Public commenter urges Thousand Oaks to pilot smartphone and single-point advocate for homeless services; staff notes Thrive Grove progress

Kenneth Yaz, a Thousand Oaks resident and public commenter on Sept. 9, urged the city to pilot a program to provide new or recycled smartphones to people experiencing homelessness and to appoint a city advocate to help coordinate access to local resources.

"Why not have Thousand Oaks launch a program to get a smartphone new or recycled into the hands of every homeless person who demonstrates a need for one and is qualified?" Yaz asked, arguing that phones are critical for accessing case management, scheduling in-person interviews and following up on service referrals. He also suggested reconvening an ad hoc homelessness committee and appointing an advocate to act as a single point of contact for homeless residents.

City Manager Powers (staff) responded that the city is several months into operations at the Thrive Grove navigation center, is working to smooth communications among nonprofits, 2-1-1 and law enforcement, and that the city invested over $8,000,000 in the project. "We're working a lot on smoothing out all the communications between all the various entities," the city manager said, and staff named a city staff lead working with partners on outreach and operations.

Ending: No formal council action was taken on Yaz—omments; staff said outreach and coordination work at Thrive Grove is ongoing and listed a staff contact for follow-up.