-
10-Year
Planning Efforts and State Interagency Council Activity in Full
Swing As We Head Toward The New Year
December
20
- ICH
Executive Director Philip Mangano joins mayors and other city
and state officials in Alaska, Alabama, Tennessee, Maryland,
Connecticut and Massachusetts in whirlwind series of 10-year
planning announcements.
- Tennessee
"Volunteers" to Establish State Interagency Council
10
Year Plans
 |
Anchorage
Mayor Begich and ICH Executive Director, Philip Mangano
|
Anchorage,
Alaska Mayor Mark Begich has presented the city's new
10-year Plan to the Anchorage Assembly. The plan was created
by a 24 member Mayors Task Force. The group's vision for 2015
is that homeless people will be steered toward safe and affordable
housing within three months of being identified by a local service
agency. The Assembly will vote on the plan in January and will
be asked to create a five-member oversight board. Key elements
of the Plan include:
- 500
new housing units goal and the creation of a city development
authority to create housing on city owned land.
- Mobile
workers will target individuals living in camps and cars for
engagement
- Additional
data collection will identify housing placement barriers and
evaluate program performance.
- Appointment
of a senior staff person in the Mayor's office to lead a communication
campaign and to work with the United States Interagency Council
on Homelessness and the new Alaska State Council,
- Development
of a One-Stop Engagement strategy to reduce the local impact
of daytime homelessness, including in camps, and rotate homeless
program staff through a single service site to broaden engagement
possibilities for the hardest to serve
- Establishment
of a partnership between United Way and the city's developing
HMIS system to create a Housing First linkage that supports
the rapid housing goal of the Plan.
Montgomery,
Alabama's Friendship Mission was the site this week
of the City of Montgomery's unveiling of a regional Blueprint
Toward Ending Chronic Homelessness. Alabama's capital city
joined 25 other state capitals with 10-Year Planning processes
Among
the recommendations in the Blueprint:
- Improving
discharge planning by conducting a survey of public agency
discharge policies and creating a Memorandum of Understanding
between the Homeless Coalition and public agencies to strengthen
interagency relationships and provide point of contact support
for individuals facing discharge.
- Placing
persons experiencing chronic homelessness into 50 new units
of housing by October 2006 and placing a total of 300 formerly
homeless person into housing that they will retain or one
year.
The
Nashville, Tennessee Strategic
Framework for Ending Chronic Homelessness was also unveiled
this week. The Framework is the product of a five month effort
by a 26 member Task Force appointed by Nashville Mayor Bill
Purcell. The Task Force represented an unprecedented convening
of representatives of law enforcement, emergency services, health
care providers, hospitals, philanthropy, the United Way, Chamber
of Commerce, local, state, and federal officials, business and
political leaders, service providers, and advocates.
|
| |
Four
work groups were created to focus on housing, health, economic
stability, and systems coordination, including data and discharge
planning. In addition to seeking input from homeless people,
business, faith community, and service providers in Nashville,
the groups researched other cities' plans and investigated best
practices. The Task Force also seeks input from homeless people,
service providers and representatives of business and the faith
community, the Task Force systematically assessed current and
past efforts in Nashville to impact chronic homelessness
"All
these efforts had their merit in informing the city, creating
segments of needed infrastructure and improving pockets of
services. In looking back at all this work, it is evident
that to have a significant impact, a clear focus has to be
determined, the vision has to be longer than 3-5 years, and
the commitment to the plan has to be expanded to include the
entire city. The work done dating back to 1984 has brought
Nashville to this point where a unified coordinated 10-year
plan is the logical next move."
"A
Results-Driven framework must be imbedded in all our services,
programs, and endeavors. Success must be clearly defined and
measured. Only services proven effective will be funded."
"Maryland
has never engaged in anything like this before," stated
Maryland Department of Human Services Office of Transitional
Services Director Gregory D. Shupe, as the state's first Homelessness
Summit convened in Baltimore this week to create the framework
for a 10-Year Plan for the state. On behalf of Governor Robert
Ehrlich, Maryland Department of Human Services Secretary Christopher
J. McCabe welcomed the federal, state, and local government
partners who participated along with advocates, providers, and
consumers. Summit work groups focused on housing, health, income,
and supportive services, relying on the Action Plan developed
by the state's Policy Academy Team. The Action Plan Vision Statement
called for "a Maryland where homelessness is rare and brief."
In
his keynote speech, ICH Executive Director Mangano noted that
the first telegraph line ran between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
"Ever since your state has been well positioned to receive
the message and respond in partnership. As public officials
you are extending your leadership and political will to eradicate
that which seems intractable. "
Maryland's
largest city, Baltimore, will develop its own plan soon in coordination
with the state initiative. Laura M. Gillis, recently appointed
by the City as President and CEO of the quasi-public agency
Baltimore Homeless Services Inc., will lead the City process.
 |
| Congressman
Shays, Kathleen Hunter, Philip Mangano, Mayor Fabrizi, &
State Senator John McKinney |
Bridgeport,
Connecticut, Mayor John Fabrizi this week called on
his newly named Leadership Group to develop a Plan to End Chronic
Homelessness in the Greater Bridgeport Area. Merle Berke-Schlessel,
President of the United Way of Eastern Fairfield County and
Bridgeport Housing Department Acting Director Kathleen Hunter
will co-chair the planning effort, scheduled to be completed
by July 2005. Among those joining Mayor Fabrizi at the announcement
were ICH Executive Director Philip Mangano, U.S. Representative
Christopher Shays and State Senator John McKinney, son of the
late U.S. Representative Stewart B. McKinney for whom the federal
McKinney Act is named.
 Fall
River, Massachusetts Mayor Ed Lambert this week appointed
Citizens Union Savings Bank President Nicholas Christ and Michael
Coughlin, the city's Director of Health and Human Services to
co-chair the city's 10-Year Planning Committee.
