Thank you.

Okay.

So I'm gonna call to order this special meeting of the Berkeley City Council.

Today is Tuesday, September 16th, 2025.

Clerk, can you please take the roll?

Okay, Councilmember Kessarwani.

Is currently absent.

Um Bartlett is currently absent.

Tragum.

Present.

O'Keefe.

Here.

Lackaby.

Here.

Luna Para.

Humbert.

Here.

And Mayor Ishii.

Here.

Okay.

Quorum is present.

Very good.

We're gonna start with the item 1A.

We have two items on our action calendar.

So just that so that folks know, we're going to have a presentation from the city manager's office led by Peter Radu.

And then we will have a presentation from our city auditor.

That will be followed by public comment.

So just so folks kind of know what the flow is if you're here for public comment.

Question, Mark, are you okay?

Okay.

All right, they're gonna get started, and then whenever you're ready, you can go ahead and start.

Okay, thank you, madam mayor and council members.

Uh my name is Peter Radu from our Neighborhood Services Division.

I'm happy to be here with you this uh afternoon to discuss the work that the City of Berkeley does to address homelessness.

With me here to present the details are Josh Jacobs, our homeless services coordinator uh in neighborhood services, and a savory devadiga, our uh housing development specialist in HHCS.

A quick note before we get started, which is that while our presentation today will focus on an overview of our homeless system, the work session report, which we had originally submitted to you back in July and which was resubmitted for this agenda, is more expansive as we took that opportunity to respond to a number of referrals uh from the city council's May 20th, 2025 referral to staff on homelessness, and this includes an overview of our system performance with needs and gaps, a geographic equity map of homeless services and their locations, uh, and an update on the city's fiscal position with respect to homeless funding.

So, for lack of time today, our presentation does not cover all these areas, but we'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about them.

Um, so with that, I will start sharing my screen and I will turn things over to Josh Jacobs.

Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council, and the public.

Today's presentation.

Can you hear me?

Today's presentation will focus on how Berkeley is confronting homelessness with both coordination and compassion, balancing the human realities on the ground with the funding strategy and infrastructure needed to respond.

As you all know, homelessness in Berkeley is complex, deeply human, and shaped by broader forces such as regional trends, racial and economic inequalities, and an under-resource safety net.

But through coordination and compassion, Berkeley is actively confronting the challenge.

Today's presentation will walk through what we've accomplished, where we're seeing impact, and what's at risk if key funding expires.

Can I have you just why don't you pull the mic closer to you so you don't have to lean so much?

Adjust it so you can be comfortable.

Thank you.

So what's the problem?

Yeah.

What's the problem?

Berkeley, like every city in the region, continues to face a deeply troubling reality.

Many of our neighbors live outdoors without shelter, safety, or stability.

And while we've made progress, the scale of the challenge remains staggering.

That said, we're seeing real shifts in the right direction.

In the most recent point in time count, more people were sheltered indoors in Berkeley than in any previous year.

At the same time, we saw the fewest number of people staying on the streets.

That's a significant milestone and proof of the impact of our local investments into low barrier, non-congregate interim housing.

But the challenge remains larger than us.

Across the region, for every person who exits homelessness, nearly three others fall into it for the first time.