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Chapter 8: Support Services • Maintain and expand access to affordable transportation. Support existing agency programs that provide transit passes or tokens to clients in support of service plan objectives. Provide education and informational materials to homeless people and services providers regarding eligibility for discount passes, bus tickets and paratransit services to ensure they are utilized by those eligible. Explore establishing a county-wide program to provide free or reduced cost transit passes to homeless people. Five Year Strategies Topic 1 Minimal Needs Access to the things that are necessary for basic survival is something that most of us take for granted. These basic needs are met through our access to variety of services, goods and features of our homes which go unnoticed by most of us, including receiving mail, having a phone, bathing, grooming and obtaining information. For homeless persons, meeting these basic needs can be a difficult and disheartening process and can also be very time consuming. In fact, one study found that homeless individuals spend 37.5 hours per week simply obtaining the things they need (HomeBase, 1995). Moreover, the resources necessary to access services, jobs and housing are often unavailable to homeless people, thus making it very difficult to exit homelessness. • Maintain and improve exsting multiservice centers. Support and improve existing multiservice centers that provide a range of basic services for homeless people and a place for daytime respite (sometimes called a "day shelter"). Action Stens Maintain existing multiservice center and county-wide phone line service. Expand resources for a package of basic services. Ideally, all of the following services would be available to homeless people in, near, or through each rrlultiservice center: • Showers and restrooms • Mail and messages • Phone, individual voicemail, and other telecommunications • Haircuts • Clothing • Furniture & other house wares • Client education • Legal assistance • Storage of personal items • Links to health care and other service needs Alameda County-Wide Homeless Continuum of Care Plan: April 1997 103