Speaking
at a City Hall press announcement where he was joined by ICH
Executive Director Mangano , Mayor Lambert said, "While
Fall River may not have the street homelessness problem that
other communities have, we need to recognize that it's our responsibility
to be ahead of the curve. We want to make sure that as Fall
River experiences its renaissance, no one is left behind. Fall
River residents should expect results both short term and long
term."
State
Executive Orders
 |
Commissioner
Keys,
Governor Bredesen, &
Philip Mangano |
Tennessee
Governor Phil Bredesen last week signed Executive Order No 21
creating "The
Governor's Interagency Council on Homelessness" . Commissioner
John Keys of the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs will
chair the Council. The Council will be a multidisciplinary committee
including the Governor, commissioners from the Departments of
Children's Services, Correction, Education, Health, Human Services,
Mental Health,
Veterans' Affairs, the director of TennCare, the chair of the
Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole, and the executive director
of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. ICH Executive Director
Mangano attended the signing ceremony and congratulated the
Governor for his action in creating this state council which
will benefit all Tenneseeans.
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Engaging
Partners in Solutions to Homelessness
October
14 Federal, state and territory officials came together
last week for a National Learning Meeting to discuss the outcomes
and lessons learned from federally-sponsored Policy Academies
on increasing access to services for individuals and families
experiencing homelessness. Over the past three years, the federal
government has sponsored a series of Policy Academies designed
to assist states develop strategic plans to improve access to
mainstream health and human services, housing and employment
opportunities for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Fifty-two
states and territories participated in the Policy Academies
that were funded by several Interagency Council members including
the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health
and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and Labor. In addition
to the formal Policy Academy meetings at which states began
work on developing Action Plans, the federal agencies have continued
their support of the state efforts by providing extensive technical
assistance. The U.S. Department of Education recently announced
it is becoming the fifth federal agency to partner in this endeavor.
The
two-day National Learning Meeting included discussions of federal
and state level barriers and challenges that have been encountered
in developing and implementing state action plans, and provided
opportunities for peer to peer discussions and exchanges of
information on innovative approaches various states have adopted.
Among the topics discussed were: (1) informing public policy
with data (2) utilizing multiple financing streams to develop
supportive housing (3) creating effective collaborations (4)
effective use of such mainstream programs as TANF, SSI and Medicaid
(5) developing and implementing discharge policies (6) prevention
opportunities and (7) strategies for addressing rural homelessness.
The
closing plenary session included a Listening Session attended
by senior federal officials to hear a summary of the key action
items identified by the attendees during the course of the two
day meeting. The meeting concluded with remarks by the senior
officials of each of the four federal funding agencies and ICH
Executive Director Philip Mangano on federal initiatives to
prevent and end homelessness.
Don
Winstead, HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Evaluation,
spoke of the investment HHS will make this year on research
into the characteristics and dynamics of homeless families with
children and noted that states have become laboratories for
innovation and that the bulk of the HHS money available to provide
services for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
is distributed directly through state and local governments.
Patricia Carlile, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special
Needs Assistance whose office handles over $1 billion a year
in grants to support state and local homelessness efforts, described
the work of HUD's intra-agency Task Force which is bringing
Department wide resources to the homelessness effort.
Peter
Dougherty, Director of the VA's Homeless Programs Branch, reported
that the VA is on track for creating 1000 points of access for
veterans services which includes increased attention to ensuring
that mental health services are available and spoke of the VA's
new initiatives to provide services to children of women veterans
and to developing transitional assistance plans for incarcerated
veterans. Charles Ciccolella, Labor Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Veterans Employment and Training Services noted that the
federal government spends $12 billion annually on workforce
development and that "it is up to every one of us to live
out how we are making the system work for the benefit of homeless
people."
In
his remarks, ICH Director Mangano spoke of the national movement
underway to prevent and end homelessness- 20 federal agencies
partnered through the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness,
50 Governors of states and territories committed to establishing
State Interagency Councils on Homelessness, and 155 cities and
counties developing 10-Year Plans.
He
noted that in addition to the work being done by the four sponsoring
federal agencies, a number of other federal agencies have exciting
initiatives underway including the Social Security Administration
through its streamlining of the disability determination process,
the Justice Department which is implementing the President's
$300 million multiyear re-entry initiative, the Department of
Transportation which is seeking through an interagency work
group to make our federal transportation investments more responsive
to the needs of homeless people, and the Department of Education
which is utilizing homeless liaisons in every school district
and other initiatives to create educational parity for homeless
students.
Mr.
Mangano encouraged the state participants "not to reinvent
the wheel. Be larcenous. Steal the best ideas that are achieving
results and replicate them. Identify, disseminate and where
applicable adopt innovative technologies that are results-oriented
such as Assertive Community Treatment Teams, supportive housing
and discharge planning protocols with contractual obligations."
He urged the state participants to incorporate prevention strategies
into their action plans, participate in data collection and
research, and focus on being consumer centric.
A
full report on the meeting is being prepared by the federal
funding partners and will be made available on the Policy
Academy website maintained by the Health Resources and
Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
-
VA Secretary
Principi Convenes Interagency Council Meeting at White House
Conference Center
September
29 The 6th Cabinet-level meeting of the U.S. Interagency
Council since our revitalization in 2002 demonstrated the continuing
commitment of the Bush Administration to meeting the goal of
preventing and ending chronic homelessness. With announcements
of over $160 million in new
federal resources as well as additional technical assistance
to support and improve outcomes from programs already in place,
agencies as varied as Veterans Affairs, Labor, Health and Human
Services, Housing and Urban Development, Social Security, and
Education are collaborating at an unprecedented level to focus
resources on preventing and ending chronic homelessness.
The
federal commitment is being joined by an equally important commitment
and effort by states and communities and the private sector.
The Council, chaired by VA Secretary Principi, was pleased to
have the opportunity to hear from Horace Sibley, who at the
request of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, has been leading
that community's 10 year planning effort to end chronic homelessness,
and from Craig Chancellor, President of Triangle United Way
in North Carolina, who discussed the commitment of the United
Way to the goal and to their role in helping bring resources
from the business community to the effort.
