REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Homeless Services Annual Update for FY 2024/25 (Information Only)
Report
BACKGROUND
In 2022, the City Council added “Supporting the Unhoused Community” as a Council Strategic Priority. During the 2025 Council Strategic Priorities Workshop, which was held on March 13, 2025, the Council updated this Strategic Priority to: “A model to prevent homelessness, prioritize new housing and support the unhoused community.”
Also in 2022, Council authorized and funded street outreach services through a contract with HomeFirst (RTC No. 22-0517) to support unhoused individuals with exiting homelessness. The original term of the contract was June 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, and a three-month extension was subsequently approved under the City Manager’s authority. The contract for street outreach services with HomeFirst was extended two additional times through September 30, 2024 (RTC Nos. 23-0851 and 24-0029).
In August 2024, City Council approved a one-year service agreement with WeHOPE totaling $909,780 for Street Outreach and Essential Homeless Services and four additional one-year option periods to extend the agreement based on available funding and performance (RTC No. 24-0830).
In December 2024, City Council approved the first amendment to the service agreement with WeHOPE for an additional $73,185 to operate the City’s first Inclement Weather Hotel Pilot Program (RTC No. 24-0198). A second amendment was approved for an additional $120,209 for the expansion of the temporary hotel program (RTC No. 25-0642, June 12, 2025). Under the City Manager’s authority, the City recently executed a third amendment to extend the term of the agreement for an additional one-year period, the first of four one-year optional extensions.
EXISTING POLICY
GENERAL PLAN - HOUSING ELEMENT
GOAL H-5 EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS - Promote equal housing opportunities for all residents, including Sunnyvale’s special needs populations, so that residents can reside in the housing of their choice.
Policy H-5.13 Housing and Services to Address Homelessness. Participate in the County Collaborative on Affordable Housing and Homeless Issues to support its efforts to prevent and end homelessness. Facilitate and sponsor the provision of permanent supportive housing for homeless people. Support local service providers that offer facilities and support services to homeless individuals and families, and persons at risk of homelessness.
H32. Programs to Address Homelessness. Continue to provide funding for programs that seek to prevent and end homelessness and provide supportive services to homeless and at-risk clients. Continue to implement programs such as WorkFirst Sunnyvale and Tenant-Based Rental Assistance. Using new funds such as Permanent Local Housing Allocation and HOME-ARP, create and fund new programs that support the City’s residents who are experiencing homeless or at risk of homelessness.
• Objective: Provide annual funding for homeless programs and at-risk households to serve at least 150 households per year. Implement new rental assistance program for seniors experiencing homelessness.
• Policy(ies) Implements: H-5.13
• Timeframe: Implement new funding sources in 2023, ongoing once implemented.
• Responsible Department or Agency: Community Development Department, Housing Division
Council Policy 5.1.3 Human Services
POLICY PURPOSE: The City of Sunnyvale recognizes that the supportive human services programs of the Federal, State and County governments do not fully meet the needs of all its population. The City, therefore, shall make its best efforts to provide supplemental human services, which include but are not limited to the emergency services, senior services, disabled services, family services and youth services.
Council Policy Priority: Support the Unhoused Community
DISCUSSION
The City has made considerable efforts to address the homelessness crisis over the past few years. These efforts include investments in services for people experiencing homelessness, creating and hiring a new position of Homeless Services Manager (which was recently renamed to Human Services Manager as it is more inclusive of the range of services that are managed), and identifying “support for the unhoused community” as a Council strategic priority since 2022.
Building on this momentum, City Council approved a street outreach contract with HomeFirst in 2022 and in August 2024 and approved an expanded street outreach contract with the nonprofit organization, WeHOPE, that included seven days a week street outreach services, Dignity on Wheels mobile hygiene services, and a temporary hotel shelter program.
This Homeless Services Annual Update report is the first of its kind and serves as a benchmark, highlighting key performance indicators achieved by WeHOPE through the unhoused programs they operated over the past year. Attachment 1 to this report is a table that summarizes the Program Measures and outcomes for each of the programs for the first year of WeHOPE’s contract.
In their first year of service, WeHOPE achieved nearly all of their program goals for each of the programs they operated. For the three goals that were not met (increasing benefits, housing readiness, and outreach encounters), staff is working with WeHOPE to ensure a better understanding of the metrics so that moving forward, all relevant work will be counted through the quarterly reporting process.
