PORTLAND, OREGON. The City of Portland, Multnomah County, and 800 volunteers and service providers held the nation's first Project Homeless Connect for Families this week. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano joined Portland Mayor Potter, County Commissioners Serena Cruz Walsh and Lisa Naito, County Chairman Diane Linn, County Chairman-elect Ted Wheeler, and City Commissioner Erik Sten and organizers speaking at an early morning rally for volunteers,where he told those gathered:

"A year and a half ago Portland/Multnomah County joined the national partnership, which now includes 222 jurisdictions, to bring an end to homelessness for the most vulnerable and disabled in the next ten years. Six months ago, you joined the national partnership in holding a Project Homeless Connect for those experiencing chronic homelessness. You adopted the idea and made it your own, assisting over 900 homeless individuals. Today, you have innovated the innovation with the nation's very first Project Homeless Connect for Families. You can bet that what you are doing here today will not only have local impact, but national reverberations. I'm here today to share your example with the rest of the country."

Council Executive Director Mangano, joined by Council Regional Coordinator Paul Carlson, attended the day long event, speaking with organizers, volunteers, and many of the 350 homeless families who came to the Memorial Coliseum seeking housing assistance, employment, and a variety of health and social services, to gain first hand knowledge of their expectations and experiences. Throughout the day, families spoke about their anticipation of the event as an opportunity to receive assistance that would lead to stable housing for themselves and their children.

Six housing agencies were on site and able to provide immediate housing assistance to 50 families selected by lottery, including permanent housing with short term rental assistance, transitional housing, project- based Section 8, and shelter placement with follow- up permanent housing with rental assistance. $50,000 for housing assistance was raised by the PHC organizers, including $30,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation, and service providers donated case management services.

A special feature of the event was the availability of professional child care services, coordinated by Joyful Noise Child Development Centers, to facilitate the ability of parents to access services throughout the day. Other services offered were medical/dental care and follow up appointments; vision screening and free glasses; employment assistance; legal advice; benefit application assistance; clothing and hygiene products; domestic violence counseling; computer and phone access; transportation assistance; and pet care.

Benefits assistance included Social Security and SSI programs, Food Stamps, Medicaid, VA, and TANF. Employment assistance included help accessing the local workforce One Stop Service program, follow up appointments with a vocational rehabilitation counselor, a resume workshop, counseling on overcoming criminal history as a barrier to employment, and a computer lab for job searches. Other employment assistance partners on site included Central City Concern, SE Works, Mt. Hood and Portland Community Colleges, Goodwill, and the VA.

As was the case with Portland 's first Project Homeless Connect event in January for homeless individuals, the Portland business community was an important partner in the effort providing cash and in kind donations and with many employees among the volunteers.

Commenting on the day, County Commissioner and lead organizer Serena Cruz Walsh said, "This was an amazing collaboration of government, agencies, and businesses who share compassion and the vision of an end to homelessness. We are witnessing the profound impact of what individuals with a shared vision can accomplish."

Portland also welcomed officials from five other Oregon counties and two Washington State counties considering holding Project Homeless Connect events. The Oregon officials had attended the Council's recent statewide summit organized by Council Regional Coordinator Paul Carlson.

Pictured here are the public and private sector partners who joined in the Portland event, including (center, L-R) Multnomah Sheriff Bernie Giusto, Commissioner Cruz Walsh, Mayor Potter, Director Mangano, and Commission Chair Linn. Also pictured are business sector supporters, donors, and volunteers.

To date, over 35 communities across the nation have held Project Homeless Connect events. This year's National Project Homeless Connect will take place the week of December 4-8. Creating a national framework for PHC events supports the important work being accomplished locally, encourages replication of a best practice with proven results for homeless people, and raises visibility and participation. In the coming months, the Council will engage communities across the country to participate in National Project Homeless Connect Week. If your jurisdiction is considering launching a PHC event, please contact the Council at usichevents@usich.gov. The Council invites all communities to join us in this national effort.

