The Lake Elsinore City Council unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding Oct. 27 to continue coordinating homelessness services with Menifee, Murrieta and Wildomar in partnership with Riverside County’s Continuum of Care.
The four cities have been working together through the Regional Homelessness Alliance, which was established in 2016, to address homelessness in Southwest Riverside County. The memorandum formalizes the existing RHA partnership and strengthens coordination and collaboration among the cities, according to the staff report.
Under the agreement, the cities will coordinate street outreach, work together on responses to homeless encampments and share information through the county’s Homeless Management Information System, which tracks services provided to people experiencing homelessness.
The regional partnership has helped more than 300 people secure housing, according to the staff report.
The memorandum does not change how Lake Elsinore runs its local homelessness programs. According to the staff report, this partnership helps Lake Elsinore build upon its current homeless services strategies.
Lake Elsinore’s current efforts include street outreach teams made up of nonprofits, police and code enforcement, according to the memorandum. Lake Elsinore also has The Anchor, a crisis stabilization housing complex with 16 units that can house up to 20 people. The facility offers a 90-day program for people experiencing chronic homelessness to work toward accepting assistance and recovery, according to the city’s website.
The memorandum also identifies a Homekey project in the pipeline for Lake Elsinore.
The agreement does not require the cities to share costs. Each city will retain control over its local programs, enforcement and spending decisions. However, they will work together to pursue county, state and federal funding for regional homelessness services.