 Council
members also heard from providers of services to veterans who
have benefited from the expansion of resources made available
through the VA - Marsha Four, Director of Homeless Services
for the Philadelphia Veterans MultiService and Education Center;
Toni Reinis, Executive Director of New Directors in LA; Kathryn
Spearman, Executive Director of Volunteers of America-Florida;
and Charles Williams, Executive Director of the Maryland Center
for Veterans Employment and Training. Michael German, the Region
IV Interagency Council coordinator, led off the panel discussion
by describing the many outreach efforts to homeless veterans
that are underway, including more than 20 Stand Down events
in his region.
ICH
Executive Director Philip Mangano reported that 49 Governors
of states and territories have created state interagency councils
on homelessness and 152 cities and counties have committed to
developing 10-Year Plans. Mr. Mangano also reported on the progress
of the Council's first major initiative - the awards last year
to 11 community partnerships through the Collaborative Initiative
to Help End Chronic Homelessness, an historic funding collaboration
by HUD, HHS and the VA.
|
| ICH
Executive Director, Philip Mangano and VA Secretary Principi |
Mr.
Mangano noted that the federal resources invested in these 11
communities "are demonstrating tangible, visible, and quantifiable
results". To date, the Collaborative Initiative grantees,
through community partnerships that combine asserting outreach
teams coordinated with housing and services including mental
health, substance abuse and primary health care, have successfully
ended the homelessness of over 400 men and women whose periods
of homelessness total over 2800 years.
Broward
County, Florida is one of the 11 Collaborative Initiative grantees.
Steve Werthman, Homeless Initiative Partnership Administrator
for Broward County, spoke to the Council about the progress
of their project. Known as HHOPE, Housing and Health Options,
they have successfully housed 24 people to date and those 24
were previously homeless for a total of 161 years.
|
|
Steve Werthman, Broward County Homeless Initiative Partnership
Administrator addresses Council. |
"I
would guess that the challenges of this new way of collaborating
are no less daunting at the federal level than we find them
to be at the local level. However, the prospects for lasting
systems change keeps us enthused about the project as we address
each bureaucratic challenge. We understand that the President's
Samaritan Initiative proposal would go a long way in providing
the statutory framework to reduce and help eliminate many of
these bureaucratic barriers.
Our
inter-agency model at the local level, mirroring the federal
example, has improved collaboration between the partners, and
particularly with the VA which had only a minimal presence in
our County as recently as two years ago... Our VA collaboration
has improved to the point where we were asked to present on
it during recent national conferences. All of our partners,
including mainstream agencies, are privileged to be part of
this initiative." --Steve
Werthman
|
| L
- R: Kathryn Spearman, Marsha Four, Toni Reinis, Charles
Williams and Michael German |
In
another example of the commitment of the Council to forging
partnerships at all levels of government to better coordinate
resources and improve program delivery, members of six Federal
Regional Councils joined the Interagency Council meeting by
phone at the opening of their proceedings.
The
Council's e-newsletter for this week will provide additional
information about the meeting. You may subscribe to the e-newsletter
through the link provided In The News section of this web page.
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Samaritan
Bill Introduced in Senate
September 22 U.S. Senators Wayne Allard (CO) and Elizabeth
Dole (NC) today introduced
S 2829, the Samaritan Initiative Act of 2004. The legislation
has been referred to the Senate Banking. Housing and Urban Affairs
Committee. Senator Allard chairs the Committee's Housing and
Transportation Subcommittee.
Excerpts
from Senator Allard's remarks:
|
| U.S.
Senator Wayne Allard (CO) |
Mr.
President, I rise today to introduce the Samaritan Initiative
Act of 2004, and I am pleased to have Senator Dole join me in
this effort. The Samaritan Initiative would mark the beginning
of a new, collaborative approach in the Federal effort to end
chronic homelessness. The Initiative would create a groundbreaking
joint effort between the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
the Department of Health and Human Resources, and the Department
of Veterans Affairs.
For
many years now I have been a strong advocate for the Government
Performance and Results Act, which requires a focus on outcomes
through clear, measurable goals. I am pleased to say that the
Samaritan Initiative embodies this outcome-based focus and requires
visible, measurable, quantifiable performance outcomes in reducing
and ending homelessness. A focus on outcomes, rather than case
management or process, also allows for new, innovative solutions
to chronic homelessness. This will ensure that taxpayer dollars
are spent in a responsible, effective manner.
I
am proud to say that the Samaritan Initiative is supported by
The U.S. Conference of Mayors, The National Association of Counties,
The National League of Cities, The Enterprise Foundation, The
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National AIDS Housing
Coalition, The National Alliance to End Homelessness, The Corporation
for Supportive Housing, the Association for Service Disabled
Veterans, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and
many other groups. I look forward to working with them, along
with my colleagues in the Senate, to end chronic homelessness
in America.
Denver,
Colorado is one of 11 communities currently benefiting from
federal funds awarded last October under the HUD/HHS/VA Collaborative
Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness. The Colorado Coalition
for the Homeless is acting as lead partner for the $3.4 million
awarded to the Denver Housing First Collaborative. Eleven Denver
agencies are partnering as part of this Collaborative to create
a
|
| U.S.
Senator Elizabeth Dole (NC) |
comprehensive
and integrated strategy to provide 100 units of permanent housing
to enable persons who are chronically homeless to move from
the streets and emergency shelters into “stable, permanent
housing and receive the services and other support they need
to achieve greater self-sufficiency.” Of the 100 units
being made available through this initiative, 60 are directly
funded through the Collaborative grant award with the remaining
40 leveraged through the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
The Denver Housing First Collaborative is using a “housing
first” strategy, combined with an assertive community
treatment approach . Partners in the Denver Housing First Collaborative
include the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and its Stout
Street Clinic which together with Denver Health is providing
primary care services; the Denver Department of Human Services,
the Mental Health Corporation of Denver, Arapahoe House which
is providing substance abuse treatment services, and the Denver
VA Medical Center.
