12 Feb Antioch to Get Its Own CORE Team to Help Its Unhoused People

The Antioch City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a contract with the county for its own CORE team to help unhoused people. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

The Antioch City Council approved a $629,836 contract with Contra Costa County on Tuesday for a city-dedicated Coordinated Outreach Referral Engagement, or CORE, team for the next two years. 

The contract, which was passed unanimously, will last through June 30, 2027, and looks to help the county’s largest homeless population by filling in service gaps. 

“When we say, ‘What are we doing?’ I look at all the unhoused advocates who have worked really hard, and I also look at all of these aggressive commitments to addressing homelessness,” council member Tamisha Torres-Walker said, noting that one solution won’t solve the problem. “I want to see a lot more of this innovative thinking when it comes to homelessness in Antioch.” 

The contract builds upon a previous $75,000 allocation council members approved for CORE services for several months that would have ended on June 30. 

Some advocates and homeless residents said that the $75,000 allocation for a CORE team was “a waste of money,” but criticism this time around — albeit from a smaller crowd than usual — amounted to much less than last time. 

Antioch’s homeless population has increased by 23% since 2023, according to the 2024 Point in Time Count. Due to various limitations, including only collecting data on one night, many experts and advocates say the numbers are likely an undercount. 

The increase also mirrors an overall 6% increase in homelessness in the Bay Area and 3% statewide, according to the 2024 Point in Time Count. 

The Antioch-dedicated CORE team will be two outreach specialists working at least 40 hours per week, according to the agreement. The specialists will also split their time between the city of Antioch and services specific to the Encampment Resolution grant.

The Encampment Resolution Funding grant, of which Antioch received a total of $6.8 million in funding total, pays for half of the CORE team and is meant to remove homeless encampments and transition residents into stable housing. 

ERF requires that funding be specific to certain encampments. In Antioch’s case, that’s the Sunset Drive and Devpar Court encampment, which has 30 to 40 residents. 

The other half of the CORE team’s cost for the two years, $239,918, will be paid for with the city’s general fund which council members will have to approve at a future meeting. 

Jenny Robbins, Contra Costa County’s housing and services administrator, said that the countywide CORE team will also still provide services to homeless Antioch residents. 

The countywide CORE team already provides services that give homeless residents pathways to stable housing, but city staff has previously said “limited resources” push residents elsewhere in Contra Costa, like Richmond and Walnut Creek, to receive services. 

Antioch is one of the most recent Contra Costa cities to receive expanded CORE services. El Cerrito, San Pablo and Contra Costa entered into a partnership last year to expand services.

CORE services from Tuesday’s funding are expected to begin March 1.