Pleasant Hill, Martinez to Share Homeless Outreach Team

PLEASANT HILL, CA -- Two cities in Contra Costa County will soon share a homeless outreach team dedicated to streamlining services to homeless residents, Contra Costa Health Services officials announced Jan. 6.

The Pleasant Hill and Martinez city councils have approved splitting the cost of a full-time team to establish relationships with homeless residents and serve as a point of contact, county officials say.

Coordinated, Outreach, and Engagement, or CORE, teams are part of a larger initiative funded in part through $1.2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

County officials said three other CORE teams, managed by the CCHS Division of Health, Housing and Homeless Services, already provide the service countywide, and regularly communicate with clients, visiting camps and shelters, and help to connect them to medical and mental health care, case managers, substance use disorder treatment and services, benefit counselors, shelter, housing and other services.

A 2016 count showed about 1,100 county residents are without shelter on any given night.

The purpose of the CORE teams, Health, Housing and Homeless Services director Lavonna Martin said, is that transitioning out of homelessness can be a long process, and that CORE teams can identify the people who are in the most need of help.

Most Contra Costa County cities rely on their police departments to manage homelessness, which can drain public safety resources as officers repeatedly respond to complaints, county officials said.

According to a statement from Pleasant Hill police Chief John Moore, officers respond to around 200 calls a month related to members of the homeless community.

Martinez police Chief Manjit Sappal said in a statement that he is looking forward to partnering with CCHS and Pleasant Hill police to leverage resources and make an impact on the lives of the vulnerable population.

"By working as a regional team, we can focus on using a variety of mechanisms to help people off the streets and into housing and services," Sappal said.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via CCHS