Desert Hot Springs City Council
January 16, 2024

48 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN

CATEGORY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE ADDITIONAL

INFORMATION
Health
(Physical and
Behavioral) &
Services
Enhanced
Care
Management
(ECM)
- CalAIM program that will
eventually expand to all
Medi-Cal members in the
state.

Replaces Whole Person
Care pilots and Health
Homes Program.

Services: Outreach
and Engagement;
Comprehensive Assessment
and Care Management Plan;
Enhanced Coordination of
Care; Health Promotion;
Comprehensive Transitional
Care; Member and
Family Supports; and
Coordination of and Referral
to Community and Social
Support Services.

Phased in by county and
Population of Focus from
January 2022 through July
2023. Goes live for Riverside
County in Jan 2022 for
the following populations:

Individuals and Families
Experiencing Homelessness;
High Utilizer Adults; and
Adults with SMI/SUD.

Enhanced Care
Management
and In Lieu of
Services
Permanent
Housing (PSH
+ RRH)
Housing for
a Healthy
California
(HHC) Program
$170M Organization, agency, or
other entity (including a
public housing agency,
a for-profit entity, or a
nonprofit entity) that is an
Owner or Developer.

Permanent loans for
acquisition, rehab, and/or
new construction for existing
and new supportive housing
opportunities. Grants for
Capitalized Operating
Subsidy Reserves (COSRs).

Target population: people
who are chronically
homeless or homeless and a
high-cost health user.

The next NOFA for $170
million is expected to be
released at end of 2021.
2021 NOFA
Listening Session
Slides - Details
about upcoming
NOFA
Preservation,
Community
Displacement
Portfolio
Reinvestment
Program
$300M Likely local jurisdictions
with qualifying projects.

Provide capital to HCD
legacy projects about to
go market-rate to extend
affordability covenants
and preserve the state’s
affordable housing stock.

Initial target of 60 to 80
projects, including projects
with expired loans and
regulatory agreements, as
well as other projects at risk
of conversion to market-rate
over a five-year period.

NOFA Spring 2022 Approved in FY
21 - 22 budget;
likely updated on
this site.

Prevention,
Diversion,
ProblemSolving
In Lieu of
Services (ILOS)
- Medi-Cal Managed Care
Providers (MCPs); MCPs
must applying to the State
and obtain State approval
to offer the ILOS by
demonstrating that all the
requirements will be met.

Housing Transition
Navigation Services;
Recuperative Care (Medical
Respite); Day Habilitation
Programs; Nursing Facility
Transition/Diversion to
Assisted Living Facilities;
Community Transition
Services/Nursing Facility
Transition to a Home;
Personal Care and
Homemaker Services;
Environmental Accessibility
Adaptations (Home
Modifications); Medically
Supportive Food/Meals/
Medically Tailored Meals;
Sobering Centers; Asthma
Remediation
ILOS may be offered by
MCPs beginning January 1,
2022. Additional ILOS may
be added thereafter on a
six-month cadence.

Enhanced Care
Management
and In Lieu of
Services
Special
Populations
Veterans
Housing and
Homelessness
Prevention
(VHHP)
Program
~$300M per funding
round
Sponsors cannot have
more than two corporate
entities between itself
and the borrowing entity.

Sponsors and Borrowers
may be for profit or not-forprofit entities. Any public agency or private entity
capable of entering into a
contract is eligible to apply,
provided they meet the
threshold requirements in
Guidelines, Section 102.

Acquisition, construction,
rehabilitation, and
preservation of affordable
multifamily housing for
veterans and their families to
allow veterans to access and
maintain housing stability.

HCD SuperNOFA. Draft
guidelines end 2021.

Expected NOFA release Feb
2022; application closing
date May - June 2022.

AB 434
SuperNOFA
Updates
Item Number: 4.

49 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN

CATEGORY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE ADDITIONAL

INFORMATION
Special
Populations
CalWORKs
Housing
Support
Program (HSP)
$190M yearly for FY
21-22 and FY 22-23
County Welfare
Departments.

Financial assistance and
housing-related wraparound supportive services,
including rental assistance,
housing navigation, case
management, security
deposits, utility payments,
legal services, and credit
repair. Some funds can be
set-aside for purchasing
property.

FY 21 - 22 NOFA released in
May 2021 with deadlines in
June 2021.

FY 21 - 22 RFA
Letter
Special
Populations
Transitional
Housing
Program (THP)
$8M for Round 3 (FY
21 - 22)
County child welfare
services agencies that
demonstrate a need to
provide housing for young
adults aged 18 to 25 years
of age.

Funds shall be used to help
young adults who are 18 to
25 years of age secure and
maintain housing.

Eligible uses: Identifying and
assisting housing services,
helping this population
secure and maintain housing
(with priority given to those
formerly in the state’s foster
care or probation system);
improving coordination of
services and linkages to
community resources within
the child welfare system and
the Homeless Continuum of
Care; outreach and targeting
to serve those with the
most-severe needs.

TBD. The deadline to submit
Round 2 THP application
was November 12, 2020. No
further Round 3 information
has been released.
-
Special
Populations
Bringing
Families Home
Program
$92.5M yearly in FY
21-22 and FY 22-23,
available over three
years
Counties and tribes. 22
counties and one tribe are
participating in the July
2019 – June 2022 cycle
-- Riverside County is not
one of them.

Financial assistance
and housing-related
wrap-around supportive
services for eligible families
experiencing homelessness
in the child welfare system,
including rental assistance,
housing navigation, case
management, security
deposits, utility payments,
legal services, and credit
repair.

Program was expanded
following FY 21 - 22 budget.

Announcement of funding
availability for new and
continuing grantees is
forthcoming.

Information
on Program
Expansion
Special
Populations
CalWORKS
Homeless
Assistance
Program
Varies by county
- combination of
Federal, State, and
County funds.

Counties Temporary HA, which
helps families pay the
costs of temporary shelter;
permanent HA, which helps
families secure housing or
prevent eviction; security
deposit and last month’s rent
or 2 months arrearages to
prevent eviction.

Target population:

CalWORKs recipients
or CalWORKs eligible
applicants who are
experiencing homelessness
or at risk of homelessness.

SB 1065, passed in 2020,
streamlines and expands
eligibility for HA. Likely
implemented mid-late 2022.

All County Letter
Regarding
Implementation
of SB 1065
Building
Capacity
FY 2021
Continuum
of Care
Competition
and
Noncompetitive
Award of Youth
Homeless
Demonstration
Program
Renewal and
Replacement
Grants
~$2.65B was available
for FY 2021 NOFO
Continuum’s of Care CoC activities, including:

Quickly rehousing homeless
individuals, families,
persons fleeing domestic
violence(and dating
violence, sexual assault,
and stalking) and youth
while minimizing the trauma
and dislocation caused by
homelessness; promoting
access to and effective
utilization of mainstream
programs by homeless
individuals and families;
optimizing self-sufficiency
among those experiencing
homelessness.

NOFO released in Sept 2021
with deadline of Nov 2021.

CoC Program
Competition |
HUD.gov / U.S.

Department
of Housing
and Urban
Development
(HUD)
Item Number: 4.

50 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN

CATEGORY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE ADDITIONAL

INFORMATION
Community
Development
Riverside
County CDBG
Program
Riverside County
received $8M in 2020
Non-Profits, 501(c)(3) Higher
Education Institutions,
Cooperating Cities,
and other Government
Agencies/Special Districts.

Community Development
(CD) uses: Housing, public
improvements, community
facilities, public services,
planning and technical
assistance (PTA), Native
American housing and
housing-related activities, and
Colonia housing needs.

Economic Development
(ED) uses enterprise funds,
planning and technical
assistance (PTA), and overthe-counter grants.

Application deadline was Nov
12, 2021.

Riverside County
2022 – 23
CDBG Awards
Application
Flexible Use Emergency
Solutions
Grants Program
in CARES Act
(ESG-CV)
California received
$949M (direct formula
allocation to local
jurisdictions + state
funding to be further
distributed)
Direct Allocation: Distributed
to currently approved
units of general-purpose
local government, known
as Administrative Entities
(Aes), or directly to the COC,
depending on capacity.

State funding: Continuum
of Care (CoC) service areas
that have at least one
jurisdiction that does not
receive ESG funds directly
from HUD.

Street Outreach, Emergency
Shelter, Rapid Re-Housing,
Homelessness Prevention,
and Homeless Management
Information System.

Direct allocation: Substantial
Amendment/Action Plan
Submission to HUD due Aug
2021.

State allocation: applications
due by October 2021.

HUD Emergency
Solutions Grants
- CV
Flexible Use Mental Health
Services Act
~$2.3B annually Counties -- must expend
the funds for the required
components consistent with
a local plan.

Can be used to fund
homeless and housing
assistance services through
the Community Services and
Supports (CSS), Prevention
and Early Intervention (PEI),
Innovation (INN), and Capital
Facilities and Technological
Needs (CF/TN) components
of MHSA.

TBD. Counties with population
above 200,000 have three
years to expend funds
distributed for CSS, PEI, and
INN components. Counties
with less than 200,000 have
five years to expend funds
distributed for CSS, PEI and
INN components. All counties
have ten years to expend
funds distributed for CF/TN
and WET components.

Riverside County
MHSA Plan
Update
Health
(Physical and
Behavioral) &
Services
Whole Person
Care Pilots
$7M annually for four
years
County, a city and county, a
health or hospital authority,
or a consortium of any of
the above entities serving a
county or region.

Facilitates the coordination of
health, behavioral health, and
social services, as applicable,
in a patient-centered manner
with the goals of improved
beneficiary health and
wellbeing through more
efficient and effective use of
resources.

Will be replaced by Enhanced
Care Management (ECM)
starting Jan 2022.

Riverside County
WPC Application
Special
Populations
Home Safe
Program
$15M from July
2018 to June 2021.

Noncompetitive
allocations. Riverside
received $3.7M for FY
21 - 22.
$92.5M yearly for FY 21
- 22 and FY 22 - 23.

Counties or tribes. Adult Protective Services
(APS) clients who are
experiencing homelessness
or are at imminent risk of
homelessness as determined
by the adult protective
services agency.

Financial Assistance: Rental
Assistance, utility payments,
moving costs, and/or deep
cleaning to maintain safe
housing.

Supportive Services:
housing-related intensive
case management, eviction
prevention, and/or landlord
mediation.

On October 15, 2021, CDSS
released NOFA on Oct 15,
2021. These funds include
non-competitive allocations
available to all 58 counties
or groups of counties and/
or tribes.

The deadline for accepting
funds is December 3, 2021.

Latest NOFA
Item Number: 4.

51 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN

CATEGORY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE ADDITIONAL

INFORMATION
Special
Populations
Housing
Opportunities
for People with

AIDS (HOPWA)
FY 2021: $41M Formula program (90% of
funds): MSAs with more than
500,000 people and at least
2,000 HIV/AIDS cases and
States with more than 2,000
HIV/AIDS cases outside
of eligible MSAs. Awards
are contingent upon the
submission and approval
by HUD of a jurisdiction’s
Consolidated Plan.

Competitive program (10%
of funds): States, local
governments, and nonprofit
organizations.

Formula program: housing
information, resource
identification, and permanent
housing placement;
acquisition, rehabilitation,
conversion, lease, and repair
of facilities to provide shortterm shelter and services; new construction; project
or tenant-based rental
assistance, including for
shared housing; and shortterm rent, mortgage, and
utility payments.

Competitive program:

Special Projects of National
Significance (SPNS): Projects
of innovative nature or their
potential for replication.

New Long-Term Projects:

These projects provide
housing and services for
eligible persons in areas of
the nation that did not qualify
for HOPWA Formula Program
allocations.

FY 2021 competitive program
NOFO was announced in
April 2021 with an application
deadline of June 2021.

Awardees announced on
12/1/2021.
-

COLLABORATING AGENCIES/DEPARTMENTS
A number of the Action Areas and their associated strategies require developing and/or deepening partnerships with agencies and partners in both the homeless and the homeless serving sectors. The table below shows groups with which the Continuum of Care and its administrative support systems should work to cultivate relationships.

AGENCY/DEPARTMENT AREAS OF PARTNERSHIP
CHILD WELFARE SERVICES TAY support, family support, homeless prevention, early identification, and resolution.

CORONA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER CalAIM coordination and healthcare for those experiencing homelessness.

DESERT HEALTHCARE DISTRICT CalAIM coordination and healthcare for those experiencing homelessness.

FAITH BASED ORGANIZATIONS
Assistance with supplying food, clothing, and toiletries.

Emergency shelters, safe parking, and construction of
affordable housing on church properties.

LAW ENFORCEMENT (SHERIFF, CITY POLICE DEPARTMENTS,

PROBATION, PAROLE, JAIL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY,

PUBLIC DEFENDER)
Outreach, encampment resolution, discharge planning,
jail in reach, early identification, and resolution.

REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF GOVERNMENT Coordination and integration of services.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES Jointly develop strategies to support pet friendly solutions for persons experiencing homelessness.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH Outreach and behavioral health services and support.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY CODE ENFORCEMENT Work to proactively address encampments in a coordinated manner.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY SERVICES Work to proactively address encampments in a coordinated manner.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Jointly develop strategies to increase the overall economic stability of the ELI population in the county.

Item Number: 4.

52 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN

AGENCY/DEPARTMENT AREAS OF PARTNERSHIP

RIVERSIDE COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Early identification of and support for children and
families at risk of and/or experiencing homelessness.

Establish/enhance year-round breakfast and lunch
programs.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY OFFICE ON AGING Early identification of and support for older adults at risk of and/or experiencing homelessness.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY PARK AND OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Work to proactively address encampments in a coordinated manner.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT
Work to identify opportunities to develop more housing
affordable to everyone and to increase the production of Permanent Supportive Housing.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD Jointly develop strategies to enhance training programs for persons experiencing homelessness.

RIVERSIDE FLOOD CONTROL Work to proactively address encampments in a coordinated manner.

RIVERSIDE UNIVERSITY PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM CalAIM coordination and healthcare for those experiencing homelessness.

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VETERANS

SERVICES OFFICE
Funding and services for veterans experiencing
homelessness and their families.

PARTNER CITIES IN COUNTY OF

RIVERSIDE CONTINUUM OF CARE
City of Banning
City of Beaumont
City of Blythe
City of Calimesa
City of Canyon Lake
City of Cathedral City
City of Coachella
City of Corona
City of Desert Hot Springs
City of Eastvale
City of Hemet
City of Indian Wells
City of Indio
City of Jurupa Valley
City of Indio
City of Jurupa Valley
City of Lake Elsinore
City of La Quinta
City of Menifee
City of Moreno Valley
City of Murrieta
City of Norco
City of Palm Desert
City of Palm Springs
City of Perris
City of Rancho Mirage
City of Riverside
City of San Jacinto
City of Temecula
City of Wildomar
Item Number: 4.

53 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN

GLOSSARY
AHAR: Annual Homeless
Assessment Report
APR: Annual Performance Report
(for HUD homeless programs)
CALAIM: California Advancing and
Innovating Medi-Cal
CDBG: Community Development
Block Grant (CPD program – federal)
CES: Coordinated Entry System
CSBG: Community Services Block
Grant
COC: Continuum of Care
CPD: Community Planning and
Development (HUD Office)
ES: Emergency Shelter
ESG: Emergency Solutions Grant
(CPD – federal program)
FMR: Fair Market Rent (maximum
rent for Section 8 rental assistance/
CoC grants)
GR: General Relief
HCD: Housing and Community
Development (State office)
HEARTH: Homeless Emergency
and Rapid Transition to Housing
(HEARTH) Act of 2009
HIC: Housing Inventory Count
HMIS: Homeless Management
Information System
HOME: Home Investment
Partnerships (CPD program)
HOPWA: Housing Opportunities for
Persons with AIDS (CPD program)
HUD: U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (federal)
MHSA: Mental Health Services Act
NOFA: Notice of Funding Availability
PHA: Public Housing Authority
PIT COUNT: Point in Time Count
PH: Permanent Housing
PSH: Permanent Supportive Housing
RHNA: Regional Housing Needs
Assessment
RRH: Rapid Rehousing
SAMHSA: Substance Abuse
& Mental Health Services
Administration
SH: Supportive Housing
SMI: Severe Mental Illness
SNAPS: Office of Special Needs
Assistance Program (HUD office
overseeing CoC)
SO: Street Outreach
SOAR: SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access,
and Recovery (SSI/SSDI Application
program)
SRO: Single-Room Occupancy
housing units
SSA: Social Security Administration
SSDI: Social Security Disability
Income
SSI: Supplemental Security Income
SUD: Substance Use Disorder
TA: Technical Assistance
TANF: Temporary Assistance to
Needy Families
TAY: Transition Age Youth (usually
ages 16-24)
TH: Transitional Housing
VA: Veterans Affairs (U.S.

Department of)
VASH: Veterans Affairs Supportive
Housing
VI-SPDT: Vulnerability Index and
Service Prioritization Decision
Assistance Tool
Item Number: 4.

54 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 1: STRENGTHEN LEADERSHIP & DEPARTMENTAL CAPACITY • Instill shared values into CoC culture and work
to increase CoC participation
• Gain deeper insight into CoC performance and
adopt a continuous improvement framework
through the use of data
• Develop system for monitoring progress of
Homeless Action Plan and other actions of the
CoC
• Continue to streamline the CoC structure &
committees in alignment with goals outlined in
this Homeless Action Plan
• Leverage political will of regional stakeholders
over the adoption of priorities and goals
outlined in this Homeless Action Plan
• Develop internal operational capacity to support
the influx of new spending related activities like
RFP responses, HUD technical assistance, etc.
• Lead cross-sector initiatives around data-sharing
and discharge planning
• Lead system mapping and regional coordination
• Spearhead the initiative to transform the
county’s data capacity
• Lead in the development of new funding
opportunities with private, philanthropic, and
public sources, including cross-sector braiding
of funding with housing/ homeless system
resources
• Develop Riverside County CoC Policy Agenda
to address items like tenant protections,
decriminalization, etc.
• Refine and develop program specific guidance,
policies, procedures, and trainings to develop
capacity regionally
• Support the enhancement/ development of subregional infrastructure, specifically in subregions without developed infrastructure, to implement
Homeless Action Plan strategies
• Engage cities and tribal lands to implement
goals outlined in the Homeless Action Plan
• Number of new positions created
in response to Homeless Action
Plan, especially around crosssector alignment, and partnership. • Riverside County CoC Policy
Agenda.
• Number of new opportunities
generated through private and
philanthropic funding.
• Total number of people
successfully exiting to housing
each month/year exceeds the
people entering homelessness
each month/year.
• 100% of the programs/services
adhere to CES Policies and
Procedures.
• 100% of programs/services are
integrated within CES and HMIS.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH).
• System Performance Measures
are reflected in public facing
dashboards.
• 100% of data reports,
dashboards, etc. have data
disaggregated demographically
• Disparities of Black, Indigenous
and People of Color (BIPOC)
experiencing homelessness
are reduced across all program
types.
• Riverside County CoC has
increased the number of active
partnerships with cross-sector/
mainstream systems.
• 100% of identified cross-sector/
mainstream systems utilize
developed homeless tracking
metrics and processes.
• Riverside County CoC has an
effective provider training,
learning collaborative, provider
forum schedule in place to
develop service provider
capacity regionally.
• Riverside County CoC has
adopted Policy Agenda.
• Riverside County CoC tracks
client program satisfaction
results and uses them to inform
decision making.
• Increases in Riverside County
CoC staff that have lived
experience and/or are Black,
Indigenous and People of Color
(BIPOC).
• 100% of awarded projects
address racial equity disparities
• 100% of CoC staff and service
providers are trained in cultural
humility, trauma-informed care,
and anti-racist trainings
• Riverside County CoC
Framework implemented to
right-size system flow
• Invest in strategies and
programs that support the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan,
emphasizing the expansion of
system coordination, housing
resources, outreach, navigation,
and supportive services
and provider, city, regional
government, and system
capacity
• Invest in programs that
demonstrate ongoing, long-term,
or sustainable data-informed
results that are consistent with
benchmarks established in the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan
• Utilizing a data-driven approach
(HMIS, annual Point-In-Time
Count, System Performance
Measures, and CES By-Name
List), invest in programs
addressing significant service
gaps and priority needs
by targeting high-need
communities, under-served or
hard to-serve geographic areas,
or special subpopulations, such
as the chronically homeless,
individuals with mental illness
and substance use disorders,
older adults/seniors, and
Transitional Age Youth (TAY)
• Strengthen equity-focused
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that reduce
racial disparities, support
equitable access to services
and resources, and produce
equitable outcomes and
communities
• Advance client-centered
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that are informed
by people with lived experience
of homelessness and provide
legitimate feedback mechanisms
for clients experiencing
homelessness
• Support strategies to address
regional inequities in homeless
response infrastructure,
approaches, and service
delivery capacity. These include
adopting and implementing
regional planning, coordination,
decision-making, data-sharing,
and accountability measures
EXHIBIT A: TABULATED RIVERSIDE

COUNTY HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
Item Number: 4.

55 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 2: IMPROVE COUNTY’S ABILITY TO TRACK, LEVERAGE, & MANAGE DATA • Increase the use of HMIS data for evaluating
and reporting on program and system outcomes
• Expand system and program level reporting to
inform funding and policy decisions
• Ensure that all contracts that fund services to
address homelessness require participation
in HMIS protocol, trainings, monitoring, and
procedures
• Expand services and programs in HMIS so that
HMIS is the main repository for all programs
addressing homelessness
• Create public-facing dashboards based on the
goals outlined in the Homeless Action Plan and
System Performance Measures
• Use data to assess the intersectionality of race,
ethnicity, disability, gender, and age within the
homeless response system across program
types to ensure equitable access and delivery of
services for overrepresented groups
• Refine mechanisms for improving HMIS data
entry and data quality, especially for front-line
staff at shelters, day centers, and access centers
where client turnover creates challenges for
data quality
• Develop mechanisms to track real-time
availability of shelter and housing units within
the system
• Develop reporting structure to report on key
data indicators at sub-regional and city specific
level
• Number of System Performance
Measures/goals of Homeless
Action Plan reflected in public
facing dashboards.
• Number of programs with
demographic data disaggregated
in public facing dashboards.
• Real time shelter and housing unit
inventory reflected in public facing
dashboards.
• Percentage of programs/services
integrated within CES and HMIS.
• Total number of people
successfully exiting to housing
each month/year exceeds the
people entering homelessness
each month/year.
• 100% of the programs/services
adhere to CES Policies and
Procedures.
• 100% of programs/services are
integrated within CES and HMIS.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH).
• System Performance Measures
are reflected in public facing
dashboards.
• 100% of data reports,
dashboards, etc. have data
disaggregated demographically
• Disparities of Black, Indigenous
and People of Color (BIPOC)
experiencing homelessness
are reduced across all program
types.
• Riverside County CoC has
increased the number of active
partnerships with cross-sector/
mainstream systems.
• 100% of identified cross-sector/
mainstream systems utilize
developed homeless tracking
metrics and processes.
• Riverside County CoC has an
effective provider training,
learning collaborative, provider
forum schedule in place to
develop service provider
capacity regionally.
• Riverside County CoC has
adopted Policy Agenda.
• Riverside County CoC tracks
client program satisfaction
results and uses them to inform
decision making.
• Increases in Riverside County
CoC staff that have lived
experience and/or are Black,
Indigenous and People of Color
(BIPOC).
• 100% of awarded projects
address racial equity disparities
• 100% of CoC staff and service
providers are trained in cultural
humility, trauma-informed care,
and anti-racist trainings
• Riverside County CoC
Framework implemented to
right-size system flow
• Invest in strategies and
programs that support the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan,
emphasizing the expansion of
system coordination, housing
resources, outreach, navigation,
and supportive services
and provider, city, regional
government, and system
capacity
• Invest in programs that
demonstrate ongoing, long-term,
or sustainable data-informed
results that are consistent with
benchmarks established in the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan
• Utilizing a data-driven approach
(HMIS, annual Point-In-Time
Count, System Performance
Measures, and CES By-Name
List), invest in programs
addressing significant service
gaps and priority needs
by targeting high-need
communities, under-served or
hard to-serve geographic areas,
or special subpopulations, such
as the chronically homeless,
individuals with mental illness
and substance use disorders,
older adults/seniors, and
Transitional Age Youth (TAY)
• Strengthen equity-focused
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that reduce
racial disparities, support
equitable access to services
and resources, and produce
equitable outcomes and
communities
• Advance client-centered
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that are informed
by people with lived experience
of homelessness and provide
legitimate feedback mechanisms
for clients experiencing
homelessness
• Support strategies to address
regional inequities in homeless
response infrastructure,
approaches, and service
delivery capacity. These include
adopting and implementing
regional planning, coordination,
decision-making, data-sharing,
and accountability measures
STRATEGY 3: IMPLEMENT PRIORITIZATION

FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS SYSTEM FLOW
• Reducing Inflow: Root Causes and
Homelessness Prevention
• Curtailing the inflows into the homeless
response system will require addressing the
root causes of homelessness and preventing
new individuals, families, or communities
from falling into homelessness. Upstreaming
solutions by developing equity-centered,
regional, and cross-sector collaboration that
focuses on preventing people from becoming
homeless through homelessness prevention
programs, preservation of vulnerable housing
and communities, tenant protections, and the
production of affordable housing, all of which
will begin to address the system flow.
• Increasing Outflow: Housing Solutions and
Supportive Services
• Housing solutions with corresponding
supportive services rooted in Housing First, like
supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and other
flexible housing subsidies and supports are
necessary tools to end homelessness.
• Supporting Interim Solutions: Interim and
Emergency Options
• Supporting the needs of unsheltered
people experiencing homelessness will be a
critical component to humanely addressing
homelessness.
• Total number of people entering
homeless each month.
• Total number of people exiting to
housing each month.
• Total active people experiencing
homelessness each month.
• Allocation of Riverside County
CoC Awards reflecting units of
“Reducing Inflow”, “Increasing
Outflow”, and “Supporting Interim
Solutions”.

STRATEGY 4: UTILIZE FUNDING PRINCIPLES INFORMED BY THE

PRIORITIZATION FRAMEWORK, PROVIDER, CITY, & REGIONAL

GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE, & REGIONAL DEFICIENCIES & NEEDS • Map out the number of units/interventions
needed for each component of prioritization
• Establish how to quantify and evaluate provider
performance
• Identify gaps in regional deficiencies across the
system
• Provide technical assistance and training
opportunities and adapt program guidelines and
guidance
• Expand partnerships with corporations,
philanthropic institutions, and individual donors
to secure private funding to reduce and prevent
homelessness
• Allocation of Riverside County
CoC Awards reflecting units of
“Reducing Inflow”, “Increasing
Outflow”, and “Supporting Interim
Solutions”.
• Number of new opportunities
generated through private and
philanthropic funding.

