Annual Symposium on Tackling Homelessness in California:

Implementing Housing First

Key Speakers

Miguel A. Santana, Former City Administrative Officer, City of Los Angeles

Tanya Tull, Founder & CEO, Partnering for Change

Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, President & CEO, LA Family Housing

Corrin Buchanan, Deputy Director, Office of Diversion & Reentry, LA County Department of Health Services

G. Michael Arnold, President & CEO, The Midnight Mission

John M. Connolly, Interim Division Director, Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, LA County Department of Public Health

Brenda Wiewel, Director, USC Initiative to Eliminate Homelessness

Zack Olmstead, Deputy Director, Housing Policy Development, California Department of Housing & Community Development

John Maceri, Executive Director, The People Concern

Overview

In accordance with the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009, Regional Continuum of Cares (CoCs) are responsible for setting local strategies to prevent and address homelessness in their region. With more than a quarter of the nation’s homeless population located in California, the state’s CoCs have long been spearheading human service and social policy based programs to aid homeless populations (US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2017).

California activists played a vital role in developing the Housing First approach, which has since been adopted at the federal level by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Housing First streamlines housing interventions within community-wide initiatives to tackle homelessness. The framework prioritizes housing development and placement, paired with other supportive services, to improve long-term housing stability.

On July 1, 2016, Governor Brown signed the No Place Like Home initiative, investing $2 billion in bond proceeds in developing permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals in need of mental health services. The act solidified California as a Housing First state and was followed by numerous local level measures aimed at providing further funding for coordinated outreach interventions and supportive housing construction.

Resources provided by Housing First legislation have fostered new full-spectrum programs to address homelessness in California, including the expansion of outreach teams and the creation of high-tech platforms to assist service providers in implementing Housing First goals. Progress has also presented a number of challenges, such as: legal hurdles regarding the allocation of funds, lengthy application processes, limited pools of housing developers and high construction costs. 

 This symposium will provide delegates with an opportunity to reflect upon the successes and shortcomings of current Housing First policies in California. Cross-sector exchange will help facilitate better partnerships between civil society, the private sector and government actors. It will allow delegates to consider solutions to identified barriers and challenges related to policy implementation. Participants will be able to transfer key learnings and best practices to their own communities whether at the local, state or national level.

Delegates will: 

• Discuss the relationship between state and local Housing First initiatives
• Identify strengths and challenges present in current Housing First strategies
• Consider ways of meeting targets for affordable housing development
• Identify key learnings from established Coordinated Entry Systems and Emergency Response Networks
• Explore how technology can assist cross-sector teams in providing supportive services
• Discuss the appropriate roles of stakeholders related to prevention and intervention
• Examine how local government and civil society organizations can partner within a Housing First framework to provide supportive services
• Prepare for potential risks in 2018-2019 that could affect the demand and availability of affordable housing solutions

Program

Who Should Attend?