Council on Homelessness

Meetings

All our meetings are open to the public. The Continuum of Care meets quarterly (on the 3rd Friday, in the months of January, April, July, and October). These meetings are topic specific stakeholder meetings. The Council on Homelessness meets the first Thursday of every month from 1:00-3:00 pm. These meetings focus on policy and oversight of the Continuum of Care. There are a number of Council on Homelessness Sub-Committees that meet every month. For more information about sub-committees and/or to receive notification of meeting dates and times, email jaime.jenett@hsd.cccounty.us

ADA Accommodations: The Council will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend meetings. Please email jaime.jenett@hsd.cccounty.us or call 925-608-6716 at least 72 hours before the meeting.

Continuum of Care

Council on Homelessness

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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.

What is the Council on Homelessness?

The Council on Homelessness is an advisory board appointed by the Board of Supervisors. This Council provides a forum for the homeless 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. The Council on Homelessness also establishes the local process for applying, reviewing and prioritizing project applications for funding in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Homeless Assistance Grant Competitions, including the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program.

Who Can Apply?

All Council members must reside, or be employed, in Contra Costa County. Applicants who wish to be considered as a Consumer for the Consumer/Consumer Advocate Seat must have a lived experience of homelessness (i.e., be homeless or formerly homeless). Applicants who wish to be considered as a Consumer Advocate for the Consumer/Consumer Advocate Seat are not required to have lived experience of homelessness.

How long would I serve?

Council on Homelessness members serve for a two-year term, which may be renewed.

What do Councilmembers do?

Members of the Council assist with and provide guidance to the development and implementation of long-range planning and policy formulation of homeless issues in Contra Costa County. They attend monthly meetings, participate in subcommittees, and attend quarterly General Membership meetings as required.

What is the time commitment?

The Council on Homelessness meets on the 1st Thursday of each month from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. in varying locations. Continuum of Care meetings take place on the 3rd Friday of the first month of each quarter from 10 am – Noon in varying locations.

Members of the Council also participate in various subcommittees including:

• Consumer Advisory Committee
• Coordinated Entry Oversight Committee
• Ensuring Equity Committee
• Performance Measures Committee
• Policy and Advocacy Committee
• Point in Time Count Committee

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. Where a potential Council member represents a coalition, consortium, association, neighborhood group, or voluntary organization, the nominee must represent to the Council the group's mission.

Where can I learn more about the Council on Homelessness?

cchealth.org/h3

What seats are open?

The following seats are accepting applications:

• CoC/ESG Program Grantee
  Must be from agency funded by CoC or ESG funding
• Community Member
  Must live or work in Contra Costa
• Employment and Human Services (EHSD) Representative
  Must be employed by Contra Costa EHSD department
• Faith Community Representative
  Must be affiliated with the faith community as an employee, volunteer or congregant
• Health Care Representative
  Must work in the health care field
• Public Housing Authority
  Must be an employee of a Public Housing Authority in Contra Costa County

How do I apply?

If you are interested in applying to become a member of the Council on Homelessness,

• Complete the online application here:
  NOTE: Select "Contra Costa Council on Homelessness" from the drop down menu and complete the form and enter the Seat Name you are applying for (see above re: "open seats".
• We also encourage applicants to send a separate email to cchomelesscouncil@hsd.cccounty.us with a personal statement explaining why they are interested in being part of the Council on Homelessness.
• You may be contacted for an in person or phone interview.

How long are applications being accepted?

• Applications and personal statements need to be received by 5 p.m. Friday, November 30th.

When will I know if I got a seat on the Council?

• We expect to notify people of the status of their applications in early January.

Whom do I contact if I have questions?

Jaime Jenett, Continuum of Care Planning and Policy Manager
Contra Costa Health Services: Health, Housing and Homeless Services
Tel: 925-608-6716 Cell: 925-464-0152 Email: Jaime.Jenett@hsd.cccounty.us

Get Involved

On any given night in Contra Costa County, there are roughly 3,800 people experiencing homelessness...

Health, Housing & Homeless Services offers several volunteer opportunities for groups and individuals who want to make a difference in their local community. Help support our efforts to provide much needed services and supports to homeless individuals and families in our county.

Homeless Awareness Toolkit

November 12-20th is National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week and the Contra Costa Council on Homelessness, on behalf of the Homeless Continuum of Care, is launching an on-going effort to engage community members in helping to end homelessness in the county. The Homeless Awareness Toolkit promotes events happening in the month of November and connects individuals with ways to become educated about homelessness, become involved in activism and find volunteer opportunities.

Project Homeless Connect

Project Homeless Connect is focused on helping the homeless by bringing together multiple services and resources to one place at one time. These on-site services include medical and mental health screenings, legal advice, shelter, youth services, employment, and more. Volunteers help homeless and at-risk individuals navigate the various services, answer questions, and share the experience of the event.

Point-in-Time Count

Each year in January, Contra Costa's Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) conducts a comprehensive point-in-time count of families and individuals experiencing homelessness. The point-in-time count tallies information about people sleeping in emergency shelters and transitional housing as well as people sleeping in cars, in abandoned properties, or in other places not meant for human habitation. It provides a one-day snapshot of homelessness and includes data about families, youth, chronically homeless, veterans, as well as gender, ethnicity, and race. Volunteer drivers and counters are needed to help count those living outside the morning of the count. Training is provided one week before the event.

Support Our Work

While we currently do not have volunteer opportunities at our facilities working directly with clients we do have other opportunities to support people facing homelessness in Contra Costa. Our work could not happen without the generous donations of community members. Every donation helps to further increase the quality and level of services we provide.

Bylaws

• By-Laws
• Governance Charter

Governance Chart

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Built for Zero

Built for Zero is a rigorous national campaign coordinated by Community Solutions to help our community end chronic and veteran homelessness by December 2017. In Contra Costa County, we realized that in order to end homelessness, we needed to know exactly who needs help. To do this, we have created a By-Name List of homeless veterans and the chronically homeless in our community. This tool is becoming a national standard to help communities get a clearer picture of who needs help, how many people are being housed and how many people are entering or returning to homelessness each month. Learn more about this campaign.

Contact COH

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