1 minute read
Purpose of Developing Plan
from Downey Homeless Plan
by downeyca
Outreach Coast to Coast Foundation Coast to Coast works closely with the Downey Police Department in their outreach to homeless adults, both individually and in encampments. Coast to Coast assists in encampment cleanup efforts and will help organize supplemental assistance for those outreach efforts, including coordinating community volunteers and donations to help homeless individuals. A portion of the funds will be for emergency rehousing, mental health or drug treatment services or transportation services for individuals who need immediate help before there is space available in the publicly-funded programs.
Environmental cleanup Ocean Blue Ocean Blue provides environmental cleanup for the materials/articles left after an encampment area has been cleared.
In addition to the above investments, the City of Downey invests staff time and portions of department funding to activities related to homelessness. Downey Police Department – Officers on Homeless Detail Downey Fire Department Community Development Downey Library Parks & Recreation Office of the City Manager
Purpose of Developing Plan
The City’s primary purpose in developing this plan is to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness in the community and the barriers that make it difficult for people to exit homelessness.
It is important to recognize that the larger housing affordability crisis in California and Los Angeles County exacerbates the homelessness crisis at the City level. California holds 21 of the 30 most expensive rental markets in the nation and LA County needs 551,807 more affordable rental homes for very and extremely low income households (Homeless Task Force Report, 1; 2017 Homeless Count). At the City level, Downey’s Housing Element recognizes that “very lowincome households would not be able to afford rental apartments in the City given the current market trends” (68). Downey acknowledges its role in addressing this crisis, both for the region and the City. The City is working to meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation for the current cycle. The Downtown Specific Plan outlined in the City’s General Plan identifies areas most appropriate for building more multi-family housing. Unfortunately, a large hindrance to meeting this goal is insufficient funding resources. While the City excels at interdepartmental
