HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-13-2015 BW1 Bolster-White'"N r t
T1VvHA
Transitions - Mental Health Association
Inspiring hope, growth, recovery and wellness in our communities.
City of San Luis Obispo
Attn: Mayor Jan Marx & City Council
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
To Mayor Marx and Council Members,
COUNCIL MEETING:
ITEM NO.: _
January 7, 2015
JAN 0 9 2015
As you begin the work of setting goals for the 2015 -17 Financial Plan, Transitions —
Mental Health Association particularly applauds your efforts to address issues of
homelessness in the current plan and urges you to continue that important focus.
During the 2013 -15 Financial Plan, the major city goal to implement comprehensive
strategies to address homelessness resulted in impressive progress on development of a
homeless services center, further implementation of policies that will aid individuals
and families faced with homelessness and great work by the Community Action Team
in the Downtown.
In short, you have done a tremendous job of setting the stage for the ongoing and
additional work required to address homelessness in our community.
As part of your 2015 -17 goals, please continue to focus on transitional and permanent
housing and services for the homeless in our community. Our organization will
continue to do its part to address homelessness with case management, housing and
mental health services. We will also continue to provide permanent housing for the
community's homeless as part of the 50Now program in conjunction with the County
Department of Social Services and our partner non - profit agencies.
Please do your part to maintain the momentum of the past two years by implementing
policy and providing advocacy that results in more affordable housing units. While we
work alongside the City and affordable housing developers to provide housing for
people at the margin, we also rely on the City to use its policies and procedures to
encourage workforce housing for the employees of businesses including Transitions -
Mental Health Association.
Post Office Box 15408 • San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 • P 805.540.6500 • F 805.540.6501 • www.t- mha.org
The changes to the Housing Element, proposed in 2014, are good additions that will
encourage affordable housing to be built. Please put additional effort into creating
incentives for the development of workforce housing, possibly through development
review priority and streamlining environmental review.
As a major non - profit employer in the City, we rely on the good work of the City to
elevate housing as an issue to address both low income and workforce housing needs
for the residents of our City. As a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating
stigma and promoting recovery and wellness for people with mental illness through
work, housing, community and family support services, we ask that you maintain
strategies to address homelessness as a Major City Goal and add workforce housing as
a new goal.
Sincerely,
ill olster -White
E cutive Director