Over the past year communities throughout North Carolina have
begun engaging in 10-year planning processes to end chronic
homelessness including Asheville, Durham, Henderson/Vance County,
Raleigh/Wake County, and Winston-Salem. Raleigh/Wake County
has the distinction of being the 100th community in the nation
to commit to developing such a plan. Enactment and funding of
the Samaritan Initiative would provide new resources for the
creation of permanent supportive housing for persons experiencing
chronic homelessness.
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From Sea
to Shining Sea
-
A mayors 10-Year Plan summit in Puerto Rico… the 90th
annual St. Vincent de Paul Society meeting in Phoenix, AZ,
a Housing and Homeless Coalition Conference in Riverside,
California… the announcement by Nashua NH Mayor Streeter
of a 10-year Plan to end chronic homelessness in that community…
a meeting of the Arizona State Interagency Council on Homelessness…the
dedication of housing facilities for the chronically homeless
on Skid Row in Los Angeles…an Affordable Housing Conference
in Bellevue, WA…
September
20 At these recent events and so many others around
the country, community leaders, faith based organizations, the
business community and citizens are taking action to develop
and implement plans to end the disgrace of homelessness. 20
federal agencies comprising the United States Interagency Council
on Homelessness. 49 Governors of states and territories who
have established state interagency councils on homelessness.
140 mayors and county executives who have committed to developing
10 year plans to end chronic homelessness in their communities.
All partnered. All extending political will on the issue of
homelessness made tangible in research-informed and results-oriented
interagency and intergovernmental collaborations and local plans.
| “I
am sorry this morning that I do not remember more Spanish.
But I do know this: that no matter which language we speak,
homelessness is wrong in all of them.”
ICH
Director Philip Mangano speaking at Sept 7 Mayors Summit
in Puerto Rico
|
“Today,
Nashua and New Hampshire are part of an unprecedented partnership
on homelessness that literally extends from the White House
to the streets. In Washington there are now 20 federal departments
and agencies meeting together to make resources more available
and accessible to homeless people. All focused on the President’s
initiative to end the homelessness of the most vulnerable, those
on our streets, long term in our shelters, disabled, most at
risk of death." September
17th press conference with NH Gov Craig Benson and Nashua Mayor
Bernard Streeter
“Let’s begin where we should. Homelessness is
wrong. Morally, spriritually, economically, socially –
wrong. What is the moral common sense of the future on homelessness?
Our children and grandchildren will know- a home for every American.”
ICH
Director Mangano speaking at the Sept 13 Riverside County Conference
of Housing and Homeless Coalition, CA
“In
the prayer of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul: “ that
those who have no home may quickly find a place in which they
can live a decent and happy life.”
The
President has called for a new initiative to be created to address
the homelessness of those who are disabled on our streets and
long term in our shelters in support of his call to end chronic
homelessness in the next 10 years. It’s called the Samaritan
Initiative and as the name implies, it is targeted to those
who have been left behind on our streets. Others have passed
by. But this Administration and its partners will stop and ensure
that those on the side of the road are moved forward toward
housing and services. It’s in the Congress now and needs
the support of all Americans. It’s the down payment to
end chronic homelessness." Sept.
10 90th Annual Conference of Society of St. Vincent de Paul,
Phoenix, Arizona
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Dallas
Mayor Names Business Leader and Civic Hero as 'Homeless Czar'
| In
2003, Dallas received over $10 million in federal HUD
targeted funds for homelessness assistance, a record funding
level for the city and a 113% increase over the 2002 level.
The funds were part of a record $1.27 billion in homeless
resources awarded by the Bush Administration to communities
across the nation.
|
September
3 Longtime civic leader Tom Dunning has been named
to lead Dallas’ effort to prevent and end homelessness
in the 8th largest city in the nation. The announcement of Mr.
Dunning’s appointment as “homeless czar” for
the city was made by Mayor Laura Miller at a press conference
last Wednesday attended by ICH Executive Director Philip Mangano,
Dallas City Councilmember Lois Finkleman who chairs the Council’s
Committee on Health, Environment and Human Services, and representatives
of various providers, non profit organizations and the Metro
Dallas Homeless Alliance. Mr. Dunning, who is Chairman and CEO
of Lockton Dunning Benefit Company in Dallas, will form a task
force of homeless providers and others to develop a central
assistance facility for the homeless in Dallas in conjunction
with the city’s recently adopted 10-Year Plan to End Chronic
Homelessness. That plan was adopted by the City Council in June
making Dallas the first city in the state of Texas to have developed
such a plan. Nationally, more than 120 communities have developed
or are engaged in the process of developing 10-Year plans to
end chronic homelessness.
|
| From
left to right: Councilmember Lois Finkelman, Tom Dunning,
Mayor Miller. Behind her: Councilmember Rasansky, Mr. Mangano,
Councilmember Veletta Forsythe Lill |
Mr.
Dunning brings a wealth of experience and civic leadership to
this new endeavor. He is a Board member of the Southwestern
Medical Foundation and Baylor Medical Foundation, and a member
or the Dallas Citizens Council. Said ICH Executive Director
Philip Mangano, “Mayor Miller has joined other mayors
across the country in demonstrating wisdom and leadership in
appointing a “local hero” to implement the city’s
10-year plan…in announcing a local hero of such community
commitment to lead the partnering process, to insure stakeholder
involvement in an inclusive and expansive process, Dallas has
taken a great leap forward. Those cities who have moved the
furthest in their response and implementation have had strong
and capable leadership from the mayor and from a local hero.
The added value of that hero cannot be underestimated…
Last year’s Renaissance Award winner “to restore
and revitalize downtown Dallas” now has a new mission:
to restore and revitalize the lives of our homeless neighbors.”
The
10-Year plan adopted by the Dallas City Council in June was
developed in partnership with Deloitte, the United Way, and
the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. Following the press conference,
Mr. Mangano addressed the Dallas City Council on federal initiatives
to end chronic homelessness.