PORTLAND, OREGON.The over 300 homeless families who participated in Tuesday's Project Homeless Connect (PHC) for Families in Portland learned about the event through a well organized Outreach Plan that targeted families living on the streets, camping, and in motels; families with children participating in homeless school programs; families in shelters; and families identified as having been turned away from at- capacity programs. While invitations were a tool used in the outreach process, families were not required to present an invitation at the door in order to access services.

• A Save-the-Date flyer was sent to all community anti-poverty agencies which also included a request for volunteers.
• 100 invitations were handed out at schools with homeless programs.
• 275 invitations were distributed at the mid- June Homeless Families Coalition Meeting.
• Within two weeks of the event, a team headed up by the YWCA, Human Solutions, and the Multnomah County Health Department distributed invitations to campgrounds, motels, and to homeless families encountered on the street.
• 65 invitations were given to the Domestic Violence Shelter System.
• 45 invitations were distributed to clients of the YWCA Safe Haven and Daybreak Shelter.

Pictured here are (R-L) City Commissioner Erik Sten who provided key support to the event, Director Mangano, Commissioner and a lead organizer Selena Cruz Walsh, and the corporate representative of Nike, which made significant contributions of clothing and shoes for the event.

WASHINGTON, DC. When the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness met in formal session on Monday at the White House as reported in this week's Special Edition of the e-news, it was almost four years to the day since the Council's first meeting on July 18, 2002 after a nearly six year dormancy. At that first meeting in 2002, the Council immediately announced a bold initiative that would be the first step in creating a National Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness. The initiative was the $55 million collaboration between the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs designed to improve collaboration among federal agency homeless funding initiatives, create additional permanent housing for persons experiencing chronic homelessness, promote integrated systems of care in communities by linking comprehensive services and treatment to housing, provide evidence of effective sustainable outreach and supportive housing models that could be replicated, and increase the use of mainstream resources for chronically homeless persons.

This initiative has created 635 units of permanent supportive housing in the eleven grantee communities, ended 5300 years of homelessness for the disabled, long term homeless men and women who've been assisted off the street, and instigated interest in communities across the country in replicating the partnerships between housing and service providers, and ACT outreach and Housing First approaches that are achieving these results.

Importantly, this $55 million investment was just a precursor to the changes that have taken place in homeless policy, resource investments, and interagency, intergovernmental and public-private partnerships over the last four years.

Four years ago, few states had any senior policy entities meeting regularly to focus on homelessness. Today, 53 states and territories have State Interagency Councils on Homelessness, most created by direct Executive Orders of their Governors and including representation at the highest level of state government agencies. These State interagency councils are mirroring the work of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness by providing a formal framework for State secretariats and agencies to examine resource allocations and ensure better coordination of State resources and Federal block grant funding in their States for the benefit of homeless people.

Four years ago, there were no Governors, and less than a handful of Mayors and County Executives committed to leading 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness in their communities. Today, all states have participated in Policy Academies and are developing action plans, with many forwarding formal statewide 10-Year Plans. 222 Mayors and County executives, often working in partnership, are developing and implementing 10-Year Plans. These 10-Year Plans have re-engaged the private sector and have leveraged over $2.5 billion in housing and services investments. The Council provides technical assistance to states and local jurisdictions in the development of 10-Year Plans, including the expeditious dissemination of innovative best practices that are results oriented. And the good news is, in those jurisdictions that have developed 10-Year Plans that are outcome oriented and informed by business principles, there does seem to be a trend that street and chronic homeless numbers are falling.

Four years ago, jurisdictions across the nation hadn't begun to marshal their housing, employment, health, and community volunteer resources into results oriented one-stop Project Homeless Connect events to achieve tangible outcomes in the lives of homeless people in their communities. Today, this innovation, originated in the City of San Francisco and now promoted and facilitated nationally by the Council as a replicable effective practice, has been adopted by more than 35 cities. In the first effort to coordinate Project Homeless Connect events nationally last December 8, more than 5500 volunteers mobilized in 25 cities and 800 people people left the streets as a result. This year, the Council will facilitate events across the country for a National Homeless Connect Week commencing December 4.

