Homelessness Services (HS) Division
Sebastopol City Council Meeting
August 5, 2025
1. Overview of County DHS Homelessness Services Division
2. Funding Sources (including local, federal and state
sources)
3. Continuum of Care and Overall System of Care
4. Questions and Answers
5. Next Steps
This presentation is intended to be:
• High level but informative
• Solutions and future focused
• And to build future collaborations between partners
Agenda
Organizational Chart
The Finders. The Homeless Encampment Assistance and Resource Team goes out in the field to find and offer services (i.e., housing, benefits, behavioral health support) to unhoused people in county encampments.
Other roles include:
• Case managing clients to assist them in staying in interim housing, eventually moving to permanent housing.
• Troubleshooting basic client and site needs at interim housing sites, such as:
– Eliza’s Village (EV)
– Mickey Zane Place (MZP)
The HEART Program
The Keepers. The Solving Obstacles for Unsheltered Lives Team provides care and case management to specific clients at County-run sites (and while housed in permanent supportive housing). The services can include:
• Housing navigation (finding a place, being ready for it) • Benefit navigation (HSD Staff embedded in the team)
• Connection to behavioral health care for substance
use disorders and mental health services
• Transitional Age Youth (TAY): Focused efforts to support young adults aged 18-25
• Hospital navigator: Supporting clients in getting connected to shelter to recuperate post-hospital stay
The SOUL Program
… and a lot in the Homelessness Services Division – is:
I M D T
• IMDT:
– Stands for “Interdepartmental Multi-Disciplinary Team” – It's where County staff members come together as one team with different skills to address each individual’s specific needs – Includes multiple “cohorts” of IMDT Teams, such as SOUL, HEART and 28 other County and Community Agencies.
– Often utilizes a technology solution, IBM Care Manager (ICM), to document and follow care plans for all clients' needs.
A Term You’ll Hear at DHS
The Funders. The Ending Homelessness Team works to improve the homeless system of care, including:
Funding:
• Receiving and allocating Federal, State and Local homelessness funds • Monitoring to ensure that the funding is used properly, with equity and fairness
• Setting and applying system policies consistent with funding rules (such as Housing First)
• Prioritizing funding within a 5-year Strategic Plan
Managing:
• Coordinated Entry (a housing placement system)
• The region’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) • The 17-member Continuum of Care Board and its committees The Ending Homelessness Program
• Federal: HUD CoC Funding – up to $4.6 million ($1.2 million for County and $3.4 million for CBOs) in direct HUD contracts for permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) and Coordinated
Entry. Also includes grants or Medicaid linked $.
• State: Homelessness Housing Assistance and Prevention (HHAP Program) and Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG) for core housing, shelter and outreach services. Around $3.5 million for the CoC and $3 million for County services. Other examples include HHIP, HomeKey, BHBH and Prop 1 / BHSA.
• Local: Specialty taxes like Measure O. City or County General Fund. • Philanthropy: Local donors, fundraisers, etc.
Funding for Homelessness Services
• Housing First is a homelessness intervention approach that prioritizes providing people experiencing homelessness with immediate access to permanent housing, without preconditions like sobriety or participation in treatment programs.
• Coordinated Entry (CE) is a standardized system that streamlines the process of accessing homelessness services. It acts as the "front door" to a community's homelessness response system. CE assesses individuals' needs & prioritizes those with the highest need first for housing and support services. Doesn't screen for "fit." • All CoC-dedicated funds must follow a Housing First
approach mandated by the State and Federal government, and all housing projects under the CoC must use Coordinated Entry for referrals.
Housing First and Coordinated Entry
Funds received and administered by
jurisdiction (FY 2024) HCV: Housing Choice
Voucher
ERF: Encampment
Resolution Fund
HHIP: Homelessness
Housing Investment
Program
HHAP: Homelessness
Housing Assistance and
Prevention
CDBG: Community
Development Block
Grant
HDAP: Housing
Disability Access
ESG: Emergency
Solutions Grant
LMIHAF: Low Moderate
Income Housing Asset
Fund
HOPWA: Housing for
Persons with AIDS
PBVs: Project Based
Vouchers
SPV: Special Program
Vouchers
Measure O in Sonoma County is a voter-approved initiative that established a quarter-cent sales tax to fund mental health and homelessness services for 10 years. The measure, passed in November 2020, was projected to generate approximately $25 million annually.
Measure O
Categorical Funding Obligations % of Total
Funding
Behavioral Health Facilities 22%
Emergency Psychiatric / Crisis Services 44%
Mental Health & Substance Use Disorder Outpatient
Services
18%
Homeless Behavioral Health / Care Coordination 14%
Transitional & Permanent Supportive Housing 2%
Behavioral Health Facilities
• Residential Care Facilities
• Transitional Housing for Individuals Discharging from Crisis Services
• Psychiatric Hospital Facility & Operations
Emergency Psychiatric / Crisis Services
• Crisis, Assessment, Prevention & Education (CAPE)
• Mobile Crisis Continuum Expansion
• Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU)
• Residential Crisis Services
• Inpatient Psychiatric Care for Adults
What does Measure O do?