Item Number: 4.

56 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 5: STRENGTHEN COORDINATED ACCESS • Evaluate and refine current system functionality,
including access, assessment, prioritization, and
matching/referrals to ensure that the system is
connecting the highest need, most vulnerable
persons in the community to available housing
and supportive services equitably
• Conduct an analysis of the VI-SPDAT,
highlighting areas of concern around equity,
such as racial identity, gender identity, sexual
orientation, etc., and identify whether it is the
correct assessment tool for Riverside County
CoC
• Evaluate, refine, and implement standardized
Riverside County CoC CES Policies and
Procedures
• Increase housing and program resources
connected to CES by targeting and bringing
onboard programs and services currently
operating outside of CES and HMIS
• Systematize CES reporting, accountability,
and evaluation, and align with the Homeless
Management Information System (HMIS)
• Integrate cross-departmental referrals into
intake processes, like standardized employment
readiness assessments that leads to appropriate
linkages with employment services or
departments
• Integrate case conferencing component within
CES
• Number days between referral
and contact.
• Length of stay in shelter or street.
• Functionality of Coordinated Entry
System.
• Effectiveness of access,
assessment, prioritization, and
matching/referrals.
• Number of programs/services
adhering to Riverside County.
• Total number of people
successfully exiting to housing
each month/year exceeds the
people entering homelessness
each month/year.
• 100% of the programs/services
adhere to CES Policies and
Procedures.
• 100% of programs/services are
integrated within CES and HMIS.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH).
• System Performance Measures
are reflected in public facing
dashboards.
• 100% of data reports,
dashboards, etc. have data
disaggregated demographically
• Disparities of Black, Indigenous
and People of Color (BIPOC)
experiencing homelessness
are reduced across all program
types.
• Riverside County CoC has
increased the number of active
partnerships with cross-sector/
mainstream systems.
• 100% of identified cross-sector/
mainstream systems utilize
developed homeless tracking
metrics and processes.
• Riverside County CoC has an
effective provider training,
learning collaborative, provider
forum schedule in place to
develop service provider
capacity regionally.
• Riverside County CoC has
adopted Policy Agenda.
• Riverside County CoC tracks
client program satisfaction
results and uses them to inform
decision making.
• Increases in Riverside County
CoC staff that have lived
experience and/or are Black,
Indigenous and People of Color
(BIPOC).
• 100% of awarded projects
address racial equity disparities
• 100% of CoC staff and service
providers are trained in cultural
humility, trauma-informed care,
and anti-racist trainings
• Riverside County CoC
Framework implemented to
right-size system flow
• Invest in strategies and
programs that support the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan,
emphasizing the expansion of
system coordination, housing
resources, outreach, navigation,
and supportive services
and provider, city, regional
government, and system
capacity
• Invest in programs that
demonstrate ongoing, long-term,
or sustainable data-informed
results that are consistent with
benchmarks established in the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan
• Utilizing a data-driven approach
(HMIS, annual Point-In-Time
Count, System Performance
Measures, and CES By-Name
List), invest in programs
addressing significant service
gaps and priority needs
by targeting high-need
communities, under-served or
hard to-serve geographic areas,
or special subpopulations, such
as the chronically homeless,
individuals with mental illness
and substance use disorders,
older adults/seniors, and
Transitional Age Youth (TAY)
• Strengthen equity-focused
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that reduce
racial disparities, support
equitable access to services
and resources, and produce
equitable outcomes and
communities
• Advance client-centered
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that are informed
by people with lived experience
of homelessness and provide
legitimate feedback mechanisms
for clients experiencing
homelessness
• Support strategies to address
regional inequities in homeless
response infrastructure,
approaches, and service
delivery capacity. These include
adopting and implementing
regional planning, coordination,
decision-making, data-sharing,
and accountability measures
STRATEGY 6: ENHANCE PROVIDER, CITY & REGIONAL GOVERNMENT’S CAPACITY & SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE • Support service provider expansion to
strengthen regional deficiencies
• Develop/Refine CoC community standards/
program guidelines for all program types
• Enhance reporting and monitoring procedures
to track and support provider performance
• Develop training strategies to improve provider,
city, and regional government’s capacity.
• Identify training requirements and required
competencies.
• Training strategies include but are not limited to:
• Explicit emphasis on racial equity and cultural
humility
• Workshops to identify common errors and
mistakes on CoC Grant Applications
• Workshops to identify common errors and
mistakes in performance reports and payment
requests
• Presentations before City Councils on best
practices, good neighbor strategies, and
leveraging city resources with CoC resources
• Developing provider, city, and regional
government partnerships to fill gaps, enhance
services, and collaborate on grant opportunities
• Increase the capacity of providers to implement
tailored services, utilizing progressive
engagement and Housing First practices that
are flexible and responsive to the needs and
priorities of individuals.
• Ensure support for culture shift for providers
• Strengthen provider tables/forums and create
learning collaboratives for more frequent
capacity building opportunities
• Promote hiring and retention practices to further
diversify system staff at all levels to better
reflect populations served.
• Track results of hiring practices to ensure
diversity and inclusion are expanded.
• Encourage organizations to ensure that diverse
staff are not limited to entry-level positions
but can access the full range of organizational
leadership positions
• Improve investments in workforce development
for positions who provide direct homeless
services by partnering with universities and
community colleges to increase the scale and
quality of homeless service workers
• CoC CES Policies and Procedures.

Percentage of programs/services
integrated within CES and HMIS.
• Number of/participation trainings,
learning collaboratives, provider
forums provided.
• Program staffing/Caseload ratio
per program,
• Increase provider, city, and
regional government capacity.

Item Number: 4.

57 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 7: SUPPORT REGIONAL, CROSS-SECTOR ALIGNMENT & PARTNERSHIP • Facilitate working groups around cross-sector/
departmental/multi-jurisdictional collaboration
• Ensure that each sub-region in Riverside County
has an effective regular meeting structure
around issues related to homelessness aligned
with the Riverside County CoC
• Implement unified approach for tracking
homelessness across mainstream, crosssector systems that touch or serve a large proportion of homeless residents and identify
ways to “flag” homelessness and respond to
“flags” in departmental data systems by rapidly
connecting clients to housing and supportive
services
• Identify the feasibility, costs, and legality of
integrating and sharing data across disparate
systems like healthcare, behavioral/mental
health, substance use disorder, criminal justice,
child welfare, juvenile justice, education,
immigration, employment, land use, and code
enforcement
• Develop plans to address the feasibility, costs,
and legality of integrating and sharing data
across systems towards a central data lake
that could spur new opportunities in machine
learning and client ownership of data
• Develop standardized screening tools and
related protocols for identifying needs across
systems and connecting individuals to the right
community-based services
• Align strategic planning efforts, task force
initiatives and planning committees across all
system partners, including all counties, cities,
faith communities, philanthropic and business
sectors
• Identify internal staff responsible for crosssector data sharing • Investigate ways to improve client care
coordination through multidisciplinary teams
that include the healthcare, mental, and
behavioral health sectors
• Strengthen partnerships with the state to
increase access to healthcare and supportive
services.
• Improve data sharing across providers, cities,
regional governments, and systems to facilitate
continuity of care and integrated service
delivery
• Number of mainstream/crosssector systems with data sharing agreements or integrations with
homeless response system.
• Number of mainstream/crosssector systems utilizing developed homeless tracking metrics.
• Number of new positions created
in response to Homeless Action
Plan, especially around crosssector alignment, and partnership. • Number of active cross-sector
or regional working groups/
partnerships.
• Total number of people
successfully exiting to housing
each month/year exceeds the
people entering homelessness
each month/year.
• 100% of the programs/services
adhere to CES Policies and
Procedures.
• 100% of programs/services are
integrated within CES and HMIS.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH).
• System Performance Measures
are reflected in public facing
dashboards.
• 100% of data reports,
dashboards, etc. have data
disaggregated demographically
• Disparities of Black, Indigenous
and People of Color (BIPOC)
experiencing homelessness
are reduced across all program
types.
• Riverside County CoC has
increased the number of active
partnerships with cross-sector/
mainstream systems.
• 100% of identified cross-sector/
mainstream systems utilize
developed homeless tracking
metrics and processes.
• Riverside County CoC has an
effective provider training,
learning collaborative, provider
forum schedule in place to
develop service provider
capacity regionally.
• Riverside County CoC has
adopted Policy Agenda.
• Riverside County CoC tracks
client program satisfaction
results and uses them to inform
decision making.
• Increases in Riverside County
CoC staff that have lived
experience and/or are Black,
Indigenous and People of Color
(BIPOC).
• 100% of awarded projects
address racial equity disparities
• 100% of CoC staff and service
providers are trained in cultural
humility, trauma-informed care,
and anti-racist trainings
• Riverside County CoC
Framework implemented to
right-size system flow
• Invest in strategies and
programs that support the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan,
emphasizing the expansion of
system coordination, housing
resources, outreach, navigation,
and supportive services
and provider, city, regional
government, and system
capacity
• Invest in programs that
demonstrate ongoing, long-term,
or sustainable data-informed
results that are consistent with
benchmarks established in the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan
• Utilizing a data-driven approach
(HMIS, annual Point-In-Time
Count, System Performance
Measures, and CES By-Name
List), invest in programs
addressing significant service
gaps and priority needs
by targeting high-need
communities, under-served or
hard to-serve geographic areas,
or special subpopulations, such
as the chronically homeless,
individuals with mental illness
and substance use disorders,
older adults/seniors, and
Transitional Age Youth (TAY)
• Strengthen equity-focused
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that reduce
racial disparities, support
equitable access to services
and resources, and produce
equitable outcomes and
communities
• Advance client-centered
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that are informed
by people with lived experience
of homelessness and provide
legitimate feedback mechanisms
for clients experiencing
homelessness
• Support strategies to address
regional inequities in homeless
response infrastructure,
approaches, and service
delivery capacity. These include
adopting and implementing
regional planning, coordination,
decision-making, data-sharing,
and accountability measures
Item Number: 4.

58 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 8: REFINE COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS AROUND HOMELESSNESS IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY • Provide regular, coordinated public
communication to inform the public about
actions underway, results achieved, and ways to
support those efforts
• Prepare public-facing educational materials
and articles based on data and information to
educate the public on challenges and activities,
and to provide updates on the implementation
of programs and resources
• Create public facing dashboards around
performance toward achieving adopted goals
• Designate a CoC spokesperson/PR
representative to manage CoC communication
• Expand public and private sector support for
ending and preventing homelessness through
increased community engagement.
• Create a business leaders task force to establish
goals and strategies for the business community
to support the strategic plan.
• Areas of focus for the task force could include
fundraising, advocacy, job creation, and housing
access
• Create a countywide education/PR campaign/
communication strategy that increases
awareness about the causes and impacts of
homelessness, the ongoing efforts to end
homelessness, and addressing NIMBYism
concerns
• As a part of a communications strategy, invest
in a client facing component that targets those
experiencing or at-risk of homelessness through
robust multi-media strategies to make access to
services intuitive and radically accessible
• Develop opportunities to include the voices of
those with lived experience
• Provide opportunities for action and compassion
among all residents, housed and homeless,
through advocacy, volunteerism, donations, and
other initiatives
• Increase community engagement and
support for affordable and supportive housing
development throughout Riverside County
• Increase the visibility and expand the efforts
of successful initiatives that engage faith
institutions and individual congregants;
initiatives could include advocacy, recruitment
of landlords, and hosting of day centers, meals,
shelter, and encampments
• Riverside County CoC Policy
Agenda.
• Effectiveness of PR/
Communication Campaign.
• Total number of people
successfully exiting to housing
each month/year exceeds the
people entering homelessness
each month/year.
• 100% of the programs/services
adhere to CES Policies and
Procedures.
• 100% of programs/services are
integrated within CES and HMIS.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH).
• System Performance Measures
are reflected in public facing
dashboards.
• 100% of data reports,
dashboards, etc. have data
disaggregated demographically
• Disparities of Black, Indigenous
and People of Color (BIPOC)
experiencing homelessness
are reduced across all program
types.
• Riverside County CoC has
increased the number of active
partnerships with cross-sector/
mainstream systems.
• 100% of identified cross-sector/
mainstream systems utilize
developed homeless tracking
metrics and processes.
• Riverside County CoC has an
effective provider training,
learning collaborative, provider
forum schedule in place to
develop service provider
capacity regionally.
• Riverside County CoC has
adopted Policy Agenda.
• Riverside County CoC tracks
client program satisfaction
results and uses them to inform
decision making.
• Increases in Riverside County
CoC staff that have lived
experience and/or are Black,
Indigenous and People of Color
(BIPOC).
• 100% of awarded projects
address racial equity disparities
• 100% of CoC staff and service
providers are trained in cultural
humility, trauma-informed care,
and anti-racist trainings
• Riverside County CoC
Framework implemented to
right-size system flow
• Invest in strategies and
programs that support the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan,
emphasizing the expansion of
system coordination, housing
resources, outreach, navigation,
and supportive services
and provider, city, regional
government, and system
capacity
• Invest in programs that
demonstrate ongoing, long-term,
or sustainable data-informed
results that are consistent with
benchmarks established in the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan
• Utilizing a data-driven approach
(HMIS, annual Point-In-Time
Count, System Performance
Measures, and CES By-Name
List), invest in programs
addressing significant service
gaps and priority needs
by targeting high-need
communities, under-served or
hard to-serve geographic areas,
or special subpopulations, such
as the chronically homeless,
individuals with mental illness
and substance use disorders,
older adults/seniors, and
Transitional Age Youth (TAY)
• Strengthen equity-focused
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that reduce
racial disparities, support
equitable access to services
and resources, and produce
equitable outcomes and
communities
• Advance client-centered
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that are informed
by people with lived experience
of homelessness and provide
legitimate feedback mechanisms
for clients experiencing
homelessness
• Support strategies to address
regional inequities in homeless
response infrastructure,
approaches, and service
delivery capacity. These include
adopting and implementing
regional planning, coordination,
decision-making, data-sharing,
and accountability measures
STRATEGY 9: EXPAND ACCOUNTABILITY

TO CLIENTS
• Develop processes and technology for clients to
provide feedback on services, with mechanisms
to apply feedback data toward service delivery
and process improvement
• Continue to develop a system where client
choice is paramount
• Ensure that new and existing programs develop
within this new framework
• When developing cross-sector data sharing,
center the efforts on the benefits to the
client experience for people experiencing
homelessness
• Work with data team to continue to adopt clientcentric metrics • Provide technical assistance and training
opportunities, and adapt program guidelines
and guidance
• Client program satisfaction results.

STRATEGY 10: DEVELOP LIVED

EXPERIENCE KNOWLEDGE,

LEADERSHIP, & DECISION-MAKING
• Actively develop opportunities for persons
with lived experience to participate in the
development and implementation of regional
and sub-regional plans
• Expand the hiring of people with lived
experience in regular staff positions (not just
peer support roles), and promote leadership
development for people with lived experience
• Develop peer certification trainings to prepare
individuals for peer support positions in the
homeless service system
• Encourage service providers to modify
requirements for specific positions to allow
the substitution of lived experience in place of
education or work experience
• Explore the benefit and feasibility of creating a
Lived Experience Advisory Board
• Percentage of CoC and service
provider staff with Black,
Indigenous and People of Color
and people with Lived Experience
Item Number: 4.

59 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 11: CENTER RACE EQUITY IN HOMELESS RESPONSE • Embed a racial equity lens into all homelessness
and housing decisions
• Develop a racial equity impact assessment that
will forecast and assess the impacts of new
programs and funding decisions
• Incorporate a focus on racial equity data,
analysis, and planned activities when submitting
and reviewing applications for funding
• Utilize HMIS to analyze data and create publicfacing dashboards around racial inequities in experiences of homelessness, provision of
services, and outcomes
• Analyze whether housing outcomes and
placements perpetuate residential segregation
• Adapt program guidelines, policies, procedures
focused on racial equity
• Incorporate a focus on racial equity data,
analysis, and planned activities within
applications for CoC funded projects and
analyze the data and information gathered in
response
• Create a plan to move forward on racial equity
work that will include system and programmatic
actions
• Institute standardized cultural humility, trauma
informed care, and anti-racist trainings for CoC
programs and system partners
• Align racial equity work in the homelessness
sector with other racial equity initiatives in
Riverside County
• Number of programs with
demographic data disaggregated
in public facing dashboards.
• Percentage of CoC and service
provider staff with Black,
Indigenous and People of Color
and people with Lived Experience.
• Number of awarded programs/
projects that address racial equity.
• Number of Riverside County
CoC Policy and Procedures that
address racial equity.
• Total number of people
successfully exiting to housing
each month/year exceeds the
people entering homelessness
each month/year.
• 100% of the programs/services
adhere to CES Policies and
Procedures.
• 100% of programs/services are
integrated within CES and HMIS.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH).
• System Performance Measures
are reflected in public facing
dashboards.
• 100% of data reports,
dashboards, etc. have data
disaggregated demographically
• Disparities of Black, Indigenous
and People of Color (BIPOC)
experiencing homelessness
are reduced across all program
types.
• Riverside County CoC has
increased the number of active
partnerships with cross-sector/
mainstream systems.
• 100% of identified cross-sector/
mainstream systems utilize
developed homeless tracking
metrics and processes.
• Riverside County CoC has an
effective provider training,
learning collaborative, provider
forum schedule in place to
develop service provider
capacity regionally.
• Riverside County CoC has
adopted Policy Agenda.
• Riverside County CoC tracks
client program satisfaction
results and uses them to inform
decision making.
• Increases in Riverside County
CoC staff that have lived
experience and/or are Black,
Indigenous and People of Color
(BIPOC).
• 100% of awarded projects
address racial equity disparities
• 100% of CoC staff and service
providers are trained in cultural
humility, trauma-informed care,
and anti-racist trainings
• Riverside County CoC
Framework implemented to
right-size system flow
• Invest in strategies and
programs that support the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan,
emphasizing the expansion of
system coordination, housing
resources, outreach, navigation,
and supportive services
and provider, city, regional
government, and system
capacity
• Invest in programs that
demonstrate ongoing, long-term,
or sustainable data-informed
results that are consistent with
benchmarks established in the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan
• Utilizing a data-driven approach
(HMIS, annual Point-In-Time
Count, System Performance
Measures, and CES By-Name
List), invest in programs
addressing significant service
gaps and priority needs
by targeting high-need
communities, under-served or
hard to-serve geographic areas,
or special subpopulations, such
as the chronically homeless,
individuals with mental illness
and substance use disorders,
older adults/seniors, and
Transitional Age Youth (TAY)
• Strengthen equity-focused
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that reduce
racial disparities, support
equitable access to services
and resources, and produce
equitable outcomes and
communities
• Advance client-centered
strategies, programs, and
partnerships that are informed
by people with lived experience
of homelessness and provide
legitimate feedback mechanisms
for clients experiencing
homelessness
• Support strategies to address
regional inequities in homeless
response infrastructure,
approaches, and service
delivery capacity. These include
adopting and implementing
regional planning, coordination,
decision-making, data-sharing,
and accountability measures
Item Number: 4.

60 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 2: EQUITABLY ADDRESS THE HEALTH, SAFETY, & SERVICES NEEDS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 12: INCREASE REGIONAL CAPACITY OF HOMELESS STREET OUTREACH • Create CoC Homeless Street Outreach
Protocol with regional stakeholder that include
the standardization of outreach practices,
schedules, and engagement strategies and
corresponding training across all outreach
efforts
• Establish outreach coordination infrastructure in
each sub-region
• Leverage person-centered, housing-focused
case management with enhanced training in
evidence based best practices (e.g., traumainformed care, critical time intervention, motivational interviewing, and housing first
strategies) for service delivery
• Develop encampment management and
resolution policies
• Increase access and safety for all to basic
hygiene resources, such as bathrooms,
showers, and laundry, that accommodate their
self-identified race, gender identity, gender
expression, etc.
• Increase the number of free public
transportation options for people who are
unhoused to access services
• Expand the number of outreach teams and
staff to ensure appropriate coverage to all
sub-regions throughout the county, with specific
emphasis on under-resourced communities
• Further develop data initiatives to better track,
target, and ensure comprehensive, efficient, and
effective delivery of outreach and permanent
housing assistance for people experiencing
chronic homelessness
• Connect unsheltered individuals directly with
rental assistance with the understanding
that shelter or transitional housing is not a
requirement for unsheltered individuals working
with outreach teams to qualify for rental
assistance
• Develop programs that support frequent users
of public systems, including hospitals, jails or
prisons, and shelters, and provide them with
supportive housing, significantly reducing
returns to the streets
• Develop systems for mental health professionals
to intervene in place of law enforcement
• Identify technological strategies to enhance
street outreach coordination
• Number of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness at a
point in time and month to month,
including key subpopulations.
• Length of time a person remains
homeless (street and shelter).
• Successful placement from Street
Outreach.
• Number of permanent housing
placements from Street Outreach.
• Number of successful contacts
with people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness.
• Number of people entering into
chronic homelessness.
• Geographic distribution of
people experiencing unsheltered
homelessness (including
encampments).
• Geographic distribution and makeup of homeless street outreach teams/programs.
• 50% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness
at a point in time and month
to month, including key
subpopulations across all
regions.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH).
• 50% increase in successful
housing placement from street
outreach.
• 25% reduction in the
number of emergency calls,
citations, arrests made by law
enforcement for homeless
related disturbances.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness
discharged from institutions or
re-entering from the homeless
response system.
• Resources are uniformly
accessible across Riverside
County regardless of sub-region
or client demographics, reflected
in CES access data.
• 50% increase in successful
street outcomes.
• Riverside County CoC has
adopted Homeless Street
Outreach Protocol, including
First Responder Training and
Encampment Management.
• Invest in multi-agency, multijurisdictional solutions to address the health, safety,
and housing needs of people
experiencing unsheltered
homelessness and staying in
encampments.
• Participate in the development
of CalAIM initiatives that seek
to extend a whole person care
approach through the Enhanced
Care Management and In Lieu
of Services to serve people
experiencing unsheltered
homelessness.

Item Number: 4.

61 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
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AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 2: EQUITABLY ADDRESS THE HEALTH, SAFETY, & SERVICES NEEDS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 13: SUPPORT THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS THROUGH CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL/CROSS-SECTOR SUPPORTS • Identify strategies to improve ongoing
connectivity for clients referred for mental
health services and/or substance use services
• Support communities in implementing multiagency, multi-jurisdictional outreach and protective measures addressing the health
and safety needs of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness
• Increase the number of mobile crisis teams with
clinical staff and expand their hours to support
individuals experiencing severe mental health
and substance use crises
• Increase the number of beds available for
substance use treatment and provide the
follow-up supportive services needed to prevent
relapses
• Increase access to mental health treatment for
people who are unhoused and struggling with
mental illness
• Develop a plan to eliminate service access
and treatment gaps for unsheltered people
struggling with chronic and severe mental
illness
• Improve health access for people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness, including
through CalAIM services like Enhanced Care
Management and In Lieu of Services
• Develop new, and enhance existing,
partnerships between behavioral health
and social service providers, neighborhood
associations, cities, and regional governments,
including law enforcement and other first
responders.
• Engage partners in proactive strategies that link
individuals who are homeless with housing and
services with the additional goal of reducing
criminal justice system involvement
• Ensure adequate resources are available for
proactive and consistent outreach efforts
• Develop multi-disciplinary teams that include
homeless street outreach, mental health
services, etc.
• Ensure people living outside have adequate
access to basic needs
• Engage regional stakeholders to ensure
appropriate responses to persons living in
vehicles and to ensure adequate safe zones
for people to park and receive services while
working towards housing
• Length of time a person remains
homeless (street and shelter).
• 50% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness
at a point in time and month
to month, including key
subpopulations across all
regions.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH).
• 50% increase in successful
housing placement from street
outreach.
• 25% reduction in the
number of emergency calls,
citations, arrests made by law
enforcement for homeless
related disturbances.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness
discharged from institutions or
re-entering from the homeless
response system.
• Resources are uniformly
accessible across Riverside
County regardless of sub-region
or client demographics, reflected
in CES access data.
• 50% increase in successful
street outcomes.
• Riverside County CoC has
adopted Homeless Street
Outreach Protocol, including
First Responder Training and
Encampment Management.
• Invest in multi-agency, multijurisdictional solutions to address the health, safety,
and housing needs of people
experiencing unsheltered
homelessness and staying in
encampments.
• Participate in the development
of CalAIM initiatives that seek
to extend a whole person care
approach through the Enhanced
Care Management and In Lieu
of Services to serve people
experiencing unsheltered
homelessness.

STRATEGY 14: IMPROVE ACCESS FOR

PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS
• Refine hybridized “No Wrong Door Approach”
by establishing Access Centers/Navigation
Centers in key subregions that are focused on
providing access to services with a focus on
connecting to housing
• Enhance training, standard orientation
messaging, and client facing materials to help
people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness
understand what services and resources are
available to them and what the process looks
like to access services/housing across the CoC
• Develop a culture of housing-focused problemsolving across all programs that serve as access points (outreach, drop-in centers, access
centers, navigation centers, etc.)
• Streamline intake processes for individuals and
families experiencing homelessness, including
a review of the desirability of the VI-SPDAT
through the lens of equity
• Improve protocols for prioritization into
emergency shelter, interim housing, medical
respite, etc. to ensure that bed availability is
real-time
• Improve roles and responsibilities for
assisting clients in obtaining housing-related
documentation, like IDs, social security cards,
proof of income, birth certificates, etc.
• Implement diversion/problem-solving
conversations at all points of entry
• Length of time a person remains
homeless (street and shelter).
• Geographic distribution of housing
access in to CES.
• Demographics of people
experiencing homelessness
utilizing access and outreach
services.

Item Number: 4.

