City Manager's Task Force on Homelessness
In 2007, City Manager Michael O'Brien assembled a Task Force on Homelessness charged with identifying new strategies to coordinate resources for the homeless in Worcester. The Task Force, chaired by Jordan Levy and William J. Mulford, formally began its work on April 5, 2007 and subsequently met seven times. The Task Force subdivided into committees focused on the following aspects of homelessness: Best Practices, Data and Siting. On November 16, 2007, after two public hearings, the Task Force published its finding in the Three Year Plan to End Homelessness in Worcester (2.4MB).
The Three Year Plan attempts to address all of the homeless constituencies and not just focus on the chronically homeless single individuals. It embraces fully the "Housing First" model which received wide support from the committee members as well as those testifying at the public hearings. It is practical in its intent and offers achievable goals. The Three Year Plan is a new approach away from the failed twenty or more years of a philosophy centered on emergency sheltering.
