PRINCIPAL 2007 TASK FORCE GOALS

 

Identify and promote solutions to chronic homelessness, such as affordable and permanent supportive housing, reduced recidivism in the jails, and integrated, accessible health, mental health, housing, and substance abuse services.

 

Work to ensure that the components of the homeless shelter and service system offer shelter for all, including those who may still be using drugs or alcohol or have mental health issues, and that they address the greatest needs throughout the County, including in rural areas.

 

Initiate, support, and participate in alliances and cooperative program and resource development activities among those serving, funding and advocating for homeless people, leading to adequate, effective, and integrated service delivery.

 

Actively advocate for policies at all levels of government that encourage community participation and facilitate ending homelessness.

 

Change community attitudes to make homelessness, not homeless people, unacceptable in Sonoma County, and highlight the costs of homelessness to the broader community, including health and law enforcement.

 

SPECIFIC 2007 GOALS BY AREA

 

Goals may address more than one area, yet be assigned primarily to one committee for implementation. The Board coordinates committees’ work.

 

ADVOCACY & FUNDING 

A.   Advocate for shelter and services for all throughout Sonoma County, with particular focus on unmet needs such as emergency shelter that serves people who cannot or will not meet standards of other shelters, such as some served at the Santa Rosa Armory.

B.    Continue to lead a community dialog on securing and maximizing adequate operational funding for homeless services, help lead a process to clarify operational funding priorities and their strategic context, and to help direct funds (ours and others') to priority operational gaps.

C.    Advocate at a federal level regarding proposed cuts to Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and changes to HUD programs, including voucher availability.

D.   Maintain and expand alliances with related advocacy groups, coordinate actions with them whenever possible.  Assure effective advocacy at all political levels.

E.    Monitor projects and issues that need action, testimony, etc., and expand the process to respond effectively

F.    Advocate for development of housing for low and extremely low-income people, and of Permanent Supportive Housing. Of the affordable units built, advocate that a significant portion be for people with incomes equivalent to or below SSI or TANF, and explore the feasibility of vouchers being attached to projects under development.

G.   Advocate for policies such as jobs-housing linkage fees, a living wage, or zoning adjustments that better serve and facilitate the production of housing for homeless and extremely low-income people.

H.   Work with service providers and funders to increase flexibility in populations served.

I.      Raise and allocate money for the Fund for the Homeless, and use it to directly assist homeless people, including continued Voicemail Project support (with monitoring and feedback to assure satisfactory service), the annual Spirit of Service Award, and possibly other community projects or activities.

 

COORDINATION

A.   Help to coalesce a long term vision for the homeless service system, addressing such issues as bed utilization, availability of operating funds for services, approaches such as “Housing First” and/or early training and stabilization of homeless clients, regional services, and ending chronic homelessness.

B.    Provide a safe and confidential space for candid discussion of volatile issues.  Continue monthly General Meetings for information, sharing, and to focus on common concerns, and coordinate better understanding among service providers and advocates through presentations at General Meetings, newsletter and/or web articles. Possibly convene or sponsor special meetings. 

C.    Continue to actively participate in countywide processes such as the Continuum of Care Planning Group, Steering Committee, and Ending Chronic Homelessness and other relevant committees, Mental Health Roundtables, and planning for Prop. 63 funding.

D.   Complete the 2007 Homeless Count Project Report, producing HUD-required data, plus data on people without legal housing who do not fit the HUD definition, and utilizing results in part as an educational and planning tool for the community.

E.    Address chronic homelessness through facilitating proposals for and helping to plan and develop a health care clinic to serve homeless people. Provide input to proposed changes to clinic grant guidelines. Help develop and support proposals for additional residential and outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment slots.

F.    Continue to develop, with the Superior Court, law enforcement, and homeless service providers, a protocol for better addressing the needs of, and reducing recidivism among, homeless defendants.

G.   Maintain support for and encourage participation in the VoiceMail Project countywide, and provide feedback to ensure satisfactory service.

H.   Encourage use of the Continuum of Care list serve and/or the HMIS to share information on shelter and housing vacancies, or consider adding a bulletin board function to the Task Force web site where agencies may post vacancies.

I.      Support development of adequate services, shelter, and transitional and permanent housing, especially in regions distant from Santa Rosa, such as Cloverdale, Sonoma, Rohnert Park, Healdsburg, and for farmworkers countywide.

J.     Help develop more services, shelter and housing in the River Area through building relationships with and among food providers, churches, and others in the community.

K.   Help produce, distribute, and update the Homeless Services Resource Guide as needed, and possibly help add a Spanish version.

L.    Facilitate distribution of donated goods to homeless people, involving community volunteers wherever possible.

M.  Continue to increase the participation of homeless and formerly homeless people in all activities, and provide opportunities for homeless people to work together and with others on improving relationships in the community.

H. Continue to foster coordination and communication among agencies and organizations and between people, both housed and un-housed.  Strengthen coalition-building efforts. Take advantage of opportunities to coordinate and participate in relevant community-wide projects.

 

EDUCATION

A.   Bring attention to emergency situations of homeless people in our county, re-defining homelessness as an emergency.

B.    Make the community aware of who the homeless are, why they are homeless, and how many are looking for shelter and help, and help eliminate myths about homelessness.

C.    Highlight the need for affordable housing appropriate for various populations; especially extremely low income and special needs populations.  Educate the community on issues that may affect access to housing, such as use and interpretation of credit reports.

D.   Participate with the Sonoma County Housing Coalition in Affordable Housing Week, May 14-21, particularly addressing homelessness education.

E.    Sponsor or co-sponsor training in Community Acceptance Strategies and participate in a workshop on working with the media.