62 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 2: EQUITABLY ADDRESS THE HEALTH, SAFETY, & SERVICES NEEDS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 15: DEVELOP COUNTYWIDE ENCAMPMENT MANAGEMENT PROTOCOLS • Enhance coordination between agencies
engaging people living in encampments to
ensure consistent and humane approaches to
encampment resolution across the county
• Coordinate between department and
agencies to create a coordinated encampment
management strategy
• As part of CoC Homeless Street Outreach
Protocol, establish guidance on Encampment
Management and Resolution Protocols
• Engage cities and other local government
entities to utilize encampment guidance of CoC
Homeless Street Outreach Protocol
• Number of encampments. • 50% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness
at a point in time and month
to month, including key
subpopulations across all
regions.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH).
• 50% increase in successful
housing placement from street
outreach.
• 25% reduction in the
number of emergency calls,
citations, arrests made by law
enforcement for homeless
related disturbances.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness
discharged from institutions or
re-entering from the homeless
response system.
• Resources are uniformly
accessible across Riverside
County regardless of sub-region
or client demographics, reflected
in CES access data.
• 50% increase in successful
street outcomes.
• Riverside County CoC has
adopted Homeless Street
Outreach Protocol, including
First Responder Training and
Encampment Management.
• Invest in multi-agency, multijurisdictional solutions to address the health, safety,
and housing needs of people
experiencing unsheltered
homelessness and staying in
encampments.
• Participate in the development
of CalAIM initiatives that seek
to extend a whole person care
approach through the Enhanced
Care Management and In Lieu
of Services to serve people
experiencing unsheltered
homelessness.

STRATEGY 16: SUPPORT THE

DECRIMINALIZATION OF HOMELESSNESS
• Develop Homeless Street Outreach Protocols to
compliment decriminalization advocacy
• Advocate for decriminalizing homelessness
responses across the county and state that
include pre-adjudication and sentencing
alternatives to minimize involvement of people
experiencing homelessness in criminal justice
system
• Develop processes to ensure greater
collaboration between judicial agencies and
local alternative courts like Homeless Court and
pre-booking diversion resources
• Ensure that Riverside County does not
disproportionately enforce existing county
ordinances against homeless individuals and
families
• Develop an inclusive approach to public space
management with non-punitive policies
• Number of emergency calls,
citations, arrests made by law
enforcement for homeless related
disturbances.

STRATEGY 17: DEVELOP TRAINING

FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
• Co-develop protocol for first responders
when engaging people on the streets and
encampments with key considerations when
engaging with key subpopulations (survivors
of domestic violence, individuals with Severe
Mental Illness (SMI) or Substance Use Disorder
(SUD), Transitional Aged Youth (TAY), older
adults/seniors, and dependent adults)
• Ensure that the first responder training and
protocol is in alignment with CoC initiated
Homeless Outreach Strategy and Encampment
Protocols
• Co-design and implement outreach training for
first responders that focuses on evidence based
best practices in homeless street outreach and
service coordination
• Number of emergency calls,
citations, arrests made by law
enforcement for homeless related
disturbances.

STRATEGY 18: ESTABLISH KEY RESOURCES FOR SPECIAL

POPULATIONS EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered chronically
homeless
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered individuals with
Severe Mental Illness (SMI)
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered individuals with
Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered Transitional
Aged Youth (TAY).
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered high utilizers of
emergency services
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered survivors fleeing
domestic violence
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered families
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered older adults/
seniors
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered LGBTQIA+
individuals
• Number of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness at a
point in time and month to month,
including key subpopulations.
• Number of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness
discharged from mainstream
institutions or re-entering from
homeless response system.
• Number of successful referrals to
support services (mental health,
employment, hygiene, nutrition,
etc.)
Item Number: 4.

63 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 3: EXPAND COMMUNITIES CAPACITY TO PROVIDE SAFE & EFFECTIVE SHELTER & INTERIM HOUSING STRATEGY 19: INCREASE THE NUMBER OF CRISIS HOUSING BEDS REGIONALLY • Create more crisis housing, which includes
emergency shelter, interim housing, medical
respite, domestic violence shelters, faith-based
shelters, family shelters, transitional housing,
stabilization beds, recuperative care beds, and
motel vouchers to meet the specific needs by
population and region
• Develop and advance CalAIM proposals
seeking to extend statewide the service options
available under Whole Person Care and Health
Homes Program through the Enhanced Care
Management program and In Lieu of Services
care coordination and housing services to better
address the health care needs of people who
are staying in shelter and interim housing sites
• Ensure that there are more public services in
neighborhoods developing crisis housing to
meet community needs
• Ensure that crisis housing account for the
unique needs of specific subpopulations
• Mobilize Homekey resources and other funding
sources to support acquisition of sites for use as
crisis housing
• Number of people experiencing
sheltered homelessness at a
point in time and month to month,
including key subpopulations.
• Demographics of people utilizing
crisis housing options.
• Length of time a person remains
homeless (ES, SH, TH).
• Number of successful housing
placements from crisis housing.
• Percent of returns to
homelessness in 6,12, and 24
months for people connected to
crisis housing.
• Number of people experiencing
sheltered homelessness
discharged from institutions or reentering from homeless response system.
• Number of crisis housing beds
in the system and geographic
distribution.
• Crisis housing bed utilization.
• Number of successful referrals to
support services (mental health,
employment, hygiene, nutrition,
etc.).
• 100% of crisis housing adhere to
CoC Policies and Procedures
• 25% increase in the number of
crisis housing beds (ES, SH, TH)
in the system, geographically
distributed.
• Increase in the ratio of sheltered
to unsheltered homelessness
at a point in time and month
to month, including key
subpopulations.
• 50% reduction in the length of
stay in crisis housing (ES, SH,
TH).
• 50% increase in the number of
successful housing placements
from crisis housing.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness
discharged from institutions
or re-entering from homeless
response system
• Invest in innovative approaches
to expand the supply of safe,
humane, housing-placement
focused shelter and interim
housing models, like Project
Homekey/Roomkey for people
experiencing homelessness.
• Expand alignment and
engagement of healthcare,
behavioral health, mental
health, and substance use
disorder resources in efforts to
address health disparities and
service needs among people
experiencing unsheltered and
sheltered homelessness
STRATEGY 20: REFINE CRISIS HOUSING POLICIES & PROCEDURES • Assess crisis housing coordinated entry and
referral patterns to identify regional gaps and
under resourced crisis housing capacity
• Ensure that shelter access is equitable through
review of data
• Refine best practices for crisis housing that
focus on accessibility and are low barrier.
• Barriers can include lack of privacy, sobriety,
curfews, engaging in treatment, animal policy,
storage, couples, people of non-binary gender
identity
• Move towards a system where shelters are
open 24/7
• Establish system wide procedures to track and
utilize real-time crisis housing bed availability
• Assess and refine policies and procedures
to ensure that crisis housing is centered on
housing-focused problem-solving
• Provide technical assistance and guidance
that will support the continued application
of Housing First practices, including lowered
barriers and housing-focused services and
supports, within shelter and interim housing
programs
• Ensure that policies and procedures account for
the unique needs of specific subpopulations:

Transitional Aged Youth (TAY), high utilizers of
emergency services, survivors fleeing domestic
violence, families, and LGBTQAI+
• Number of people experiencing
sheltered homelessness at a
point in time and month to month,
including key subpopulations.
• Demographics of people utilizing
crisis housing options.
• Length of time a person remains
homeless (ES, SH, TH).
• Number of successful housing
placements from crisis housing.
• Percent of returns to
homelessness in 6,12, and 24
months for people connected to
crisis housing.
• Number of people experiencing
sheltered homelessness
discharged from institutions or reentering from homeless response system.
• Number of crisis housing beds
in the system and geographic
distribution. Crisis housing bed
utilization.
• Number of successful referrals to
support services (mental health,
employment, hygiene, nutrition,
etc.).

Item Number: 4.

64 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES STRATEGY 21: ADVOCATE FOR THE INCREASED PRODUCTION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING • Advocate for federal, state, county, and local
policies and funding to increase and preserve
affordable housing for households earning
below 30% Area Median Income (AMI)
• Pursue lower-cost housing typologies, like tiny
homes, accessory dwelling units, mobile homes,
hotel and motel conversions, prefabricated
modular housing, and shipping containers, and
innovative housing and financing models
• Identify feasibility to develop affordable and
supportive housing on underutilized state,
county, and city owned land
• Ensure Riverside County utilizes full funding
opportunities from the federal and state
governments for housing development
• Advocate for inclusionary housing policies, up
zoning, and infill development
• As part of communication strategy, develop
strategies to address NIMBY sentiments
• Number of housing units
affordable to extremely lowincome population, both currently and in the pipeline.
• Promote the development
of 21,000 units affordable
to extremely low-income
population.
• Increase the number (unit count)
of Permanent Housing Units
by 75% from baseline year
(including Permanent Supportive
Housing [PSH] and Rapid ReHousing [RRH]).
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully exit housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH by 25%.
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully retain housing,
including PSH and RRH by 25%.
• Over 50% of new housing
placements occur in opportunity
neighborhoods/zip codes with
high social determinants of
health.
• 100% of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for PSH and RRH.
• Length of time during housing
search is reduced by 50%.
• Increase in the number of
units secured for people
experiencing homelessness
through centralized landlord
engagement program, especially
in neighborhoods with high
SDOH, including through master
leasing and shared housing.
• Increase in the number
of landlords participating
in centralized landlord
engagement program, including
formalized partnerships.
• Increase in the number of
real-time unit availability
secured by centralized landlord
engagement program
• Strengthen the implementation
of Housing First approaches
and other best practices that
support equitable access in
housing markets with high
social determinants of health
(SDOH), including but not limited
to: supportive housing, rapid
rehousing, short- and longerterm forms of rental subsidy and assistance, shallow subsidies,
move-in assistance, and landlord
outreach, engagement, and
retention.
• Invest in the creation of
an expanded supply of
affordable and supportive
housing opportunities, paired
with appropriate health
and behavioral health care
resources, and accessible and
culturally responsive services to
people exiting homelessness,
low-income individuals and
families, and to people from
historically marginalized
communities
Item Number: 4.

65 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES STRATEGY 22: INCREASE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS & CAPACITY • Increase the number of permanent supportive
housing stock
• Identify costs associated with developing
adequate supply of permanent supportive
housing
• Increase access to tenant-based, scattered site
Permanent Supportive Housing programs
• Assess coordinated entry, referral patterns to
identify regional gaps, and under resourced
PSH capacity
• Ensure that PSH programs access is equitable
through review of data
• Expand partnerships with behavioral health
treatment services through Riverside County
and local behavioral health providers to ensure
that PSH units are paired with adequate
supportive services
• Implement a “moving on” strategy, targeting up
to 20% of current PSH residents for transition
to general population affordable housing, thus
freeing up PSH for new tenants
• Convene stakeholders (housing developers,
planning departments, service providers, cities,
regional governments) to explore ways to create
and streamline permanent supportive housing
within context of local housing elements
• Leverage a wide array of private, local, state,
and federal funding, including CalAIM and
Project Homekey, to support the expansion of a
Permanent Supportive Housing
• Improve PSH service quality and fidelity by
refining community standards, facilitating
trainings, and creating learning collaboratives
• Advocate for the local conditions to develop
enough permanent supportive housing to meet
the need in our community
• Identify feasibility to develop permanent
supportive housing on underutilized State or
county owned land
• Optimize utilization through progressive
engagement by enabling clients to move to less
or more service-intensive housing based on
identified need
• Ensure sufficient level of supportive services,
which are voluntary, housing first oriented,
trauma-informed, and incorporate harm
reduction principles
• Number of people utilizing
housing intervention, including
PSH and RRH, at a point in time
and month to month, including key
subpopulations.
• Demographics of different housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH.
• Number of clients that successfully
exit housing interventions,
including PSH and RRH.
• Number of clients that successfully
retain housing, including PSH and
RRH, for 6,12, 24 months.
• Number of Permanent Supportive
Housing Units, both tenant-based
and project-based, currently and
in pipeline.
• Utilization rates for housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH.
• Zip codes of housing placements
for housing interventions,
including PSH and RRH.
• Referral pattern for housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH.
• Number of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for PSH and RRH.
• Promote the development
of 21,000 units affordable
to extremely low-income
population.
• Increase the number (unit count)
of Permanent Housing Units
by 75% from baseline year
(including Permanent Supportive
Housing [PSH] and Rapid ReHousing [RRH]).
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully exit housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH by 25%.
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully retain housing,
including PSH and RRH by 25%.
• Over 50% of new housing
placements occur in opportunity
neighborhoods/zip codes with
high social determinants of
health.
• 100% of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for PSH and RRH.
• Length of time during housing
search is reduced by 50%.
• Increase in the number of
units secured for people
experiencing homelessness
through centralized landlord
engagement program, especially
in neighborhoods with high
SDOH, including through master
leasing and shared housing.
• Increase in the number
of landlords participating
in centralized landlord
engagement program, including
formalized partnerships.
• Increase in the number of
real-time unit availability
secured by centralized landlord
engagement program
• Strengthen the implementation
of Housing First approaches
and other best practices that
support equitable access in
housing markets with high
social determinants of health
(SDOH), including but not limited
to: supportive housing, rapid
rehousing, short- and longerterm forms of rental subsidy and assistance, shallow subsidies,
move-in assistance, and landlord
outreach, engagement, and
retention.
• Invest in the creation of
an expanded supply of
affordable and supportive
housing opportunities, paired
with appropriate health
and behavioral health care
resources, and accessible and
culturally responsive services to
people exiting homelessness,
low-income individuals and
families, and to people from
historically marginalized
communities
STRATEGY 23: INCREASE RAPID REHOUSING

HOUSING UNITS & CAPACITY
• Increase the number of rapid rehousing
programs/units
• Identify costs associated with developing
adequate supply of rapid rehousing
• Assess coordinated entry, referral patterns to
identify CES integrations, regional gaps, and
under resourced RRH capacity
• Ensure that RRH programs access is equitable
through review of data
• Improve RRH service quality and fidelity by
refining community standards, facilitating
trainings, and facilitating learning collaboratives.
• For those with higher needs, provide longerterm housing assistance and critical time intervention
• Advocate for the local conditions so that
expanded RRH is effective in the private rental
market
• Optimize utilization through progressive
engagement by enabling clients to move to less
or more service-intensive housing based on
identified need
• Assess outcomes for expanded rapid rehousing
programs
• Identify effective practices for rapid rehousing
to be effective in high-cost, high-SDOH housing
markets
• Strengthen the integration of workforce
development/employment services with RRH
• Number of people utilizing
housing intervention, including
PSH and RRH, at a point in time
and month to month, including key
subpopulations.
• Demographics of different housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH.
• Number of clients that successfully
exit housing interventions,
including PSH and RRH.
• Number of clients that successfully
retain housing, including PSH and
RRH, for 6,12, 24 months.
• Number of Rapid Rehousing
Program Units.
• Utilization rates for housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH.
• Zip codes of housing placements
for housing interventions,
including PSH and RRH.
• Referral pattern for housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH.
• Number of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for PSH and RRH.

Item Number: 4.

66 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES STRATEGY 24: DEVELOP CENTRALIZED LANDLORD OUTREACH, ENGAGEMENT, & RETENTION STRATEGIES • Assess the viability of development of a
centralized landlord engagement program with
one entity conducting housing outreach for the
entire county
• Develop provider facing real-time listings of
rental units available to people experiencing
homelessness
• Increase the stock of units available to
programs, homeless service providers, etc.,
especially in neighborhoods with high SDOH
• Develop service provider performance
standards for issuing timely payments,
documentation, processing, and inspections
so that experiences for landlords are uniform,
regardless of which provider or payment source
is being utilized
• Develop additional incentives and supports,
like contingency funds, flex funds, mediation
services, landlord incentive payments, security
deposits, etc.
• Work with property management companies,
owners, landlords, apartment associations, and
housing developers to secure housing units
through developed and formalized partnerships,
MOUs, master leasing, etc.
• Incentivize the reduction of screening criteria
that screens out prospective tenants with
evictions, poor credit, and/or criminal histories
• Track key metrics associated with the housing
search and housing lease-up process
• Ensure that trained Housing Locators or
Housing Specialists are designated as
representatives for the system to ensure
consistent messaging and service delivery
• Length of time during housing
search.
• Number of units secured
for people experiencing
homelessness through centralized
landlord engagement program,
especially in neighborhoods with
high SDOH, including through
master leasing and shared
housing.
• Average number of real-time unit
availability secured by centralized
landlord engagement program.
• Number of incentives and
supports issued through
centralized landlord engagement
program.
• Number of landlords participating
in centralized landlord
engagement program, including
formalized partnerships.
• Promote the development
of 21,000 units affordable
to extremely low-income
population.
• Increase the number (unit count)
of Permanent Housing Units
by 75% from baseline year
(including Permanent Supportive
Housing [PSH] and Rapid ReHousing [RRH]).
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully exit housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH by 25%.
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully retain housing,
including PSH and RRH by 25%.
• Over 50% of new housing
placements occur in opportunity
neighborhoods/zip codes with
high social determinants of
health.
• 100% of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for PSH and RRH.
• Length of time during housing
search is reduced by 50%.
• Increase in the number of
units secured for people
experiencing homelessness
through centralized landlord
engagement program, especially
in neighborhoods with high
SDOH, including through master
leasing and shared housing.
• Increase in the number
of landlords participating
in centralized landlord
engagement program, including
formalized partnerships.
• Increase in the number of
real-time unit availability
secured by centralized landlord
engagement program
• Strengthen the implementation
of Housing First approaches
and other best practices that
support equitable access in
housing markets with high
social determinants of health
(SDOH), including but not limited
to: supportive housing, rapid
rehousing, short- and longerterm forms of rental subsidy and assistance, shallow subsidies,
move-in assistance, and landlord
outreach, engagement, and
retention.
• Invest in the creation of
an expanded supply of
affordable and supportive
housing opportunities, paired
with appropriate health
and behavioral health care
resources, and accessible and
culturally responsive services to
people exiting homelessness,
low-income individuals and
families, and to people from
historically marginalized
communities
STRATEGY 25: INNOVATE

APPROACHES TO EXPAND EXISTING

HOUSING STOCK
• Explore lower-cost housing typologies, like
tiny homes, accessory dwelling units, hotel
and motel conversions, prefabricated modular
housing, and shipping containers
• Explore master leasing at-scale to secure units
for people experiencing homelessness
• Develop shared housing program to increase
rental options and affordability for clients, with
emphasis on private rooms, split leases, etc.
• Expand and scale the use of shallow subsidies
and longer-term subsidies
• Length of time during housing
search.
• Number of units secured
for people experiencing
homelessness through centralized
landlord engagement program,
especially in neighborhoods with
high SDOH, including through
master leasing and shared
housing.

STRATEGY 26:

INCREASE FLEXIBLE

HOUSING FUNDS
• Explore possibility of developing Flexible
Housing Subsidy Pool similar to other
communities
• Expand flexible housing subsidy funds, like
shallow subsidies and longer-term subsidies,
especially for instances of homelessness
prevention, where families are rent burdened
• Expand flexible housing funds to cover one-time
expenses like move-in costs
• Length of time during housing
search.
• Outcomes of flexible funds issued,
including one-time payments and
shallow subsidies.
• Number of flexible funds issued,
including one-time payments and
shallow subsides.

STRATEGY 27: ADDRESS

HOUSING NEEDS OF UNIQUE

SUBPOPULATIONS
• Assess and expand current programs serving
Chronically Homeless
• Assess and expand current programs serving
Individuals with Severe Mental Illness (SMI)
• Assess and expand current programs serving
Individuals with Substance Use Disorders (SUD)
• Assess and expand current programs serving
Transition Aged Youth (TAY)
• Assess and expand current programs serving
Older Adults/Seniors
• Assess and expand current programs serving
LGBTQAI+
• Number of successful referrals to
support services (mental health,
employment, hygiene, nutrition,
etc.)
Item Number: 4.

67 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES STRATEGY 28: DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO REDUCE BARRIERS FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN OBTAINING HOUSING & TO INCREASE THE SPEED OF LEASE-UP PROCESS • Assess and establish programs and processes
for individuals experiencing homelessness to
improve credit and pay off debts
• Assess and establish programs and processes
for individuals experiencing homelessness that
have evictions on record
• Assess and establish programs and processes
for individuals experiencing homelessness that
have criminal justice issues on record
• Assess and establish programs and processes
for individuals experiencing homelessness to
expedite documentation necessary for housing,
like social security card, identification card, birth
certificates, and proof of income documentation
• Assess and establish universal housing
application for all programs across Riverside
County
• Clarify, contractually and through training,
the expectations regarding roles and
responsibilities of shelter case managers,
outreach workers, and housing case managers
in getting clients document-ready and establish
& record performance metrics to track progress
• Identify additional ways to expedite the housing
search and lease up process
• Length of time during housing
search.
• Number of clients with housing
barriers, including credit, debt,
evictions, criminal justice issues,
documentation (social security
card, identification card, birth
certificate, proof of income, etc.).
• Promote the development
of 21,000 units affordable
to extremely low-income
population.
• Increase the number (unit count)
of Permanent Housing Units
by 75% from baseline year
(including Permanent Supportive
Housing [PSH] and Rapid ReHousing [RRH]).
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully exit housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH by 25%.
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully retain housing,
including PSH and RRH by 25%.
• Over 50% of new housing
placements occur in opportunity
neighborhoods/zip codes with
high social determinants of
health.
• 100% of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for PSH and RRH.
• Length of time during housing
search is reduced by 50%.
• Increase in the number of
units secured for people
experiencing homelessness
through centralized landlord
engagement program, especially
in neighborhoods with high
SDOH, including through master
leasing and shared housing.
• Increase in the number
of landlords participating
in centralized landlord
engagement program, including
formalized partnerships.
• Increase in the number of
real-time unit availability
secured by centralized landlord
engagement program
• Strengthen the implementation
of Housing First approaches
and other best practices that
support equitable access in
housing markets with high
social determinants of health
(SDOH), including but not limited
to: supportive housing, rapid
rehousing, short- and longerterm forms of rental subsidy and assistance, shallow subsidies,
move-in assistance, and landlord
outreach, engagement, and
retention.
• Invest in the creation of
an expanded supply of
affordable and supportive
housing opportunities, paired
with appropriate health
and behavioral health care
resources, and accessible and
culturally responsive services to
people exiting homelessness,
low-income individuals and
families, and to people from
historically marginalized
communities
STRATEGY 29: EXPAND HOUSING ACCESS TO HIGH

OPPORTUNITY NEIGHBORHOODS, WITH A FOCUS ON

THOSE WITH HIGH SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
• Track housing placements in HMIS at the zip
code level to analyze regional trends
• Create a framework and policy
recommendations to increase housing
placements in opportunity neighborhoods with
high social determinants of health
• Ensure homeless housing stock and services
are geographically located to allow, whenever
possible, for the needs of individuals and
families to be met in their own communities.
• Explore incentivization strategies to promote
move-ins in neighborhoods with high SDOH
• Zip codes of housing placements
for housing interventions,
including PSH and RRH.
• Number of units secured
for people experiencing
homelessness through centralized
landlord engagement program,
especially in neighborhoods with
high SDOH, including through
master leasing and shared
housing.

STRATEGY 30: STRENGTHEN

APPROACHES TO CASE

MANAGEMENT
• Assess and refine policies and procedures to
ensure that services are applying best practices
in case management
• Develop training around best practice
approaches to case management to improve
provider, city, and regional government capacity
• Strengthen provider tables/forums and create
learning collaborative for more frequent
capacity building opportunities around best
practice approaches to case management
• Number of successful referrals to
support services (mental health,
employment, hygiene, nutrition,
etc.).
• Number of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for PSH and RRH.

STRATEGY 31: LEVERAGE HOUSING

AUTHORITY DIVISION RESOURCES FOR

PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS
• Increase advocacy for the expansion of the
Housing Choice Voucher program
• Number of Housing Authority
Division vouchers, utilization rate,
length of time during housing
search, zip code of housing
placements, and vouchers set
aside for people experiencing
homelessness.

Item Number: 4.

68 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES STRATEGY 32: CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR LEGISLATION PROTECTING AGAINST HOUSING DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING SEARCH • Advocate for the legislation protecting against
housing discrimination
• Establish partnerships and mechanisms for
better tracking and enforcement of existing
protections
• Number of housing discrimination
instances within Riverside County
• Promote the development
of 21,000 units affordable
to extremely low-income
population.
• Increase the number (unit count)
of Permanent Housing Units
by 75% from baseline year
(including Permanent Supportive
Housing [PSH] and Rapid ReHousing [RRH]).
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully exit housing
interventions, including PSH and
RRH by 25%.
• Increase the number of clients
that successfully retain housing,
including PSH and RRH by 25%.
• Over 50% of new housing
placements occur in opportunity
neighborhoods/zip codes with
high social determinants of
health.
• 100% of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for PSH and RRH.
• Length of time during housing
search is reduced by 50%.
• Increase in the number of
units secured for people
experiencing homelessness
through centralized landlord
engagement program, especially
in neighborhoods with high
SDOH, including through master
leasing and shared housing.
• Increase in the number
of landlords participating
in centralized landlord
engagement program, including
formalized partnerships.
• Increase in the number of
real-time unit availability
secured by centralized landlord
engagement program
• Strengthen the implementation
of Housing First approaches
and other best practices that
support equitable access in
housing markets with high
social determinants of health
(SDOH), including but not limited
to: supportive housing, rapid
rehousing, short- and longerterm forms of rental subsidy and assistance, shallow subsidies,
move-in assistance, and landlord
outreach, engagement, and
retention.
• Invest in the creation of
an expanded supply of
affordable and supportive
housing opportunities, paired
with appropriate health
and behavioral health care
resources, and accessible and
culturally responsive services to
people exiting homelessness,
low-income individuals and
families, and to people from
historically marginalized
communities
Item Number: 4.