Further,
the state of Texas received a total of $52 million plus in last
year’s awards, a 28% increase over the $41 million of
2002 and a record amount for the state.
-
It's Been
A Revelation…
August 16 That's how one project manager described the
experience of developing and implementing a project under the
HUD/HHS/VA Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness.
At this first annual meeting of the Collaborative Initiative
grantees and their federal funding partners held in Washington
DC last month, heads nodded in agreement. For grantees and federal
officials alike, the process that began with a conversation
among three Cabinet Secretaries at a White House meeting of
the Interagency Council on Homelessness, led to a federal financial
commitment of up to $55 million to 11 community partnerships,
and resulted in housing for more than 300 chronically homeless
men and women to date, has been instructive and revealing.
Revealing
of the statutory, regulatory and cultural barriers that exist
between federal agencies and programs that must be overcome
to support joint initiatives. Revealing that real collaboration
and partnership at both the federal and local level takes a
lot of "energy, resources and compromise". Revealing
that even the hardest to serve homeless will respond to clinically
based outreach and engagement. Revealing that initiatives like
this can be "a window of opportunity to go beyond the immediate
NOFA and affect the community" through real systems change.
All agreed that the undertaking, demanding and difficult at
times, is achieving housing success for long time homeless men
and women, and is promoting systems change, and expressed support
for the Samaritan Initiative legislation pending before Congress,
which would provide additional funding opportunities.
"It's
all about access..."
The
Collaborative Initiative grantees attending the meeting represented
partnerships in 11 communities that are utilizing their federal
funding awards to build a seamless and sustainable system of
outreach, housing, primary health care, mental health, substance
abuse treatment and other supportive services to end the homelessness
of men and women with disabling conditions who have been living
on the streets, in encampments and in shelters in their communities
for years. The 36 men and women who have been housed through
the Contra Costa program had a combined 473 years of homelessness,
an average of 11 years each. Sadly, grantees are finding many
veterans among their chronically homeless population but as
Sage Foster, housing manager for the Contra Costa project said,
having Veterans Administration participation in their project,
"has made a dirt road into a superhighway for getting chronically
homeless veterans the help they need".
"You got a stir going. The project has been a catalyst
for systems change in my community..."
Participants
discussed how the project is having an impact on the way services
are being made available for homeless people in their community.
For Chicago, the project has strengthened relations between
local government agencies and non profits and they have been
able to target the grant to an area of the city where there
has been an inequity of resources. For Los Angeles, the Skid
Row area was already a service-enriched area but there had been
a "disconnect" between many of the service providers
which the collaborative initiative project is helping to overcome.
For some projects, the opportunity to develop a closer working
relationship with Social Security has been a big plus. Columbus
reported the length of time for SSDI determinations has been
reduced to 3-6 weeks, down from 6-12 months. In Denver, they've
included an employment specialist on their team and will be
benefiting from a recent Social Security HOPE grant that will
provide expedited benefit determinations. In Portland, they've
developed a strong positive relationship with landlords that
is reducing the time between outreach/engagement and housing.
In Chattanooga, they've committed to broadening the circle of
support for the project to include transportation. The partnerships
required to achieve the project's objectives "makes us
accountable to each other", said one participant.
Breaking
the cycle of homelessness and doing so in a way that is cost
effective for government.
Research
in recent years has shown that chronically homeless persons
generally have a disabling condition such as a developmental
or physical disability, substance abuse or mental health condition.
Persons experiencing chronic homelessness cycle repeatedly through
a variety of community care systems including shelters, correctional
and medical care facilities, making them some of the most expensive
citizens in the community. The 11 projects being supported through
the Collaborative Initiative are focused on engaging chronically
homeless persons, assisting them in entering housing, providing
supportive services needed to maintain those tenancies and connecting
them to mainstream resources such as employment services and
social security, where appropriate. The research has shown that
such supportive housing solutions are effective in ending the
homelessness of even the hardest to serve, promotes greater
self sufficiency and recovery, has a visible impact on community
streets, and offers potential savings in city and county budgets
for emergency medical care, jail and other correctional costs.
During
the conference, Chattanooga reported that "they liked the
idea of proceeding from a proven model"--that model being
Assertive Community Teams (ACT) combined with a Housing First
approach and improved access to mainstream program resources.
The model was allowing them to "meet the housing, fiscal
and health needs of homeless mentally ill persons in our community".
Concerns they originally had about whether chronically homeless
persons would choose to continue to stay in their housing had
been allayed. Of the 51 chronically homeless men and women they
had been able to house to date, there had only been three turnovers.
Describing
the 90 unit Empress Hotel which is being master leased for their
project, a San Francisco participant noted, "the brilliance
of this grant is sustainability. If we were just using the money
to do another building, it would not be so exciting". San
Francisco is targeting the "high flyers" among their
chronically homeless population, those who most frequently use
community health care services - and by stabilizing them in
housing with primary and behavioral health care services is
seeing a reduction in community costs.
"I saw the genuineness of their caring..."
Effective
outreach and engagement is key to a successful program. In Contra
Costa, teams are doing outreach into encampments, using cell
phones to arrange for on- demand service. In Chattanooga, the
local housing authority made space available to store donated
furniture and other household items that were then used to furnish
the apartments. The donations sprang from an email passed along
through the community. Having peer caseworkers on the ACT teams
were found to be helpful to both the team and to consumers.
National
Performance Assessment
The
federal partners are funding a National Performance Assessment
of the Collaborative Initiative projects. The assessment is
being led by Dr. Robert Rosenheck, Director of the VA's Northeast
Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC). The assessment is designed
to provide a high level of public accountability for the investment
of federal resources and further our knowledge of effective
interventions.
The
assessment consists of two parts:
|
| Dr.
Robert Rosenheck, Professor of Psychiatry and Public
Health at Yale Medical School and Director of NEPEC |
- The
first part will collect detailed information on the health
and well being of clients
when they enter the program and will reassess them every three
months for up to three years. This part of the evaluation
will tell us whether we helped people exit from homelessness,
whether their exit was sustained and what other improvements
they experienced in health, community adjustment and well
being. Because we will collect extensive data on the kinds
of services each client receives, we should also be able to
identify services or interventions that are most effective
in achieving program goals.