Additionally, a small number of metrics included in the Services Agreement were not collected by City staff, either because staff did not have access to the database where the information was stored, because the goals and metrics were not aligned, or due to some clerical errors in the contract draft. Staff is recommending changes to the metrics section of the contract in the future to alleviate these issues and streamline the reporting process for next year. Further details are provided in Attachment 1 to this report.
Separately, this more robust contract for street outreach services with WeHOPE differs from previously contracted street outreach services in staffing levels, a larger operating budget, and having local, non-congregate shelter (hotel shelter program) to offer clients, and therefore, the two contracts are not comparable.
Street Outreach
WeHOPE provides street outreach and case management services seven days a week; their success with street outreach services is primarily through their ongoing engagement and rapport building with those who are experiencing homelessness.
Through their relentless efforts to address street and vehicular homelessness in the City, WeHOPE has conducted 2,350 outreach encounters to individuals experiencing homelessness and provided 1,699 case management sessions to 241 unduplicated clients. Through their targeted case management services, they have supported 60 households with placement into a positive living situation; connected 88 individuals to benefits such as CalFresh (formerly “food stamps”), Social Security (SSI), and Social Security Disability (SSDI); assisted 65 individuals to become “Housing Ready,” through securing their ID, social security card, birth certificates, and funding for housing move-in costs; and connected 138 individuals to healthcare.
Temporary Hotel Program
The temporary hotel program provides short-term shelter for people experiencing homelessness in their vehicle or on the street in Sunnyvale. The program participants receive case management to support them getting into longer-term housing opportunities.
The program served 38 households in the first year and supported 16 of those households with exiting to a positive living situation. A positive living situation is defined as moving into longer-term shelter, housing, living with friends or family, or an institutional setting such as a long-term care facility.
Dignity on Wheels Mobile Hygiene Services
Dignity on Wheels (DoW) mobile hygiene services are run by WeHOPE and offer showers, toilets, laundry, and case management for people experiencing homelessness. The mobile hygiene truck is available twice a week and is located at two separate locations within the City, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, for approximately four hours each day.
In its first year, DoW served 691 (duplicated) clients and provided 558 showers and 372 loads of laundry. DoW case management staff also provided 54 unduplicated individuals with case management services (which is in addition to the Street Outreach case management discussed above).
Inclement Weather Hotel Pilot Program
In December 2024, City Council approved the Inclement Weather Hotel Pilot Program for the 2024-25 winter season. The program funded up to 10 hotel rooms for 20 nights of inclement weather and served 27 individuals through three large storms during the months of January through March 2025.
Sunnyvale continues to make meaningful progress in addressing homelessness through the intervention programs the City is funding. Over the next year, staff will continue to monitor outcomes and ensure these programs deliver measurable results that improve the stability and well-being of Sunnyvale’s most vulnerable residents.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council meeting agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board at City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and this report are available at the City Hall reception desk located on the first floor of City Hall at 456 W. Olive Avenue (during normal business hours), and on the City's website.
LEVINE ACT
The Levine Act (Gov. Code Section 84308) prohibits city officials from participating in certain decisions regarding licenses, permits, and other entitlements for use if the official has received a campaign contribution of more than $500 from a party, participant, or agent of a party or participant in the previous 12 months. The Levine Act is intended to prevent financial influence on decisions that affect specific, identifiable persons or participants. For more information see the Fair Political Practices Commission website: www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/pay-to-play-limits-and-prohibitions.html
An “X” in the checklist below indicates that the action being considered falls under a Levine Act category or exemption:
SUBJECT TO THE LEVINE ACT
___ Land development entitlements
___ Other permit, license, or entitlement for use
___ Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
___ Competitively bid contract*
___ Labor or personal employment contract
___ Contract under $50,000 or non-fiscal
___ Contract between public agencies
_X_ General policy and legislative actions
* "Competitively bid" means a contract that must be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
Staff
Prepared by: Amanda Sztoltz, Housing Officer
Reviewed by: Trudi Ryan, Director, Community Development
Reviewed by: Connie Verceles, Deputy City Manager
Approved by: Tim Kirby, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. WeHOPE Program Measures FY 2024/25