69 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 5: PREVENT PEOPLE FROM EXPERIENCING THE CRISIS OF HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 33: INCREASE HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION, DIVERSION, & MEDIATION SERVICES • Ensure right-sized funding from state and
federal resources to homelessness prevention,
diversion, housing problem solving, and
rapid resolution services and programs. with
identification of clear goals and targets for the
number of households to receive diversion and
prevention services through each program
• Ensure program models utilize flexible
financial assistance and housing focused case
management to prevent individuals and families
from experiencing homelessness
• Develop standardized best practices and
procedures for the delivery of homelessness
prevention, diversion, housing problem solving,
and rapid resolution services and programs;
guidance should include baseline standards
for housing-focused case management,
strengths-based service planning and delivery,
and effective strategies for reducing barriers to
housing retention
• Evaluate the effectiveness of these
interventions as programs are scaled further
across the CoC; all homelessness prevention
efforts should be tracked in the Homeless
Management Information System (HMIS)
• Expand targeted homelessness prevention
and diversion outreach and engagement;
target services to highest-risk populations and
geographies to ensure people and communities
at highest risk for homelessness are engaged
with housing supports before experiencing
literal homelessness
• Develop an automatic process to provide
information on homelessness prevention and
diversion services when someone is issued a
notice to pay or quit or receives an unlawful
detainer; by better tracking evictions in the
city, programs can target specific zip codes,
apartment complexes for prevention services
• Incentivize landlords, apartment associations,
etc. to make referrals for their tenants to
homelessness prevention and diversion
programs
• Target populations should include people who
previously exited the homelessness system with
housing supports and are at risk of returning to
homelessness
• Develop early identification, discharge planning,
and cross-sector collaboration
• Include automated referrals for employment,
income supports, social safety net services, etc.
• More accurately track at the city and zip code
level where an individual and family fell into
homelessness and target outreach and supports
to those communities
• Disaggregate data by demographics, to identify
and address any trends in access and utilization
• Radically increase client facing materials
across Riverside County to help people at-risk
of homelessness understand what services
and resources are available to them and what
the process looks like to access prevention
services/supports
• Number of people experiencing
homelessness for first time,
including regional and
demographic breakdown.
• Percentage successful
households receiving prevention
services, including regional and
demographic breakdown.
• Percent of clients still in
permanent housing at 6,12-, and
24-months following assistance.
• Number of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for Prevention and
Diversion.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
homelessness for first time.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people returning to
homelessness.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people exiting mainstream
institutions that experience
sheltered and unsheltered
homelessness. Increase in the
number of people who would
have been homeless upon
discharge from mainstream
institutions and are successfully
placed into housing.
• Reduction in the number of
low-income households that are
considered rent-burdened.
• Quadruple the number of
households receiving prevention
services.
• Increase employment, income,
and wealth generation
among people experiencing
homelessness.
• 25% increase in the percentage
of clients still in permanent
housing at 6,12-, and 24-months
following assistance.
• Decrease in the number of
evictions across Riverside
County, demographics, and
geographic breakdown.
• 100% of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for Prevention and
Diversion
• Invest in programs that will
immediately address the
needs of data-informed special
populations, like homeless
youth, older adults/seniors,
veterans, individuals, and/or
families, or prevent them from
becoming homeless.
• Reduce entries into
homelessness as people exit
and/or receive services from
institutional settings through
cross-sector collaborative
programs.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for people reentering communities from jails and prisons.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for youth and
young adults connected to the
child welfare and/or juvenile
justice systems.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for people
exiting health care settings and
programs, including mental
health and substance use.
• Enhance communities’
capacity to provide targeted
homelessness prevention
interventions and to successfully
divert people from entering
shelter or experiencing
unsheltered homelessness.
• Invest in cross-sector
partnerships between
homelessness services systems
and other systems which can
support asset and wealth
building, including access to
educational opportunities and
employment services that
address the economic instability
for people experiencing and
exiting homelessness.
• Support programs and
cross-sector partnerships that
prioritize the early identification
of households at-risk for
homelessness and quickly
connect them to services.
• Invest in upstream
homelessness prevention
programs that stabilize
individuals, families, and
communities, protect vulnerable
housing, prevent displacement,
and expand tenant protections
Item Number: 4.

70 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 5: PREVENT PEOPLE FROM EXPERIENCING THE CRISIS OF HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 34: ADDRESS INFLOWS OF HOMELESSNESS THROUGH CROSS- SECTOR COLLABORATION, DISCHARGE PLANNING, & EARLY IDENTIFICATION • Through data sharing agreements, analyze
mainstream system data to understand
involvement of people experiencing homeless
in mainstream systems before they fell into
homelessness to better target solutions
• At points of intake, ensure there is a thorough
questioning of how and where an individual
became homeless, with an understanding of
mainstream systems they may have touched in
advance
• Identify and develop specific staff positions
responsible for cross-sector collaboration
• Develop strategies based on national best
practices for improving discharge planning
models and coordination to prevent mainstream
systems from discharging individuals without
stable housing
• Develop strategies based on national best
practices for early identification of people at-risk
for homelessness and get them connected to
homeless and other mainstream services
• Advocate for necessary resources to
incorporate or bring to scale cross-sector
collaboration, discharge planning, and early
identification
• Set cross-sector goals
• Develop and adopt a universal housing/
economic stability screening tool and
automated referral processes for individuals and
families accessing safety net services
• Expand on initiatives of Whole Person Care and
CalAIM to target high utilizers of emergency
services
• Number of people experiencing
homelessness for first time,
including regional and
demographic breakdown.
• Readmissions and recidivism
rates.
• Cost saving for discharge
planning.
• Number of mainstream systems
with data sharing agreements
or integrations with homeless
response system.
• Number of mainstream systems
utilizing developed homeless
tracking metrics.
• Number of referrals for housing
related services from mainstream
institutions.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
homelessness for first time.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people returning to
homelessness.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people exiting mainstream
institutions that experience
sheltered and unsheltered
homelessness. Increase in the
number of people who would
have been homeless upon
discharge from mainstream
institutions and are successfully
placed into housing.
• Reduction in the number of
low-income households that are
considered rent-burdened.
• Quadruple the number of
households receiving prevention
services.
• Increase employment, income,
and wealth generation
among people experiencing
homelessness.
• 25% increase in the percentage
of clients still in permanent
housing at 6,12-, and 24-months
following assistance.
• Decrease in the number of
evictions across Riverside
County, demographics, and
geographic breakdown.
• 100% of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for Prevention and
Diversion
• Invest in programs that will
immediately address the
needs of data-informed special
populations, like homeless
youth, older adults/seniors,
veterans, individuals, and/or
families, or prevent them from
becoming homeless.
• Reduce entries into
homelessness as people exit
and/or receive services from
institutional settings through
cross-sector collaborative
programs.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for people reentering communities from jails and prisons.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for youth and
young adults connected to the
child welfare and/or juvenile
justice systems.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for people
exiting health care settings and
programs, including mental
health and substance use.
• Enhance communities’
capacity to provide targeted
homelessness prevention
interventions and to successfully
divert people from entering
shelter or experiencing
unsheltered homelessness.
• Invest in cross-sector
partnerships between
homelessness services systems
and other systems which can
support asset and wealth
building, including access to
educational opportunities and
employment services that
address the economic instability
for people experiencing and
exiting homelessness.
• Support programs and
cross-sector partnerships that
prioritize the early identification
of households at-risk for
homelessness and quickly
connect them to services.
• Invest in upstream
homelessness prevention
programs that stabilize
individuals, families, and
communities, protect vulnerable
housing, prevent displacement,
and expand tenant protections
STRATEGY 35: EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL STABILITY/ECONOMIC MOBILITY

THROUGH EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATIONAL, INCOME SUPPORTS, & WEALTH GENERATION PROGRAMS & SERVICES.
• Increase the connectivity between the Riverside
County Workforce Development Center, income
supports, and education and homeless services,
like prevention, rapid rehousing, etc. to increase
and sustain income
• Expand partnerships with businesses and social
enterprises to train and hire people who have
experienced homelessness
• Increase access to appropriate services to
gain and sustain employment and educational
opportunities, such as childcare (or financial
assistance for childcare)
• Formalize cross-system agreements to improve
access to employment and education programs,
and outcomes of people experiencing
homelessness
• Improve data collection on the employment
and education needs and outcomes of people
experiencing homelessness
• Provide training, internships, and mentorships
to help people who are unhoused or at risk of
homelessness to obtain access to living wage
jobs
• Establish countywide SSI and veteran’s benefits
advocacy programs for people experiencing
homelessness or at risk of homelessness,
including those in the criminal justice system
• Explore opportunities to expand assessment
tools to also screen for income-generating
pathways, like employment, and income
supports; provide automated referrals
• Identify programs and solutions to develop
wealth/equity for people experiencing
homelessness and those at-risk of
homelessness
• Assess the viability of cash transfers and/
or universal basic income (UBI) models to
empower people experiencing homelessness
or at risk of experiencing homelessness to meet
their immediate financial needs
• Support efforts to increase the minimum wage
to a living wage in Riverside County
• Increases to employment,
income, and wealth generation
among people experiencing
homelessness
Item Number: 4.

71 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 5: PREVENT PEOPLE FROM EXPERIENCING THE CRISIS OF HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 36: REDUCE REENTRIES INTO HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM • Track and analyze causes for reentry into the
homeless response system
• Identify targeted solutions for anyone reentering the homeless response system • Number of people returning to
homelessness, including regional
and demographic breakdown.
• Number of people exiting
mainstream institutions that
experience sheltered and
unsheltered homelessness.
• Number of people who would
have been homeless upon
discharge from mainstream
institutions and are successfully
placed into housing.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
homelessness for first time.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people returning to
homelessness.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people exiting mainstream
institutions that experience
sheltered and unsheltered
homelessness. Increase in the
number of people who would
have been homeless upon
discharge from mainstream
institutions and are successfully
placed into housing.
• Reduction in the number of
low-income households that are
considered rent-burdened.
• Quadruple the number of
households receiving prevention
services.
• Increase employment, income,
and wealth generation
among people experiencing
homelessness.
• 25% increase in the percentage
of clients still in permanent
housing at 6,12-, and 24-months
following assistance.
• Decrease in the number of
evictions across Riverside
County, demographics, and
geographic breakdown.
• 100% of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for Prevention and
Diversion
• Invest in programs that will
immediately address the
needs of data-informed special
populations, like homeless
youth, older adults/seniors,
veterans, individuals, and/or
families, or prevent them from
becoming homeless.
• Reduce entries into
homelessness as people exit
and/or receive services from
institutional settings through
cross-sector collaborative
programs.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for people reentering communities from jails and prisons.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for youth and
young adults connected to the
child welfare and/or juvenile
justice systems.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for people
exiting health care settings and
programs, including mental
health and substance use.
• Enhance communities’
capacity to provide targeted
homelessness prevention
interventions and to successfully
divert people from entering
shelter or experiencing
unsheltered homelessness.
• Invest in cross-sector
partnerships between
homelessness services systems
and other systems which can
support asset and wealth
building, including access to
educational opportunities and
employment services that
address the economic instability
for people experiencing and
exiting homelessness.
• Support programs and
cross-sector partnerships that
prioritize the early identification
of households at-risk for
homelessness and quickly
connect them to services.
• Invest in upstream
homelessness prevention
programs that stabilize
individuals, families, and
communities, protect vulnerable
housing, prevent displacement,
and expand tenant protections
Item Number: 4.

72 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
AREA STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES ACTION AREA 5: PREVENT PEOPLE FROM EXPERIENCING THE CRISIS OF HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 37: PRESERVE VULNERABLE HOUSING & PREVENT COMMUNITY DISPLACEMENT • Advocate for the creation of a fund to preserve
naturally occurring, affordable housing and
income restricted affordable housing
• Promote the investments of infill area
infrastructure, inclusionary zoning, community
land trusts, adaptive reuse, etc.
• Promote the preservation of existing housing
stock through long-term affordability covenants
• Advocate for the increased access to
homeownership, especially for Black,
Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)
communities
• Advocate for right of first refusal policies
• Number of low-income
households that are considered
rent-burdened.
• Number of evictions across
Riverside County, including
regional and demographic
breakdown.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people experiencing
homelessness for first time.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people returning to
homelessness.
• 75% reduction in the number
of people exiting mainstream
institutions that experience
sheltered and unsheltered
homelessness. Increase in the
number of people who would
have been homeless upon
discharge from mainstream
institutions and are successfully
placed into housing.
• Reduction in the number of
low-income households that are
considered rent-burdened.
• Quadruple the number of
households receiving prevention
services.
• Increase employment, income,
and wealth generation
among people experiencing
homelessness.
• 25% increase in the percentage
of clients still in permanent
housing at 6,12-, and 24-months
following assistance.
• Decrease in the number of
evictions across Riverside
County, demographics, and
geographic breakdown.
• 100% of programs adhering
to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for Prevention and
Diversion
• Invest in programs that will
immediately address the
needs of data-informed special
populations, like homeless
youth, older adults/seniors,
veterans, individuals, and/or
families, or prevent them from
becoming homeless.
• Reduce entries into
homelessness as people exit
and/or receive services from
institutional settings through
cross-sector collaborative
programs.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for people reentering communities from jails and prisons.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for youth and
young adults connected to the
child welfare and/or juvenile
justice systems.
• Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
homelessness for people
exiting health care settings and
programs, including mental
health and substance use.
• Enhance communities’
capacity to provide targeted
homelessness prevention
interventions and to successfully
divert people from entering
shelter or experiencing
unsheltered homelessness.
• Invest in cross-sector
partnerships between
homelessness services systems
and other systems which can
support asset and wealth
building, including access to
educational opportunities and
employment services that
address the economic instability
for people experiencing and
exiting homelessness.
• Support programs and
cross-sector partnerships that
prioritize the early identification
of households at-risk for
homelessness and quickly
connect them to services.
• Invest in upstream
homelessness prevention
programs that stabilize
individuals, families, and
communities, protect vulnerable
housing, prevent displacement,
and expand tenant protections
STRATEGY 38: EXPAND PROTECTIONS FOR RENTER/TENANTS
• Develop a streamlined approach and public
facing database to better track evictions/
unlawful detainers across Riverside County,
greatest impact on older adults/seniors and
Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)
• Coordinate and centralize eviction prevention
programs across Riverside County
• Advocate for the establishment of rent
stabilization policies paired with enforceable
building standards
• Advocate for the establishment of “just cause”
eviction policies
• Develop and support tenant counseling
and legal services for tenant facing housing
instability and dislocation
• Support a legal right to counsel policy for
tenants to prevent evictions
• Support right to remain and right to return
ordinances
• Support tenant option to purchase
• Consider developing a tenant advisory council
to provide guidance and advice to the city on
actions to support tenants and those at-risk of
homelessness
• Increase access to civil legal aid in
situations where legal advocacy will prevent
homelessness (e.g., access to State and Federal
benefit programs, SSI/SSDI, etc., foreclosure
prevention, immigration, tenant representation,
unemployment benefits, ABD, etc.)
• Strengthen local tenant protections impacting
people experiencing homelessness and those
at-risk of homelessness
• Number of low-income
households that are considered
rent-burdened.
• Number of evictions across
Riverside County, including
regional and demographic
breakdown.

STRATEGY 39: ADVOCATE FOR THE

EXPANSION OF A SOCIAL SAFETY NET
• Advocate for the state and the federal
government to increase funding and access to
safety net services
• Percent of clients still in
permanent housing at 6,12-, and
24-months following assistance.

Item Number: 4.

73 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
EXHIBIT B:

TRANSITIONAL

AGED YOUTH
(TAY) HOMELESS
ACTION

SUMMARY
The following section summarizes
actions, strategies, and funding
principles of the Riverside County
CoC Homeless Action Plan for
Transition Aged Youth (TAY) at-risk of
and experiencing homelessness.

In 2020 there were 256 youth
experiencing unsheltered
homelessness, a 41% increase from
2019. Surprisingly, this increase in
youth experiencing unsheltered
homelessness was accompanied
by a 65% decrease in the count
of sheltered youth experiencing
homelessness. As part of the Needs
Assessment and Gaps Analysis
of the County of Riverside,
stakeholders highlighted the need
to provide more services to key
sub-populations like Transition Aged
Youth (TAY).

Action Area 1: Strengthen System
the Better Prevent and End
Homelessness, highlights the need
to utilize a data-driven approach
to invest in programs addressing
significant service gaps for highneed communities, under-served or hard to-serve geographic areas,
or special subpopulations such as
transitional age youth.

Action Area 3: Expand
Communities Capacity to
Provide Safe and Effective
Shelter and Interim Housing,
focuses on developing training
and protocols for first responders
when engaging people on the
streets and encampments, with
considerations for interacting with
key subpopulations like Transition
Aged Youth. These strategies
also call for the need to establish
resources and refine policies and
procedures for existing programs
accessed by Transition Aged Youth.

Additionally, this action area calls
for the refinement of crisis housing
policies and procedures like
emergency shelter, interim housing,
medical respite, domestic violence
shelters, faith-based shelters, family
shelters, transitional housing, and
motel vouchers to ensure they are
accessible, low barrier, and housing
focused. Policies and procedures will
account for the unique shelter needs
of Transition Aged Youth.

Strategies in Action Area 4: Expand
and Ensure Equitable Access
to Permanent Housing in Our
Communities call for the need to
increase housing resources available
to Transition Aged Youth, like Rapid
Rehousing. This section calls out the
need to expand housing supports and
programs for Transition Aged Youth.

Action Area 5: Prevent People
from Experiencing the Crisis of
Homelessness, highlights the need
to address the inflows of youth
homelessness through cross-sector
collaboration, discharge planning,
early identification, and housing
supports within child welfare,
juvenile justice, and education
systems. Funding Principles call
for the need to invest in programs
that will immediately address the
needs of homeless youth and
programs that reduce entries into
homelessness as people exit and/
or receive services from institutional
settings through cross-sector
collaboration.

EXHIBIT C:

FAMILY

HOMELESS
ACTION

SUMMARY
The following section summarizes
actions, strategies, and funding
principles of the Riverside County
CoC Homeless Action Plan for
families at-risk of and experiencing
homelessness.

There is a significant number of
families experiencing homelessness
in Riverside County and numerous
households and families that are
precariously housed: doubled-up,
living with friends or family, and
are therefore at-risk of falling into
homelessness.

Action Area 1: Strengthen
System to Better Prevent and
End Homelessness calls for
strengthening of the homeless
response system to address the root
causes of homelessness, preventing
increases of new families falling into
homelessness.

Action Area 2: Equitably Address
the Health, Safety, and Services
Needs of People Experiencing
Unsheltered Homelessness
highlights the need to expand
the accessibility of the homeless
response system and the need to
establish designated resources for
special populations experiencing
unsheltered homelessness like
homeless families.

Action Area 3: Expand
Communities Capacity to Provide
Safe and Effective Shelter and
Interim Housing focuses on
increasing crisis housing available to
homeless families and refining crisis
housing policies and procedures to
ensure they are radically accessible,
low-barrier, and housing focused.

Action Area 4: Expand and Ensure
Equitable Access to Permanent
Housing in Our Communities
highlights the advocacy of increased
production of affordable housing
that will expand housing available
to families at-risk or currently
experiencing homelessness.

Strategies include increasing rapid
rehousing for families experiencing
homelessness, increasing the
availability of flexible housing
funds to support move-in costs
and flexible housing subsidies, and
continuing to leverage housing
authority division resources for
families experiencing homelessness.

Expanding housing access in high
opportunity neighborhoods through
centralized landlord outreach will
have a significant impact on the
health of families, most significantly
for families with children. Lastly,
this action area calls for the
advocacy of legislation protecting
against housing discrimination in
the housing search, which has a
Item Number: 4.

74 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
significant impact on families looking
to utilize rental assistance, subsidies,
or vouchers.

Action Area 5: Prevent People
from Experiencing the Crisis of
Homelessness focuses on increasing
homelessness prevention, diversion,
and mediation services, which will
greatly benefit families at-risk of
homelessness. By collaborating with
cross-sector partners, the Action
Plan will address the inflows into
homelessness for families through
effective discharge planning, early
identification, and the expansion of
social and housing supports.

EXHIBIT D:

ENCAMPMENT

HOMELESS
ACTION

SUMMARY
Stakeholder feedback from the
Needs Assessment and Gaps
Analysis of the County of Riverside
highlighted differing regional
approaches to outreach and
engagement. Some regions utilize
more enforcement approaches
and others more engagement
approaches. The complexities of
outreach and engagement often
come to a point when responding
to encampments, which vary
significantly from region to region,
encampment to encampment. There
currently is not a unified approach to
encampment management.

Action Area 1: Strengthen System
to Better Prevent and End
Homelessness of the Homeless
Action Plan calls for the need to
refine communications efforts
around homelessness in Riverside
County. Due to the visibility of
unsheltered street homelessness
and encampments, it is important
to proactively engage the public
around the challenges, activities,
and implementations of homeless
programs and resources.

Action Area 2: Equitably Address the
Health, Safety, and Services Needs
of People Experiencing Unsheltered
Homelessness includes a specific
strategy to develop county wide
encampment management protocols.

This will include establishing best
practice in encampment management,
incorporating person-centered
approaches, enhancing coordination
with providers, cities, regional
governments, and developing
formal Encampment Management
and Resolution Protocols. Funding
Principles call for the investment
in multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional
solutions to address the health,
safety, and housing needs of
people experiencing unsheltered
homelessness and staying in
encampments.

EXHIBIT E:

VETERAN

HOMELESS
ACTION

SUMMARY
The successful response to veteran
Homelessness in Riverside County
represents a roadmap on how to
effectively respond to the unique
needs of subpopulations. While
veteran homelessness is included in all
the action areas of the plan, it is most
referenced in Action Area 5: Prevent
People from Experiencing the Crisis
of Homelessness. The plan calls
for the need to continue to expand
upstream early identification, housing,
and social supports for veterans at-risk
of homelessness. Funding Principles
call for the investment in programs
that immediately address the needs
of data-informed special populations
like veterans through housing and
supports.

EXHIBIT F:

DOMESTIC

VIOLENCE

HOMELESS
ACTION

SUMMARY
Action Area 2: Equitably Address
the Health, Safety, and Services
Needs of People Experiencing
Unsheltered Homelessness,
highlights the need to develop
training for first responders when
engaging people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness who
are survivors of domestic violence.

Additionally, this action area focused
on establishing key resources for
special subpopulations experiencing
unsheltered homelessness like
survivors fleeing domestic violence.

Action Area 3: Expand
Communities Capacity to Provide
Safe and Effective Shelter and
Interim Housing calls to increase
the number of crisis housing
beds regionally, with emphasis on
domestic violence shelter beds and
capacity. Part of this action area
addressed the need to expand
access to resources and refine crisis
housing policies and procedures
to ensure that they are accessible,
low-barrier, and housing focused.

Part of this process will be to assess
regional capacity and develop realtime bed availability.

EXHIBIT G:

RACIAL EQUITY

HOMELESS
ACTION

SUMMARY
Action Area 1: Strengthen System
to Better Prevent and End
Homelessness calls to center race
equity in the County of Riverside
CoC’s Homeless Response. Black,
Indigenous, and Communities of
Item Number: 4.

75 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
Color (BIPOC) are significantly
overrepresented in the homeless
population, a legacy of historical
and contemporary structural racism.

The homeless response system
also plays a role in perpetuating
inequities in service provision,
access, and mobility. The County
of Riverside CoC will continue to
center race equity in the homeless
response, disaggregate data to
better develop solutions, and
look upstream at the inflows and
structural roots of homelessness.

Furthermore, this strategy calls
to embed racial equity lens into
all homelessness and housing
decisions, develop a racial equity
impact assessment that will forecast
and assess the impacts of new
programs and funding decisions, and
incorporate a focus on racial equity
data, analysis, and planned activities
when submitting and reviewing
applications for funding. The strategy
emphasizes the need to utilize
HMIS to analyze data and create
public-facing dashboards around
racial inequities in experiences of
homelessness, provision of services,
and outcomes. The strategy calls to
adapt program guidelines, policies,
procedures focused on racial equity
and institute standardized cultural
humility, trauma informed care,
and anti-racist trainings for CoC
programs and system partners.

Lastly it highlights the need to create
plan to move forward on racial equity
work that will include system and
programmatic actions and alignment
with other regional equity initiatives.

EXHIBIT H:

LGBTQIA+

HOMELESS
ACTION

SUMMARY
Action Area 2: Equitably Address
the Health, Safety, and Services
Needs of People Experiencing
Unsheltered Homelessness,
highlights the need to establish
resources for key special
populations experiencing
unsheltered homelessness, including
LGBTQAI+ individuals and families.

Action Area 3: Expand
Communities Capacity to Provide
Safe and Effective Shelter and
Interim Housing calls for the need
to refine crisis housing policies
and procedures to ensure they
are safe and accessible for key
subpopulations, including LGBTQAI+
individuals and families.

Action Area 4: Expand and Ensure
Equitable Access to Permanent
Housing in Our Communities
addresses the expanding resources
to meet the housing needs of key
subpopulations, including LGBTQAI+
individuals and families.

EXHIBIT I: OLDER

ADULTS/SENIORS

HOMELESS
ACTION

SUMMARY
Stakeholder feedback from the
Needs Assessment and Gaps
Analysis of the County of Riverside
highlighted the need to provide more
services to key sub-populations like
Seniors/Older Adults.

Action Area 1: Strengthen System
to Better Prevent and End
Homelessness of the Homeless
Action Plan calls for utilizing a datadriven approach to invest in programs addressing significant service gaps
and priority needs for under-served
or hard to-serve geographic areas, or
special subpopulations such as older
adults/seniors.

Action Area 2: Equitably Address the
Health, Safety, and Services Needs
of People Experiencing Unsheltered
Homelessness, highlights the
need to establish resources for key
special populations experiencing
unsheltered homelessness, including
older adults/seniors. Strategies
also include co-developing
protocols for first responders when
engaging people on the streets and
encampments, with special focus on
key subpopulations like older adults/
seniors.

Action Area 3: Expand
Communities Capacity to Provide
Safe and Effective Shelter and
Interim Housing calls for the need
to refine crisis housing policies
and procedures to ensure they
are safe and accessible for key
subpopulations, including older
adults/seniors.

Action Area 4: Expand and Ensure
Equitable Access to Permanent
Housing in Our Communities
addresses the expanding resources
to meet the housing needs of key
subpopulations, including older
adults/seniors.

Action Area 5: Prevent People
from Experiencing the Crisis of
Homelessness outlines strategies to
address inflows into homelessness
through cross-sector collaboration,
discharge planning, and early
identification. To specifically
target older adults/seniors, this
strategy includes identifying
supports to serve older adults
and people with disabilities at risk
of experiencing homelessness,
including meeting the need for
in home supports and access to
licensed adult and senior care
facilities. It also calls for improving
identification and stabilization of
older adults/seniors at greatest
risk of housing loss, developing
targeted homelessness prevention
strategies for older adults/seniors,
including development of a datadriven framework for identifying older adults/seniors at greatest
risk of housing loss. Additionally,
this strategy highlights the need
for providing subsidized housing
to homeless disabled individuals
pursuing SSI and supporting inhome care and long-term care options for older adults/seniors.

Lastly, to better address the inflows
into homelessness, the Riverside
County CoC will advocate and push
to expand tenant protections and
services that support tenants, which
will have a significant impact on
older adults/seniors.

Item Number: 4.

76 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
EXHIBIT J:

OTHER SPECIAL

POPULATIONS

HOMELESS
ACTION

SUMMARY
While these subpopulations are
addressed throughout the plan,
they are specially called out in the
following action areas.

Action Area 2: Equitably Address
the Health, Safety, and Services
Needs of People Experiencing
Unsheltered Homelessness,
highlights the need to establish
resources for key special
populations experiencing
unsheltered homelessness,
including chronically homeless
individuals, individuals with Severe
Mental Illness (SMI), individuals with
Substance Use Disorders (SUD), and
high utilizers of emergency services.