F.    Publicize what the Task Force is doing and what we have available.

G.   To the extent that time and leadership become available, develop a proactive plan regarding whom we want to educate about what - e.g. business, religious congregations, schools, public entities, etc., and contact these organizations regarding our availability to speak on these issues.  Provide trained speakers as needed.

H.   Hold individual meetings with policy-makers and public officials for education and relationship building.  Leave written materials with them.  Emphasize building relationships with newly elected officials and candidates. Advocacy/Funding, Education, or Executive Committee members, or other Task Force representatives may carry out this function.

I.      Offer opportunities for homeless people, as well as volunteers, service workers, and community people, to tell their own stories. Publish Newsletter and/or web site articles written by homeless people as well as about them. Encourage public and commercial media to do the same.  Nurture relationships with columnists and media representatives.

J.     Maintain communication with and provide education to the community, and gather and disseminate information on successes in this and other communities, through the newsletter, web site, and mainstream media.

K.   Continue to inform homeless people of their civil rights in relationship local ordinances, law enforcement, and under the McKinney-Vento Act, and help inform homeless parents of their right under this act to enroll their children in the school of their choice.

 

OPERATIONS/ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES (Overseen by Executive Committee)

I. Board:

A.   Improve use of board member time.  Improve board members’ productivity and satisfaction by attending to their personal as well as Task Force organizational needs and goals.

B.    Continue active Board recruitment efforts

C.    Continue active committee structure, recruiting additional committee members from the membership and community.

D.   Clarify the Task Force’s expectations for Board members.

E.    Explore how to best use and possibly shorten time spent in meetings.

II. General Operations:

A.   Budget: Establish, adopt, and operate within a balanced budget based on realistic revenue projections. Maintain a reasonable reserve and include a contribution to the Fund for the Homeless.

B.    Communications:

1.     Continue to increase e-mail use for communications, first among the board and then members.  Continue to solicit e-mail addresses from new and renewing members, and to develop a mass e-mail list for notices and advocacy actions.

2.     Continue to grow and to upgrade the Task Force database, and maintain a current contact list for mayors, city councils, city managers, and housing and planning directors as well as members, participants, and contributors.

3.     Maintain a web site with our mission, objectives, information on the Task Force and on homelessness, a calendar of meetings and events, newsletter articles, advocacy actions, membership issues, service information, and other features.

C.    Computer:

Improve computer access and productivity by acquiring a new computer, (possibly a laptop), associated software, and if possible a laser printer for mass mailings.

D.   Continue to develop an Operations Manual on our database, computer, personnel policies, records, accounting, Fund for the Homeless, VoiceMail, Board support, and general operations.

 

FUNDRAISING FOR TASK FORCE AND FUND FOR THE HOMELESS

A.   Continue to diversify and deepen Task Force revenue sources, including October In Paradise (OIP), individual and corporate contributions (through building donor relationships and mail solicitations), membership campaigns and services, grants, CommunitySmart, Vehicle Donations, planned giving, special events, and participation in the Human Race, Evening of Giving, and other cooperating fundraising opportunities.  Set dollar targets for each activity.

B.    Improve the Task Force Donor program:

1.     Continue to improve database use to enhance individual entries and maintain a more complete donor history.

2.     Continue to assure donors prompt thanks, newsletter recognition, information on issues and activities, opportunities to participate, possible special events, input requests.

3.     Send a donor request letter in February/March that targets specific activities of the TF, and consider additional solicitations, such as an Affordable Housing Week and/or end-of-year appeal.

4.     Build strong relationships with donors.

C.    Membership: Continue to regard donors of over $25 as members, giving them a vote, including them in member surveys, and enlarging our constituency for advocacy strength. Continue to inform members and consult them on Task Force goals and projects. Continue quarterly dues reminders.

D.   Human Race: Start early to organize businesses and individuals to walk or run for TF and Fund.

E.    October in Paradise: Start regular committee planning in early April for October 2005 event.

 

NEWSLETTER 

Continue to become a broadly based publication open to multiple voices on homelessness - a forum to stimulate ideas and discussion as well as an organizational newsletter. Stimulate more sense of community ownership. Funding could be sought to support the newsletter to possibly to expand in size, coverage, and circulation. The Editorial Team will help set themes, write and collect articles, and possibly monitor national news on homelessness for issues for the newsletter or for advocacy or education efforts.

 

A.   Publish at least four eight-page issues, on the following schedule.

Issue (to arrive at end of month)		Article Submission Deadline
January/February/March		December 23, 2004
April/ May/June		March 23
July/August/ September		June 25
October/ November/December		September 24

    

B.    Regularly feature service agency "wish lists" to assist donations.

C.    Solicit articles by homeless or formerly homeless people on their personal experience and/or suggestions about ways to help end homelessness, to offer the homeless a new voice.

D.   Solicit articles by and provide a publication venue for homeless service providers, volunteers, staff, government agencies, and advocates.

E.  Thank donors in one to three issues per year.

F.    Include a short financial report once a year for the prior year, noting where complete figures may be obtained.

G.   Continue to increase use of graphics and photos in the newsletter, and web site, and continue to upgrade publication design and quality within budget limits.

H.   Use the newsletter and web site to solicit donations for Task Force needs and goals.

I.      Continue to increase circulation. (Send to libraries, universities, and other venues.). 

WEB SITE

 

A.   Maintain the Task Force web site including information on homelessness and homeless services, Task Force objectives and activities, a calendar of relevant meetings and events, newsletter articles, and possibly dialogue on issues.

B.    Secure and budget adequate funds to post and maintain the site.

C.   Gather member and community input on the site and make needed adjustments.

D.   Monitor, edit, and continuously improve the site.