Item 20 - Street Outreach and Engagement Agreement with City Net

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CITY OF SANTA ANA PAGE 01 The City of Santa Ana has been at the forefront of addressing homelessness in Orange County, despite being historically disadvantaged due to a lack of regional and equitable distribution of services and resources. Santa Ana has a variety of non-profit, governmental, and private agencies that provide many supportive services. The City also has the most homeless shelter beds in the county and has numerous affordable housing projects, including a number of permanent supportive housing options as a means to end homelessness. The Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) has been assisting in connecting individuals with services for decades with their Homeless Evaluation Assessment Response Team (HEART), recognizing the value and importance of community engagement. The City has since added many new resources and has adapted its response to the changing needs and impacts of the homeless population. As SAPID began to receive more service calls regarding homelessness, the City partnered with City Net, a non-profit providing services for individuals experiencing homelessness. Santa Ana provided City Net a small HUD grant to allow them to offer outreach, engagement, and case management services to about 400 unhoused individuals in and around the Civic Center during limited hours to connect them with emergency shelter, housing, and critical services. Over the years, their scope and outreach hours have expanded as the need for their services has increased. City Council approved the Homeless Prevention, Intervention and Mitigation Plan to address the 20171 escalating number of individuals experiencing homelessness in Santa Ana. The City built capacity to address the issue in three ways: creating a new role for a Homeless Services Manager, adding a HEART Officer, and establishing the Quality of Life Team (QOLT). The City was engaged in federal litigation involving the County of Orange and other cities to 20181 address homelessness preceding Federal Judge David O. Carter's courtroom hearings, which tasked cities to create additional shelter beds. In August 2018, the City Council declared a Shelter Crisis and subsequently began providing shelter beds within the City of Santa Ana. The City of Santa Ana developed a 4 Point Strategic Plan regarding homelessness: 2019 1 1.Clean: Reduce Negative impacts to Community ensuring Santa Ana is clean and safe 2.Outreach: Be persistent in our contact with anyone experiencing homelessness 3. Housing: Reduce the number of Santa Ana's Unsheltered Homeless 4.Communications: Have an Engaged and Informed Community Regarding Homelessness and Homeless Solutions. 0 0 O (� Evaluation _, o Quality o Santa Ana M Of LfJro r Multidiscl lina Assessment L i f e Agency Multidisciplinary Response Team Response Team Team