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Adopted by the Board of County Commissioners <br />February 3, 2009 <br /> 9 <br />It, also, encompasses the next level of survival, addressing mental health concerns <br />through counseling and treatment, addition recovery treatment, domestic violence <br />counseling, parenting classes, support groups and childcare assistance. <br /> <br />Long term goals include employment counseling, job training, job retention <br />counseling, employment placement and access to income-enhancing benefits. <br />This will require creating a platoon of advocates or volunteers to support the <br />delivery of services to the homeless. <br /> <br />Kittitas County is fortunate to have interagency collaborations in place to support a <br />strong infrastructure to assist the homeless population. The Continuum of Care, <br />comprised of agencies, churches, and other programs that provide emergency, <br />transition, and permanent housing to the homeless, is the structure for this <br />partnership. There may be other groups that meet regularly to review services <br />being provided to clients seen by all participating agencies. All agencies are focused <br />on helping the homeless reach a place of self-sufficiency. <br /> <br />We expect results. By the end of 2011, we will have: <br /> <br />i. Engaged the community in a broad array of opportunities for participation in <br />activities to support the work of our committee and the homeless <br />population through a well-organized volunteer program. <br />ii. An enhanced 24/7 emergency response system that will be able to provide <br />immediate aid to individuals and families in crisis through a well-developed <br />voucher system involving our community partners. <br />iii. Increased the resources needed for case management of homeless individuals by <br />supporting agency grant applications that address this issue. <br />iv. Studied and recommended to the BOCC a comprehensive database management <br />program to be implemented in our county to be accessed by all agency <br />personnel who work with the homeless population. This database will <br />enable a comprehensive tracking system that will reduce redundancy of <br />services among agencies and will allow for a more accurate Point In Time <br />Count annually. <br />v. Studied and recommended a strategy to support the FISH Food Bank and APOYO <br />to expand their services to the homeless population. <br />vi. Encouraged collaboration between service providers, community members and <br />volunteers, to be able to provide services such as mental health, dental, and <br />medical etc. to homeless individuals through a yearly, coordinated event. <br /> <br />3. We must prevent homelessness through financial assistance, timely follow-up and <br />crisis intervention, and effective discharge planning linked to housing. <br /> <br />Prevention Services, which include case management and financial assistance to <br />households at risk of homelessness, must be easily accessible in every community in our <br />county. Additionally, implementing a brief case management program for persons who