Homeless Strategic Plan Takes Shape, Concord Starts Implementation

CONCORD, CA — The city of Concord is prepared to start addresss homelessness in the city.

During the Concord City Council meeting Tuesday, the City Council accepted the final draft of the City’s Homeless Strategic Plan – a 44-page document that will serve as a roadmap for the city as it begins implementing the strategies to prevent and address homelessness.

Homelessness is a persistent challenge throughout the Bay Area and Concord has identified it as a top priority. A total of 2,372 homeless people were contacted during Contra Costa County's point-in-time count on Jan. 25, 2023, but county officials believe the actual number of homeless is closer to 10,000. The count revealed 120 unsheltered people were living in Concord at the time. The results of the count taken last month will not be shared until June.

In 2022, the City Council asked city staff to develop a comprehensive plan with recommendations for strategies the city can implement using $5.4 million in one-time funds that were specifically allocated for these purposes.

The planning process officially began a year ago this month when the city hired an outside consultant who helped facilitate the process. The City Council appointed an 11-member working group comprised of people who represented a variety of experiences, including someone with lived experience of being homeless, a nonprofit homeless services provider, a mental health professional, a business owner, and others.

"I am so proud of the time and effort that has gone into producing this guiding document," said Mayor Edi Birsan, who served as the vice chair of the Homeless Strategic Plan’s 11-member working group. "We now have tangible strategies that we can begin to implement. Now is when the real work begins, and I know that our community is dedicated to doing this right."

The group held a dozen public meetings and several community input sessions. The team frequently presented its progress to the full City Council, which approved the vision, goals, and strategies at various stages of the process.

A key feature of the Homeless Strategic Plan is its emphasis on gathering input from people who have directly experienced homelessness. This was accomplished through an extensive process involving surveys and focus group discussions. These efforts identified the precise needs and challenges faced by the homeless population in the Concord community and were used to develop the strategies outlined in the plan.

Tiny Homes | Mobile Resource Center| Rapid Re-Housing | Interim Housing Models

These strategies include creating a mobile resource center, investing in rapid re-housing, and developing various interim housing models, such as scattered site homes and tiny homes, centralized tiny homes, and interim motel housing.

At its meeting Tuesday, the City Council signaled its desire to start with the mobile resource center and interim small motel housing. It will seek nonprofit partners and other organizations to assist in the implementation and to help offset the ongoing costs of operating the facilities and providing services for the unhoused.

The city is also actively seeking a $4.7 million grant from the state to help fund these efforts. The grant awards are expected to be announced this spring.

The more than $5 million in one-time funds the city currently has were allocated from Concord’s Measure V sales tax fund and the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds the city received for pandemic recovery efforts.

Now that the strategic plan has been completed and accepted, city staff finalize the operational and logistical details of the plan implementation, which includes meeting with community stakeholders and developing requests for proposals.

City staff will return to the City Council in a few months to provide an update on the grant and to request an appropriation of funds to support the implementation of the targeted strategies.

Other Ways Concord Supports The Unhoused

The city has long been involved in supporting the unhoused. This fiscal year, Concord dedicated $1.2 million to partner organizations to help fund their service to the community. These organizations include Contra Costa Crisis Center, Contra Costa Homeless Services, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, Hope Solutions, Monument Crisis Center, RotaCare, STAND! For Families Free of Violence, the Trinity Center, and Winter Nights Family Shelter.

Through the county’s program, the city funds a three-person Coordinated Outreach, Referral & Engagement —CORE — team, which works 40 hours per week in Concord. The team interacts daily with the unsheltered, oftentimes making referrals to supportive services and ensuring they have transportation to overnight shelters including the 60-bed, full-service shelter in Concord. In December, Concord’s CORE team interacted with 261 unhoused people and assisted 27 people make stable exits from the streets.

Concord also funds Hope Solutions, a rapid re-housing program for Concord residents who are experiencing homelessness or are at imminent risk of homelessness. with supportive services including case management, housing navigation, household budgeting, and short-term rental assistance.

Find more information on the city's Homeless Services webpage