Action Area 3: Expand
Communities Capacity to Provide
Safe and Effective Shelter and
Interim Housing calls for the need
to refine crisis housing policies
and procedures to ensure they
are safe and accessible for key
subpopulations, including chronically
homeless individuals, individuals
with Severe Mental Illness (SMI),
individuals with Substance Use
Disorders (SUD), and high utilizers of
emergency services.

Action Area 4: Expand and Ensure
Equitable Access to Permanent
Housing in Our Communities
addresses the expanding resources
to meet the housing needs of key
subpopulations, including chronically
homeless individuals, individuals
with Severe Mental Illness (SMI),
individuals with Substance Use
Disorders (SUD), and high utilizers of
emergency services.

Item Number: 4.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Acknowledgements…………………………………..…………………….………………. 3

2. Executive Summary……………………………….………………………………………… 8

3. History of Homelessness in Corona…………………..……………………….……….…. 10

4. Understanding the Homeless Issue……………………….……………………………… 12

5. Causes of Homelessness…………………………………………..……………………….. 13

6. Types of Homelessness………………………………………………………..……………. 14

7. Homeless Needs Assessment…………………………………….……………………….. 16

8. Homeless Needs Assessment Conclusions………………………………..…………..... 43

9. Homeless Cost Impacts……………………………………………………………………. 45
a. Cost Studies…………………………………………………………………………. 46
b. City of Corona Cost Impacts……………………………………………………. 49

10. Community Engagement……………………………………………….………………... 68

11. Impact of Lawsuits………………………………………………………………………….. 90

12. Impact of Legislation……………………………………………………………………….. 91

13. Best Practices and Models.………………………………………………………...……... 92

14. Recommended Best Practice Interventions……………..………………….………… 93

15. Shelter and Housing Models…………………………………………………..………….. 96

16. Goals……………………………………………………………………………….….………. 100

17. Implementing Strategies……………………………………………………..…….……… 101

18. Phases of Plan………………………………………………………………….….………… 111

19. Measurements of Success………………………………………………………………… 113

20. Funding Sources………………………………………………………………….…………. 114
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Corona City Council
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 4

COVER PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The City of Corona is pleased to feature a photograph of Cliff and Angela Hair on the front cover of this plan. Cliff and Angela were willing to share their amazing story of transformation to provide hope and inspiration to Corona’s homeless neighbors and the public and private stakeholders that will partner with us to improve the quality of life in Corona. The following bullet points summarize their journey:

Loss of their dream home due to broken
family relationships
Change from homeownership status in their
dream home to tenant status in a rental unit
Spiral into depression and self-medication
through drugs and alcohol
Eviction from their rental unit and quick
transition into homelessness
Move to Motel 6 in Corona
Decision to overcome fear to ask for help
Connection to food services at Crossroads
Church food pantry
Engagement in faith-based & communitybased support through Crossroads Christian Church, St. Edward Catholic Church, and
Corona-Norco Settlement House
Move from crisis to healing, stability and
transition back to permanent housing
Establishment of Angels Over Cliffs Ministry
for the Homeless
Provision of what-ever-it-takes support,
home furnishings, housing navigation, and
other services to move Corona’s homeless out of crisis and into housing Partnership with City Net to help clients participating in City of Corona Motel Emergency Shelter Program. Partnership goal is to transition homeless out of motels and into permanent housing
Desire to support the City of Corona and the community of public/private partners in the successful implementation of the Homeless Strategic Plan Desire to serve as an example of partnership opportunities with the faith community in the City of Corona
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Homeless Strategic Plan Contributors, Champions, Subject Matter Experts and Super Stars:

The City of Corona Homeless Strategic Plan was developed through a highly collaborative and comprehensive team effort. While many people participated in the process, a group of team members made significant contributions to the plan and/or provided critical subject matter expertise and data. The Corona Dream Team is outlined below:

Homeless Strategic Plan Ad Hoc Committee & Homelessness Resources Committee Mayor Jim Steiner
Council Member Yolanda Carrillo
Research for Historic Perspective on Homelessness in Corona Council Member Wes Speake
Facilitator and Author of Homeless Strategic Plan
Karen Roper, Homeless Solutions Coordinator
Community Engagement and Data Analysis Support
Karen Alexander, Planning/Housing Commission
Corona Police Department Homeless Outreach & Psychological Evaluation Team Officer Brandon Walker
Officer Eric Fox
Lieutenant Jim Auck
Homeless Census Data, Homeless Neighbors Focus Group & Community Engagement Support Brad Fieldhouse, City Net
Jennifer Munoz, City Net
Jessica Bruce, City Net
Matt Bates, City Net
Pamay Ha, City Net
Tyler Ahtonen, City Net
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 6

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Corona Chamber of Commerce Support for Engagement of Business Stakeholders Bobby Spiegel, Chamber of Commerce
Deserie Ramirez, Chamber of Commerce
Don Williamson, Chamber of Commerce
Marta Cortez, Chamber of Commerce
Michael Ryan, Chamber of Commerce
Palbinder Badesha, Chamber of Commerce
Stephanie Shapiro, Chamber of Commerce
City of Corona Support Team & Plan Contributors
Angela Nieto, Management Services
Brian Young, Fire Department
Cindy Solis, Management Services
Cynthia Lara, Housing Department
David Montgomery-Scott, Library and Recreation Services Dean Derleth, Legal and Risk Management
George Johnstone, Police Department
Jacob Ellis, Management Services
Joanne Coletta, Community Development
John Higgenbotham, Legal and Risk Management
Moses Cortez, Parks Department
Naomi Ramirez, Management Services
Ryan Cortez, Management Services
Corona Art Association Artwork for Plan
Lori Alarcon, Corona Art Association
Mary MacDougall, Corona Art Association
County of Riverside Support
Carrie Harmon, Housing, Homelessness and Workforce Department Deborah Rose, Office of Karen Spiegel, 2nd District County Supervisor Heidi Marshall, County Housing, Homelessness and Workforce Department Karen Spiegel, 2nd District County Supervisor
Marcus Cannon, Riverside University Health System – Behavioral Health Natalie Profant-Komoro, County Executive Office
Tanya Torno, Housing, Homelessness and Workforce Department Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 7

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Partners in Education
Alexis Kakos Medina, Corona-Norco Unified School District Dr. John Pablo Sanchez, Corona-Norco Unified School District Stephan McPeace, Riverside County Office of Education
211 Community Connect
Lisa Wright, United Way of Inland Valleys
Rebecca Acevedo, 211 Community Connect
Faith-Based Organizations and Community Based Organizations Cliff and Angela Hair, Angels Over Cliffs
Creiselda Terpoorten, Building a Beloved Corona
Mark Allert, Corona-Norco Settlement House
Melanie Blakeborough, The Bridge Church of Corona
Virginia Coriddi, St. Edward Catholic Church
Parks and Recreation Commission
Michele Wentworth, Commissioner
City of Riverside
Hafsa Kaka, Homeless Solutions Officer
Michelle Davis, Housing Authority Manager
Homeless Shelter and Housing Providers
Allison Davenport, Mercy House
Barry Cottle, C&C Development
Brian Crain, Rescue Mission
Cris Paez, National Core
Larry Haynes, Mercy House
Leonard Jarman, Path of Life Ministries
Linda Wilson, Mercy House
Patricia Whitaker, National Core
Steve PonTell, National Core
Todd Cottle, C&C Development
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 8

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
The City of Corona has a strong foundation of homeless services. This foundation includes the Corona Police Department Homeless Outreach & Psychological Evaluation (HOPE) Team, City Net Outreach and Engagement Services, City of Corona Motel Voucher Emergency Shelter Program, a Homeless Solutions Coordinator, and a City Council Homeless Strategic Plan Ad Hoc Committee.

The City Council Ad Hoc Committee was established after the City Council Homelessness Resources Brown Act Committee worked with a community of stakeholders to embark on a journey to better address homelessness in Corona. That journey led to the development of this Homeless Strategic Plan. The overarching objective of this plan is to transform the City’s existing foundation of homeless services into a coordinated system of care. The City of Corona Homeless Strategic Plan foundation was built on four key components:

Key Plan Components

1. Robust Community Engagement Process

2. Comprehensive Needs Assessment

3. Homeless Cost Impact Analysis

4. Analysis of Best Practices and Models
Mission and Vision
Critical to the success of any strategic plan is the vision and mission. Through a series of community meetings, the following vision and mission statements were developed. The elements of the plan are based upon these vision and mission statements.

Vision Statement Mission Statement
A transformational system of services,
shelter, and housing for Corona’s homeless
neighbors
Breaking the cycle of homelessness in Corona
through public/private partnerships
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 9

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Priority Populations and Best Practices:

Data from the community engagement process, needs assessment, cost impact analysis, and best practice model analysis was used to determine Corona’s priority homeless sub-populations and interventions. These findings are outlined below in priority order:

1. Unaccompanied Chronically Homeless Individuals /Unsheltered Street Homeless Individuals
• Outreach and Engagement
• Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter
• Navigation Center/Multi-Service Center
• Permanent Supportive Housing

2. Situationally Homeless Individuals and Families
Outreach and Engagement
Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter
Connection to Existing Transitional Shelters
Workforce Development Programs
Affordable Housing

3. At-Risk of Homeless Individuals and Families
Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Programs
Workforce Development Programs
Utility, Food, Clothing, and Transportation Assistance Programs Goals and Plan Implementation
The following goals were developed to build a transformational system of homeless services.

Fifty-six implementing strategies were developed to support goal achievement. The plan will be implemented in phases over a five-year period. Data tracking systems will measure success to ensure that this plan is flexible, scalable, and responsive to changing needs and issues.

Goal 1 Develop A Systems-Oriented Approach to Address Homelessness Goal 2 Develop A Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter/Navigation Center System Goal 3 Develop Permanent Supportive and Affordable Housing Solutions Goal 4 Expand Outreach and Engagement
Goal 5 Develop and Participate in Sub-Regional Collaboratives with Neighboring Cities Goal 6 Develop Public/Private Partnerships to Support Plan Initiatives Goal 7 Develop Partnerships with the County and Continuum of Care to Support Plan Initiatives Goal 8 Develop A Homeless Prevention Initiative
Goal 9 Develop An Advocacy Campaign to Support Plan Initiatives Goal 10 Expand Data Tracking Systems and Dashboard to Measure System Performance Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 10

HISTORY OF HOMELESSNESS IN CORONA
To understand the issue of homelessness in Corona today, it is important to reflect on the past.

Homeless neighbors have lived in Corona since the City was established in May of 1886. Historical records indicate that homelessness is not a new issue and that the community of Corona has always worked in partnership with the City to help homeless who need services and shelter. The timeline below provides a snapshot of the history of homelessness in Corona:

According to the Corona Courier, in April of 1896, a tornado in the Midwest left hundreds of people homeless. The call for assistance went all the way to Corona and Coronans answered the call.

According to the Corona Courier, in January of 1897, a “Tramp Bill” was approved to provide employment and housing for any adult without the means of support. The employment program was led by the County Road Department. (Tramp was a word used to describe transients).

According to the Corona Courier, in September of 1903, the Sunshine Club of Corona hosted a candy social. The social was designed to raise funding to support homeless children and those suffering from depression.

According to the Corona Daily Independent, in May of 1907, a representative from the Children’s Home Society was speaking at different churches in Corona to discuss the need for placement of homeless children in families where they could be safeguarded and trained for useful citizenship.

According to the Corona Daily Independent, the September 4, 1933 transient census identified four homeless in the City of Corona.

According to the Corona Daily Independent, in November of 1933, a Transient Chief was named for Riverside County. The role of the Transient Chief was to identify homeless transients and enroll them in work camps. Work camps provided meal and housing services.

According to the Corona Daily Independent, in November of 1933, men admitted to state/federal homeless work camps were required to work six hours per day for food, clothing, and lodging. The work camps paid fifty cents per person, per day for homeless men participating in the work camp employment program.

According to the Corona Daily Independent, in April 1934, the Federal Emergency Committee was established to respond to the growing needs of homeless transients in Corona and throughout Riverside County. Prior to the Committee’s establishment, the City of Corona, with the support of volunteers and the Red Cross, had been providing transients with jobs-for-meals at the City’s woodyard.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 11

HISTORY OF HOMELESSNESS IN CORONA
According to the Corona Daily Independent, in July of 1934, residents were encouraged to refer transient needy individuals and families to the Red Cross Transient Program located at Corona City Hall. The article discouraged residents from providing meals to transients who were knocking on their doors.

According to the Corona Daily Independent, in September 1934, the Red Cross worked with the Corona City Council to transform the City Woodyard Transient Facility through the establishment of a State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) project. The facility enhancement was possible due to data which confirmed that the City was experiencing a large increase in the number of transient men who were enrolled in the job for a meal ticket program. The goal of the Woodyard SERA project was to enhance transient services and reduce cost impacts to the City of Corona.

This brief historical perspective on homelessness in Corona confirms that:

Spikes in the homeless population result from natural disasters like tornados, economic downturns like the Great Depression, broken family relationships, mental health and other issues.

Addressing homelessness should be a community-wide effort of faith and communitybased organizations, community volunteers, City, State, County, and Federal government agencies.

The City of Corona should lead efforts to address homelessness but leverage public and private resources to provide a comprehensive response.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 12

UNDERSTANDING THE HOMELESS ISSUE
Although the United States has an extremely high quality of life as compared to many other countries in the world, homelessness has been a constant social crisis. During challenging times in our nation’s history, the United States has experienced surges in the homeless population due to economic declines such as the Great Depression that happened during the period of 1929 - 1933 or the Great Recession that happened during the period of 2007-2009.

Homelessness is an extremely complex issue that has far reaching impacts on many communities across the nation. Because homelessness is a complex issue, increases can happen during economic upturns as well as economic downturns. For example, during economic upturns, the cost of living and cost of housing dramatically increases. For people who are in low-paying, service sector jobs, thousands are often priced out of the housing market and relegated to shared housing with several families living
in one house. For those who live doubledup, many eventually become homeless due to the precarious nature of living in
overcrowded, shared housing conditions.

In more serious cases, families and
individuals move into homelessness
because they get behind on bills and
eventually lose their housing through
eviction or foreclosure. This unfortunate
scenario is often described as “too much
month left at the end of the money”.

Conversely, during economic downturns,
job losses dramatically increase. As more people become unemployed, many become financially challenged. As families and individuals struggle to meet their financial obligations, many end up with bad credit and eventually move into homelessness through eviction or foreclosure.

In addition to economic hardships, many people become homeless due to other life issues that will be discussed later in this plan. For every homeless person or family, there is usually a complex set of factors that contributed to their state of homelessness. Because of the many different issues and life situations, there is not a one-size, fits-all solution. Addressing homelessness requires a multi-faceted, coordinated, and systems-oriented approach.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 13

CAUSES OF HOMELESSNESS
Homelessness is an extremely complex issue and caused by many different factors. Individuals and families can become homeless because of tragic life occurrences, disabilities and impairments, trauma, and economic hardships. Examples of the causes of homelessness in the United States include:

Mental Illness and Depression
Divorce
Death of a Spouse
Disabling Injury/Accident
Natural Disaster
Physical Disability
Job Loss
Chronic Disease/Health Care Issues
Ill-equipped Youth Aging Out of
Foster Care
Disability
Underemployment/Low Wages
Lack of Affordable Housing
Falling Behind on Rent/Mortgage
Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Domestic Violence
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Family Disputes
Criminal History of Formerly
Incarcerated
For many individuals and families living in poverty, different personal hardships or life issues can become the final factor leading to homelessness. A final factor can include a broken-down vehicle, loss of vehicle insurance, or even unpaid tickets. While these issues do appear to be catastrophic, one issue can be the catalyst that cause a person or family to become homelessness.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 14

TYPES OF HOMELESSNESS
While individuals and families experience homelessness in different ways, homelessness is usually characterized by extreme poverty and a lack of stable housing. As a result, different strategies and interventions must be developed. To develop appropriate interventions, it is important to understand who meets the Federal definition of homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines homelessness as follows:

An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence under the following conditions:

Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not meant for human habitation.

Is living in a publicly or privately-operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by Federal, State and local government programs).

Is exiting an institution where he or she has resided for 90 days or less and who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that institution.

Families with children or unaccompanied youth who are unstably housed and likely to continue in that state. This category of homelessness applies to families with children or unaccompanied youth (up to age 24) who have not had a lease or ownership interest in a housing unit in the last 60 or more days, have had two or more moves in the last 60 days, and who are likely to continue to be unstably housed because of a disability or multiple barriers to employment;
Any individual or family who is fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence and who has no other residence and lacks the resources or support networks to obtain permanent housing

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 15

TYPES OF HOMELESSNESS
At-Risk of Becoming Homeless
HUD defines at-risk of becoming homeless as an individual or family who will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence, provided that:

Residence will be lost within 14 days of the date of application for homeless assistance and no subsequent residence has been identified, and
The individual or family lacks the resources or support networks needed to obtain permanent housing
Situational Homelessness
Many individuals and families become temporarily homeless due to an unforeseen circumstance or situation. Once they are connected to the appropriate resources provided through non-profit, faith-based, community-based service groups, or local government agencies, they successfully transition out of homelessness and into stable housing. Situational homelessness can last days, weeks, or months, depending upon the specific issues and available resources.

Chronic Homelessness
Individuals who suffer from mental illness, substance abuse, health issues and other disabilities often experience chronic homelessness. According to HUD, chronic homelessness is defined as persons or households who are homeless one or more years or four episodes of homelessness totaling 12 months over a three-year period. Without stable housing, chronic homeless cycle in and out of hospital emergency rooms and inpatient hospital stays as well as psychiatric centers, detoxification programs, and jails resulting in higher cost impacts to local government.

Detrimental Effects of Homelessness
Homelessness often has long-term psychological impacts families and individual. People who are homeless are more prone to low self-esteem, alcohol and substance abuse, loss of the ability of will to care for oneself, increased risk to violence and abuse, increased chances of entering the criminal justice system, and increased chances of becoming institutionalized.

Before a plan of action can be created to address homelessness. It is important to understand the unique characteristics and issues facing the homeless in the City of Corona. The following section of this plan will provide a detailed overview of the components in Corona’s Homeless Needs Assessment
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 16

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
City of Corona Homeless SWOT Analysis:

In March of 2019, the City of Corona Homelessness Resources Committee invited community members to a meeting to discuss opportunities for a Homeless SWOT Analysis. The meeting was facilitated by Dr. Debra Mustain from Norco Community College and well attended by many different stakeholders. Although there were divergent opinions and perspectives about homelessness, meeting attendees agreed upon the following:

Homelessness is a challenge that we want to work to address in this city.

There is good work already happening to address homelessness in a variety of organizations and places in the city.

It will take a coordinated effort among multiple sectors of business, government and non-profit agencies and organizations to address homelessness in the city.

Determine the scope of the challenge, recognizing that we are at a crisis point.

Look for and develop solutions around housing, education, services, and prevention.

Look for ways to impact/change policies to better address the challenge of homelessness.

Seek to solve problems locally when possible, recognizing that good work is already underway and that we can align, coordinate and leverage current work.

We are better together
than we are in individual
“siloed” efforts.

We need to recognize
and build on strengths
that exist.

Leave individual agendas
at the front door.

Cooperation, not
competition, is essential in
creating solutions.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 17
As a result of the SWOT Analysis community meeting, subsequent City outcomes included the completion of an asset mapping of services provided to the homeless. Once the asset mapping process was completed, a City of Corona Homeless Information Card was developed. This card continues to be used by City Net, the Corona Police Department, City staff and other stakeholders working to connect Corona’s homeless neighbors to services, shelter and housing. The Homeless Information Card is posted to the City’s Homeless Solutions website and is printed for distribution as needed.

City Net
(951) 390-3567
www.citynet.org/corona
[email protected]
City Net is a team of nonprofit
professionals who work to end streetlevel homelessness in a city or region through the coordination of community
efforts and activities. City Net also
deploys staff in direct service provision
through street outreach and case
management services. Street outreach
seeks to connect unsheltered homeless
neighbors with emergency shelter,
housing, or critical services, and provides
urgent, non-facility-based care. In
addition, City Net manages the City of
Corona Motel Voucher Emergency
Shelter Program. The motel voucher
program provides emergency shelter
and case management services for
eligible Corona homeless individuals and
families.

Corona Police Department
HOPE Team
951-817-5737
The primary duties of the
Homeless Outreach &
Psychological Evaluation
(H.O.P.E.) team are to be the
first responders and primary
contact on calls-for-service
involving the homeless and
the mentally ill. The team also
proactively seeks out and
contacts people who are
homeless and who are in
need of services. The team
utilizes a balance of support
resources as well as
enforcement to ensure a
good quality-of-life for our
community as well as a better
quality-of-life for the homeless
individuals themselves.

Corona-Norco Settlement House
(951) 737-3504
507 S. Vicentia Avenue, Corona,CA
www.settlementhouse.net
The Corona-Norco Settlement house
provides food, clothing, hotel
vouchers, and rent assistance. The
Food Pantry is open Monday through
Friday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

City of Corona
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 18
City of Corona Homeless Information Card Continued
Corona Community Health Center
2813 S. Main St. Corona, CA
(951) 272-5445
www.rivco-familycarecenters.org
The health center offers a variety of
services including physical examinations,
preventative care, chronic disease
management, and more. You may
qualify for low-cost or no-cost services!
Corona-Norco United Way
815 W. Sixth St. Suite 200,
Corona, CA
(951) 736-0620
www.cnunitedway.org
Corona-Norco and Eastvale
United Way provides domestic
violence assistance, financial
independence training, and
programs for adults who
would like to attain their
General Education Diploma
(GED).

Inspire Life Skills
815 W. Sixth St. Suite 160,
Corona, CA
(951) 316-0011
www.inspirelifeskills.org
Inspire Life Skills provides a safety net
for emancipated foster youth while
they transition into young adults.

Inspire Life Skills helps break the cycle
of abuse and poverty of their past
while helping students earn a
vocational certificate or degree.

Starting Over, Inc.
1390 W. Sixth St. Suite 100,
Corona, CA
(877) 421-0659
www.startingoverinc.net
Starting Over Inc. specializes in
transitional housing, community services,
community health services, postconviction relief, community living services, and more.

YMCA
1331 River Road
Corona, CA
(951) 736-9622
www.ymcacornor.org
The Corona Norco Family
YMCA strives to meet the
needs of members by offering
a variety of programs to
accommodate families,
adults, youth, and seniors. Free
childcare and youth
transportation available
based upon age and need.
211 Riverside County
2060 University Ave. Suite 212,
Riverside, CA
2-1-1 or (951) 686-4402
www.connectriverside.org
2-1-1 is a toll-free, confidential service
providing Riverside County residents
access and referrals to community
and health information 24 hours a
day, 7-days a week.

Path of Life – Community Shelter Program
2840 Hulen Place, Riverside, CA
(951) 462-9822
www.thepathoflife.com
This program provides shelter beds to
qualified single men and women with
separate dormitories for each gender.

Resources include assistance in
obtaining important documents, job
readiness, computer workshops,
counseling, meals, and hygiene supplies.

Intake and screenings are held
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1
p.m.
(Temporary Listing Until City of Corona
Emergency Shelter is developed)
Path of Life – Family Shelter
2530 Third St. Riverside, CA
(951) 275-8755
www.thepathoflife.com
This shelter is for single parents
with children, couples with
children, and single women.

The shelter has 50 beds. A
shelter stay is between 30 - 60
days. Proof of custody, social
security numbers for all
members, and an
identification for adults is
required for entry. Daily intake
is held at 4 p.m.
(Temporary Listing Until City of
Corona Emergency Shelter is
developed)
Additional Helpful Resources
Alternative to Domestic Abuse (951)
683-0829
Corona Regional Medical Center
(951) 737-4343
County of Riverside Housing Authority
(951) 351-0700
Department of Public Social Services
(951) 358-3000
Homeless Veterans (877) 424-3838
National Domestic Violence Hotline
(800) 799-7233
Riverside Area Rape Crisis Center
(951) 686-7273
Riverside County Substance Abuse
(951) 737-2962
Suicide Prevention HELP Line (951) 686-
HELP (4357)
U.S. VETS (951) 656-6893

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 19

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
January 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report
The Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) is an annual report to Congress that provides national and statewide estimates of homelessness. The report also includes information about the demographic characteristics of homeless persons, service use patterns, and the capacity to shelter and house homeless persons.

The AHAR is prepared by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) based upon data submitted by Continuums of Care (CoC) across the United States.

A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a HUD designated group of stakeholders organized to carry out the responsibilities for addressing homelessness in a defined geographic area. CoCs are typically comprised of stakeholders such as:

Government agencies such as counties and cities
Nonprofit homeless providers, faith-based and community-based organizations Businesses
Advocates
School districts and universities
Public health and mental health agencies
Affordable housing developers
Law enforcement agencies
Homeless and formerly homeless persons.

Each year, CoCs across the nation conduct a Point in Time Count of the Homeless (PIT). The PIT is a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The PIT captures homeless on the streets and in shelters.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 20

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
AHAR National Homeless Statistics
According to January 2020 AHAR, there are approximately 567,715 homeless people in the United States. About 63% were staying in sheltered locations such as emergency shelters and transitional housing programs and about 37% were in unsheltered locations on the streets, in abandoned buildings, or in other places not suitable for human habitation. 70% of homeless in the U.S. were unaccompanied adults in households without children (396,045). The remaining 30% were homeless families (171,670). To provide some perspective, this means out of every 10,000 people in the United States, 17 people experienced homelessness on a single night.

States with the Highest Homeless Populations:

Nearly half of all people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. were in three states:

1. California (27% or 151,278 people)

2. New York (16% or 92,091 people)

3. Florida (5% or 28,328 people)
State Rates of Homelessness:

1. California and New York had the largest numbers of people experiencing homelessness and the highest rates of homelessness at 38 and 46 people per 10,000.

2. Hawaii and Oregon also had very high rates, with 45 and 38 people experiencing homelessness per 10,000.

3. As large states, Florida and Texas contributed large numbers of homeless people to the national estimates as they had rates 14 and 9 homeless people per 10,000 Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 21

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
2020 Point in Time Count and Survey of the Homeless
After assessing homelessness at the national and state level, it is important to assess homelessness in the region of Riverside County. Each year, the County of Riverside coordinates a regional count of the homeless. This regional effort is known as the Point in Time Count of the Homeless.

The most recent annual Point in Time Count (PIT) was conducted on January 29, 2020. The PIT is planned, coordinated, and executed by a collaborative of county agencies, cities, non-profits, community volunteers, current and formerly homeless as well as many other stakeholders. The PIT Count is the primary source of homeless population data collected in Riverside County for individuals and families.

The PIT Count is federally mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to count and survey the homeless population in cities and counties throughout the nation.

