Continuum of Care
Council on Homelessness
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Meetings
All our meetings are open to the public. The Continuum of Care meets quarterly (dates TBD). These meetings are topic specific stakeholder meetings. The Council on Homelessness meets the first Thursday of every month from 1:00-3:00 pm in Concord. These meetings focus on policy and oversight of the Continuum of Care. There are a number of Council on Homelessness Sub-Committees that meet regularly. For more information about sub-committees and/or to receive notification of meeting dates and times, email cchomelesscouncil@cchealth.org
ADA Accommodations: The Council will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend meetings. Please email cchomelesscouncil@cchealth.org or call 925-608-6700 at least 72 hours before the meeting.
**NOTE: All agendas are posted in the Council on Homelessness section of the Public Meetings Agenda Center at contracosta.ca.gov/agendacenter.
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Meet the Members
The Board of Supervisors has established many boards, committees, and commissions to which it appoints Contra Costa residents to serve, on a volunteer basis, to advise the Board on the myriad of programs and issues under the Board's jurisdiction.
The Contra Costa Council on Homelessness is charged with providing advice and input on the operations of homeless services, program operations, and program development efforts in Contra Costa County. Council members are appointed and serve two year terms.
Seat Name Appointee/Affiliation Term 1. Affordable Housing Developer Dan Sawislak
Executive Director, Resources for Community Development3/13/18 - 12/31/20 2. Behavioral Health Representative Manuel Arredondo, LCSW, MPH
Supervisor of Integrated Behavioral Health, La Clinica De La Raza10/8/19 - 12/31/21 3. City Government Seat Teri House
CDBG Consultant, City of Antioch3/18/18 - 12/31/20 4. CoC/ESG Program Grantee Leslie Gleason
Executive Director, Trinity Center3/12/19 - 12/31/21 5. Community Member Seat Lindy Lavender
Policy Director, East Bay Leadership Council3/12/19 - 12/31/21 6. Consumer/Consumer Advocate Candace Collier
Former Consumer, Contra Costa Health Services3/13/18 - 12/31/20 7. Education and Vocational Services Representative Alejandra Chamberlain
Homeless Education Liaison, Contra Costa Office of Education1/1/18 - 12/31/20 8. Emergency Solutions Grants Representative Gabriel Lemus
Contra Costa Department of Conservation and Development3/13/18 - 12/31/20 9. Employment and Human Services (EHSD) Representative Sherry Lynn Peralta
Program Director, EHSD3/12/19 - 12/31/21 10. Faith Community Representative Doug Leich
Multi-Faith ACTION Coalition3/12/19 - 12/31/21 11. Health Care Representative Dan Peddycord
CCHS, Public Health Director1/1/20 - 12/31/21 12. Homeless Service Provider Deanne Pearn
Executive Director, Hope Solutions3/13/18 - 12/31/20 13. Public Housing Authority Tony Ucciferri
Special Assistant to the Executive Director, Housing Authority of County of Contra Costa3/12/19 - 12/31/21 14. Public Safety Representative #2 Shawn Ray
Lieutenant, San Pablo Police Department1/1/20 - 12/31/21 15. Public Safety Representative #1 Manjit Sappal
Chief, Martinez Police Department3/13/18 - 12/31/20 16. Reentry Services Representative Patrice Guillory
Managing Director, Healthright 3601/1/20 - 12/31/21 17. Veterans Administration Representative Tracy Pullar
Homeless Program Manager, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs3/13/18 - 12/31/20 -
What is the Council on Homelessness?
The Council on Homelessness (COH) is an advisory board appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The COH is the planning body that coordinates the community’s policies, strategies, and activities toward preventing and ending homelessness in Contra Costa County, California. It is a regional, year-round collective planning body of stakeholders ranging from non-profit service providers to local governmental entities. The Council’s work includes gathering and analyzing information in order to determine the local needs of people experiencing homelessness, implementing strategic responses, educating the community on homeless issues, providing advice and input on the operations of homeless services, and measuring performance as related to serving the homeless population in Contra Costa County.
What do Councilmembers do?
