AGENDA #6

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            Sally Greene, Council Member

SUBJECT:      Update on Orange County Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness

DATE:                        April 10, 2006

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

A year ago, in March 2005, the Town Council joined the other governing bodies in Orange County to create the Partnership to End Homelessness in Orange County, with the goal of creating a ten-year plan to end homelessness. In November 2005, a steering committee, chaired by Commissioner Moses Carey and Nathan Milian, was established to set policy direction for the project. From January to March of this year, with the assistance of J-Quad consultants, 19 focus groups were held throughout the county in an effort to engage the voices of a broad cross-section of citizens. According to J-Quad’s summary, “These sessions were designed to gather input about experiences with homelessness and to solicit possible remedial actions that address impediments to the housing, services, employment, and healthcare needs of homeless persons.” The sessions “included the business community, healthcare representatives, criminal justice professionals, homeless shelter providers, service providers, congregations, education professionals, government officials, advisory boards, community groups, and current and formerly homeless individuals.”

A primary purpose of the focus groups was to identify recurring themes regarding the issues surrounding homelessness. The project has benefited from the help of a community assessment team consisting of five graduate students from the UNC School of Public Health. In addition to transcribing many of the focus group tapes, they interviewed a number of homeless or formerly homeless persons; service providers; and community members. Using statistical data analysis, they have compiled a list of recurring themes, annotating them with helpful commentary.

The next major step in the process is an action-oriented community forum, scheduled for Thursday, April 27, 6-9 p.m. (See Attachment A.)

Tonight, representatives of the community assessment team will share with us the results of their work so far. They will be conducting the forum on April 27, and the themes that they identified will form the basis of the agenda. Your comments, observations, and suggestions for the project are invited.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Draft Press Release Announcing Community Forum on April 27 (p. 2).