Mental Health & SUD Outpatient Services
• Mental Health Services & Children’s Shelters
• Mental Health Services for Children & Youth
• SUD Services Expansion
• Peer & Family Permanent Supportive Housing
Homeless Behavioral Health / Care Coordination
• Behavioral Health Services for Individuals Who Are
Homeless
• Care Coordination for High Needs Homeless
Transitional & Permanent Supportive Housing
• Public Supportive Housing Projects
• Transitional Housing Projects
*Not all costs are captured in total expenditure counts, sourced from current Measure O reports, more detailed reports being established. ** In FY 22-23, SAVS given $700,000 in Measure O funding to managed the Horizon Shine Safe Parking site in Sebastopol that is now closed.
Measure O Spending by City
• Mobile Crisis: Mobile crisis units are teams of professionals that respond to emergency mental health calls, ideally 24/7, in lieu of or in addition to Law Enforcement or Emergency response. • Services are currently provided countywide by three (3) different entities: InRESPONSE (County/Santa Rosa), SAFE (County/ Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park and Sonoma State University, and Mobile Support Team (remainder of cities & county).
• 2025-26: additional $5,980,000 Measure O funding to support Mobile Crisis programs across the county (Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park and Sonoma State University programs).
Mobile Crisis
FY24-25 Sebastopol MST Statistics
Call Center received 278 calls
• 142 calls were without Law Enforcement
• 60 were with Law Enforcement
• 76 were supported by call center staff
MST Staffing and FTE
Call Center: 8 FTE
Field Teams 13 FTE
Support: 5 FTE
• Released in August of 2025
• $10,000,000 in Measure O Funds
• Open to cities, nonprofits and service providers
• For homelessness, mental health and housing programs and projects across the county.
• Only for existing programs – no new programs
• Bonus points for applicants who have experienced funding loss, revenue decline or clawbacks from other sources
• Encourages partnerships
• Potential future NOFAs in subsequent fiscal years
Upcoming Measure O NOFA
• A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a community-based approach to ending homelessness. It's a system of care designed to guide and track individuals and families experiencing homelessness through a comprehensive range of housing and services. CoCs work is to prevent homelessness and rehouse individuals and families quickly, minimizing disruption and promoting self-sufficiency.
• It is a requirement to receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and some state funding. • CoCs are required to have representation from local government (cities and counties), service providers, nonprofits and community members. The County is not the CoC. The County is the Lead Agency (administrative body) for the CoC. Lead Agencies can be counties, cities, nonprofits or other entities. These are selected by CoC.
CoCs are required to do and are primarily responsible for:
• Prevention: Helping individuals avoid homelessness in the first place. • Rapid Re-housing: Quickly moving people from homelessness into permanent housing. • Permanent Supportive Housing: Providing long-term housing and support services for individuals with disabilities.
• Coordinated Entry: A standardized process for assessing and prioritizing individuals for permanent housing. • HMIS: A Homeless Management Information System to track data and improve system performance.
What is the CoC?
Strategic Plan and Funding Overview
• 2025 DRAFT
Numbers by City
and Overall.
• Final Count to be
released in
Aug/Sept 2025.
Point-in-Time Count
• A BNL is a detailed, real-time record of every individual experiencing homelessness within a community, including their name, history with homelessness, and specific needs.
• Unlike the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, which provides a single snapshot of one night, the BNL is continuously updated to offer a more accurate understanding of the homeless population. • Each region of the county (and Rohnert Park) maintains a By Names List, which is managed by nonprofit and city staff and coordinated by Lead Agency CoC and HMIS staff.
By Names List (BNL)
• Joe Rodota Trail
• Encampments on County Property
• Supporting partnerships with CalTrans, Sherriff or waterways • Referral from Board of Supervisors or State Officials • Specialty grants or programs – Mickey Zane Place and Medically Vulnerable during COVID-19
• Supporting some HomeKey sites
Where the County has focused
22 Case
Management
Staff
120 Client Beds
Serving on Average
205 Clients
• Same priorities as before
• New focus on Behavioral Health / Prop 1
• Focus on harder-to-serve clients countywide to restore competency for permanent housing
• Better countywide linkages to homelessness, mental health and substance use supports
• Supporting city partners through fiscal crisis
Where the County is headed
22 Case
Management
Staff
120 Client Beds
County Homeless Website: Includes info on the PIT, CoC, NOFAs and Federal/State Funding:
http://sonoma-county.gov/health-and-human-services/healthservices/divisions/homelessness-services CoC (Sonoma County Homeless Coalition):
https://sonomacounty.gov/health-and-human-services/healthservices/divisions/homelessness-services/sonoma-county-homelesscoalition Prop 1 or BHSA:
https://dhcs.ca.gov/services/MH/Pages/MH_Prop63.aspx
Where to find more information?
• [email protected] Health Services Director • [email protected] Ending Homelessness Mgr. • [email protected] HEART Team Mgr.
• [email protected] SOUL/IMDT Mgr.
Questions and Next Steps?