Examples abound of new investments through State and City 10-Year Planning processes that are targeted to achieving results in both intervention and prevention of chronic and family homelessness:

• In Michigan, the state housing finance agency has directed its 83 counties to develop 10-year plans by October if they want to participate in $20 million in targeted state funding for housing.
• The new Massachusetts state budget commits additional state funds to statewide Housing First initiatives for persons who are chronically homeless.
• In Illinois, the state has just imposed a new interagency planning requirement for a broad range of state agencies to identity state-level housing resources and services that will assist homeless and other needy populations and leverage additional investments.
• In California, where the state is in the process of developing a formal 10-Year Plan, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced plans for Phase II of the state's initiative that will provide an estimated $4.5 billion over time to build more than 10,000 supportive housing units. $75 million a year in funding from the Mental Health Services Act - Proposition 63 - would be leveraged with other public and private funding sources. California's new budget will also double funding for transitional foster housing that will help prevent homelessness among a high-risk population.
• In Dallas, which has noted a 26% drop in its population of chronically homeless persons and supported a $23.8 million bond to create a central one-stop center, funds will also support additional targeted SRO units and over 140 units of new permanent supportive housing, exceeding the Dallas 10-Year Plan goal for the first two years by 57%. Pending is a $3 million budget request before City Council to assist private developers to build 120 single room occupancy apartments.
• In Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, a new real estate assessment will invest an estimated $3.3 million in the Rebuilding Lives initiative this year to develop supportive housing for persons who are homeless.

As Director Mangano noted in his remarks at the meeting, "We have much more to do for our homeless neighbors, both individuals and families. But what cities and states across the nation are reporting is encouraging. These reports are good news for our communities, for our streets, and most importantly for homeless people."

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. When the Interagency Council on Homelessness met at the White House on Monday for a formal Council meeting, the Region V Midwestern States Federal Regional Interagency Council on Homelessness convened simultaneously in Chicago to review Council initiatives and discuss ways to provide support and resources to 10-Year Plan efforts underway in Region V communities.

Attending the meeting, which was chaired by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Region V Director Joseph Galvin, was Council Regional Coordinator Daryl Hernandez and regional representatives from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, and Veterans Affairs.

At the invitation of the Regional Council, members of the Lake County, Illinois 10-Year Planning Committee discussed their ongoing plan development and sought information from Council members on assistance and housing for homeless veterans and housing and supportive services for ex-felons, including how to coordinate with federal prisoner re-entry initiatives. The Region V VA Homeless Program Coordinator Gene Herskovic briefed the Council on the recent Chicago- area Stand Down, involving over 300 volunteers and attended by over 1400 people.

Council Regional Coordinator Hernandez briefed Council members on the State of Michigan Campaign to End Homelessness effort being led by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Director Michael DeVos that includes the development of a statewide 10-Year Plan expected to be completed in the Fall. Earlier this year, communities were encouraged to collaborate in the statewide effort through the offer of $10,000 planning grants to help them develop 10-Year Plans.

In November, Governor Granholm and Director DeVos announced the largest commitment ever of funding for housing for the homeless in the state's history with the award of $10 million to assist 8 communities create permanent supportive housing for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. The funding, to be administered through an interagency collaboration of the Michigan Departments of Community Health, Human Services, and Corrections along with MSHDA, was awarded to Detroit ($3 million) and up to $1 million each to the cities of Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Flynt, Lansing, Muskegon, Pontiac, and Saginaw.

Three of those communities - Detroit, Lansing, and Pontiac/Oakland County - are among the 222 jurisdictions nationwide working with the Council to develop and implement 10-Year Plans to end chronic homelessness. In June 2004, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano keynoted the Michigan State Strategic Planning Team Meeting on ending homelessness urging adoption of the 10-year planning process, noting that "Across the country homelessness is yielding to innovative initiatives, strategic solutions, and planful partnerships. We're no longer resigned to the status quo. Nor to détente with homelessness' seeming intractability." In February Director Mangano joined Grand Rapids City Mayor George Hartwell and Kent County Board Chair Roger Morgan, in the unveiling of their 10 year plan, Vision to End Homelessness.

