RESOLUTION NO. _____________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF ESTABLISHING A TEN-YEAR PLAN

TO END HOMELESSNESS IN SAN MATEO COUNTY

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors’ vision for the County is to have housing exist for all people at all income levels and for all generations; and

WHEREAS, on any given day, approximately 1,400 people are homeless in San Mateo County with an annual count totaling 4,500 people; and

WHEREAS, many struggle with the high cost of living and can’t afford to pay rental prices that are the highest in the nation; and

WHEREAS, in San Mateo County, the faces of homelessness are largely unseen: single employed mothers living out of cars with their children, families who recently lost their home due to layoffs or catastrophic health issues, or emancipated youth from the foster care system; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has sponsored a nationwide initiative to end chronic homelessness in ten years through the guidance of the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH); and

WHEREAS, locally, San Francisco and Contra Costa County instituted their plans in 2004 and Alameda County is in process of developing such a plan. It is time for San Mateo County to join in that effort; and

WHEREAS, San Mateo County has made major accomplishments with regard to managing homelessness with the Continuum of Care, which annually brings in approximately $5 million for homeless housing and services; and

WHEREAS, federal funding opportunities for homeless housing and support services is linked to ten year plan strategies that address a community’s approach to ending homelessness; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors is committed to ending homelessness in San Mateo County through a planning process that will produce concrete and realistic strategies to address the problems of homeless and with the ultimate goal of ending it within 10 years,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Board of Supervisors supports the creation of a planning process to develop a San Mateo County Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness and have an annual report back on its accomplishments.

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