Housing and Human Services outlines homelessness strategy timeline; consultant‑led plan due this summer

Housing and Human Services staff briefed council on the homelessness strategy update, the High Utilizer Initiative and a recent system evaluation.

Megan Newton, policy advisor on homelessness, said the city has advanced a lower‑budget, maximum‑impact High Utilizer Initiative and engaged a consultant to support a long‑term funding strategy for it. Newton said a system evaluation was completed in January and that consultant Clutch Consulting is conducting data review and stakeholder engagement this week and will return in April and May with a strategy update and implementation planning. She said the goal is to complete the strategy update by the end of summer and to prepare for implementation through the summer months.

Newton described three focus areas for the priority: the High Utilizer Initiative, system evaluation and homelessness strategy update. She told council that the consultant team will continue stakeholder engagement in March and return in the spring with an implementation plan component.

Why it matters: staff said the consultant evaluation and strategy will guide the city’s next steps in funding and service coordination for people experiencing homelessness and for high‑utilizer individuals whose repeated use of crisis services drives system costs.

What’s next: consultant stakeholder engagement in March; strategy update with implementation plan in April–May; completion of strategy and implementation preparation by end of summer.