Housing and Human Services
950 West Mall Square, Suite 205
Alameda, CA 94501-4477
December 3, 2024
City of Alameda California
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Scott Means, President
Social Service Human Relations Board
Subject: Social Services Human Services Relations Board FY 2025-26 CDBG Public Services Needs Statement
The Social Service Human Relations Board (SS HRB) is responsible for assessing the community’s social and human service needs and establishes strategies to address those needs. In 1997, the City Council entrusted SSHRB with participating in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) process by examining and discussing the importance of residents’ public service needs and forwarding recommendations to Council in relation to CDBG Public Service funding. This letter represents SSRHB’s recommendations as it relates to the community’s priority needs a nd public service support in the City of Alameda.
At the SSHRB meeting on October 24, 2024, City staff presented the priorities that were identified in the CDBG Five-Year Consolidated Plan, including: preserving and increasing affordable housing, reducing housing discrimination, preventing and addressing homelessness, and addressing non-housing community development needs (such as neighborhood improvements, public services, accessibility improvements, and economic development).
Staff invited 39 non-profit organizations active in Alameda to comment on the community’s current needs. SSHRB received written and verbal comments from 15 community service providers and organizations.
SSHRB members, with consideration from the service providers, voted 6-0 to recommend the following priority areas and strongly em phasize that affordable housing and mental health concerns are at the core of many of these issues:
x Mental Health Services
o Promotion of healthy relationships
o Implementation of crisis intervention
o Domestic violence awareness
x Food Security and Nutrition Programs
o Emphasis on serving unhoused, low-income, seniors, and persons with disabilities
o Accessibility to healthier food options
x Access to Housing and Emergency Shelter
o Increase housing affordability and supply
x Advocacy & Coordination
o Wraparound services to support marginalized and underserved communities
x Age Friendly Communities
o Inclusion model of engagement
o Integrated with Disability and Equity initiatives
o Livable Alameda for people of all ages
x Social connectedness
o Community building, diversity and inclusivity
The wage and cost of living gap has led to many disparities within the City of Alameda.
COVID-19 and its associated economic fall out have made poverty in California deeper, more widespread, and greatly distressful. This is why it is imperative to prioritize the needs mentioned above to ensure our most vulnerable communities have an opportunity to thrive. SSHRB recommends that the City Council make policy and funding decisions that prioritize the needs of the people that have been identified in this needs statement letter.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Scott Means, President
Social Service Human Relations Board