Data collected during the count reflects Riverside County’s homeless population at one pointin-time.

The annual homeless count is not only required to receive federal funding for homeless assistance programs, but it is also used develop strategies to end homelessness, help homeless individuals and families who are in need, and facilitates the submission of a report to HUD on homelessness in Riverside County.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 22

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
2020 Point in Time Count and Survey of the Homeless continued In summary, the Homeless Point-In-Time (PIT) Count is a critical source of data on the number and characteristics of people who are homeless in the United States. The data is used to measure homelessness on a local and national level. PIT Count data is also provided annually to Congress as part of the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR). The AHAR is used by Congress, HUD, other federal departments, and the general public to understand the nature and extent of homelessness. Additionally, the PIT Count data is used not only as a measure of the county’s homeless population, but also as a basis to determine many of the resources and funding the County receives from Federal, State, and other sources to address homelessness.

The PIT report captures individuals and families who meet HUD’s definition of homelessness. HUD defines a person who is homeless as: (a) living in a place not designed or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for humans, i.e., abandoned buildings, cars, parks, under bridges, bus stops, etc., and (b) living in emergency shelters and transitional housing projects.

The following provides a high-level overview of the countywide results of the 2020 count of the homeless:

Countywide Overall Count:
o 2,884 total sheltered and unsheltered for 2020, 3% increase from 2019 (2,811) o Unsheltered: 2,155 (2,045 in 2019)
o Sheltered: 729 (766 in 2019)
Countywide Unsheltered Sub-Populations
o Veterans – 112 (5% increase from 2019)
o Youth – 256 (41% increase from 2019)
o Chronically Homeless - 519 (29% decrease from 2019)
o Families w/Children (interview only) – 6 (20% increase from 2019) o Elderly (aged 62 and over – interview only) – 120 (7% decrease from 2019) o Pet Owners - 280 (5% of unsheltered) – (data not collected in 2019) o Newly Homeless (interview only) – 485 (not calculated in 2019) Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 23

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
2020 Point in Time Count and Survey of the Homeless continued The following chart provides a high-level overview of the changes in the homeless count in each of the Supervisorial Districts of Riverside County:

Riverside County
Supervisorial District
2020
Unsheltered
2019 vs. 2020
% Increase (+)
or Decrease (-)
Notes
1 441 +22% • Majority of unsheltered
population counted in Riverside*
(77%) and Lake Elsinore (11%)
2 505 -10% • Majority of unsheltered population
counted in Riverside* (49%), Corona
(22%) and Jurupa Valley (20%)
3 255 -15% • Majority of unsheltered population
counted in Hemet (37%), Temecula
(23%) and Unincorporated Areas
(21%)
4 627 +3% • Majority of unsheltered population
counted in Palm Springs (30%), Indio
(13%) and Coachella (12%)
5 327 +55% • Majority of unsheltered population
counted in Moreno Valley (51%),
Perris (16%) and Banning (13%)

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 24

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
2020 Point in Time Count and Survey of the Homeless continued The following charts provide summary data related to the January 29, 2020 Point in Time unsheltered count for the 2nd Supervisorial District cities of Corona, Eastvale, Norco, Jurupa Valley, and Riverside:

City 2020 Unsheltered
Count
2019 Unsheltered Count Net Increase or Decrease
City of Corona 109 164 -55
City of Eastvale 4 0 +4
City of Jurupa Valley 103 139 -36
City of Norco 12 11 +1
City of Riverside 587 439 +148
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 25
City of Corona March 2019 Homeless Census
Although the PIT data is used by Federal, State, and County Agencies to measure homelessness, there are limitations in the data. The PIT only captures homeless who are in shelters or on the streets at one point in time in known locations. The Corona Homeless Census was organized and executed by City Net under contract with the City of Corona. City Net, the Corona Police Department and other community partners and volunteers
participated in the Census for the purpose of:
a) identifying a baseline number of individuals living without housing against which to measure all homelessness prevention and intervention efforts,and
b) determining the demographic, asset, and other
special characteristics of individuals without housing
to better inform resource allocation
The street census was conducted on the morning of March 19th and evening of March 21st in 2019. This was the first large-scale, comprehensive homeless census in the City of Corona.

METHODOLOGY
Each surveyor’s area was indicated on a map, and specific locations within that mapped area where homeless individuals were known to sleep were highlighted. Because the goal of this project was a comprehensive census—not a representative sample—even those areas on the teams’ maps where no homeless individuals were known to sleep were visited. Additionally, because of the comprehensive approach, all of Corona was mapped and included in the census, including residential areas where homeless individuals are very rarely seen.

Teams were deployed from the Corona Police station. The city’s geographic area was covered fully twice by the teams. Homeless individuals who did not wish to answer the survey questions were simply counted. Responses from homeless individuals who opted to participate in the survey were entered into a phone application called Survey123 for ArcGIS. Duplicates were then removed after the completion of the census by comparing names, age ranges, gender, race/ethnicity and location of survey.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 26
City of Corona March 2019 Homeless Census

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISONS
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 27
City of Corona March 2019 Homeless Census

COMPARISONS OF HOMELESSNESS CHARACTERISTICS
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 28
City of Corona March 2019 Homeless Census

OTHER COMPARISONS
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 29
NO, 75%
NO, 47%
NO, 35%
YES, 25%
YES, 53%
YES, 65%
0%
100%

INCOME CALFRESH HEALTH INSURANCE
City of Corona March 2019 Homeless Census

COMPARISON OF ASSETS AND SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS
Chart 5: Income, CalFresh and Health Insurance
Chart 6: Military Services, Disabilities, Mental Health Concerns and Substance Abuse NO, 95%
NO, 57%
NO, 72%
NO, 47%
YES, 5%
YES, 43%
YES, 28%
YES, 53%
0%
100%

MILITARY DISABILITIES MENTAL HEALTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 30
City of Corona March 2019 Homeless Census

CITY NET HOMELESS CENSUS KEY FINDINGS
• 209 UNSHELTERED - The census identified 209 unsheltered homeless individuals in Corona. • CITY PARK – 51 of 209 individuals were encountered within the boundaries of City park • COMPOSITE - Viewed as a composite of the highest-frequency responses, the typical unsheltered homeless individual in Corona is a man in his 50’s who identifies ethnically as “white,” has been homeless 3-5 years and is likely to have substance abuse concerns. • DISABILITIES - 43% of those surveyed reported having a disability or disabilities. 28% stated they struggle with mental health concerns, and 53% with substance abuse. • CHRONIC HOMELESS - 96 individuals fit the definition of chronically homeless (have been homelessfor more than ayear,andhave apermanent disability,substanceabuseormental healthconcerns).
• RESOURCES - 76% of individuals have no income and 47% are not receiving CalFresh. • TIES TO CORONA - 94% of surveyed individuals reported that they primarily sleep in the City of Corona and 56% reported their last permanent address was in Corona. • MINOR - 1 unaccompanied minor (17 years old) was encountered during the census. • HOMELESS 1 YEAR OR MORE - 76% of respondents (129 individuals) have been homeless for one year or more.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 31
City of Corona March 2019 Homeless Census

HOMELESS DISTRIBUTION ACROSS THE CITY OF CORONA
TOTAL HOMELESS: 209 INDIVIDUALS
Note: Each blue dot represents a location where unsheltered homeless individuals were counted during the census.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 32
City of Corona March 2019 Homeless Census

CITY NET REPORT CONCLUSION
The results of the Corona census suggest that an increase in low-threshold bridge housing services may be needed, especially bridge housing that targets the demographic most represented among the Corona homeless population—single men with no income who may have substance abuse concerns and/or disabilities. This census found that 78% of 56 women surveyed normally sleep in the City of Corona.

Increased access to existing shelter beds for this population could provide local solutions to this vulnerable set of individuals. Additionally, because of the high percentage of respondents with substance abuse and/or mental health concerns (53% and 28%, respectively), deploying behavioral health outreach and engagement workers more frequently may increase the number of homeless individuals who are successfully connected to stable housing and resources.

The highly impacted locations of City Park, Palisades Wash, and along 6th Street (from Rimpau Ave to S. Smith Ave) could benefit from focused outreach activities. Connection to case management services was also welcomed from 75% of those surveyed. Strengthening community workforce development services and their connections to outreach teams and shelter providers may increase homeless individuals’ access to income (75% currently have no income).

Engagement with local business owners is suggested to improve relationships and develop opportunities for homeless individuals who are seeking employment. It is also suggested that engaging and educating compassionate community members on best practices for homeless outreach and services could benefit the local population.

Because 76% of respondents reported living in homeless conditions for one year or more, providing services that target those with significantly deteriorated physical health, mental health, and social skills (from years spent living in homeless conditions) may help Corona’s homeless neighbors reintegrate into society
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 33
City of Corona March 2019 Homeless Census

LIMITATIONS
The term “addiction” was not defined in the survey, and thus the responses in this category do not represent a diagnosable condition but only respondents’ self-perceptions of the condition. Also limiting this study is the fact that the only way to identify duplicates in the unsheltered count was to compare available data including names, age ranges, gender,
race/ethnicity and location of survey from those who
chose to complete the survey questionnaire.

Because the census occurred over two days,
unsheltered individuals who chose not to complete the
survey may have been counted twice, and artificial
inflation of the count cannot therefore be ruled out.

Artificial inflation may also have resulted from the
addition of 20 homeless individuals from City Net’s
Corona case management roster after the completion
of the census.

While those on the roster who completed the survey
were not added to the count, some individuals on the
roster may have been encountered during the census and chosen not to take the survey. As a result, they may be represented twice in the count. The margin of error for all data points ranges from 2.84% to 5.24%, with an average margin of error of 3.45%.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 34

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
McKinney-Vento Act for Homeless Children and Youth
In addition to the annual count of the homeless, it is also important to analyze school district data on the number of homeless children and youth. School districts across the United States must comply with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act which was originally authorized by Congress in 1987. The McKinney-Vento act was developed to address the barriers that homeless children and youth face.

The McKinney Vento Act focuses on removing barriers associated with enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Often, when homeless families are in crisis, they do not have a permanent address, immunization records for their children, and other documents traditionally required to enroll their children and youth in school. In addition, homeless children and youth often lack other resources such as clean clothing, balanced nutrition, and a safe place to sleep. When families are in crisis due to homelessness or unstable housing, children and youth struggle to succeed in school. Section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children and youth as those who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The term includes children and youth who are:

Sharing the housing of other persons due to
loss of housing, economic hardship, or a
similar reason (sometimes referred to as
“doubled-up”);
Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or
camping grounds due to lack of alternative
adequate accommodations;
Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
or abandoned in hospitals;
Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.

It is important to note the distinction between HUD’s definition of homelessness and the McKinneyVento Act definition of homelessness. HUD’s point-in-time count does not consider doubled-up in housing (also known as unstably or precariously housed) whereas the McKinney-Vento Act includes this category as part of the homeless definition.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 35

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
McKinney-Vento Act for Homeless Children and Youth continued Research and data across the nation indicates that homelessness often has the following detrimental impacts on homeless children and youth:

Homeless students are often required to change schools due to the transient nature of homelessness. Frequent school changes cause major interruptions in education and result in lower school achievement and higher drop-out rates;
Homeless students are often chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism results in lower school achievement and higher drop-out rates;
High school graduation rates are lower among homeless students.

To address these and other challenges faced by homeless students, school districts across the nation must comply with the following requirements:

Identify homeless children and youth and submit annual reports to State Department of Education;
Collaborate and coordinate with numerous public and private agencies to facilitate a path to stable housing. Public and private agencies include:
o Child welfare and social service agencies
o Law enforcement agencies
o Juvenile and Family Courts
o Mental Health Service Providers
o Domestic Violence Service Providers
o Child Care Providers
o Runaway and Homeless Youth Centers
o Emergency, Transitional and Permanent Housing Providers Eliminate enrollment barriers such as:
o Missed application or enrollment deadlines
o Fines or fees
o Records required for enrollment including immunization or other required health records o Proof of residence
o Academic records including documentation for credit transfers Facilitate school stability through provision of transportation to the school of origin until the end of the school year
Maintain privacy of homeless student records
Develop and maintain a fair dispute resolution process
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 36

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
McKinney-Vento Act for Homeless Children and Youth continued According to the California Department of Education and the Riverside County Office of Education, in Fiscal Year 2018/19, a total of 20,037 homeless children and youth were enrolled in school districts throughout Riverside County.

Consistent with previous years trends, the largest category of homeless students was in the doubledup category. The following charts and graphs provide a breakdown of each category:

Doubled-Up Hotel or Motel Sheltered Unsheltered Total
18,165 722 727 423 20,037

Although living doubled-up is challenging for families with children and youth, the aforementioned data confirms a positive trend. There are far fewer families with children and youth on the streets, in motels or in shelters.

Further, the Corona-Norco Unified School District homeless student count only represents about 1% of the regional count of the 20,037 homeless children and youth who were identified during the most recent Riverside County McKinney-Vento Count in Fiscal Year 2018-19. More specific data related to the Corona-Norco Unified School District is outlined in the next few pages of this plan. 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Doubled-Up
Hotel or Motel
Sheltered
Unsheltered
Total
FY 2018-19
Riverside County Office of Education
McKinney-Vento
Regional Homeless Student Count
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 37

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
McKinney-Vento Act for Homeless Children and Youth continued The following graphs provide an overview of trends related to homeless children and youth in the Corona-Norco Unified School District. The importance of the data sets are as follows:

1. The total number of homeless students enrolled in the Corona-Norco Unified School District show a positive trend. Although the total school district count increased from 185 in 2016 to 220 in 2017, the following two years show a decrease to 116 in 2018 and 115 in 2019.

2. The total number of homeless students enrolled in schools located in the City of Corona also shows a positive trend. Although homeless student enrollment increased from 93 in 2016 to 110 in 2017, the following two years show a significant decrease to 46 in both 2018 and 2019. 2016 2017 2018 2019
185
220
116 115
93 110
46 46

TOTAL HOMELESS COUNT
CNUSD City of Corona
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 38

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
McKinney-Vento Act for Homeless Children and Youth continued The following graph provides an overview of trends related to homeless children and youth by grade level in the Corona-Norco Unified School District during the period of 2016 – 2019.

The data results are consistent with national trends which indicate that student homelessness tends to be higher among high school students due conflicts or abuse from families resulting in runaway youth fleeing sexual or physical abuse or youth that have been kicked out of their homes due to behavioral issues or other families disagreements.
77 11
97 78
38 104
39 14
63 45
11 59
0 20
40 60
80 100
120
Elementary Middle High
HOMELESS COUNT by GRADE LEVELS
2016 2017 2018 2019
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 39
FY 2018-19 Call Data
2-1-1 Community Connect Needs Assessment Data
In 2000, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order reserving the 2-1-1 dialing code to provide toll free, non-emergency community information and referral services. The FCC’s order encouraged states to implement this service across the nation. In Riverside County, this service is provided by 2-1-1 Community Connect. Call data from 2-1-1 is commonly used to determine health and human service needs and gaps in communities across the nation. 2-1-1 Community Connect provides confidential information and referral services 24 hours a day, 7- days a week. Call services are provided in many different languages. 2-1-1’s extensive resource database enables callers to access information for many different services such as food, clothing, shelter, suicide prevention hotlines, health care, mental health services, job training and unemployment services, rent and mortgage assistance, affordable housing, senior services, and much more. The following graphs provide a snapshot of health and human services needs in the City of Corona. This data indicates that homeless shelter and affording housing received the highest number of call requests.
469
174
116
67 64
61 36
34 23
16 16
14 13
11 8
7 0 100 200 300 400 500
Rent Payment…
Homeless Shelter
Rental Deposit…
Housing Search…
Domestic Violence…
Homeless Motel…
Section 8 Housing…
Senior Housing…
City Of Corona
Housing Categories
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 40

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Continuum of Care Housing Inventory Chart
The Riverside Continuum of Care is required to complete a Housing Inventory Chart (HIC) as part of the annual application for Federal Continuum of Care Funding. The HIC provides a detailed listing of emergency shelters, transitional shelters, and permanent supportive housing units throughout Riverside County. The projects listed on the HIC must meet HUD’s standard for homeless shelters and permanent supportive housing; therefore, the HIC does not include sober living homes, group homes and some other facilities that also provide housing resources to certain homeless sub-populations. Data from the HIC is included in the Homeless Strategic Plan to confirm that the City and its community of partners need to develop a local system of services, shelter, and housing. 2020 HOUSING INVENTORY CHART – EMERGENCY SHELTER BEDS
Organization Name Project Name Bed Type City Year-Round Beds Alternative to Domestic
Violence
Residential Shelter
Program
Facility-based
beds Confidential 60
Coachella Valley Rescue
Mission
CVRM Overnight
Shelter
Facility-based
beds INDIO 300
Department of Public
Social Services
State HDAP Emergency
Temporary Housing Voucher beds Countywide 8
Martha's Village &
Kitchen Inc.

MVK Renewing Hope
Emergency Shelter
Facility-based
beds INDIO 120
Operation Safe House
OSH Safe House Desert
Emergency Shelter
Facility-based
beds THOUSAND PLMS 20
Operation Safe House
OSH Safe House
Riverside Emergency
Shelter
Facility-based
beds RIVERSIDE 17
Path of Life Ministries Inc
CVAG Emergency
Shelter Project
Facility-based
beds Cathedral City 20
Path of Life Ministries Inc
POL Cold Weather
Emergency Shelter
Facility-based
beds RIVERSIDE 0
Path of Life Ministries Inc
POL Family Emergency
Shelter
Facility-based
beds RIVERSIDE 50
Path of Life Ministries Inc
POL Year-Round
Emergency Shelter
Facility-based
beds RIVERSIDE 64
Riverside University Health
System-Behavioral Health
Hotel/Motel Voucher
Program Voucher beds Countywide 50
Shelter from the Storm
Domestic Violence
Emergency Shelter
Program
Facility-based
beds Confidential 20
US Vets Initiative
US Vets Emergency
Shelter
Facility-based
beds MARCH ARB 6
Valley Restart Shelter Inc.

Valley Restart
Emergency Shelter
Facility-based
beds HEMET 35
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 41

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
2020 HOUSING INVENTORY CHART - TRANSITIONAL HOUSING BEDS Organization Name Project Name City Total
Beds
Housin
g Type
Help for Future Leaders Transitional Housing for Veterans DSRT HOT SPGS 13 Multipl
e Sites
Lighthouse Social Service
Centers Transitional Housing Living Services MORENO VALLEY 12 Single
Site
Operation Safe House
OSH Harrison House Transitional
Living Program THOUSAND PLMS 13
Single
Site
Operation Safe House
OSH Main Street Transitional
Housing RIVERSIDE 15
Single
Site
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 42

HOMELESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
2020 HOUSING INVENTORY CHART – PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING BEDS Organization Name Project Name Housing Type City Total
Beds
City of Riverside City of Riverside PSH
Chronically Homeless
Site-based – single site RIVERSIDE 8
City of Riverside City of Riverside PSH for
Disabled
Site-based – clustered / multiple
sites
Riverside 14
County Housing Authority Housing Authority
Consolidated
Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 51
County Housing Authority Housing Authority
Consolidated All County
Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 65
County Housing Authority Housing Authority EHOP Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 4 County Housing Authority Housing Authority Street to
Home Chronic Homeless
Project
Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 13
County Housing Authority HUD VASH - Project Based
PSH
Site-based – clustered / multiple
sites
Riverside 96
County Housing Authority HUD VASH - Tenant Based
PSH
Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 879
County Housing Authority Shelter Plus Care Project
Based w/OSH
Site-based – clustered / multiple
sites
Thousand Palms 13
Jewish Family Services Desert Horizon PSH Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 18 Jewish Family Services JFSSD Permanent
Supportive Housing
Expansion
Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 75
Lighthouse Social Service Centers Lighthouse Riverside PSH Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 29 Lighthouse Social Service Centers Lighthouse SSC Permanent Housing for Disabled
Women with Children
Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 39
Path of Life Ministries Inc Path of Life PSH Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 131 Riverside University Health SystemBehavioral HealthBehavioral Health - Coachella Valley
Permanent Housing
Site-based – single site Palm Springs 25
Riverside University Health SystemBehavioral HealthBehavioral Health - Men's Permanent Housing
Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 23
Riverside University Health SystemBehavioral HealthBehavioral Health - Riverside Permanent
Housing
Site-based – single site RIVERSIDE 25
Riverside University Health SystemBehavioral HealthBehavioral Health HHOPE Consolidated Permanent
Housing
Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 103
Step Up on Second Street, Inc. Stepping Up In Riverside Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 54 Step Up on Second Street, Inc. Stepping Up in Riverside Bonus
Tenant-based – scattered site Scattered Sites 38
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 43

HOMELESS NEEDS ASESSMENT CONCLUSIONS
As indicated in the January 2020 AHAR, California has the highest number of homeless people in the nation (151,278 which is approximately 27% of the 567,715 total homeless population in the nation). This has an impact on the City of Corona.

Like many counties throughout California, Riverside County continues to experience challenges associated with the growing number of homeless. The January 2020 Point in time Count of the Homeless (PIT) determined that the total sheltered and unsheltered population in Riverside County increased from 2,811 in 2019 to 2,884 in 2020 (3% increase). This also has an impact on the City of Corona.

According to the January 2020 PIT, the City of Corona experienced a 34% decrease in its unsheltered homeless population (from 164 in 2019 to 109 in 2020); however, it is extremely important to understand the limitations of the PIT data as homeless are only captured in known locations at one point-time-time. Two limitations impacting the 2020 PIT data are: 1) homeless tend to move to different locations within the City. Some of these locations may have not been on the PIT maps; and 2) homeless being served through the City of Corona motel shelter program were not captured during the City’s unsheltered PIT Count.

The City Net Homeless Census conducted in March of 2019 identified 209 unsheltered homeless individuals in the City of Corona. 96 of the 209 homeless met the HUD definition of chronically homeless. This is a high number of chronically homeless and presents unique challenges for the City of Corona.

In March of 2020, City Net updated the by-name list of 209 homeless identified during the Census in 2019. Between successful street exits and new homeless client engagements, that number is estimated to be 231 unduplicated homeless in the City of Corona. This represents a 22 person or 10% increase. This confirms that homelessness in Corona is very fluid.

The City Net Census also indicated that approximately 68% of the unsheltered homeless are males and 32% are females. No homeless families with children were identified during the City Net Census. The predominance of unsheltered males will impact how the City plans for the development of shelter.

School Districts have a different definition of homelessness. This definition includes doubled-up in housing. The FY 18/19 Riverside County Office of Education Homeless Count confirmed that 18,165 of the 20,037 homeless children and youth were doubled-up in housing while the remaining 1,872 were living on the streets, in shelters or in motels. The Corona-Norco School District homeless student count represents less than 1% of the total number of homeless students in Riverside County.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 44
The Corona-Norco Unified School District has experienced a downward trend in the number of homeless children and youth decreasing from a high of 220 students to 115 students from 2016 to 2019. The Corona-Norco Unified School District is a high performing District and its McKinneyVento partnerships are making a difference in reducing family homelessness.

Of the 115 homeless students identified in the Corona-Norco Unified School District in 2019, only 46 were from the City of Corona.

The 2-1-1 Community Connect call data for the City of Corona indicates that top caller needs are for homeless and housing resources. Housing resource calls for assistance were for at-risk of homeless and homeless categories.

The emergency shelters and transitional housing projects listed on the Continuum of Care Housing Inventory Chart (HIC) are not local to the City of Corona. In addition, most of these facilities are fully subscribed. Further, according to the County’s Coordinated Entry System, there are well over 800 eligible chronically homeless waiting to be placed in the permanent supportive housing units listed on the HIC. This data further affirms that Corona needs to develop its own system of services, shelter, and housing in collaboration with the County and other partners.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented impacts to the economy. Some economists fear that the U.S. is headed into a downturn much deeper than the Great Recession of 2007-2009. As a result, the City of Corona will likely experience an increase in homeless families and individuals.

When combined, these data factors confirm that the City of Corona will need to develop a robust plan of action that focuses on the following homeless sub-populations and interventions:

1. Unaccompanied Chronically Homeless Individuals/Unsheltered Street Homeless Individuals Outreach and Engagement
Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter
Navigation Center/Multi-Service Center
Permanent Supportive Housing

2. Situationally Homeless Individuals and Families
Outreach and Engagement
Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter
Connection to Existing Transitional Shelters
Workforce Development Programs
Affordable Housing

3. At-Risk of Homeless Individuals and Families
Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Programs
Workforce Development Programs
Utility, Food, Clothing, and Transportation Assistance Programs Priority homeless sub-populations and recommended interventions will be discussed in more detail in the best practices and goal sections of this plan.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 45

HOMELESS COST IMPACTS
Several different national, State, and local studies have proven that doing nothing to address the homeless issue is far more expensive to taxpayers and local government. Although the cost impacts vary among homeless subpopulations, chronically homeless individuals and families cause higher cost impacts to communities across the United States.

As mentioned earlier in this plan, chronic homelessness refers to individuals and families who experience long-term episodes of homelessness and who have co-occurring diagnoses such as mental illness, substance abuse disorders, chronic health conditions, and other disabilities. Without stable housing, chronically homeless individuals and families cycles in and out of hospital emergency rooms, substance abuse detoxification programs inpatient hospital stays, psychiatric centers, as well as jails and prisons resulting in extremely high public costs and poor health outcomes, including premature death.

Additional cost impacts to local government
include hazardous waste cleanup cost impacts to
parks and other public facilities. Debris from
homeless encampments in river washes, riverbeds
and other outdoor areas not only affects wildlife but
presents additional challenges to local government
for cleanup and mitigation due to environmental
laws and regulations that seek to protect wildlife
species.

The Police Department in Reno Nevada was one of the first cities in the nation to start tracking the high cost impacts of homelessness. Reno’s catalyst for change was a homeless man named Murray Barr.

Murray was a homeless ex-marine with severe alcoholism. Due to Murray’s severe alcoholism, he cycled in and out of jail, hospital emergency rooms, alcohol detoxification centers, and inpatient hospital stays. Over the course of ten years of expensive non-solutions, Murray cost Nevada taxpayers one million dollars.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 46
United Way Cost Impact and Demographic Study on Homelessness In 2017, Orange County’s United Way commissioned the development of a report to assess the cost of homelessness in the region. As part of this effort, some key homeless demographic data was also collected. The report was developed in collaboration with Jamboree, the University of California, Irvine (UCI), the Association of California Cities – Orange County, 211 Orange County, the Hospital Association of Southern California, Cal Optima, and other partners that were convened through an advisory committee.

The study was based on survey data from the following sources: 1) County of Orange, 2) 34 Cities in Orange County, 3) Orange County Hospitals and Cal Optima, 4) Nonprofits, 5) Homeless Participants, and other stakeholders. The data was collected through surveys as well as in person interviews.