- The
second part of the evaluation is an annual survey of inter-organizational
relationships in each community. Which organizations are working
together? How well do they collaborate with each other? How
do they share funds? What services do they provide? With answers
to these questions, we hope to identify community differences
that may affect program effectiveness.
-
No Longer
Carrying a Ghost Key…
July 27 He is a Vietnam veteran who had been homeless,
living on the streets of Contra Costa County for more than 30
years. She is a 41year old single woman, the mother of 4 children
between the ages of 17 and 24 no longer living with her, with
a psychiatric history including prior suicide attempts who’d
been living on the street for 3 years in Broward County.
They
are just 2 of the more than 300 men and women who have recently
been able to move off the streets and out of shelters after
years of homelessness into permanent supportive housing through
a historic partnership between the federal government and 11
community collaborations across the country.
In
October 2003, 11 communities were competitively chosen from
more than 100 applications to participate in the Collaborative
Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness. This “Chronic
Homelessness Initiative” was an unprecedented effort by
the U. S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health
and Human Services and Veterans Affairs to provide communities
with housing, primary and behavioral health care, and other
supportive services targeted toward ending the homelessness
of those who have been living long term in the streets and in
shelters. The announcement of the awards was made at a meeting
of the Interagency Council, which has guided the effort, and
included the following communities:
Chattanooga TN; Chicago, IL; Columbus, OH; Denver, CO; Los Angeles,
CA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Portland, OR; San Francisco,
CA; Broward County, FL; and Contra Costa, CA.
Last
week representatives of each of these 11 community collaborations,
including housing providers, substance abuse treatment and mental
health counselors, outreach workers and case management staff,
met in Washington with federal agency officials from the DC
and regional offices to assess progress in the implementation
of these programs and learn approaches for program sustainability.
This 3-day “grantees conference”, sponsored by SAMHSA
with participation by all the federal partners, will be reported
on in more detail in future website stories.
“I’m
no longer carrying a “ghost” key – the key
I never had to a home”
-- formerly
homeless man participating in Contra Costa project
-
Hearing
Held on Samaritan Initiative Legislation
July 19 The House Financial Services Subcommittee
on Housing and Community Opportunity held a hearing last week
to receive testimony on the Samaritan
Initiative Act of 2004. The Samaritan Initiative was proposed
in the President's FY '05 budget, and introduced in Congress
by Representative Rick Renzi of Arizona as H.R. 4057. The legislation,
which would authorize federal agencies to work together to offer
new housing and supportive services funds to communities through
a single application, supports the President's goal of ending
chronic homelessness in ten years and is strongly supported
by communities across the country which have been developing
10-Year Plans.
The
House hearing was chaired by Representative Renzi and Subcommittee
Chair Robert Ney (OH), who convened two panels of witnesses
that included mayors, national advocacy organizations, faith-based
organizations, service providers, and United States Interagency
Council Executive Director Philip Mangano.
Support
for Samaritan Initiative
|
On
the first panel testifying before the Subcommittee were representatives
of cities advancing local strategies to end chronic homelessness
and representatives of national advocacy and service organizations
focused on homelessness: Philadelphia Deputy Managing Director
Robert Hess; Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Executive
Director Mitchell Netburn; Columbus/Franklin County, OH, Community
Shelter Board Executive Director Barbara Poppe; National Alliance
to End Homelessness President Nan Roman; National Coalition for
the Homeless Executive Director Donald Whitehead; Alameda, CA,
Housing Authority Director Michael Pucci; Prescott, AZ, United
States Veterans Initiative Director Stephanie Buckley; and Denver
Catholic Charities CEO James Mauck who testified on behalf of
Catholic Charities USA, Lutheran Services in America, and Volunteers
of America. The benefits of the Samaritan Initiative were discussed
as well as concerns over the sufficiency of the funding request
, homeless families, and funding for the Section 8 housing voucher
program. Copies of the witness testimony can be found on the House
Financial Services Committee website.
When
our country says that we will no longer tolerate the homelessness
of our long term, disabled homeless neighbor; we'll no
longer tolerate a homeless veteran foraging for food from
a dumpster; we'll no longer tolerate a mentally ill person
finding their sleep on our streets; we'll no longer tolerate
a homeless elder succumbing to exposure;
When
our toleration of street homelessness diminishes, our
country's soul will feel the healing. And that remedy
will move us closer to the day when everyone in our communities
will be known by a single name - neighbor - and be treated
as one.
The
Samaritan Initiative moves us as a nation beyond indifference
and insulation, and allows us with all our partners to
stop on the side of the road for that neighbor."
Philip
Mangano in testimony to the House Financial Services Housing
Subcommittee in support of H.R. 4057. |
ICH
Executive Director Philip Mangano testified on behalf of
the Administration on a panel of government officials that also
included Denver
Mayor John Hickenlooper and Baton
Rouge Parish Mayor Bobby Simpson. Denver and Baton Rouge
are 2 of the 126 communities across the nation that have developed
or are in the process of developing 10-Year Plans. Denver is
one of the 11 communities benefiting from last year's historic
Collaborative Initiative to
End Chronic Homelessness, the precursor to the proposed
Samaritan Initiative. Guided by the Interagency Council, this
Collaborative Initiative combined for the first time the resources
of the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health
and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs into a single application
process for communities to receive both permanent housing and
supportive services funding targeted toward persons living long
term on the streets and in shelters.
The
Samaritan Initiative would provide new resources and further
refine the approach developed in the earlier Collaboration -
to pool federal resources and expertise, engage in a partnership
with local communities, support research based and field tested
supportive housing strategies and reduce administrative costs
and paperwork burdens on communities.
The
Subcommittee hearing was one more step in a long legislative
process. To date 24
representatives have signed on to cosponsor the legislation
and numerous national groups have sent letters of endorsement.
