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To express the Council’s support for the adoption of the City of Richmond Strategic Plan to End Homelessness 2020-2030 and any enabling legislation, including any budget amendments, to implement the City of Richmond Strategic Plan to End Homelessness 2020-2030.
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WHEREAS, to address the challenges in reducing the number of homeless persons in the city of Richmond and in an effort to address and implement solutions to these challenges, the City’s Administration developed the City of Richmond Strategic Plan to End Homelessness 2020-2030 (hereinafter, the “Plan”), a copy of which is attached to this resolution; and
WHEREAS, according to the Plan, the number of homeless single adults in the city of Richmond has been reduced, but there remain many challenges facing the City in addressing homelessness; and
WHEREAS, the Plan states that these challenges include the lack of food and supportive services at the City’s cold weather shelter located at 1400 Oliver Hill Way and known as the Annie Giles Community Resource Center; the lack of shelters accepting persons under age 18, families with children, or adults with pets; difficulties obtaining an accurate count of homeless children within the city of Richmond; an insufficient number of shelters with services oriented to special populations that are often barred from entry into shelters, such as veterans, offender groups reentering the community, and those needing mental health and substance abuse treatment; and zoning requirements precluding the location of emergency shelters in some neighborhoods and districts of the city; and
WHEREAS, it is estimated in the Plan that the City needs to provide at least 300 more supportive housing units and thousands of affordable housing units to adequately reduce the homeless population in the city of Richmond; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Department of Social Services, with the assistance of organizations involved in the planning and coordination of homeless services within the city of Richmond, have identified certain strategies to reduce the number of individuals experiencing homelessness which have been included in the Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that it is in the best interests of the citizens of the City of Richmond to support the adoption of the Plan and any enabling legislation, including any budget amendments needed to implement the Plan;
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND:
That the Council supports the adoption of the Plan and any enabling legislation, including any budget amendments, to implement the Plan.