Pictured at the signing are (front row left to right): Moreno Valley Mayor Stewart, Riverside Council Members Melendrez, Hart, and Mac Arthur, Mayor Loveridge, and Wildomar Mayor Farnam; (second row left to right): U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness National Team Leader Michael German, Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Philip Mangano and Don Smith, Project Manager – Neighborhoods & Homeless Services.

Riverside, CA - Mayor Ron Loveridge recently convened a Summit of elected officials to build regional partnership and support for Riverside's 10-Year Plan and to add their signatures to the America's Road Home Statement of Principles and Actions. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, who visited Mayor Loveridge in 2008 following discussions begun at the National League of Cities Congress in Orlando, focused on the National Partnership gathered by the Council with jurisdictional officials and Riverside's 10-Year Plan. The Mayor agreed that the time was right to recalibrate the Plan with a focus on adopting innovations that are working around the country to end homelessness.

"Homelessness in Riverside has been a puzzle without a solution," noted Mayor Loveridge at the Summit. "A kind of key to change became a task force. They came up with a number of recommendations." Don Smith, Riverside's homeless programs manager, gave an overview of Riverside County's 10-Year Plan, including adoption of Project Homeless Connect, provision of identification to consumers, and creation of a street-to-home initiative.

"We are indebted to Mayor Loveridge for bringing together political leaders from across the county to create a broader partnership for Riverside's 10-Year Plan," indicated Director Mangano. "Riverside is leading the way in its region in moving beyond managing homelessness to solving it through innovative ideas, and central to that effort is the political will of jurisdictional leaders."

Mayor Loveridge affirmed the role of the Interagency Council in his city's progress and partnership, stating that Director Mangano… "has brought clarity, a compelling story, the best research and something not based on what he thought up in his office in Washington. There's really no better person dealing with homelessness than Philip Mangano." Mayor Loveridge is leading the recalibration process himself, bringing his skills and experience of more than 40 years as a professor at the University of California, Riverside to the task.

New signatories to America's Road Home who committed to the statement were: Mayor Loveridge, Riverside Council Members Chris MacArthur, Andy Melendrez, Nancy Hart, Rusty Bailey, and Mike Gardner, Mayor Richard A. Stewart, Moreno Valley, CA, and Mayor Scott Farnam, Wildomar, CA.

Source for Article: United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Newsletter