Members of the Council on Homelessness:
- Attend required monthly meetings, participate in subcommittees, and attend quarterly General Membership meetings
- Provide advice and input on homeless service operations and development
- Review and prioritize project applications for some federal funding sources
- Gather and analyze information to determine local needs
- Educate the community and policy makers on issues relating to homelessness
- Measure homeless system performance
- Provide guidance to the development and implementation of long-range planning and policy formulation of homeless issues
Who Can Apply?
All Council members must reside or be employed in Contra Costa County and be willing to sign and abide by the Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest policy upon being seated as a Council member and annually thereafter.
What qualities is the Council seeking in an applicant?
Council members must demonstrate a professional interest in, or personal commitment to, addressing and alleviating the impact of homelessness. A person must contribute unique expertise, opinions, and viewpoints on homeless issues. The Council is comprised of 17 seats designated by area of expertise.
The Council aims to include and engage as broad a representation as possible of abilities, ages, sexual and gender identities, immigration statuses, and racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, and geographical representation within the County. Getting the composition of the Council to more closely represent the demographics of those experiencing homelessness is a priority for recruitment and filling vacancies. In addition, we would like both public and private sector seats to, as much as possible, include representation from organizations or agencies who serve various homeless subpopulations such as: persons with chronic substance abuse issues, persons with serious mental illness, persons experiencing chronic homelessness, persons with HIV/AIDS, veterans, families with children, homeless or formerly homeless youth and young adults, seniors, and victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, trafficking, and stalking.
How long would I serve?
Council on Homelessness members serve for a two-year term, which may be renewed.
What is the time commitment?
Council on Homelessness meetings take place the first Thursday of the month from 1 pm – 3 pm in Concord. Continuum of Care meetings take place on the third Thursday of January, April, July and October from 1:00-3:00 pm, in Concord. Members of the Council also participate in various subcommittees.
Where can I learn more about the Council on Homelessness?
About Council on Homelessness.
What seats are open?
No seats are currently open.
How do I apply?
If you are interested in applying to become a member of the Council on Homelessness,
- Complete the online application: (NOTE: Select "Contra Costa Council on Homelessness" from the drop down menu and enter the Seat Name you are applying for)
- You may be contacted for an in person or phone interview.
How long are applications being accepted?
- No seats are currently open.
When will I know if I got a seat on the Council?
- No seats are currently open.
Whom do I contact if I have questions?
Email: cchomelesscouncil@cchealth.org
Phone: 925-608-6700 -
Bylaws
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Governance Chart
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Contact COH
Contact Us
Council on Homelessness
2400 Bisso Lane, Suite D, 2nd Floor
Concord, CA 94520E-mail: cchomelesscouncil@cchealth.org
Phone: 925-608-6700 -
Our Mission
The Contra Costa Council on Homelessness, appointed by the Board of Supervisors, provides advice and input on the operations of homeless services, program operations, and program development efforts in Contra Costa County. Further, the Council on Homelessness establishes the local process for applying, reviewing and prioritizing project applications for funding in HUD Homeless Assistance Grant Competitions, including the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program.
The Contra Costa Council on Homelessness provides a forum for the Continuum of Care to communicate about the implementation of strategies to prevent and end homelessness. The purpose of the forum is to educate the community on homeless issues, and advocate on federal, state, county and city policy issues that affect people who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.
Read the Contra Costa County Strategic Plan on homelessness.Governance
The Council on Homelessness is appointed by the Board of Supervisors and serves for a two-year term, which may be renewed. All Council members must reside, or be employed, in Contra Costa County, demonstrate a professional interest in or personal commitment to addressing and alleviating the impact of homelessness, and contribute unique expertise, opinions and viewpoints on homeless issues. The Council consists of 17 seats representing homeless or formerly homeless persons, health care (including behavioral health), education, the faith community, government, housing providers, public safety, public housing authority, nonprofit homeless service providers and Veterans Administration. Members of the Council assist with and provide guidance in the development and implementation of long range planning and policy formulation of homeless issues in Contra Costa County, attend monthly meetings, participate (as needed and able) in subcommittees, and attend quarterly General Membership meetings as they are able. The Council on Homelessness meets on the 1st Thursday of each month from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. in Concord.