This memorandum of understanding partners the City of Savannah with Chatham County, the Homeless Authority and community stakeholders in a new initiative, Streets to Stability. Streets to Stability creates a comprehensive strategy to move unsheltered individuals towards a more stable lifestyle, including permanent housing. Streets to Stability provides a community-based approach to assist the community’s homeless population with the immediate goal of getting people off the streets and out of unsafe conditions. initiative will be managed and coordinated by the Streets to Stability Coordinator, a newly created position with CSAH (staff or contract). The City of Savannah will be matching Chatham County’s share at $50,000 to start funding for the initiative with other private-sector funds generated, too.

The Streets to Stability Coordinator will be guided by a Homelessness Task Force (HTF). The HTF is modeled after the recently formed Chatham County Housing Coalition and seeks to bring together private, public, business and community leaders together to work collaboratively towards a common purpose.

The deliverables that will be provided under the Streets to Stability Initiative to the City of Savannah will be:

• Give Change That Matters: Development and implementation of a marketing campaign with input from stakeholders including the Downtown Business Association, Downtown Neighborhood Association, SEDA, Chamber of Commerce/Visit Savannah, Tourism Leadership Council, Chatham County, the City of Savannah, and local law enforcement to reduce direct panhandling.

• Give Help That Matters: Centralized engagement and coordination of community groups, faith-based organizations, etc. to organize well-intentioned services such as feeding the homeless, drives for goods (socks, coats, blankets, etc.). Some are on a regular basis; others are sporadic or one-time only. While help is certainly welcomed, it often is not the right kind of help, in the right place, at the right time.

• Provide Point in Time (PIT) Count update when available, typically completed in the first quarter of the year, to the City leadership

• Provide updated maps of the unsheltered homeless campsites to the City based on the PIT Count.

• Utilize diversified funding to increase capacity of CSAH and homeless service providers to enhance the quality of services provided to the homeless population throughout the Chatham Savannah Continuum of Care.

• Provide outreach to local churches and other interested groups as to the needs of the homeless and educate on the best practice models for distribution for long-term positive impact.

• Develop/implement a tracking and management system that can align contributions of donations with the needs of unsheltered individuals.
  
  In 1989, the Georgia Legislature enacted local legislation that created the Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless (CSAH) to serve as a coordinating and leadership body for homeless service providers throughout the City of Savannah and broader Chatham County. Over the course of the past 30 years, CSAH has expanded its mission to include: planning activities, service providing, housing development, etc. In 1993, CSAH decided to organize as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

That City Council authorizes the City Manager to sign the Memorandum of Understanding.