New program aims to house 50 of SLO County's chronically homeless residents

A new program to provide housing for 50 of San Luis Obispo County’s chronically homeless is underway — mirroring a national movement to provide housing first, then treatment.

The program, dubbed 50Now, is the first major endeavor by the county to reduce homelessness since it embarked on formulating a 10-year plan to end homelessness more than five years ago.

The county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $1.9 million three-year contract with Transitions Mental Health Association on Tuesday.

The goal is to identify chronic, vulnerable homeless individuals throughout the county and work with them to provide housing initially and then services such as drug and alcohol and mental health treatment.

The county Department of Social Services is in the process of compiling a list of those individuals. So far, it has more than 200 names of chronically homeless people. Those individuals will be ranked by evaluating factors that increase the risk of death, said Laurel Weir, homeless services coordinator.

Some of those factors include multiple visits to the emergency room in a year, cirrhosis of the liver and age over 60.

Of the people on the list, 80 percent have been in jail, 21 percent in prison and 85 percent identified as having a mental health issue.

A person is considered chronically homeless if they have been homeless continuously for a year or have been homeless at least four times in the past three years, Weir said.

The Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo has provided 50 housing vouchers — guarantees for subsidized housing — that can be used over the three-year period.

The vouchers would give individuals permanent housing in environments deemed the best fit for their needs, such as apartments or shared co-ops.

The goal is to house 17 people within the first nine months, 34 people within 15 months and 50 within 21 months.

“This is a big undertaking, but we feel like we have the community support that we need to make it happen,” said Jill Bolster-White, Transitions’ executive director.

The Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County will subcontract with Transitions to provide two case managers. A nurse, a clinical therapist and someone who has personal experience with homelessness or mental health issues will also be on the team.

The El Camino Homeless Organization, 5 Cities Homeless Coalition and the Community Health Centers of the Central Coast will also collaborate on the project.

“The housing-first approach gets at the premise that there is not really a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing homelessness,” said Emily Jackson, a county administrative analyst.

San Luis Obispo police Chief Steve Gesell embarked on a city effort in 2013 to identify the top 10 chronic offenders in San Luis Obispo.

He found that those top offenders — who continually consume police resources, bog down the justice system and fill beds at the local jail and emergency rooms — owed a combined $122,889 in civil penalties they would likely never pay.

He created a two-person community action team to help combat transient issues by moving beyond arrests and jail time to connecting some of the most vulnerable individuals with resources.

Gesell said he supports the creation of the 50Now program, adding that it has been effective in addressing chronic homelessness in other communities.

However, he wants the focus first to be on those people who are from San Luis Obispo County.

“From a community wellness perspective, it is imperative that those selected for housing have been chronically homeless locally for some reasonable time frame,” said Gesell. “Otherwise, the program will do little to mitigate the disproportionate impacts seen here that strain our resources and adversely impact the quality of life.”

Weir, who has worked to compile the list of likely participants, said serving local homeless residents first will be a priority.

This story was originally published August 26, 2014 at 6:36 PM with the headline "New program aims to house 50 of SLO County's chronically homeless residents."