to, homeless/at-risk community members, City and County staff, the Eugene Human Rights Commission, Housing Policy Board, Human Services Commission, Commission on Children and Families, elected officials, past and present service providers, and business owners. • Engage homeless/at-risk community members to listen to their views, determine their needs and determine what enhancements they identify that would provide them with the greatest benefit. • Train City staff on issues relating to homeless/at-risk community members. Provide more detailed training for City employees and work groups that are more likely to have frequent, daily interaction with homeless/at-risk persons, which might include advising them about other appropriate service providers. -15-