ABOUT
THE ALLIANCE FOR REGIONAL SOLUTIONS
In April of 2007, Suzanne Pohlman,
Executive Director of Interfaith
Community Services, convened a group of non-profit executives
to explore the idea of reviving the North County Executive Director's
The
Alliance Mission:
"to work collaboratively advocating changes
to ensure emerging human needs are justly met." |
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Council that had been active a
decade earlier but had since disbanded. She pointed out that
in the absence of such a group, the non-profit sector had lacked
a cohesive voice and had been less effective in contributing
to community solutions. It was proposed by the group that it
call itself the Alliance for Regional Solutions with the mission
"to work collaboratively advocating changes to ensure emerging
human needs are justly met." On May 8, 2007, representatives
of 16 North County non-profits gathered at Green Oaks Ranch
and established the Alliance for Regional Solutions (ARS). It
was agreed that the Alliance would not incorporate nor seek
non-profit status. The priority issues were identified as: 1)
Winter Homeless Shelter; 2) Plan to End Chronic Homelessness;
and 3) Transportation.
Simultaneously,
in mid April of 2007, Escondido City Councilman Sam Abed was
appointed to represent the council in an initiative to "meet
with North County cities to create a regional plan that addresses
emergency homeless shelters during winter months." Elected
officials from all North County cities were invited to a series
of meetings.
In early May, Councilman Abed
approached the newly established Alliance and requested that
it develop a proposal for a regional solution to shelter needs
for the winter of 2007-08. Prior to this regional effort,
the winter shelters had been provided by separate North County
agencies with no formal coordination among agencies or cities.
The Alliance presented the
preliminary draft of a Regional Winter Shelter System to elected
officials, city and county staff, and other community partners
on June 21, 2007. From July through September, 2007, Alliance
members and city staff members worked collaboratively to refine
the system design, finalize the system budget, negotiate shares
of cost, and develop funding strategies. On September 13,
2007, Escondido city elected officials and staff met to affirm
their support for the Regional Winter Shelter System. Subsequently,
all nine North County city councils approved their share of
funding for the Regional Winter Shelter System. United Way
of San Diego County provided a major share of the funding,
and County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA)
committed to providing program support services as requested
by shelter providers.
The governance committee for
the ARS Regional Winter Shelter System included representatives
from the following agencies: Bread of Life Rescue Mission,
Brother Bennos, By His Grace Homeless Outreach, Catholic Charities,
Catholic Charities – La Posada de Guadalupe, Community
Resource Center, Heritage Clinic, Interfaith Community Services,
Interfaith Shelter Network, North County Community Services,
Operation Hope, Regional Task Force on the Homeless, The Alpha
Project, The Salvation Army, The Fellowship Center, Community
Housing Works, and one representative each from the city of
Escondido and the city of Oceanside. (A complete list of agencies
and their representatives may be found in Table A1 in the
Appendix.) The Alliance designated North County Community
Service Executive Director, Stan Miller, to serve as Fiscal
Agent for the Regional Winter Shelter System.
The mission of the ARS Regional
Winter Shelter system was to provide a safe drug-, alcohol-,
violence-free shelter with intensive case management and support
services to assist clients in getting back on their feet.
Winter shelter services began on October 23, 2007 at the Interfaith
Shelter Network – Coastal site (case managed by Community
Resource Center). Additional shelter services were provided
at Bread of Life in Oceanside, Operation Hope in Vista, Catholic
Charities - La Posada de Guadalupe in Carlsbad, The Salvation
Army in Escondido, and at the Inland Interfaith Shelter Network
(case managed by Interfaith Community Services).
(quoted
in it's entirety from the Executive Summary: Evaluation of
Alliance For Regional Solutions Winter Shelter System, 2007-08
Shelter Season prepared by the Institute for Public Health)
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