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Monterey County funds mobile outreach team to reach unhoused residents in unincorporated areas
Summary
The Board of Supervisors allocated about $250,000 for a focused street outreach team to serve unincorporated communities (Carmel Valley, Pajaro, Castroville); Homeless Services Director Roxanne Wilson described identification methods (U Connect reports, PIT Count), partner providers and plans for contracting and performance reporting.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors allocated roughly a quarter-million dollars to develop a focused street outreach response for unincorporated communities, Homeless Services Director Roxanne Wilson said during the county's June 24 briefing.
"The Board of Supervisors allocated about a quarter million dollars to our office to develop a focused homeless outreach response for communities and encampment areas that often fall outside of city-based services," Wilson said.
Wilson outlined the program's purpose: to "meet people where they are" in unincorporated places such as Carmel Valley, Pajaro and Castroville, provide consistent engagement to build trust, and transport people to shelters, medical appointments or Department of Social Services meetings. She emphasized that outreach is not a single contact but a process of relationship building to connect people with longer-term services.
The county will identify encampments in several ways. Wilson said residents can submit reports through Monterey County's U Connect app (which contains a "Report an encampment" option) and that her office also uses confidential information from the biannual Homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. The outreach team will augment existing teams that currently cover the entire county.
Wilson named organizations already working in the region and likely partners in the expanded effort: Interim Inc. (behavioral-health linkage funded by Monterey County Behavioral Health), Access Support Network (harm reduction, field-based case management and street medicine), and Community Human Services (a youth-specific outreach team). She said Salinas operates its own city-focused outreach team for city limits.
County staff are drafting a contract to augment existing services and Wilson said the contract will go to the Board for approval. She said the county will require extensive reporting from providers — tracking contacts, connections to shelter, medical or benefits outcomes — to demonstrate the program’s value for unincorporated areas.
Wilson concluded by stressing the need for consistent outreach to build trust and achieve outcomes; she said the Office of Homeless Services will manage and coordinate the jurisdictional response for unincorporated areas.
Next steps noted in the briefing: finalize the contract and present it to the Board of Supervisors for approval; Wilson said staff met with a provider to review expectations and reporting requirements.
