Action Plan to Address Homelessness

Additional Documents and Information

The City of Des Moines in partnership with Polk County, United Way of Central Iowa, Des Moines Community Foundation, and the Polk County Housing Trust Fund are creating an Action Plan to address the needs of the homeless population in our community.

The goal of the action plan is to address the following:

  1. Recommend a long-term, sustaining process of leadership for addressing the homeless population.
  2. Identify alternative organization structures for managing the homelessness needs and recommend a structure that would be most successful.
  3. Identify the funding stakeholders and recommend how each will contribute to the effort.
  4. Identify service providers and recommend ways for them to best cooperate with this planning effort, coordinate their service delivery, and eliminate duplication.
  5. Define and clarify roles and responsibilities of funders, stakeholders, service providers and other participants.
  6. Identify the services available and unavailable for all populations of the homeless (children, families, inventory of the number of units for these populations, e.g.). This identification will include the available and unavailable services and units and or beds available for chronic homelessness, emergency sheltering and transitional housing.

The planning process began on March 25, 2009 with the following teams being established:

  • Permanent Housing
  • Prevention and Emergency Services
  • Behavioral Health and Support Services
  • Economic Support and Income

This page will continue to be updated with meeting agendas, minutes, and dates. For additional information, please contact Merlie Crowley, Polk County Housing Continuum Coordinator, at (515) 282-3233 Ext. 4.

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