Key demographic data findings related to the homeless in Orange County are similar to the demographic characteristics of the homeless in the City of Corona. For example, homeless demographic findings outlined in the United Way report concluded:
o 68% of the 252 homeless that were surveyed had lived in Orange County for 10 years or longer o 90% of the homeless were predominantly born in the United States o a significant number of the homeless were middle-aged, white and lived alone.

Major factors precipitating homelessness in Orange County included:
o Securing or retaining jobs with sustainable wages (40%) o Finding or retaining affordable housing, including evictions and foreclosures (36%) o Family issues (28%)
o Domestic Violence
o Family Dysfunction
o Relationship Dissolution
o Death of a Family member
o Alcohol and/or drug use (22%)
o Mental health issues (17%)
o Physical health issues (13%)
o Release from jail/prison (7%)
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 47
United Way Cost Impact and Demographic Study on Homelessness continued:

Based on the survey data received from public and private agencies participating in the United Way study, approximately $299 million was spent to address the homelessness in Orange County over a 12- month period in Fiscal Year 2014-2015. A breakdown of costs is as follows:

Cities/Municipalities - $120 million
Hospitals/Healthcare - $ 77 million
County Agencies - $ 62 million
Non-Government Housing Agencies - $ 35 million
Nonprofit Homeless Services Agencies - $ 5 million
Total - $299 million
Cost Impact and Cost Savings Findings:

The costs of homelessness are exponentially higher among the chronically street homeless; The cost of homelessness significantly declines when homeless are housed; The potential cost savings of housing the homeless is more significant for the chronically street homeless who are the heaviest service users;
City governments and public services bear the brunt of the costs associated with homelessness.

The average annual system cost for one chronically homeless person is $439,787; The average annual cost to place a chronically homeless person in permanent supportive housing with a higher level of service is $55,332;
The estimated annual cost savings for placing a high service need chronically homeless person in permanent supportive housing is $384,455.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 48
United Way Cost Impact and Demographic Study on Homelessness continued:

The following two charts provide a visual representation of the United Way study showing systemwide homeless cost impacts and the dramatic cost savings of providing permanent-supportive housing for the chronically homeless:
0 50,000,000 100,000,000 150,000,000
Cities/Municipalities
Hospitals/Healthcare
County Agencies
Non-Government Housing
Agencies
Nonprofit Homeless Services
Agencies
FY 2014/15 OC Homeless Cost Impacts
By Stakeholder Category
Annual Systemwide Cost Savings $384,455
Annual Cost of One Chronic Homeless Person $439,787
Annual Cost of One Person in Permanent Supportive Housing $55,332 Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 49

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS COST IMPACTS
Consistent with the United Way study, which concluded that local government bears the brunt of homeless cost impacts, the City of Corona continues to experience homeless cost impacts at varying levels within different City Departments. As part of the Homeless Strategic Plan process, surveys were conducted to assess homeless impacts affecting the following City Departments:

Police Department & Fire Department
Parks Department & Library and Recreation Services Department Animal Services and Enforcement
It is extremely important to clarify that the following survey data is being used to evaluate homeless cost impacts to confirm that doing nothing to address homelessness is far more expensive to local government. Furthermore, not all homeless commit crimes and cost impacts to cities like Corona highlight the quality of life issues facing the homeless who often have no access to safe shelter, restrooms, and showers. Therefore, the quality of life issues highlighted in the following survey responses are symptoms to bigger problems related to the lack of shelter, supportive services like mental health and substance abuse treatment as well as affordable housing. Finally, it should be noted that some City Departments like the Library and Recreation Services Department and the Animal Services and Enforcement Department also provided a summary of services provided to the homeless.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 50
City of Corona Police Department
The Corona Police Department provided the following survey responses:

1. What is the total number of all calls for service in 2017, 2018, and 2019? • 2017: 106,333
• 2018: 85,634
• 2019: 83,186

2. What is the total of all homeless related calls for service in 2017, 2018, and 2019? • 2017: 2512
• 2018: 2768
• 2019: 3584

3. Of the total calls for service in 2017, 2018, and 2019, what percentage were transient related calls for service for each year?
• 2017: 2.3%
• 2018: 3.2%
• 2019: 4.3%

4. What are the estimated homeless related cost impacts for police officers? (note:
administration, records, dispatch, vehicle costs not included) • 2017: $698,000
• 2018: $743,000
• 2019: $887,00

5. Based on the total number of homeless related calls for service over the past three years a. Should the Corona Police Department Homeless Outreach & Psychological Evaluation (HOPE) Team be expanded in terms of additional Police Officer II staff? Yes
b. If so, how many additional positions are needed and what is the fully loaded cost for an entry level Police Officer II position?
We concur with the Hilliard Heinz Assessment recommendation of two additional officers at $208,000 each (does not include a vehicle and other equipment costs). The two additional HOPE Team Officers would be working the opposite days of the week and therefore could utilize the truck assigned to the team. On overlapping days, additional vehicles are available for short-term use and would be utilized.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 51
c. Should the HOPE team be expanded to a 24/7 service/response model? No. The second team would be assigned to swing shift type hours, perhaps 2 pm to midnight and could address the issues occurring at night. We are also re-inventing our HOPE Liaison Officer Program where additional patrol officers will be helping during the hours when both teams are off duty.

6. Based upon feedback from the HOPE Team and Patrol, what are the biggest barriers and challenges facing the homeless in the City of Corona:
a. Mental Health Treatment
b. Substance Abuse Treatment
Several patrol officers and sergeants weighed in on this question. Mental Health and Substance Abuse were identified as the biggest challenges facing the chronically homeless in Corona.

Officers opined that recent changes to state law minimizing the consequences for the use and possession of dangerous drugs has had a significant impact on the system’s ability to mandate treatment for the addicted portion of the homeless population. Other barriers and challenges such as emergency shelter, transitional shelter, permanent supportive housing and other system components were viewed as political in nature and officers declined to weigh in on them.

7. What policy options and best practices does Corona PD believe will make the most dramatic impact in addressing homelessness in the City of Corona? The overall sentiment from patrol officers is that these policy options are best established by policy makers familiar with the issues.

8. Is there any additional information that Corona PD would like to provide to help City Council make the most appropriate policy decisions regarding the Homeless Strategic Plan? Admission to any shelter established within the City should be restricted and closely monitored to discourage dumping. Tight controls would minimize the diversion of critical resources from their mission.

The number of reported calls for service related
to homelessness indicate an upward trend.

Based upon those calls it is estimated that 8,160
man-hours were spent on these calls last year.

Limited patrol resources are diverted from
responding to other emergency, nonemergency and self-initiated calls. Officers are required to respond from greater distances as
zone integrity is sacrificed due to time
committed to homeless related calls.

Patrol response times to emergency calls
continue to remain in the five-minute range. However, non-emergency response times are increasing as is officer fatigue. City Council approval of increased staffing and additional resources for the unsheltered would certainly have a positive impact on this trend.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 52
City of Corona Police Department Continued
The following charts and graphs provide a visual overview of homeless cost impacts to the City’s Police Department:

Year
Total Calls
For Service
Homeless Calls
For Service Homeless Cost Impact
2017 106,333 2,512 $698,000
2018 85,634 2,768 $743,000
2019 83,186 3,584 $887,000
In 2019, 8,160 man-hours were spent on transient related calls for service.

Limited patrol resources were diverted from responding to other emergency and nonemergency calls.

While total police department calls for service are decreasing, homeless related calls for service and cost impacts increasing.

The following charts and graphs provide a visual overview of homeless related calls for service cost impacts to the City’s Police Department:
$0
$100,000
$200,000
$300,000
$400,000
$500,000
$600,000
$700,000
$800,000
$900,000
2017 2018 2019
Corona PD Homeless
Cost Impacts
0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
2017 2018 2019
Corona PD
Homeless Calls For Service
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 53
City of Corona Fire Department
The Corona Fire Department provided the following survey responses as part of the City’s Homeless Cost Impact Assessment:

1. What is the total number of all Fire Department calls for service in 2017, 2018, and 2019? • 2017: 12,979
• 2018: 13,048
• 2019: 13,880

2. What is the total number of all Fire Department homeless calls for service in 2017, 2018, and 2019? • 2017: 237
• 2018: 294
• 2019: 620 (6 months’ worth of data from new Image Trend System which captures more accurate data)
Analysis of Corona Fire Department Homeless Cost Impacts Year
Total Calls
for Service
Six Months of
Transient
Related Calls
for Service
Six Months of
Homeless Cost Impacts
2019 13,880 620 $980,302
Corona Fire Department's new Image Trend data system captures more accurate information than the legacy system. Six months of data from the new system provides an accurate reflection of transient calls for service and cost impacts.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 54
City of Corona Fire Department Continued:

3. Over the past three years (2017, 2018, 2019), have transient related calls for service diverted fire department resources away from critical emergencies and first response? If so, please describe the impact.

Any homeless/transient related call for service potentially diverts resources away from critical emergency response. Though we have other available units to respond to additional calls for service, they are generally responding from greater distances which impacts the quality of care.

Calls are best characterized in two general categories, Emergency Medical Service (EMS) related or Non-EMS related. Non-EMS related incidents include responses such as fires.

As a point of reference, below is some data from Image Trend that depicts the homeless impacts.

The totals below are times where fire resources were assigned to homeless incidents and unable to respond to other emergencies:

July 19, 2019
–
February 28, 2020
Homeless/
Transient Incidents
Emergency Medical
Service Incidents
Total Hours
Assigned
Non-Emergency
Medical Service
Incidents
Total Hours Assigned
Total Commitment
317 hours
186 hours 131 hours
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 55
City of Corona Fire Department Continued:

4. What is the Fire Department’s perspective on the biggest barriers and challenges facing the homeless in the City of Corona?
Based on feedback from operations personnel the below items are the biggest barriers/challenges:

Mental Health Treatment
Substance Abuse Treatment
Lack of Emergency Shelter
Most of the Fire Department’s interactions with the homeless population are transactional. The homeless neighbor needs a service and we provide it. Statistically, the majority of the Fire Department’s homeless responses are initially medical in nature. However, in inclement weather we are often called out for a medical issue as a mechanism for the caller to get out of the elements.

Many of the other barriers and challenges listed are systemic or philosophic and do not resonate with our reality. For example, our work is not impacted by the homeless population’s lack of employment or life skill training.

5. What policy options and best practices does the Fire Department believe will make the most dramatic impact in addressing homelessness in the City of Corona? Navigation Centers/Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter

6. Is there any additional information that the Corona Fire Department would like to provide to help the City Council make the most appropriate policy decisions regarding the Homeless Strategic Plan?
As a complex problem, this will obviously require complex solutions that include strategy, policy, administration and operations.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 56
City of Corona Parks and Facilities
The City of Corona Parks Department provided the following survey responses as part of the City’s Homeless Cost Impact Assessment:

1. Vandalism and Building Maintenance Cost Impacts:

Please provide details related to homeless cost impacts from vandalism and building maintenance for the past three years (2017, 2018, and 2019):

Fiscal Year Total Cost
16/17 $17,752.52
17/18 $21,003.35
18/19 $51,079.90
Total $89,835.77
$-
$10,000.00
$20,000.00
$30,000.00
$40,000.00
$50,000.00
$60,000.00
16/17 17/18 18/19
City of Corona Parks
Homeless Cost Impacts
Vandalism & Clean-Up Costs
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 57
City of Corona Parks and Facilities Continued

2. Please list the types of homeless related vandalism and maintenance issues during the period 2017, 2018, and 2018:

Theft of wire, brass or copper plumbing
Broken light fixtures or painting over light fixture lens Broken doors and windows to gain entry
Burned items in shelters or restroom

3. Please provide a summary of feedback from Parks staff regarding concerns related to homeless impacts at City Parks:

Concerns about biohazardous of
clean-up of human waste (both
urine and fecal)
Concerns about biohazardous
clean-up of hypodermic needles
and other drug paraphernalia
Concerns about employee
safety
Concerns about public safety

4. Please identify park locations where Corona’s
homeless congregate:

City Park
Stagecoach Husted Park
Joy Park
Merrill Park
Sheridan Park
Rimpau Park
Butterfield Park
Kellogg Park
Santana Park
It is important to note that City Park is the primary location where Corona’s homeless congregate; however, we also see homeless typically in vehicles or sleeping in restrooms or baseball dug outs at Rimpau Park, Butterfield Park, Kellogg Park and Santana Park. Many appear to either have substance abuse issues and/or mental health issues.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 58
City of Corona Parks and Facilities Continued

5. Please indicate which park locations have required Corona Police Department response regarding homeless issues:

City Park
Butterfield Park
Santana Park
Citrus Park
Rimpau Park
Stagecoach Park
Husted Park
Joy Park
Merrill Park
Please summarize the most common homeless-related complaints received from residents:

Parks and Recreation staff receive complaints from residents who use the parks for recreational purposes. Residents complain about safety concerns, unsanitary conditions, and other inappropriate homeless behavior in public parks. In addition, the leagues who use the sports parks have major complaints about open drug use, sleeping or showering in restrooms when children are present and finding drug paraphernalia or human waste in the dug outs or bleacher areas.

6. From a Parks Department perspective,
what are the biggest barriers and
challenges facing the homeless in the
City of Corona?
Lack of Emergency Shelter
Lack of Housing with Services
Substance Abuse Treatment
Other: Legislation such as
Proposition 47 and 57 causes
enforcement challenges for
Corona PD

7. What policy options and best practices
does the Parks Department believe will
make the most dramatic impact in
addressing homelessness in the City of
Corona?
Alignment with County of Riverside Policy
& System
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 59
City of Corona Library and Recreation Services Department:

The Library and Recreation Services Department survey will not only assess homeless cost impacts and issues but also services available for the homeless.

1. Vandalism and Building Maintenance Cost Impacts:

Please provide an overview of homeless issues related to vandalism and building maintenance during the period of 2017, 2018, and 2019:

Destruction and theft of City property
Breaking and entering
Human waste (urine and
feces)
Hazardous materials
including needles
Hygiene and sanitizing
maintenance
Increased restroom
maintenance
Trash and bulk items
deposited throughout
facilities
Occupancy of resources and
amenities
Wire and equipment theft
Use of electric
Graffiti and arson
Damage to urban canopy and landscaping
To appropriately address these issues, the Library and Recreation Services Department regularly purchases disinfectant sprays and wipes, gloves, trash grabbers, graffiti wipes, sharps disposal containers, and other related supplies.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 60

2. Please provide the name and location of each facility impacted by homeless related vandalism and maintenance issues:

Circle City Center
365 N Main Street, Corona
Historic Civic Center & Room
815 W 6th Street, Corona
Corona Public Library
650 S Main Street, Corona
Parks & Fields:

Brentwood
Butterfield
City
El Cerrito
Kellogg
Promenade
Santana
Sheridan
Stagecoach
Victoria
Senior Center
921 S Belle, Corona
Vicentia Activity Center
550 S Vicentia Avenue, Corona
Victoria Park Community Center
312 E 9th Street, Corona
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 61
City of Corona Library and Recreation Services Department continued:

3. Please provide a grand total of homeless related cost impacts for the period of 2017, 2018, and 2019:

YEAR COST
2017 NOT TRACKED
2018 $19,524
2019 $43,386
TOTAL $62,910

4. Please confirm which locations have required support/response from the Corona Police Department:

Brentwood
Civic Center Gym
City Park Pool
Historic Civic Center
Library
Victoria Park Community Center
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000
2018
2019
Total
Library and Recreation Services
Homeless Cost Impacts
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 62

5. Please provide examples of homeless-related complaints and concerns from staff and the public:

People entering the library and being greeted by someone who is yelling at them or being aggressive. This also covers drug use reports when library users enter the facility.

Regular reports of problems in the restrooms: people bathing, people sleeping or passed out, and drug use.

Parents who are dropping their children off for our day camp express concern about the individuals who spend time near the camp building.

Day Camp staff have had to call Police due to homeless who have displayed erratic and menacing behavior toward staff and children.

User groups unable to utilize their permitted space due to homeless occupying the facility, entryway, bathrooms, and amenities.

Drug use, violence, and prostitution making families feel unsafe and unwilling to continue participation in activities. This results in decreased revenue for programs, leagues, and organizations.

6. Homeless Services provided by the Library and Recreation Services Department:

Do the homeless have access to computers and the Internet at the Library, Senior Center, or any of the seven community centers?
Computer and Internet Access by Facility:

Facility Computer Access Internet
Auburndale
Civic Center Gym
City Park Pool
Circle City Center
Library
Parks & Fields
Senior Center
Vicentia Activity Center
Victoria Park Community Center

7. Does the staff of Library and Recreation Services collaborate with City Net to link the homeless to resources, shelter, and housing? Is staff aware that City Net provides transportation services so that homeless can obtain valid forms of ID?
Yes
Yes

8. Do homeless individuals access community services or recreational activities at the Library, Senior Center, or any of the seven community centers?
Yes
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 63

9. Based upon the experience of the Library and Recreation Services Department, what are the biggest barriers and challenges facing the homeless in the City of Corona? Circle all that apply and list missing barriers/challenges:

Lack of Emergency Shelter
Lack of Transitional Shelter
Lack of Affordable Housing
Lack of Housing with Services
Mental Health Treatment
Substance Abuse Treatment
Appropriate Health Care
Jobs/Workforce Development
Life Skills Training
Lack of a Family Support System
Non-Profit Resources
Transportation

10. What policy options and best practices does the Library and Recreation Services Department believe will make the most dramatic impact in addressing homelessness in the City of Corona? Alignment with County of Riverside Policy & System
Systems-Oriented Approach
Sub-Regional Partnerships (Cities & County)
Building Capacity to increase/leverage funding
Navigation Centers/Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter
Housing for Different Homeless Subpopulations
i. Permanent-Supportive Housing
ii. Rapid Rehousing
iii. Affordable Housing
Public/Private Partnerships with the Faith-Based Community Public/Private Partnerships with the Business Community Cease public feedings and item distribution at parks

11. Is there any additional information the Library and Recreation Services Department would like to provide to help City Council make the most appropriate policy decisions regarding the Homeless Strategic Plan?
As with any effort, a plan to address homelessness must insist all parties share a common mission, vision, and values.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 64
City of Corona Animal Services and Enforcement Department The Animal Services and Enforcement Department survey will assess animal care services available for the homeless with pets.

1. Has Animal Services and Enforcement had to deal with pets that belong to the homeless that live in Corona? If yes, please provide a summary that outlines specific issues and cost impacts during 2017, 2018, and 2019?
The majority of calls that we receive regarding pets belonging to the homeless are from the City Park area. We do not deal one on one with the homeless at the park only because the dog owner, for the most part, has left the area and has left the dog in question loose at the park.

There have been few occasions that the dog owner, who will admit they are homeless, will claim their dog from the animal shelter.

As part of this response, please provide specific details such as response to vicious, noisy, sick, abused, neglected or abandoned animals:

The vast majority of dogs owned by the homeless are very well cared for, so as far as the dogs being abused, neglected or sick, that does not happen. The calls received for dogs belonging to the homeless are stray dog calls, either because the homeless person has left the area for a few hours or has fallen asleep at City Park and the dog is wandering loose in the park.

Please list the types of animals (e.g., dogs, cats, other animals): Mostly dogs, no cats. There was one call indicating that a homeless person was standing near a shopping center with a crow.

2. Does Animal Services and Enforcement have a nonprofit foundation that raises funds to provide animal care services in the City of Corona?
Animal Services and Enforcement uses Corona Police Community Partnership.

3. Does Animal Services and Enforcement receive food and other pet supply donations from PetSmart, Petco, Chewy or other pet product businesses? Our Department receives donated food items from the Walmart that is located off the 91 Freeway and McKinley.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 65

4. Does Animal Services and Enforcement provide free or low-cost services to Corona homeless that own pets?
If yes, please provide details such as spay/neuter, vaccinations, microchips, temporary boarding, food, crates, license fee waivers, collars/leashes, etc.

If the dog in question is a continual problem, we offer to spay/neuter the dog. Our Department also waives most fees for the homeless because they normally do not have any money. We do not keep a homeless dog from its owner because it is usually the only companion the homeless person has and most dogs belonging to the homeless are well cared for.

Does Animal Services and Enforcement provide animal care services at community resource fairs for the homeless or other low-income residents in Corona? Yes. At every community event, we make referrals for resources. For example, we refer residents to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services which has a low-cost spay/neuter program.

5. If the City establishes an emergency
shelter, would Animal Services and
Enforcement have the capacity to
partner with the contracted shelter
operator? Examples of partnership
support could include spay/neuter
services, vaccinations, microchips,
temporary boarding, food, crates,
license fee waivers, collars/leashes, etc.

Yes. We would have emergency shelter
capacity for events such as fires, floods,
or other natural disasters. As far as
providing spay/neuter services and
vaccines, those services would have to
be provided by an outside California
licensed veterinarian.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 66

6. Based upon the experience of the Animal Services and Enforcement Department, what are the biggest barriers and challenges facing the homeless in the City of Corona? Circle all that apply and list missing barriers/challenges:

Lack of Emergency and Transitional Shelter
Lack of Affordable Housing and Housing with Services
Lack of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment
Lack of Appropriate Health Care
Lack of Jobs/Workforce Development and Life Skills Training Lack of a Family Support System

7. What policy options and best practices does the Animal Services and Enforcement Department believe will make the most dramatic impact in addressing homelessness in the City of Corona? Circle all that apply and list missing policy options and best practices:

Alignment with County of Riverside Policy & System
Systems-Oriented Approach
Sub-Regional Partnerships (Cities & County)
Building Capacity to increase/leverage funding
Navigation Centers/Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter
Housing for Different Homeless Subpopulations
i. Permanent-Supportive Housing
ii. Rapid Rehousing
iii. Affordable Housing
Public/Private Partnerships with the Faith-Based Community Public/Private Partnerships with the Business Community Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 67

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS COST IMPACT

ANALYSIS
The following bar graph quantifies the total homeless cost impacts to the City of Corona over a threeyear period during 2017, 2018, and 2019. The $3,461,047 total cost impact is a very conservative assessment since the Fire Department cost data only covers a six-month period and the Library/Recreation Services Department cost data only covers a two-year period. Over time, a coordinated system of homeless services should not only improve the quality of life in Corona but also reduce homeless related cost impacts to the City.
$2,328,000.00
$980,302
$89,836 $62,910
$0.00
$500,000.00
$1,000,000.00
$1,500,000.00
$2,000,000.00
$2,500,000.00
Police Fire Parks / Facility
Management
Library / Recreation
2017 - 2019 Corona City Departments
Homeless Cost Impacts $3,461,047
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 68

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Value of Community Engagement
The most successful models to address homelessness are developed through robust community engagement. Diversity of thought, experience, resources, and program philosophies facilitate the development of solid public/private partnerships and models. Additional benefits of community engagement include:

Provide opportunities for community residents and businesses to express concerns and participate in solutions
Foster community buy-in and ownership
Bring together diverse stakeholder groups that were not previously working together Increase transparency
Build trust
Increase understanding
Improve communication
Develop methods to resolve conflicts
Establish local networks of community stakeholders who can work together towards common goals
Identify creative and practical solutions
Identify unmet needs and service gaps
Leverage public and private sector resources of time, talent and treasure Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 69

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The following meeting matrix provides a summary of the meetings that were convened to solicit broad community participation to support development of the City’s Homeless Strategic Plan:

Type of Stakeholder Meeting Date

1. Supervisor Spiegel 2nd District Homeless Solutions
Collaborative of Cities/County Agencies
October 21, 2019 2:00 pm

2. Inland Gateway Association of Realtors November 07, 2019 8:00 am

3. City of Corona Department Head Homeless Strategic Plan Meeting
December 10, 2019 10:00 am

4. Homelessness Resources Committee Membership Meeting December 11, 2019 3:00 pm

5. Chamber of Commerce Homeless Strategic Plan
Brainstorming Meeting
January 08, 2020 3:30 pm

6. Affordable Housing Developer Meeting with National CORE January 09, 2020 1:30 pm

7. Affordable Housing Developer Meeting with C&C
Development
January 09, 2020 3:00 pm

8. Faith-Based Community Meeting
Corona Police Department Cops and Clergy Meeting
January 14, 2020 8:00 am

9. Corona Chamber of Commerce
Board Presentation
January 16, 2020 7:00 am

10. Corona Rotary Club February 14, 2020 12:00 pm

11. Corona Chamber of Commerce
Good Morning Corona
February 21, 2020 7:00 am

12. Homeless/Formerly Homeless Neighbors Focus Group February 19, 2020 11:30 am

13. General Community Stakeholder Meeting February 05, 2020 9:00 am

14. General Community Stakeholder Meeting February 05, 2020 1:30 pm

15. General Community Stakeholder Meeting February 12, 2020 9:00 am

16. General Community Stakeholder Meeting February 12, 2020 7:00 pm

17. General Community Stakeholder Meeting February 15, 2020 1:30 pm

18. Supervisor Spiegel 2nd District Homeless Solutions
Collaborative of Cities/County Agencies
March 12, 2020 1:30 pm
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 70

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Corona’s Homeless Strategic Plan community engagement process was comprised of two components: 1) Stakeholder Meetings, and 2) Surveys. The two-pronged community engagement approach provided flexibility for stakeholder participation, consistency throughout the engagement process, and more than one avenue for the community to provide feedback.

A diverse cross section of public and private stakeholders participated in the community engagement process during the months of October 2019 through March 2020.

