The Plan: Initiatives

Alameda County’s Initiative for Helping Households
with a Housing Crisis

The Priority Home Partnership is a multi-agency,
multi-jurisdictional collaboration to prevent and end
homelessness in Alameda County.

The Partnership’s innovative approach includes:

• Regional Housing Resource Centers (HRCs) – Housing stabilization and financial assistance services are delivered by eight coordinated HRCs serving different regions of the county and some targeted subpopulations. Each HRC is co-located with other community services such as family resource centers and multi-service centers.
• Single Point of Entry – Households with a housing crisis anywhere in the County are screened centrally through the 211 information and referral hot line and referred to the appropriate HRC
• Targeting Most At Risk – Outreach and targeting is to those households most likely to become homeless without assistance who can also benefit quickly from targeted services and assistance
• Common Screening and Assessment Tools – All HRCs use the same assessment tool, eligilbity requirements, and common data collection forms.
• HUD and TANF Funds Available – All HRCs have both resources to assist eligible households. Some have other funds as well to provide more integrated services and support.
• Ongoing Opportunities to Learn – The Partnership includes an Implementation and Learning Community (ILC) of all partners that meets  monthly and an on-line group for in between communication and resource sharing to ensure consistency and continuous program improvement.
• Built in Research Agenda – 211 and the HRC’s collect data on those served and unserved to help us understand who the program reaches and who it works for. This will inform future efforts.

Combining our investment has dramatically increased our ability to prevent and address homelessness. Eight cities in the county and two County agencies received ARRA funds for homelessness prevention and rehousing.  These include Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the State of California, and Transitional Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Funds. Together, the three-year investment countywide is greater than $12.1 million. By investing funds together, the cities and the County have stretched their dollars further; instead of operating small programs in every city, the collaborative Housing Resource Centers serve a region and leverage other resources and programs in the area.

Preparing for the future. We are committed to making lasting improvements now in our approach to preventing and ending homelessness.  Our community is building on the Priority Home Partnership to further integrate our efforts to end homelessness, prioritize a housing first approach, and learn from our experience. Even when ARRA is over, our efforts will pay off in making sure that we continue to effectively prevent homelessness whenever and wherever possible.

Resources

For more information view the full HUD guidelines

Download a PDF of the Homelessness Prevention in Alameda County: Phase 1 Report

EveryOne Home's Summary of HPRP Federal Guidelines