DATE: September 22, 2015
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Library and Community Services
SUBJECT
Title
Update on Regional Efforts to Address Homelessness in Alameda County and Next Steps in the City of Hayward's Participation in Those Efforts.
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That Council reads this report and its attachments and comments on the information contained therein; and provides guidance and direction in response to staff's questions at the end of the report.
Body
PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT
The purpose of this report is to frame the dimensions of homelessness in Hayward and to provide Council an update on regional efforts to address homelessness in Alameda County, along with potential next steps in the City of Hayward's participation in those efforts. This report does not purport to contain easy or definitive solutions, nor does it attempt to be a comprehensive or perfect encapsulation of one of society's most difficult and intractable issues. Rather, it is intended to provide Council with an understanding of staff's ongoing work on the homelessness issue; updates on recent strategies used in Alameda County and elsewhere; and to frame some key questions for Council's consideration. This is expected to be only one of many discussions with Council and the Hayward community on this topic going forward.
Homelessness is an extraordinarily complex and challenging problem that affects cities across America. In many ways, homelessness has grown in scope and intractability to become a defining issue of the late 20th and early 21st century society. Cities have struggled for many decades with limited success to productively address this issue and the adverse impacts it has had on those enduring homelessness as well as their associated communities.
Homelessness also is a very personal and emotionally charged issue for many people. It is our nature as human beings to seek and mai...
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