A PARALLEL PATH: HOMELESSNESS AND EMPLOYMENT County of Santa Clara Office of Supportive Housing

Strategies – Before After Homelessness Prevention – one time financial assistance was given to households that received a notice from landlord Rapid Rehousing – rental subsidies based on income that included support services through case management Employment – it was dependent on the agency client was connected Homelessness Prevention – financial assistance is given if household will miss a rent payment within 14 days Income and rental amount is reviewed and a plan is created to increase income or to find a more affordable unit Rapid Rehousing – rental subsidies and support services that focus on employment and income outcomes Employment Pathway Initiative – pairing housing interventions with opportunities for living way employment

Employment Pathway Initiatives It is an employment engagement enterprise developed by the County of Santa Clara Office of Supportive Housing, Destination: Home, and the City of San Jose The objective is to connect individuals and families receiving housing assistance in Santa Clara County with living-wage employment & empowering them to increase their income to achieve and sustain long-term housing stability High-growth industry pathways include: healthcare, building and construction trade, advanced manufacturing, technology and professional

Bridging the two systems Tactics Buy in from the Board of Supervisors, the City of San Jose, Destination: Home, and contractual relationships with training partners Initiative that started with 1M and high expectations Have clear objectives and outcomes based on data Joint meetings with direct service providers as well as their leadership to demonstrate the importance of bridging the systems Include training partners and employers in Supportive Housing System meetings Include data, data, and more data to get others to the table, including workforce board

What’s next? As a community we are integrating the work of racial equity into our Supportive Housing System Conducting a study on Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing in partnership with the University of Notre Dame, the Lab for Economic Opportunity (LEO), and MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Goal is to understand what is and isn’t working but also to ensure that policy is informed by scientific evidence

What can you do? Research – review what others are doing Portland: Central City Concern is a non-profit that provides supportive housing connected to employment services and a one-stop center New York: Jericho Project is a non-profit that employs a team of Career Counselors and Employment Specialists that help place their residents into meaningful employment Data driven – conduct a deep data dive of your community What are the outcomes telling you? What are the growth industries in your community and does it make sense for your population? Who is at your table? Who is missing? Do you have a partner such as Destination: Home to help you drive the vision? Make sure to involve a lived experience advisory board early on Design – create something that works for your community that is flexible to the changing needs of the homeless and those at risk

County of Santa Clara Office of Supportive Housing https://www.sccgov.org/sites/osh Jessica Orozco Jessica.Orozco@hhs.sccgov.org