Community Services and Economic Development
Uplift Eureka is a one-of-a-kind municipal social services program. The program connects community members experiencing homelessness to vital community services and resources. In addition, Uplift Eureka also operates Employment Development, Employment Placement, Outreach Services, Supportive Services and Rapid Rehousing Programs.
Economic Development through the Arts
The Buellton City Council created the Arts & Culture Committee to bring artistic and cultural experiences to the City of Buellton and the surrounding area. A budget of $50,000 has been provided each year since its inception for the funding of art installations (both permanent and temporary), events and performances.
Enhancing Public Trust, Ethics, & Community Involvement
In 2021, the City of Lakewood implemented its first ever communitywide Race, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion plan, developed the prior year through a Community Dialogue.
Health & Wellness Programs
The Montebello Fire Department launched the creation of the Montebello Community Assistance Program (MCAP) in November 2020 to combat the rise of homelessness in the city. The program provides supportive services via a first response model to individuals experiencing mental and physical health issues, substance abuse, and homelessness related crises. The mobile field response team is comprised of a firefighter/paramedic, social work coordinator, field-based case manager and a housing navigator. The team is integrated into the 911 system as a support service to engage, assess, serve, and house chronically homeless, high acuity adults and families in Montebello.
Housing Programs & Innovations
The Redondo Beach Enhanced Response to Homelessness Program was first initiated by the City Attorney’s Office and Police Department and approved by the Mayor and City Council in June 2019. The program created an additional response to the impact of homelessness, not only on people experiencing homelessness, but on residents and the community.
Internal Administration
The number of unhoused individuals who are sleeping in cars, streets, and other places not meant for human habitation, is steadily increasing in Stanislaus County. The 2021 Point-in-Time Count in Stanislaus County placed the number of people who are experiencing homelessness at approximately 2,927 individuals. This amount includes 2,201 individuals who are unsheltered. As part of the strategic approach to target unsheltered homelessness, the City of Modesto implemented a data collection tool utilizing geographic information system (GIS) technology. A custom data collection survey was created using the ArcGIS Survey123 application. The survey was customized to collect federally mandated data and requirements of the funding source, such as demographics, living situations, and barriers.
Intergovernmental Collaboration
When someone experiences a crisis such as a fire, crime, or medical emergency, they call 911 with the expectation of getting immediate emergency services and assistance. However, when that emergency is a behavioral health crisis, there is often no timely, culturally and clinically appropriate response available to assist. This was the case in Contra Costa County in 2020. That year, in response to urgent calls from the community for more compassionate and comprehensive behavioral health services, the 19 cities and towns in Contra Costa County came together for the first time. They were joined by mental health and homeless advocates, providers, and community members with lived experiences, forming an intergovernmental collaborative effort to re-imagine the way behavioral health services are delivered. The result of the year long collaboration is A3 Community Crisis Response, a program where anyone can get professional help at anytime, anywhere in the county. A3 establishes behavioral health as the fourth arm of an emergency response system.
League Partners Award for Excellence in City-Business Relations
The City of Placentia entered into a unique public-private partnership with SiFi Networks to deliver fiber optic broadband internet access to every home and business within the city. The Placentia FiberCity Project is a privately funded, $35 million investment into Placentia which will not only eliminate the “digital divide” by delivering high-speed broadband access to every resident and business, but it also creates extensive economic development opportunities for both the public and private sectors. The Placentia Fiber City project provides access to new technologies that are unavailable to much of the community, particularly to disadvantaged portions of the city and will allow the city to provide expanded and new services to the community which were not previously available with existing technology limitations.
Planning & Environmental Quality
Following the most destructive fire in California history, the 2018 Camp Fire, the Town of Paradise recognized the need for a comprehensive strategy document to guide recovery over the course of the next twenty years. Leveraging financial support from local brewery Sierra Nevada and the North Valley Community Foundation, a local non-profit organization, the town reached out to displaced and traumatized residents to gather their input on what would become the Long-Term Community Recovery Plan. This plan identifies 39 recovery projects, which guide the town and our recovery partners as we navigate recovery three years after the fire.
Public Safety
The City of Laguna Niguel created an Electric Bicycle Action Plan to address the growing concern presented by the dangers of unsafe ridership practices. In partnership with the Orange County Sheriff's Department and Capistrano Unified School District, the city has been implementing this plan, which consists of education, outreach, and enforcement, for the past year with great success. The program is geared toward youth in the city to educate them on responsible ridership practices.
Public Works, Infrastructure and Transportation
The Shell Beach Streetscape project is an 18-block long Complete Streets project which improved safety and livability in the community for users of all ages and abilities by reconstructing the roadway, increasing lighting and landscaping, adding an 8-foot-wide multi-use path to accommodate bicycles and pedestrians, and painting arrows in the traffic lanes. The improvements include sidewalk upgrades, ADA accessibility upgrades, improvements to the drainage, resurfacing of the roadway, new crosswalks with paver inlays for increased visibility, enhanced landscaping with new trees and a new parking lot. Decorative features such as new LED streetlights, new benches, trash cans and public art have been installed throughout the corridor. This project was much more than just a streets and roads project; it also upgraded the existing water infrastructure and under-grounded the existing overhead utilities along the entire 18-block corridor.
Ruth Vreeland Award for Engaging Youth in City Government
The Gonzales Youth Council (GYC) is a unique youth leadership and development program sponsored by the City of Gonzales with support from the Gonzales Unified School District. Each year the GYC undertakes a service-learning project to improve the community. The projects undertaken by the GYC in the past have covered a range of topics and issues, often reflecting current concerns among youth. One area that was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the area of youth mental health. The GYC decided to tackle the issue of youth mental health as their service-learning project by identifying students who were stressed with school closures, social isolation, and the challenges of remote learning. The Youth Supporting Youth Mental Health Project began in September 2019 and continued through 2021.