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Continuum of Care

Council on Homelessness


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Built for Zero
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  • 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 Martinez.


  • Meetings

    All our meetings are open to the public. The Continuum of Care meets quarterly (on the third Tuesday 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@cchealth.org

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

    Continuum of Care
    DATE
    AGENDA
    MINUTES
    MATERIALS
    October 15, 2019 Learning Hub Agenda Minutes Presentation
    August 6, 2019 Learning Hub Agenda   Presentation
    May 7, 2019 Agenda   Presentation
    February 5, 2019 Agenda   H3 Housing
    January 18, 2019 Agenda   Presentation

    Council on Homelessness
    DATE
    AGENDA
    MINUTES
    MATERIALS
    November 7, 2019 Agenda   Presentation
    October 3, 2019 Agenda Minutes Presentation
    September 5, 2019 Agenda Minutes Presentation
    August 1, 2019 Agenda Minutes Presentation
    New Project Scoring Tool
    Governance Charter and Bylaws
    Governance Charter and Bylaws - Redline Draft for Adoption
    ESG Process
    July 11, 2019 Cancelled    
    June 6, 2019 Agenda Minutes Presentation
    May 2, 2019 Agenda Minutes Presentation
    April 4, 2019 Agenda Minutes Presentation
    February 7, 2019 Agenda Minutes Presentation

    Archive »


  • 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 Expiration
    1. Affordable Housing Developer Dan Sawislak Executive Director, Resources for Community Development 12/31/20
    2. Behavioral Health Representative VACANT VACANT 12/31/20
    3. City Government Seat Teri House CDBG Consultant, City of Antioch 12/31/20
    4. CoC/ESG Program Grantee Leslie Gleason Director of Programs, Shelter, Inc. 12/31/21
    5. Community Member Seat Lindy Lavender Policy Director, East Bay Leadership Council 12/31/21
    6. Consumer/Consumer Advocate Candace Collier Former Consumer, Contra Costa Health Services 12/31/20
    7. Education and Vocational Services Representative Alejandra Chamberlain Homeless Education Liaison, Contra Costa Office of Education 12/31/20
    8. Emergency Solutions Grants Representative Gabriel Lemus Contra Costa Department of Conservation and Development 12/31/20
    9. Employment and Human Services (EHSD) Representative Sherry Lynn Peralta Program Director, Employment and Human Services Department 12/31/21
    10. Faith Community Representative Doug Leich Multi-Faith ACTION Coalition 12/31/21
    11. Health Care Representative Manuel Arredondo, LCSW, MPH Supervisor of Integrated Behavioral Health, La Clinica De La Raza 12/31/21
    12. Homeless Service Provider Deanne Pearn Executive Director, Contra Costa Interfaith Housing 12/31/20
    13. Public Housing Authority Tony Ucciferri Special Assistant to the Executive Director, Housing Authority of County of Contra Costa 12/31/21
    14. Public Safety Representative #2 Bradley Lindblom Sergeant, San Pablo Police Department 12/31/19
    15. Public Safety Representative #1 Manjit Sappal Chief, Martinez Police Department 12/31/20
    16. Reentry Services Representative Patrice Guillory Network Manager, Healthright 360 12/31/19
    17. Veterans Administration Representative Tracy Pullar Homeless Program Manger, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 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?

    The following seats are accepting applications:

    • Health Care Representative Seat:
      Candidates must work in the Health Care field in Contra Costa County in a role that includes shaping and/or implementing policy at agency or in field of Health Care.
    • Public Safety #2:
      Candidates must work in the Public Safety field in Contra Costa County in a role that includes shaping and/or implementing policy at agency or in field of Public Safety.
    • Reentry Services Representative:
      Candidates must work in the field of Reentry (supporting individuals reentering the community after criminal justice involvement) in Contra Costa County in a role that includes shaping and/or implementing policy at agency or in field of Reentry.

    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?

    • Initial application must be received by Friday, October 18, 2019.

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

    • We expect to notify people of the status of their applications after November, 1, 2019

    Whom do I contact if I have questions?

    Email: cchomelesscouncil@cchealth.org
    Phone: 925-608-6716


  • Bylaws



  • Governance Chart


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  • Built for Zero

    Built for Zero is a rigorous national campaign coordinated by Community Solutions to end chronic and veteran homelessness. 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

    Contact Us

    Council on Homelessness
    2400 Bisso Lane, Suite D, 2nd Floor
    Concord, CA 94520

    E-mail: cchomelesscouncil@cchealth.org
    Phone: 925-608-6700