HOPE Recommendations
Foundational Recommendations
A – Organizational Capacity
Prioritize housing solutions within existing city/county resources and hire additional staff to coordinate and implement these policy recommendations. Support the growth of local service providers who transition people out of homelessness.
B – Funding Recommendations
Work with service providers to assess funding to build organizational capacity, pursue additional funding, and allocate resources to agencies implementing these policy recommendations.
C – Legislative Advocacy
Continue to advocate for statewide funding, shelter bed requirements for every county, and partnerships to address affordable housing impacts.
Policy Recommendations
1. Data Improvement
Facilitate and coordinate data improvement efforts with community partners.
Work with service providers to improve data collection to reduce duplicative efforts, collect data using a trauma-informed approach, and better understand the cycle of homelessness.
2. Program Metrics
Work with providers to create metrics for successful program goals.
Collaborate with service providers to develop metrics to better track which services deploy successful interventions in transitioning people out of homelessness.
3. Care Coordination
Prioritize collaboration and coordination of providers and partners with routine meetings for improved care coordination facilitated by a full‐time staff member.
Convene service providers and partners to coordinate care for individuals with high and complex needs who are interacting with multiple systems.
4. Case Management
Collaborate with social service and health care partners to increase the number of paid, full‐ time case managers to support people transitioning out of homelessness.
Help build capacity for more case managers with experience and backgrounds that reflect those of the people they are serving to provide a vital support to transitioning out of homelessness.
5. Crisis Response
Pursue implementation of a crisis response team and collect data on the scope and scale of need for crisis response.
Pursue a non‐police intervention and a joint behavioral health and law enforcement co-response for crisis situations due to homelessness and behavioral health issues.
6. Sheltering System
Provide organizational capacity to facilitate and coordinate providers in establishing a 24/7/365 Sheltering System for all populations with onsite resources at shelter locations to transition people out of homelessness.
Work with community partners and service providers to provide staff capacity, funding, and leadership for the phased implementation of a strategically placed, safe, accessible, temporary sheltering system that provides services all day, every day.
7. Resource Center
Facilitate and support the creation of a Resource Center.
Support service providers in the creation of a strategically placed resource center where people can meet with representatives from multiple service organizations and access supports to prevent or transition out of homelessness.
8. Reduce Barriers
Explore and investigate the need and the barriers to accessing housing for individuals and their families in our community whose past history has impacted their ability to secure housing.
Work with service providers to gather more data on and explore solutions for individuals with difficult histories who are disqualified from housing and support services.
9. Communication
Provide routine communication, notice, and opportunities for community involvement on the topic of homelessness services.
Provide routine email updates, public forums, and notices of opportunities for involvement.
10. Housing Options
Increase development or acquisition of affordable housing units for permanent supportive housing (PSH) by 20 new units per year for the next eight years to add at a minimum 160 new units of PSH in Benton County.
Work with community partners to increase housing opportunities for community members who need permanent support to remain stably housed.
11. Rental/Income Assistance
Increase available rental/income assistance options.
Work with community partners to increase utilization and accessibility of Section 8 housing vouchers, pursue rent subsidies, and connect communities of color to rental/income assistance in a culturally responsive way.
12. Supportive Services
Increase supportive services and stable funding streams to provide services to residents at more affordable housing locations.
Facilitate and coordinate with community partners for increased mental health supports, substance use treatment, and case management services at affordable and supportive housing locations.
