Homelessness News

During Its Five-Month Pilot, Results Are Heating up for the HOT Program

Posted on August 12, 2016

Even though we know we shouldn’t attribute the characteristics of a minority to the overall group, we do that all the time with homeless people.  Communities that are ending homelessness have understood that individualization is the key to success.  When we do this, new insights emerge, and we begin to see that there is a...

The Relocation Process

Posted on June 20, 2016

The City has been working closely with the Ritter Center on efforts to relocate their services.  Two key parameters are guiding the search – the new location cannot be Downtown, and it cannot be in a residential area. The Public Process … Step Zero – Like any development project in San Rafael, it all begins...

Get to Know: Ashley Hart McIntyre

Posted on June 15, 2016

At the City, we field a wide variety of questions and concerns regarding homelessness in our community.  One of the most common questions we get is "What is the County of Marin doing to address the issue?"  In our second "Get to Know" blog post, I would like to introduce you to Ashley Hart McIntyre,...

6/6/16 Council Meeting: Operational Changes Proposed at Ritter

Posted on June 9, 2016

On Monday night, the City Council held a follow up public hearing to review the Ritter Center’s Use Permit.  There has been a lot of information circulating about this issue, and the point of this blog is to provide clear and accurate information from the City’s point of view.   The most important takeaway from this...

Have I Heard from You Yet?

Posted on May 20, 2016

Two Fridays ago I wrote to you about the Chamber of Commerce’s “Cleaning up Myths about Homelessness” event.  I left work that evening feeling incredibly excited about the growing, positive momentum to actually end homelessness in our community.  While I feel like that energy and excitement is building every day, as I have also said in past...

I Just Had an Amazing Morning

Posted on May 13, 2016

Today I had one of the most uplifting mornings I’ve had in a long time.  After months of planning, the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce hosted a “Cleaning up Myths about Homelessness” event at the County’s Health and Wellness Campus in East San Rafael.  Every year the Chamber runs the San Rafael Leadership Institute (of which I...

Get to Know: Lynn Murphy

Posted on April 22, 2016

If the City of San Rafael has a secret weapon in our mission to end homelessness, it’s Lynn Murphy. I recently had the chance to spend a morning in downtown San Rafael with Lynn, and she was kind enough to answer a few of my questions. What is your position with the City of San...

What’s Working – Return to Residence

Posted on April 12, 2016

After two weeks of hearing from me, I thought it would be a good time to “pass the mic” to someone else.  Moving forward, this newsletter will feature a regular cycle of stories covering a wide variety of topics related to homelessness.  As I mentioned in my first message to you, my plan is to...

3/21/16 City Council Meeting: Focus on Ritter

Posted on April 4, 2016

Purpose of the 3/21/16 City Council Meeting – On March 21st, 2016, the City Council reviewed the Ritter Center’s 6-month performance report.  This was the fifth such report created by City staff working with in conjunction with Ritter Center staff (you can read the report and watch the meeting here).  The performance report covers the Ritter...

Why I’m Optimistic

Posted on March 25, 2016

by Andrew Hening, Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach It is perhaps fitting that my first official message to you as the Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach comes on the heels of a 200-person strong City Council meeting this past Monday that witnessed the full gamut of public opinion and general mounting frustration about...