Looking back at the past year, the Nevada County Health and Human Services Agency has taken major steps to address homelessness in Nevada County.
Starting in February of 2017, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors identified homelessness as a top Board priority. Shortly after, the County convened a multi-organizational Homeless Process Improvement Group (HPIG) to address the issues and service gaps around homelessness and at-risk populations. The HPIG met four times and identified nearly 40 service gaps for the homeless population in Nevada County. Since the first meeting, the County and community partners have made significant progress on over half of the identified gaps including the Sheriff's office changing the release time of inmates at the jail from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m., opening the Bost House that will house 19 citizens for residential and substance abuse treatment, and exploring housing development sites for the No Place Like Home permanent housing project to create more affordable housing locally.
In the middle of summer, Nevada County hired Brendan Phillips to fill the newly created Housing Resource Manager position within the Health and Human Services Agency. Brendan has been tasked with coordinating all County housing related services, serving as a single point of contact to the many community based organizations that provide homeless services, and identifying new funding sources for housing projects and homeless services.
In September, Nevada County Behavioral Health Department secured renewal funding for its key permanent supportive housing programs. These programs help house a minimum of 18 individuals within our community's most vulnerable mentally ill population.
One month later in October, Brendan participated in the Interfaith Summit with various interfaith community partners and re- introduced the "Family Circle" concept, a nomadic housing model that would free up shelter capacity and reduce waitlists for spots at family shelters like the Salvation Army's Booth House. That same month, Nevada County Behavioral Health expanded funding to Hospitality House to support local homeless outreach services in addition to funding two additional, full-time homeless outreach case managers.
At the upcoming January 9th Board of Supervisors meeting, the Board will be asked to approve additional funding to support Nevada County's homeless population this winter, matching funding with the City of Grass Valley to help fund overflow shelter at Hospitality House for an additional 15 bed capacity. Michael Heggarty, Nevada County Health and Human Services Director, will also be presenting the County's future plans to address homelessness, detailing short term and long term agency goals, budget needs, and anticipated funding sources.