Community Engagement Participating Stakeholder Groups

1. City Council and Council Committees
Individual Council Members
Homelessness Resources Committee
Homeless Strategic Plan Ad Hoc Committee

2. City Departments and Commissions
City Manager’s Office
Police Department
Fire Department
Parks Department
Library and Recreation Services Department
Housing Department
Planning/Housing Commission
Parks Commission

3. Homeless and Housing Providers
City Net
C&C Development
Helping Hearts
Hope Through Housing
Illumination Foundation
Mercy House
National Core
Path of Life Ministries
Starting Over
Shelter for Change

4. Homeless/Formerly Homeless Neighbors Focus Group – 23 Attendees Currently Homeless Neighbors
Formerly Homeless Neighbors
City Net
St. Edward Catholic Church
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 71

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Community Engagement Participating Stakeholder Groups continued:

5. At-Risk/Low Income Service Providers/Other Community Based Organizations Authentic Reflection
211 Community Connect
Inspire Life Skills
Corona-Norco Settlement House
Women’s Improvement Club

6. Faith-Based Organizations
Angels Over Cliffs
Calvary Chapel Corona
The Bridge Church of Corona
Crossroads Christian Church
Connection Church
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Faith Fellowship
First Baptist Church of Corona
Islamic Society of Corona-Norco
Sheepdog Warrior Ministry
St. Edward Catholic Church
St. John’s Episcopal Church
St. Matthew Catholic Church

7. School Districts and Colleges
California Department of Education
California Baptist University
Corona-Norco Unified School District
Norco Community College
Riverside County Office of Education
University of Redlands
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 72

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Community Engagement Participating Stakeholder Groups continued:

8. Business Community
Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting - Businesses Represented:

Akes Family Funeral Home
Alladin Cleaning Services
Allegra Print and Mail
American National Manufacturing
Carstar All Star Collision
Carter Bradley Insurance
City of Corona & County of Riverside
Collins Aerospace
Corona Chamber of Commerce
Corona History Association
Corona Regional Medical Center
Creative By Design
Eduardo’s Mexican Restaurant
Express Employment Professionals
Integrated Medical Center of Corona-Comp Access
Kaiser Permanente
Lifetime Vinyl Fencing
Make Dust
Peabody Engineering
Ryan & Associates Financial Services
Western States Financial

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 73
Community Engagement Participating Stakeholder Groups continued

8. Business Community
Chamber of Commerce Good Morning Corona Businesses Represented 100 Mile Club
ABD Office Solutions, Inc.

Adomani, Inc.

Aflac
Aladdin Cleaning
Services, Inc.

Allegra Marketing
Altura Credit Union
American Cancer Society
Apex Legal Solutions, Inc.

Barn Haus Brewery
Bobcat Properties and
Farms
Braille Institute
Brother 2 Brother Catering
C&C Development
California Baptist
University
CARSTAR Allstar Collision
Carter Bradley Insurance
Solutions
Chef Doc Catering
Citrus Valley Medical
Associates
Corona Chamber of
Commerce
Clout Consulting
Corona-Norco Unified
School District Adult
Education
Corona History
Association
Corona-Norco United
Way
Corona-Norco Schools
Educational Foundation
Corona Regional Medical
Center
Creative by Design
Crystal Roses
DFI Financial Services
Do It American
Manufacturing
Company, LLC
Eduardo’s Mexican
Restaurant
Empire Energy Solutions
Encouragers Counseling
& Training Centers, Inc.

Giving 365
Grace Clark, CPA
Hendrickson Brothers
Herencia Mariachi
Academy
Holstrom, Block, and
Parke, APLC
Home Instead Senior
Care
Hustle Media Group
Jim Dorsey Commercial
Photography
John’s Easy Vacations
Kaiser Permanente
Kowalski Employment
Law Corporation
Legacy Logistics USA
Legal Shield
Level Advisors
Liberate Debt
Luck Air,Inc.

M.E.C
Naval Surface Warfare
Center, Corona Division
New York Life
Norco College
Northwest Mutual
Onsite Computing, Inc.

Peppermint Ridge
Planet Fitness Grand Oaks
PrimePay
Provident Bank
Raincross at Riverside
REMAX Partners
Rhythm Tech Productions
Riverside Area Rape Crisis
Center
Riverside Community
Hospital
Riverside County
Workforce Development
Centers
Roadsafe
Robertson’s Ready Mix
Ryan & Associates
Insurance and Financial
Strategies
S Cube Technologies
Self Made Training Facility
Corona
Selling in Color
Skillet’s Café
St. Edward School
Staybridge Suites Corona
South
T3 Motion
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints
Inland Gateway
Association of Realtors
Transportation Corridor
Agencies
Town and Country Day
School
Town Planner Community
Calendars
Twistify Balloons
UFC Gym Corona
UFC Gym South Corona
United Paving Co.

University of Redlands
University of Redlands
Riverside Campus
Ur Agenda Social
Marketing
Vulcan Materials
Company
WestCoast Media
Western Municipal Water
District
White Dove Release
Wolcott Insurance
Women’s Improvement
Club of Corona
Z Pizza Tap Room
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 74
Community Engagement Participating Stakeholder Groups continued

8. Other business stakeholders that participated in meetings and/or provided input by email or phone are as follows:

Calvert Real Properties
Corona Rotary Club
Countrywood Estates
Lend US
Lucas Oil
OPR Communications
Pro-Dent Lab
Regan Painting
Strata Realty

9. City of Corona Residents
25 Corona residents participated in community engagement meetings

10. Healthcare Organizations
Citrus Valley Medical Associates
Corona Regional Medical Center
Integrated Medical Center of Corona-Comp Access
Kaiser Permanente
Riverside Community Hospital
Riverside University Health System Behavioral Health

11. County Agencies
County Executive Office
Department of Public Social Services
Homeless, Housing and Workforce Department
Office of 2nd District County Supervisor Karen Spiegel
Probation Department
Riverside University Health System Behavioral Health

12. Neighboring Cities
Eastvale
Jurupa Valley
Norco
Riverside

13. State Elected Officials
Office of Assembly Member Sabrina Cervantes

14. Other Agencies and Organizations
Caltrans
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 75

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
At every stakeholder meeting, community participants had three avenues to submit input:

Verbal input during meetings: Verbal input was captured and summarized on flipcharts or in note taking format for all community meetings. Verbal feedback will be summarized in this plan.

Hard Copy Surveys: Surveys were distributed and collected at all community meetings. Survey data was summarized by category for development of bar graphs which will be displayed in this plan; Online Surveys: Website information for access to online surveys was distributed at community meetings. Online survey data was summarized by category for development of bar graphs which will be displayed in this plan.

Survey Content
To ensure that community engagement was consistent throughout the process, all community participants were encouraged to complete the following hard copy or online survey:

1. What are the biggest barriers and challenges facing the homeless in the City of Corona? Circle all that apply and list missing barriers/challenges:
a. Lack of Emergency Shelter
b. Lack of Transitional Shelter
c. Lack of Affordable Housing
d. Lack of Housing with Services/Permanent Supportive Housing e. Lack of Mental Health Treatment
f. Lack of Substance Abuse Treatment
g. Lack of Adequate Health Care
h. Lack of Job Training
i. Lack of Life Skills Training
j. Lack of Family/Friend Support System
k. Other:

2. What are the biggest homeless impacts for the City of Corona? Circle all that apply and list missing impacts:
a. Trespassing
b. Camping
c. Vandalism
d. Citation versus Arrest
e. Visible Mental Health/Substance
Abuse Issues
f. Public Urination/Defecation
g. Trash/Debris
h. Visible Homeless Belongings in
Shopping Carts
i. Panhandling
j. Loitering
k. Theft
l. Safety Concerns
m. Accessing Public Restrooms for
Drug Use
n. Drug Trafficking
o. Other
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 76

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Survey content continued:

3. What are the biggest opportunities, policy options,
and best practices that you believe will make the
most dramatic impact in addressing homelessness in
the City of Corona? Circle all that apply and list
missing opportunities, policy options and best
practices:
a. Alignment with County of Riverside Policy &
System
b. Systems-Oriented Approach
c. Sub-Regional Partnerships (Cities & County)
d. Building Capacity to Increase/Leverage
Funding
e. Navigation Centers/Low-Barrier Emergency
Shelter
f. Housing for Different Homeless Subpopulations
i. Permanent-Supportive Housing
ii. Rapid Rehousing
iii. Affordable Housing
g. Public/Private Partnerships with the FaithBased Community h. Public/Private Partnerships with the Business
Community
i. Other:

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 77

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
All hard copy and online survey data was collected, categorized, and incorporated into spreadsheets to provide a visual representation of priorities identified by community stakeholders.

The following bar graph provides a composite summary of community input regarding the biggest barriers and challenges facing the homeless in the City of Corona. The top three homeless barriers and challenges identified by all community stakeholders is listed below in priority order:

Lack of Affordable Housing
Lack of Mental Health Treatment
Lack of Substance Abuse Treatment
0 20
40 60
80 100
120
140
160
180
177
154
125
91 88
76 75 69
45 39

BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND BARRIERS
Overall Totals - Community Outreach
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 78

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The following bar graph provides a composite summary of community input regarding the biggest homeless impacts affecting the City of Corona. The top three homeless impact concerns identified by stakeholders are listed below in the following in priority order:

Trash/Debris
Public Camping
Safety Concerns
0 20
40 60
80 100
120
140
160
157
140 140
133 128
121 120 120 114 114 108 103
84 69

BIGGEST HOMELESS IMPACT FOR CITY
Overall Total - Community Outreach
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 79

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The following bar graph provides a composite summary of community input regarding best practices that will facilitate the most dramatic and positive impact for the City of Corona. The top three best practices identified by community stakeholders are listed below in the following in priority order:

Permanent Supportive Housing
Rapid Rehousing
Public/Private Partnerships
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 70
80 90 82 79 79 78 74 73 71 69 67
55 BEST PRACTICES FOR DRAMATIC IMPACT
Overall Total - Community Outreach
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 80

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
In addition to hard copy and online survey responses, during all community meetings, verbal responses were captured on flipcharts or notes were taken. Community feedback that was not duplicative of data already captured in the hard copy or online survey responses is as follows:

Proposition 47 and 57 as well as AB109 are exacerbating the homeless issue and creating challenges for law enforcement. There is a revolving door of people moving in and out of homelessness.

Community opposition from NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) creates huge barriers for development of affordable housing and emergency shelter.

Homeless should be connected to mental health and substance abuse treatment before placement in permanent housing.

Businesses and residents need to be a part of the solution to address homelessness in Corona.

Need to create incentives (not handouts) to serve the homeless.

Provide businesses with homeless resource cards to pass out to the homeless.

Establish homeless solutions through public/private partnerships.

Low barrier emergency shelters can serve chronical and situationally homeless.

The Women’s Improvement Center as well as many businesses in Corona have ongoing problems with homeless vandalism. Ongoing collaboration with Corona PD for enforcement of no trespassing is needed.
24-hour homeless shelter programs with wrap around services will provide a good model to improve the quality of life for the entire community.

Because of the demographic data of Corona’s homeless population, chronic homelessness should be the City’s first priority. The City’s emergency shelter and housing should match client needs to service interventions.

Pet-friendly programs are critical
as many homeless will not accept
services/shelter if they cannot
take their pets with them.

Motel shelter programs can work
but not every homeless client or
family can be placed in an
independent environment.

Lack of a mailing address creates
challenges for the homeless. An
emergency shelter/multi-service
center should provide mailing
addresses for Corona’s homeless.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 81

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Verbal feedback from community meetings continued:

The homeless are reluctant to accept shelter. They do not prefer institutional or prison-like settings.

Each City needs to develop its own homeless solutions and not shuffle the homeless to other jurisdictions.

The homeless need access to restrooms and showers. Quality of life crimes would be decreased if these resources were available.

There are too many regulations imposed on affordable housing developers. The regulations increase costs and delay project development.

The cost of not addressing the homeless issue is far more expensive than the cost of services, shelter, and housing.

The City needs a campaign to dispel myths and address stigma associated with the homeless.

Homeless programs should include whole person/holistic approaches with a path to stability.

We need to prepare for the age tsunami and wave of homeless seniors living on fixed incomes.

Homeless Prevention programs and strategies are also needed. Prevention interventions are easier and success is more likely.

Homeless programs should include spiritual, physical, and mental health components.

Homeless programs should provide a hand-up versus a hand-out.

Homeless programs should be LGBTQ sensitive and supportive.

Homeless programs should address generational homelessness.

Homeless programs should have components to address health care issues.

Homeless programs should provide ID replacement services.

The City’s shelter should have navigation center/multi-service center components.

Replace the term homeless with unstably housed our unhoused.

Programs should ensure the homeless can contribute and give back to facilitate self-worth and employment opportunities.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 82

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Verbal feedback from community meetings continued:

Measurements of Success
o Should be short term and long term
o It is a journey not a destination
o Evaluate housing readiness
o Evaluate and recalibrate
o Build in flexibility
o Realistic measurements
o Data Driven
Vision Statement Language
o Healing
o Restoring
o Fostering
o Transforming
o Making homelessness a thing of the past
Mission Statement Language
o Disrupting the Cycle of Homelessness
o Opportunity to End Homelessness
o Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness
Strategic Plan Names:
o A Home for Everyone
o All in, All Together
o All Together, All of Us
o At Home in Corona
o Bounce Back
o Circle Home
o Community Matters
o Finding My Home
o Finally Home
o Give Me Shelter
o Heading Home
o Home is Where the Heart Is
o H2H: Homeless to Housing
o Homeward Bound
o Journey Home
o My Good Neighbor Next Door
o More Than a Home
o No Place Like Home
o Operation Zero Homeless
o Restored
o Self-Actualization in Corona
o Standing on My Own
o Together, We Can
o What Home Means to Me
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 83

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
On February 19, 2020, the City of Corona worked with City Net to conduct a Homeless/Formerly Homeless Neighbors Focus Group. The goal of the focus group was to provide an opportunity for homeless and formerly homeless neighbors to give the City input of the development of the Homeless Strategic Plan. To achieve the greatest level of participation, the following strategies were used:

City Net conducted street outreach to invite homeless/formerly homeless neighbors to the focus group.

City Net and the Homeless Solutions Coordinator worked with homeless advocates and representatives of faith-based organizations to encourage them to reach out to their homeless/formerly homeless clients to invite them to the focus group.

City Net provided transportation so interested homeless/formerly homeless neighbors could attend the meeting.

Through a donation from the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco, City Net hosted lunch to provide a healthy meal for all focus group attendees.

Through a donation from the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco, City Net provided food gift cards for all focus group attendees.

The focus group meeting was well attended with 23 attendees. The meeting was facilitated by the Homeless Solutions Coordinator. During the meeting, Corona’s homeless/formerly homeless neighbors provided the following feedback for the City’s Homeless Strategic Plan:

Summary of Challenges:

Homelessness can happen to anyone.

Many people are one paycheck away from homelessness.

Every homeless person has unique and individual circumstances causing their homelessness Trauma can cause homelessness.

With respect to trespassing and loitering, if you are homeless, there is nowhere to go. Everywhere you walk or step seems to cause trespassing or loitering. It feels illegal to exist.

There are many homeless individuals who are respectful of public and private property. They encourage other homeless to respect the surrounding areas.

Many people who are not homeless do not understand that the homeless are living day by day and it is extremely difficult.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 84

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Homeless/Formerly Homeless Neighbors Summary of Challenges continued:

Losing personal belongings through theft or confiscation is devastating. When homeless lose their belongings, they often lose everything they own.

Chronic health issues, mental health, and substance abuse issues not only cause people to become homeless but also keep them homeless for long periods of time.

There are many causes of homelessness. Some of these include:
• Financial issues and the high cost of living
• Working in low paying jobs and not being able to afford housing • It is difficult to save for extremely high security deposits and last month’s rent costs when working in a low paying job or on a fixed limited income • Financial limitations of part-time work
• Death
• Divorce
• Loss of breadwinner
• Injury and loss or reduction of income
• Long wait for SSI/disability income
• Unreliable transportation (old cars)
• Lack of resources and supports after high school or college graduation • Family challenges
• Arguments/disagreements over wills/trusts
• Emotional and physical abuse
• Taking advantage of the one who always wants to help/support • Co-Dependency
Homelessness in Corona is not limited to single adults. There are homeless families with children, homeless young adults, and even homeless older adults.

United families can pool income to afford housing versus single income individuals.

Homeless people often must share housing just to afford a roof over their heads. Shared housing can sometimes lead to conflicts and disagreements among residents because of existing life issues and challenges.

Expectations for youth entering adulthood without proper resources or life skills There is a public stigma against homeless. People staring at the homeless cause feelings of rejection and discouragement.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 85

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Homeless/Formerly Homeless Neighbors Summary of Challenges continued:

Societal rejection of the homeless leads to a downward spiral. The homeless often feel like outcasts.

Other people often prey on the homeless. The homeless are vulnerable. Other people that prey on the homeless range from adults, youth, etc.

When homeless are attacked by other people, they sometimes sustain injuries such as getting kicked, punched, hit in the head with blunt objects, hit by cars, set on fire, and other cruel attacks.

Because the homeless are often victims, they feel safer in numbers or homeless congregations.

Many times, the homeless community is being blamed for the activities of others (e.g., gang bangers, troubled youth, bullies, etc.).

When personal belongings are confiscated or stolen, it can lead to the loss of cell phones, identification, prescription drugs for health care and other life essentials. When this happens, some homeless feel they are forced into low levels of crime just to survive.

There are different categories of homelessness including those living in motels, living in cars or RVs, couch surfing, living on the streets, living in shelters, etc. People living in motels, cars and couch surfing are often not acknowledged as being homeless.

Even with three generations of sharing income and assets, some homeless families are still living in motels and sharing one old car that barely runs.

There are income limitations due to part time work and the inability to get extra hours.

It is difficult to have reliable transportation when your vehicle is old and needs repairs.

There is a snowball effect when people are hanging on by a thread and then one thing happens to cause a downward spiral. A downward spiral can happen quickly:
a. Loss of Housing to Living in a Motel
b. Living in a Motel to Living to in Your Car
c. Living in Your Car to Living on the Streets
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 86

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Homeless/Formerly Homeless Neighbors Focus Group Summary of Challenges continued:

Many homeless refuse housing, shelter or services unless they can take their pets with them. Pets often become a barrier as they provide therapy and mean everything to the homeless.

The homeless/formerly homeless neighbors focus group identified the following solutions:

Summary of Solutions:
• Designated area for camping with water, sewer, trash pick-up and located off the beaten path and not visible to the public (example: lot on Alcoa and Rincon). • Safe/designated parking lots for folks living in cars, RVs, tents, etc. Need accommodation for older vehicles that still operate but need repairs. Many homeless drive cars that are ten years and older. • Resource Center with trained professionals that can provide multi-disciplinary services including but not limited to:
o Mental Health Treatment/Services & Substance Abuse Treatment/Services o Job Development
Access to computers for job searches (public libraries feel uncomfortable and not welcoming as people stare and do not seem to welcome the homeless) Interview and job application skill development
o Place to store personal belongings
• One Stop to connect the homeless to the system with start in shelter will lead to other resources, housing, and stability.
• Corona needs its own shelter. Homeless in Corona do not want to go to Riverside. • Shelter should be “IN YOUR OWN COMMUNITY” (IN OUR OWN COMMUNITY) • The homeless system should start with outreach and engagement and connect to shelter then connect to permanent housing and ongoing services/support once in housing.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 87

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Homeless/Formerly Homeless Neighbors Focus Group Summary of Solutions continued:
• Need more 24-hour detox resources.
• Engagement of the homeless helps by building relationships and sharing meals. • At the shelter/resource center, create a pathway for the homeless to give back through volunteering. Also create job opportunities for the homeless to work at the shelter/resource center. • The homeless have skills. Utilize their skills. Also, utilize the skills of people living in the community. The homeless and the members of the community can support the resource center/shelter. • It is very important to involve the faith community when addressing the homeless issue.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 88

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Field Survey of Homeless Neighbors Living on the Streets of Corona:

To capture as much Homeless Strategic Plan input as possible from Corona’s homeless/formerly homeless neighbors, the Homeless Solutions Coordinator asked City Net to conduct field surveys of homeless neighbors who were not able to attend the focus group meeting. Two questions were included in the field survey:

1. Based upon your personal life experience, what types of services, shelter, and housing are needed in the City of Corona?

2. Could you please explain what caused you to become homeless? The following bar graph provides a summary of Question #1 field survey responses from homeless neighbors living on the streets of Corona:
0 2
4 6
8 10
12 14
16 16 16
10 7
6 5
4 4 4
2 2
Homeless Field Survey Responses
What Resources are Needed in Corona?
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 89

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The following bar graph provides a summary of Question #2 field survey responses from homeless neighbors living on the streets of Corona:

The homeless/formerly homeless neighbors focus group meeting input and field survey responses provided critical data that accomplished the following:

Provided a mechanism to confirm that the Homeless Needs Assessment data conclusions are in alignment with what the homeless/formerly homeless confirm are system gaps and needs.

Provided an opportunity for the homeless and formerly homeless to feel important, appreciated, and considered as valuable contributors to the City’s Homeless Strategic Plan. 0 1
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 8 8
7 7
4 4
2 2 2 2 2
1 Homeless Field Survey Responses
What Caused You to Become Homeless?
Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 90

IMPACT OF LAWSUITS
Addressing homelessness is extremely complex for local government. Lawsuits and legislation impact the way law enforcement responds to homeless calls for service as well as the methods and strategies local government can use to incentivize participation in services, shelter, and permanent housing.

When developing a systems-oriented approach to homelessness, it is important to understand the applicable legal principles.

In Martin v. City of Boise (9th Cir. 2018) 902 F.3d
1031, the United States Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeal found that the Eighth Amendment
prohibits the imposition of criminal penalties for
sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public
property for homeless individuals who cannot
obtain shelter. The Court emphasized that its
holding was a narrow one and that it was not
dictating that a city must provide shelter. Rather,
the Court held that “so long as there is a greater
number of homeless individuals in a jurisdiction
than the number of available beds in shelters, the
jurisdiction cannot prosecute homeless individuals for involuntarily sitting, lying and sleeping in public.

That is, as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter.”
The Court further clarified that “Naturally, our holding does not cover individuals who do have access to adequate temporary shelter, whether because they have the means to pay for it or because it is realistically available to them for free, but who choose not to use it. Nor do we suggest that a jurisdiction with insufficient shelter can never criminalize the act of sleeping outside. Even where shelter is unavailable, an ordinance prohibiting sitting, lying, or sleeping outside at particular times or in particular locations might well be constitutionally permissible. So, too, might an ordinance barring the obstruction of public rights of way or the erection of certain structures.” In short, under Martin v. City of Boise, a city’s ability to use criminal citations as a tool to address homelessness is heavily dependent on the fact-intensive question of the practical availability of shelter, which may vary by person and by day, or even hour-to-hour.

On December 16, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the Martin v. City of Boise case, without explanation. Therefore, the Ninth Circuit’s Martin v. City of Boise ruling stands as precedent for cities and counties in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

The Martin v. City of Boise decision is a good reminder that it is not a crime to be homeless, and that homeless citizens have the same constitutional rights afforded to all citizens of the United States. In general, some people – whether homeless or sheltered – commit crimes while many others do not.

Further, it is also important to distinguish crime from quality of life issues.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 91

IMPACT OF LEGISLATION
Legislation also has a huge impact on the way local government addresses homelessness. Between voter ballot initiatives and bills that are enacted by the Legislature, thousands of new laws are passed each year. Some of these laws cause unintended consequences that exacerbate the homeless issue in California. Proposition 47 is one example.

Proposition 47 was passed by the voters of California in November of 2014. The criminal justice system was dramatically changed as a result of Proposition 47. The following summary provides examples of the changes in penalties for certain lower-level drug and property crimes:

Drug Possession for personal use for most illegal drugs is a misdemeanor.

Shoplifting property worth $950 or less is a misdemeanor.

Theft of property, including a car, worth $950 or less is in most cases a misdemeanor.

Circumstances for felony charges are limited.

Writing Bad Checks for $950 or less is a misdemeanor. If there are three previous forgery related convictions, the crime is a potential felony offense.

Check Forgery for $950 or less is a misdemeanor unless in connection with identity theft.

Receiving Stolen Property worth $950 or less is a misdemeanor.

Law enforcement throughout California
believe that court mandated drug
rehabilitation was the best chance to
save many lives. Since Proposition 47 was
enacted, many cities throughout
California have experienced increases
in the number of street homeless who
suffer from mental illness and drug
addiction. Data from Corona’s March
2019 Homeless Census and Corona PD
transient calls for service validate this
trend.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 92

BEST PRACTICES AND MODELS
Successful Cities
A few cities in the nation have made considerable progress in reducing homelessness. One shining example is the City of Houston. The greater Houston area reduced its homeless population by over half from a peak in 2011 at 8,538 to 3,938 in 2019. Houston’s change started with a Mayor and City Council who made ending homelessness a top priority. Houston attributes its success to its embrace of evidence-based, permanent solutions to homeless and the development of a robust collaborative system of over 100 public and private organizations working together to coordinate resources and efforts, and continually update a data dashboard tracking client, program and system-level progress.

Key to the success of sharing information and tracking client progress was the use of the regional Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and the Coordinated Entry System (CES). HMIS and CES are local database systems required by HUD to track homeless client demographics, service utilization patterns and program performance, as well as assess, triage, prioritize and refer clients for placement into permanent housing.

Through regular case management and workgroup meetings between Houston’s public/private collaborative, over half of Houston’s homeless were systematically connected to permanent housing options and supportive service programs.

It is important to note that because of its targeted focus on best-practice housing interventions and its resulting
success, Houston was able to increase its annual HUD
Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance funding from $20
million in 2008 to $38.2 million in 2018. That $18 million increase in HUD funding only helped Houston further its endeavors to permanently reduce homelessness.

Although a variety of factors contributed to Houston’s
success, the most important intervention was its focus and development of more permanent supportive housing,
which provides long-term housing, with wrap-around social, behavioral, and health support-services tailored to each client’s specific needs.

Item Number: 4.

CITY OF CORONA HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN 93

BEST PRACTICES AND MODELS
Recommended Best Practices and Interventions
Based upon the conclusions of the Homeless Strategic Plan needs assessment, the following summary will outline recommended interventions that will most effectively address the unique needs of the chronically homeless in the City of Corona:

Outreach and Engagement
o Going to locations where homeless congregate and bringing services directly to the homeless versus requiring the homeless to seek services o Coordinated and persistent outreach and engagement to connect the homeless with services and shelter
o Provide transportation services to connect the homeless to a low barrier navigation center/emergency shelter
Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter/Navigation Center
o Coordinated referrals from Corona PD HOPE Team and City Net o Eliminate “pre-conditions” to shelter entry which could include:

Criminal background checks
Required Identification
Credit checks
Alcohol and Drug Testing
o Client-centered approach to address unique needs of homeless. This approach provides chronically homeless with all the services they need to stabilize. This approach as also known as the Wrap Around Services Model. o Flexibility on time limit with target of 180-consecutive day, maximum length of stay o Shelter staff that help chronically homeless to navigate the system of medical, behavioral, and social service assistance programs to end crisis and quickly move towards housing stability
o 24/7 shelter/service center to provide continuity of care o Low barrier does not mean low expectations. It means meeting the homeless where they and navigating a path to supportive services and stable housing Permanent Supportive Housing
o Proven housing solution for the chronically homeless
o Combines wrap-round supportive services in an affordable housing environment o High success with low recidivism rates
o Improves health and stability
o Reduces high cost impacts to publicly funded crisis services such hospitals, jails/prisons, detox centers, psychiatric centers
o Helps chronically homeless with permanent mental health and other disabilities to maintain housing stability through ongoing supportive services Item Number: 4.