Continued support will be necessary to move the bill forward.
-
House
Hearing on Samaritan Initiative Tomorrow
July 12 At 10 am on Tuesday, July 13, in room 2128
of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Financial Services Subcommittee
on Housing and Community Opportunity will hold a hearing on H.R.
4057, the Samaritan Initiative Act of 2004. ICH Executive
Director Philip Mangano will testify on behalf of the Administration
in support of this legislation, which would authorize new federal
resources to promote and support community efforts to end chronic
homelessness.
The
Samaritan Initiative was proposed in the President's FY '05 budget,
and introduced in Congress by Representative Rick Renzi of Arizona.
The legislation supports the President's goal of ending chronic
homelessness in ten years and is strongly supported by communities
across the country which have been developing 10-Year Plans. Testifying
with Mr. Mangano on the first of two witness panels will be Denver
Mayor John Hickenlooper and Baton
Rouge Mayor Bobby Simpson. Denver and Baton Rouge are 2 of
the 126 communities across the nation that have developed or are
in the process of developing a 10-Year Plan. Denver is also one
of the 11 communities benefiting from last year's historic Collaborative
Initiative to End Chronic Homelessness. Guided by the Interagency
Council, this Collaborative Initiative combined for the first
time the resources of the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban
Development, Health and Human Service, and Veterans Affairs into
a single application process for communities to receive both permanent
housing and supportive services funding targeted toward persons
living long term on the streets and in shelters. The Colorado
Coalition for the Homeless received $3.4 million.
-
|
|
|
ICH
Executive Director
Philip Mangano |
Denver
Mayor
John Hickenlooper |
Baton
Rouge Mayor
Bobby Simpson |
A
second witness panel will include:
- Stephanie
Buckley, Director, United States Veterans Initiative, Prescott,
Arizona
- Robert
Hess, Deputy Managing Director of Adult Services, Office of
Emergency Shelter Services, City of Philadelphia
- James
H. Mauck, President, Catholic Charities and Community Services
- Mitchell
Netbum, Executive Director, Los Angeles Homeless Services
Authority
- Barbara
Poppe, Executive Director, Community Shelter Board, Columbus,
Ohio
- Mike
Pucci, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of
Alameda
- Nan
Roman, President, National Alliance to End Homelessness
- Donald
Whitehead, Executive Director, National Coalition for the
Homeless
|
|
Chairman
Bob Ney
of Ohio |
Rick
Renzi
of Arizona |
The
Samaritan Initiative legislation refines and expands the HUD/HHS/VA
collaboration by authorizing new funding, adding workforce investment
boards as eligible participants and further streamlining the
application, review, award and monitoring processes. The legislation,
which was introduced on March 30, has bipartisan support. Sponsors
include several members of the housing subcommittee including
Chairman Bob Ney of Ohio, Vice-Chair Mark Green of Wisconsin,
Julia Carson of Indiana, Peter King of New York, Christopher
Shays of Connecticut, Melissa Hart of Pennsylvania, Michael
Capuano of Massachusetts, Patrick Tiberi of Ohio and Rick Renzi
of Arizona.
Several
national
organizations have endorsed the Samaritan Initiative including:
- National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill
- The
Enterprise Foundation
- National
Alliance to End Homelessness
- Corporation
for Supportive Housing
- Association
for Service Disabled Veterans
- National
Coalition for Homeless Veterans
- National
Aids Housing Coalition
In
June, Charles Lyons, President of the National League of Cities,
with 1700 member cities and representing more than 18,000 cities,
villages and towns in partnership with 49 State Municipal Leagues
sent a letter
in support of the bill.
At
its recent annual meeting in Boston, the U.S. Conference of
Mayors unanimously endorsed a resolution
urging Congress to support the Samaritan Initiative legislation
and funding. This action followed a letter sent by over 80 mayors
to members of Congress in support of the bill and funding.
-
San
Francisco Unveils 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness
- Plan
focuses on developing permanent supportive housing for the
estimated 3000 chronically homeless individuals living on
the streets
June 30 San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, joined
by community leaders, members of the Ten Year Planning Council
to End Chronic Homelessness, and citizens, today unveiled a
10-Year plan to end chronic homelessness in the "city of
St. Francis". The Ten Year Planning Council, led by former
Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Angela Alioto, developed the
San
Francisco Plan to Abolish Chronic Homelessness at the request
of the mayor over a five month period. More than 300 individuals,
representing 126 organizations, participated in the eighty-five
meetings held to develop the plan that calls for the creation
of 3000 new permanent supportive housing units by 2010.
"The
plan we present to you is a no non-sense plan, a "let's
house people now" plan that I firmly believe is the key
that will unlock the door to the homes our people so desperately
need." Ten Year Planning Council Chair Angela
Alioto in her report transmittal letter to Mayor Newsom
| "For
the first time in the 20 years I have been in public life,
I feel the united excitement, the electric energy, the
profound intelligence, and the strong will to end chronic
homelessness in our great City. It's time to roll our
sleeves up and get to work on what will be one of the
most rewarding accomplishments of anyone's life."
Angela Alioto, Chairwoman of SF Ten Year Planning Council
to End Chronic Homelessness
|
The
estimated 3000 chronically homeless persons in San Francisco
are 20% of the city's total homeless population but consume
63% of the city, state and federal funding available for homeless
services in the city. According to the Plan report, the care
of one chronically homeless person in San Francisco currently
costs the city an average of $61,000 a year in emergency room
and incarceration costs whereas the cost of providing permanent
supportive housing, including treatment and care, is only $16,000
per person per year.
"The
$16,000 in permanent supportive housing would house the person
as opposed to the $61,000 in care and services that leaves the
person living on the street. Logic and compassion dictate that
moving 3000 chronically homeless into permanent supportive housing
would be cost effective, saving the taxpayers millions of dollars
each year. Doing so would also provide the chronically homeless
with their best opportunity to break the cycle of homelessness
that controls their lives." Excerpt from SF Plan
to Abolish Chronic Homelessness
"The
promise of America remains unfulfilled as long as any
one of our neighbors is without a place to live. We need
to keep that promise for every American. We have a higher
calling than the testimony of our streets and shelters.
