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Contra Costa CORE Team Reports Rise in Pinole Unhoused; Council Asked to Fund Local Response
Summary
County CORE outreach leaders told the Pinole City Council that CORE served 55 unhoused individuals in Pinole in 2024 and that 30 people lost housing in the city last year. CORE staff urged partnership funding; a public commenter recommended using housing successor funds to support CORE operations in Pinole.
Pinole — Contra Costa Health’s Coordinated Outreach, Referral and Engagement program (CORE) told the City Council on May 20 that homelessness in Pinole is rising and that housing costs are the primary driver.
"Unsheltered homelessness is driven by housing costs," Jenny Robbins, chief of programs at Contra Costa Health, said during the presentation. Robbins told the council that countywide vacancy rates and rising rents have pushed more people into unsheltered situations and that CORE’s outreach teams focus on housing-focused street outreach, shelter placement and linkages to health and behavioral-health services.
Fedy Al Hayek, CORE’s program director, presented data specific to Pinole: CORE reported 55 unique unhoused individuals served in the city during calendar year 2024 and 116 contacts; 30 people reported losing housing in Pinole in 2024, up from 15 the year before. A single-night point-in-time (PIT) count recorded seven people in Pinole in January 2024, Robbins said. CORE also reported that 20 individuals (about 41% of those who exited CORE) moved into stable housing after CORE engagement, and that 90% of those who exited remained housed at six months.
CORE described services available to Pinole residents, including day-to-day outreach, placement into regional shelters (Brookside Shelter, Concord shelters, Delta Landing), warming-center placements, transportation to appointments, connections to health care and mental-health specialists who sometimes accompany outreach teams. CORE staff described partnerships with local agencies, non-profits and city departments that support encampment resolution, benefits access and housing navigation.
Council members asked about outreach timelines for people newly at risk of homelessness, data disaggregation (race, age, veteran status), how to increase public awareness of CORE’s 2‑1‑1 dispatch pathway, and how many shelter placements CORE must decline because of limited bed capacity. CORE said shelter beds are at or near capacity and that CORE prioritizes placements based on highest need; bed availability changes daily. Robbins said counties and cities are seeing more people who are newly unhoused and urged early engagement and prevention forms of assistance where possible.
A public commenter, Rafael Menes, supported a consent-item proposal to direct local housing-successor funds to CORE services in Pinole and urged the council to adopt that consent item to back on-the-ground outreach.
Council members requested further, disaggregated data and regular reports on CORE activity in Pinole. CORE staff said they can supply monthly or quarterly aggregate reports and tailored demographics on request. CORE also noted that it will coordinate outreach with libraries and other community locations where unhoused residents seek services.
City staff noted the council would consider a funding request later on the agenda and that CORE and the city will continue to coordinate a local approach to outreach and referrals.
Speakers included Jenny Robbins and Fedy Al Hayek (CORE), Contra Costa Health director who introduced the presentation, and multiple council members who asked questions about operations and data.
