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the first set of Housing Task Force recommendations, which are being implemented. These funds have gone toward additional beds, a cold weather shelter, and expanded health and other services for the unsheltered homeless population. Currently the board of supervisors is working on the second set of recommendations that Supervisor Cortese estimated would cost $64 million.  Is it enough? In Cortese’s words, “Not by a long shot.” But he suggested that there’s more to come, including the area’s first micro-housing village, later in 2016.  In his address, Cortese also said that despite Silicon Valley’s booming economy most homeless people are homeless because of job loss or difficult barriers to employment. He appealed to residents living near transitional housing or shelter sites to keep an open mind because without these sites, the homeless will be on the street and in the parks rather than being sheltered and stabilized. He also appealed to landlords to consider renting to homeless veterans and others, many of whom have housing vouchers but no opportunities to rent. Supervisor Cortese noted that the County has also commissioned a survey of voters to determine their willingness to support new revenue measures to help fund affordable housing, especially targeting the County’s extremely low income and homeless populations. According to County Supervisor Mike Wasserman, a potential housing bond measure was on the board’s agenda for discussion in early June, but was “still in its infancy.” He added that if it goes forward, the bond measure would be on the November ballot. “We’re all realists,” Supervisor Wasserman said. “We have a housing and homelessness crisis. Our Housing Task Force is moving forward and making great strides. In the past 18 months, 1,100 chronically homeless people were housed. We’re building on that progress.” Local Non-profits Help the Homeless: Comprehensive Services to Fit Individual Needs Community Solutions is a non-profit, comprehensive human services agency addressing the needs of people in South Santa Clara County, South San Jose and San Benito County. The organization’s services and support help children, families and individuals overcome challenges associated with mental health issues, substance abuse, trauma, severe family dysfunction, sexual and domestic ERIN O’BRIEN violence, and human trafficking. The housing and residential programs offered by Community Solutions are instrumental in keeping clients safely housed while they receive essential services. The organization’s Intensive Case Management (ICM) program serves residents housed at Gilroy Sobrato Apartments and Morgan Hill’s Belle Terra Apartments – people whose A New Tool for Prediction and Prevention In another collaborative effort, the County, Destination: Home, and the Economic Roundtable also developed a “triage tool.” This tool uses predictive modeling to enable accurate screening and prediction of high- cost users in the County’s public safety net system. It has been made available to local communities to help them prioritize these individuals for supportive housing and other interventions . GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JULY / AUGUST 2016 gmhtoday.com 29