Our work is not to preserve the status quo, no matter
how well intentioned. Our mission is to end homelessness."
ICH Executive Director Philip Mangano |
ICH
Executive Director Philip Mangano, who joined Mayor Newson for
the announcement of the plan, congratulated the mayor and the
city, noting that "today's announcement is good for every
San Franciscan, homeless and housed." With the "formal
introduction of a management plan to end chronic homelessness,
your city begins a multi-year incremental process to bring remedy
to its streets and hope to every heart, and ultimately to end
all homelessness."
-
U.S. Conference
of Mayors Endorses Samaritan Initiative at Annual Meeting
June 28 The Administration's Samaritan Initiative
proposal to provide new resources targeted toward ending chronic
homelessness received the endorsement of the U.S. Conference
of Mayors today at their 72nd Annual Meeting in Boston.
|
| ICH
Executive Director Mangano addressed the Community Development
and Housing Committee, chaired by Charlotte Mayor McCrory,
at the U. S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Boston. |
The
resolution, introduced
by a bipartisan group of mayors led by San Francisco Mayor Gavin
Newsom, was first considered and favorably reported on Saturday
by the Community Development and Housing Committee chaired by
Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory. ICH Executive Director Philip
Mangano, who was invited to speak at the Committee meeting,
applauded the mayors for their continuing support and partnership
in the effort to end chronic homelessness. Mr. Mangano noted
that the challenge the Conference of Mayors had accepted last
year to have 100 cities engage in developing 10-Year Plans to
end chronic homelessness had been surpassed. More than 120 cities
across the nation have already developed or are engaged in developing
a 10-Year Plan. In the last two weeks, the mayors of both the
nation's capital, Washington DC, and the nation's largest city,
New York, announced their city's 10-Year Plan.
2004
resolution | 2003
resolution
-
New York
City Mayor Bloomberg Unveils Plan to End Homelessness in Nation’s
Largest City
- The
Plan, Uniting
for Solutions Beyond Shelter, was developed by a partnership
of city, public and private sector groups and individuals
- Announcement
comes just one week after the nation's Capitol released its
plan
- Over
120 cities have initiated the process of developing 10-Year
Plans since the Bush Administration announced a goal of ending
chronic homelessness by 2012
June 23 At a morning breakfast of business, non profit
and public sector leaders hosted by the Association for a Better
New York for the release of a 10-Year Plan to end homelessness
in New York City, Mayor Bloomberg called on his city not to
surrender to the scourge of homelessness and committed to putting
the full weight of his administration behind ending chronic
homelessness in the city. ICH Executive Director Philip Mangano
joined Mayor Bloomberg and NYC Department of Homeless Services
Commissioner Linda Gibbs for the announcement.
"We
are too strong, and too smart, and too
compassionate a city to surrender to the scourge of homelessness",
said Mayor Bloomberg. "We won't do it. We won't allow it....
When any New Yorker who wants a home, has one-it will be a victory
for all of us".
Over
the past five years, the annual budget for New York City's Department
of Homeless Services has grown from $400 million to $700 million.
The average family stay in the shelter system is 11 months.
Under the plan revealed today, money and manpower which has
been used to manage homelessness, will be devoted to ending
homelessness.
| “For
too long, when New Yorkers in need had to go somewhere,
the only place that would take them in was a shelter.
Tonight, when the day’s work is done, I think we
should all stop and think about that. Think how fortunate
we are to be… going home.
And then wake up tomorrow ready to rededicate our efforts
to satisfy that same basic human need for everyone in
our city.”
Mayor
Bloomberg
|
Mayor
Bloomberg challenged his city commissioners to dramatically
reduce homelessness including such specific goals as reducing
by two-thirds the number of homeless men and women living on
the streets and in the shelters between now and the end of 2009.
Noting that "an over-reliance on providing shelter instead
of preventing homelessness has taken a powerful toll on the
lives of the very people we have sought to help", the Mayor
outlined initiatives that will redirect the focus away from
maintaining an ever growing shelter system and toward preventing
homelessness. Among these initiatives are increased investments
in supportive housing (from 5000 to 12,000 units to be created),
rental assistance, and improved discharge planning.
Recently,
Mayor Bloomberg joined Chicago Mayor Daley, Los Angeles Mayor
Hahn and San Francisco Mayor Newsom in signing a letter to Congress
urging passage of the Samaritan
Initiative, a Bush Administration proposal which would provide
new resources to communities to implement supportive housing
strategies for persons experiencing chronic homelessness.
-
June
16 D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams today unveiled a 10-Year
Plan to End Homelessness for the nation’s Capital city.
Joined by ICH Executive Director Philip Mangano, National Alliance
to End Homelessness Executive Director Kirk Gibson, and local
service providers and advocates, Mayor Williams unveiled Homeless
No More, a plan to move homeless residents into permanent housing
as quickly as possible and provide them with the social services
needed to help resolve the issues that caused them to become
homeless.
 "Today
is a good day in the nation's Capital. Washington, D.C. shows
itself to be a compassionate and pragmatic city as it joins
many other cities across our great country committed to ending
the national disgrace of chronic homelessness in the next decade.
Washington, D.C. joins cities all across our country in moving
forward with a ten year plan to end the chronic homelessness
of people on our streets and in shelters," stated ICH Executive
Director Mangano.
The 10-Year Plan was drafted by the Mayor's Policy Academy Team
("MPACT") led by Lynn French, Senior Policy Advisor
for Homeless and Special Needs Housing and Dr. J. Stephen Cleghorn,
Deputy Director for the Community Partnership for the Prevention
of Homelessness and was based on the recommendations of a broad
spectrum of city and business leaders, homeless providers and
advocates, and homeless people.
To achieve the goal of ending homelessness by 2014, the Plan
calls for:
< |
