Collaboration on Homelessness Explores Solutions

Participants in the Downtown Santa Rosa Collaboration on Homelessness gathered at the offices of zentiv agency on Fourth Street to discuss issues of homelessness in Santa Rosa.

The morning of November 30th, the Chamber's Downtown Association convened the first Downtown Santa Rosa Collaboration on Homelessness, where over 65 Downtown and Railroad Square business and property owners, providers of homeless services, law enforcement and City staff aired issues and concerns, discussed strategies and solutions, and heard about what’s being done by the City and its agency partners.

Chamber President Jonathan Coe and Mayor John Sawyer opened the meeting by thanking attendees for their participation and encouraging them to stay connected and involved, and Julie Kawahara, owner of Kindred Fair Trade Handcrafts, facilitated proceedings through small group discussions before reconvening the larger group to compile their concerns and strategy ideas.

The meeting wrapped up with a panel discussion from Director of Housing and Community Services David Gouin, Vice-Mayor Tom Schwedhelm, Jennilynn Holmes of Catholic Charities, and John Snetsinger of SRPD who spoke about resources, best practices from other metro areas, and the scope of work being planned for the Santa Rosa Homeless Collective.

This meeting was the first in a series the Chamber's Downtown Association will be hosting. In the meantime, the Chamber invites you to participate in the Summit on Homeless Solutions on January 30th and 31st, to have the phone number of the Homeless Outreach Services Team – (855) 707-HOST – and to know about the Sonoma County Homeless Resource Guide, which lists nearly 200 services.