The Task Force for the Homeless is working hard to assist people who are working their way out of homelessness. We do that by helping to improve the delivery of services and by addressing the barriers people have in obtaining their own housing. We were just awarded a collaborative grant which will provide more healthcare in the River Area, Santa Rosa, and Petaluma; we were instrumental in a collaboration which expanded the Free Clinic at Family Support Center so it is open a day and a half every week, and another collaboration which is diverting homeless people (and others at risk) from the jails. We provide a voicemail service for folks without their own phones. We administer the Federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program which brings $155 thousand to local organizations and we provide community education and advocacy for affordable housing and homeless services.
We participate in the Continuum of Care which brings $2 million annually into Sonoma County for homeless services, and we are working to help implement the 10 Year Homeless Action Plan. We hope to see more permanent supportive housing for disabled folks who made up a majority of the homeless households identified in the homeless counts. Permanent Supportive Housing is successful in stabilizing disabled households 80% of the time. We could really reduce the number of homeless in Sonoma County if we could place all of those folks in this kind of housing!
I am walking in the Human Race on May 10th to help the Sonoma County Task Force for the Homeless. Can you contribute to help out? If so, please let me know the amount of your pledge and send a check made
out to The Human Race to me at 955 McFarlane Avenue Sebastopol, 95472, no later than May 20th. I will accept any amount from $1 to $5,000...and I’ll talk to the Fundraising Committee to get permission if you want to contribute more!
Gale Brownell
Sonoma County Task Force for the Homeless
www.sonomacountyhomeless.org
phone: 707 953-8988
fax: 707 823-8943