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PAGE 82 Programs like the Pleasanton Home Ownership Assistance Program, the HOME Program for rental assistance and rehabilitation, and the Tri-Valley Rapid Re-Housing Program, which provides unhoused families with housing placement and a gradually decreasing rental subsidy up to 12 months to help families stabilize and become self-sufficient, can help meet housing needs. Based on the housing elements, all three cities have identified strategies to meet the needs of low-income and very low-income households. Strategies use a mix of policy tools, zoning adjustments, development projects, and financial mechanisms to increase the supply of affordable housing. The realization of these housing units depends on successful implementation and adjustments to the strategies as needed. Monitoring, evaluating, and revision of the approach is necessary, as there may be challenges with funding availability, development timelines, and changes in population and housing market dynamics. The success of any housing strategy hinges on forming partnerships with existing entities already working on the regional housing crisis. Thus, as with other recommendations, this requires building ongoing, working, organizational relationships. SUBSTANCE USE There is a clear need for additional substance use services in the Tri-Valley. Multiple recommendations along a continuum of treatment intensity from implementing substance use education programs to the construction of a substance use disorder clinic in the region were made. Transportation to substance use treatment facilities must be improved and additional research to determine the extent to which inpatient or outpatient services are most needed must be conducted. Additionally, as this topic is so closely connected to housing, strategies should be identified that recognize the co-occurring needs and stabilize an individual’s housing while simultaneously providing substance use and mental health services. MENTAL HEALTH A wide variety of Tri-Valley residents, regardless of socioeconomic status and insurance type, have a deep need for mental health services, including a larger and more diverse workforce, translation, service navigation, and transportation. As with substance use, mental health services fall on a continuum from weekly therapy to intensive crisis care. Additional research is needed to best determine how to overcome the shortage of mental health services in the Tri-Valley. This should be done alongside mental health providers and other organizational and governmental stakeholders. Again, multi-sector solutions should be considered because unmet mental health needs are closely associated with unmet substance use and housing needs. INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS A number of notable infrastructure needs must be in place to be able to provide human services. Some needs (e.g., housing units, substance use disorder clinics, and mental health facilities) are known and have been described above. However, there are others for ongoing and emergent issues such as the need for expanded dental care. Individual organizations are often aware of the evolution of infrastructure needs and work to meet them, such as Axis Community Health’s identification of the need and plans for the provision of dental chairs. However, there is a parallel need for a regional approach to identify all infrastructure gaps across the three cities. We recommend that Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton, Alameda County, and core Tri- Valley nonprofit providers convene to discuss the findings of this needs assessment and work toward a regional approach. This should include identifying infrastructure needs across human service types via coordinated study, in which collaborative solutions are identified and sustained funding is secured to ensure the provision of high-quality, culturally responsive services. EASTERN ALAMEDA COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES NEEDS ASSESSMENTSS Page 140 of 554