Title
OrgCode Consulting, Inc. Report on How to End Homelessness within City of Gainesville/Alachua County (B)
Explanation
The purpose of this item is for the City Commission to review the Action Plan to address the OrgCode report to end homelessness and provide policy direction to City Staff and recommendations to the County Commission and the Local CoC (North Central Florida Alliance for Homelessness and Hungry) on the Action Plan.
OrgCode Consulting, Inc. is a private consultant firm that conducted an evaluation and review of the local community's efforts to address and end homelessness within Gainesville/Alachua County, including the local CoC efforts. Iain DeJong, President and CEO, conducted the evaluation during the week of June 13, 2016. On July 12 ,2016, a final report was submitted to the City and County staffs. The OrgCode report was funded jointly by the City and County with the purpose of determining if and how the community could improve its efforts to address homelessness.
The OrgCode Report recommends several actions, including the reallocation of local dollars to implement the Housing First Model for the community. More specifically, the report recommends that GRACE Marketplace focus on emergency shelter rather than transitional shelter; and the local CoC implement the Housing First model and the Rapid Rehousing/Permanent Supportive Housing approach to address homelessness in the community. This report notes that, in most cases, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) no longer supports Transitional Housing, and that the community could see a further decrease in its federal dollars if the community does not adhere to the Housing First model and the Rapid Rehousing/Permanent Supportive Housing approach.
The local CoC consists of five counties: Alachua, Levy, Bradford, Gilchrist, and Putnam Counties. The Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry is the lead agency responsible for ensuring that the loca...
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