Sacramento County leaders are crediting new programs for helping to move hundreds of homeless people into permanent homes.In 2016, the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance began looking at what’s needed to solve the county’s growing homeless problem.Ann Edwards, the director of the department, presented an update Wednesday on the County Initiative to Reduce Homelessness to the County Board of Supervisors.According to the report, the goal of the plan is to help people “with significant barriers who may not have accessed traditional services.”Edwards said new programs have helped place 416 homeless individuals and families in permanent homes between October 2017 and September 2018.“We’re doing things really differently,” Edwards said. “We’re reaching people we’ve never reached before.”Edwards and her staff developed four main initiatives designed to break down those barriers.Initiative 1: Improve Family Crisis Response and SheltersThe goals of this initiative are to reach more families facing homelessness and housing instability, as well as providing resources to help those families quickly get into new housing situations, according to a report by the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance.According to the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance, between October 2017 and September 2018:-- 146 families were served in emergency shelters-- 50 exited to permanent housing-- 23 families were placed in the Transitional Housing ProgramInitiative 2: Preserve the Mather Community CampusThe Mather Community Campus helps formerly homeless people and families with employment and housing services.According to the report from the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance, the Mather Community Campus has “played an important role in our homeless continuum since 1996…”The report said a loss of $2.5 million in federal funding means county funding can keep the program running.According to the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance, between October 2017 and September 2018:-- 351 individuals were served in transitional housing by Volunteers of America-- 116 exited to permanent housingInitiative 3: Full-Service Rehousing ShelterThis initiative provides a new style of housing for the homeless called “scattered-site housing.”“We were having a hard time finding a place to put a 75-bed shelter, which was the original plan,” Edwards said. “We came up with this idea of having scatter-sites throughout the community.”Edwards said the county has contracted with local providers to rent homes in the community.Individuals are then placed in those homes with a house monitor, she said.People can bring their possessions and pets. They also allow people who self-identify as family, even if they’re not related, to come in and be in the home together, according to Edwards.According to the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance, between October 2017 and September 2018:-- 91 individuals have been served in scattered shelter sites-- 19 exited into permanent housingInitiative 4: Flexible Supportive Re-Housing ProgramThe goal of this initiative is to take new approaches to help people experiencing long-term homelessness, according to Edwards.“The county is partnering in new ways with service providers, participants and property owners to ensure long-term housing success,” according to the report.According to the report, people experiencing long-term homelessness are often the same group using the most expensive county services, like behavioral services and the jail.The program helps people secure stable, yet flexible, permanent housing options.According to the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance, between October 2017 and September 2018:-- 191 individuals were enrolled-- 94 exited into permanent housing