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Chapter 8: Support Services Establish acounty-wide program to provide free or reduced cost transit passes to homeless people. Recruit transit agencies for free or reduced cost transportation, and consider the bulk discount purchase of passes and tokens. Distribute the passes through case managers at homeless service sites in each subregion of the county. The goal should be to provide subsidized transportation for all homeless people seeking housing, receiving mental health, substance abuse, and health treatment, or engaged in vocational activities. Interface with existing paratransit to be sure that disabled and elderly homeless people and their housing services sites are being served. Ensure that school buses are serving homeless housing and service sites. Topic 3 Food and Nutrition Good nutrition is essential for physical and mental well-being. Eating well helps our bodies achieve maximum potential, influencing our ability to successfully learn, work, and avoid illness. Diet is particularly important during pregnancy and early childhood, which are critical times of growth and development. Homeless and low income people are at great risk for developing nutrition-related diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. A nutritionally adequate diet helps prevent these diseases as well as minimize their impact if they develop. Food is a basic need which must be met before people are able to lead healthy, __ productive lives. Therefore, it is a fundamental part of a Continuum of Care. With the gaps in the current safety net, thousands of individuals regularly rely on soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters for a significant amount of their monthly food supply. The availability of these private food assistance programs varies throughout the county. Very few programs are open weekends or evenings. Currently, these programs distribute over 240,000 meals per month. Staffed primarily by volunteers and dependent upon donations, most programs are operating near capacity. Cuts in Food Stamps to many welfare recipients and immigrants as a result of welfare reform is likely to increase the demand for food. - Through cooperation between food providers and partnerships for new resources, some expansion of service will be possible. The ideal is for homeless people and those at risk of homelessness to be able to purchase and prepare their own food. Therefore, it is important that healthy foods are available in all neighborhoods at reasonable prices and that people know how to eat well. Learning to -~ effectively manage one's food dollars fosters self-sufficiency through the immediate pleasure of a delicious meal and the knowledge that one is taking care of one's health. Shelters and other residential programs provide a unique opportunity to offer nutrition education and to promote good nutrition through the examples of the meals they serve. Alameda County-Wide Homeless Continuum of Care Plan: April 1997 __ 106