County board backs plan to address homelessness, aiming to focus on housing first

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt a five-year plan to reduce homelessness in the county.

Details: The plan, which was developed by the Housing & Workforce Solutions Agency, includes several goals and strategies aimed at moving people out of homelessness and into stable housing.

• Officials hope to create 21,000 affordable housing units throughout the county over the next five years. But they also want to expand the stock of interim, bridge, and transitional housing and preserve rental assistance programs.

Why it matters: The plan seeks a 75% reduction in the time people spend on the streets or in shelters. To achieve this goal, the plan calls for increasing the availability of outreach and engagement services, providing more rapid re-housing and rental assistance, and expanding access to permanent supportive housing.

• Volunteers counted more than 200 people living on the streets of Palm Springs during a single-day census conducted in 2022 — a 15% increase from two years earlier.
  
• Results from the 2023 point-in-time survey are slated to be released next week, but police here say they have counted more than 400 unhoused individuals living outside since they began conducting daily counts in February.

What they’re saying:  “This is an immense effort based on the entire continuum of care,” Housing & Workforce Solutions Director Heidi Marshall told the board.

Next steps: The plan will now be implemented by the Housing & Workforce Solutions Agency. The agency will work with local governments, service providers, and other stakeholders to ensure that the plan is successful.

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