Placer Regional Homelessness Project first presented to Roseville and Lincoln

The Placer Regional Homelessness Project draft that looks at the increasing numbers of area homelessness is being presented to City Council meetings this month. Roseville Assistant City Manager Dion Louthan, Roseville Government Relations manager Mark Wolinski and Placer County Health and Human Services Department staff began presenting the Placer Regional Homelessness Project draft to cities throughout Placer County. Roseville was the first city to receive this presentation at the March 16 City Council Meeting and the Lincoln City Council heard this presentation on Tuesday. The Placer Regional Homelessness Project goal is to develop strategies toward reducing homelessness in its entirety, according to Wolinksi. According to the U.S. Housing and Human Services Department, as of 2020, Placer County had a population of 744 citizens experiencing homelessness. In 2021, the total decreased to 708. Despite the decline, homelessness has still increased more than 19 percent since 2007, according to the department. In 2021, Placer County Health and Human Services Department members initiated the first phase of the Placer Regional Homelessness Project by conducting research and stakeholder engagement activities to develop ideas to combat homelessness in south Placer. The Placer Regional Homelessness Project has also received help from MIG Inc. Consulting Firm, specifically from its Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Carolyn Verheyen, on the plan's layout and strategies. Wolinksi said two working groups, one consisting of two city officials from each south Placer city and town and the other including the Placer County AdHoc subcommittee made up of Placer County and city staff, together created these strategies. Reports from the Placer County AdHoc committee state that Placer County's Homeless Housing Continuum contains nearly 600 beds. Of that number, 242 of those beds are for those in immediate outreach emergency needs. 210 beds are for those experiencing homelessness in a transitional period and 149 beds are for those in need of long-term support and placement. The AdHoc committee has developed strategies in five key subjects to combat homelessness in Placer County: prevention, crisis response, housing and support services, system integration and coordination, and community engagement. The AdHoc committee's strategies are exploring the need for emergency shelter with on-site and accessible services, renewing the conditional use permit for the North Auburn emergency shelter, and exploring safe park and camp locations as a potential housing alternative. The committee's crisis response strategies include expanding partnerships between law enforcement and social services to increase outreach and response, and creating a sobering center to support individuals experiencing intoxication and mental health crises. To expand housing and supportive services, the AdHoc committee suggests growing interim housing by converting hotels and motels to interim housing, adopting a housing siting criteria throughout the county, exploring solutions to aid point-to-point transportation and focusing on affordable housing construction. "There has been a pause on building additional supportive housing (in Placer County) for about a year and a half," Verheyen said. "It may be important to continue to provide more options for people who need long term support." The AdHoc Committee's strategies to implement system integration and coordination refer to evaluating and strengthening Coordinated Entry/211. Coordinated Entry/211 refers to 211 Connecting Point, which is a service that ensures affordable housing for those experiencing a living crisis in both Placer and Nevada counties. Those in a crisis will be able to get help from a 2-1-1 Connecting Services specialist. Another strategy to enforce system integration and coordination involves implementing compatible ordinances and law enforcement practices similar to the Placer County camping ordinance that was approved by Placer County officials on March 8. The ordinance bans camping on specific county properties except for those "camping by necessity when there are no shelters available." The ordinance was reconsidered for adoption on Tuesday and will go into effect next month. To improve community engagement, the AdHoc Committee's strategy consists of providing awareness about homelessness. "The community can help support this project by participating and providing their input during the City Council meetings," Woliniski told Gold Country Media Tuesday. "To make progress on lowering the amount of homelessness in the community will take more than just the cities working together. It will require a coordinated and steady effort by multiple partners from municipal jurisdictions, the Continuum of Care, community-based organizations, the local business and faith communities, service providers and county departments." Placer County and the AdHoc Committee are now in the Placer Regional Homelessness Project's second phase. The next two months will consist of the committee presenting their drafted plan to other cities in Placer County, and collecting feedback from the public and city officials via presentations and community surveys. Then an implementation plan pertaining to siting, funding, timing, prioritization and oversight will be drafted. At this time, Placer County Health and Human Services officials are unable to determine when the finalized plan of the Placer Regional Homelessness Project is expected to be completed.