Pictured here (L-R) from the opposite side of the table are Cathy Curran, PADS Crisis Center Executive Director and Lake County Plan Leader; Shirley Burnett, Department of Labor; Suzanne Krohn, Department of Health and Human Services; Jenny Weisner, Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families; and Ray Canchola, Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A report issued last month by the Housing Assistance Council examines how organizations in five rural communities are meeting the housing needs of specialized populations, including the homeless, through the creation of "housing plus services", defined as permanent affordable housing that incorporates various levels of service provided by trained professionals for whom service delivery, not property management, is the primary responsibility. The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is a Washington DC-based non profit corporation that supports the development of rural low income housing nationally through a revolving loan fund, research and demonstration projects, training, and technical assistance services. Certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the U.S. Treasury Department, HAC has used its loan fund to make nearly 1700 loan commitments totaling over $264 million to assist the creation of nearly 57,000 homes in rural areas. The report, Formulas for Success: Housing Services in Rural Areas, was prepared by HAC with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The case studies include housing developed by the Center for Family Solutions in Imperial County, CA, the Brattleboro, VT Public Housing Authority, the Southwest Georgia Housing Development Corporation in Cuthbert, GA, the Carey Counseling Center in northwest Tennessee; and by Amigos del Valle in southern Texas. In each case, the HAC report examines the sources of federal financing assistance, the non-federal funding leveraged, whether and how there was state investment, and challenges faced.

In the case of the Southwest Georgia Housing Development Corporation project, 20 units of 2, 3, and 4 bedroom housing, known as the Millennium House, was developed for women and families with substance abuse histories in Cuthbert, a small town of 4,000 that is also the county seat for Randolph, one of the poorest counties in the state. In the first year of operation, the Millennium House project reunited 21 children with their parents and prevented another 15 from being sent into foster care. A key funding source for the project was the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Permanent Supportive Housing Program. The DCA operates the Permanent Supportive Housing Program using federal HOME funds, monies from a State Housing Trust Fund, and a partnership with HUD that has allowed the state to convert some of its Section 8 tenant-based vouchers to project-based assistance. Other funding partners for the housing portion of the project included the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Rural Development program which worked with the city to provide the water and sewer infrastructure, HUD's Section 8 program, and Randolph County which donated the land. The supportive services are being funded by USDA's Rural Development program, the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education, and the Cuthbert Housing Authority. A future edition of the e-news will examine in detail USDA's rural housing and rural development programs as resources for community efforts on homelessness.

Another example in the report is the development by the Carey Counseling Center of the Herrington Place project in Camden, TN, which provides 23 bedrooms for persons with physical disabilities or chronic mental illness and a separate 3 bedroom independent living congregate facility on the grounds. The City of Camden is located in a sparsely populated part of the state where 16.6% of the population lives below the poverty level, and 37% of the population 21 to 64 years of age, have a disability status, according to the 2000 US Census. The project was financed through the Federal Home Loan Bank Board Affordable Housing Program and HUD's Supportive Housing Program. Among the ways that the Carey Counseling Service has made the community aware of Herrington Place is through the TN Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities' Housing Within Reach program that includes a comprehensive website providing consumers, housing and service stakeholders an up-to-date directory of housing and mental health services options by location, type of housing, and operating agency.

Carey Counseling also participates in Tennessee's Creating Homes Initiative. The Creating Homes initiative is a strategic partnership between the State and Tennessee's communities to create housing options for people with mental illness and co-occurring disorders. When the original goal to create 2005 new or improved housing opportunity by 2005 was met by 2002, a new goal of 4010 units was established. That goal has been met and the State's ongoing goal is to create 1100 new or improved permanent supportive housing opportunities each year for this population.

The HAC report also includes a useful Appendix listing sources of federal funding for housing and supportive services.

When United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano traveled to Vancouver, Canada last month to participate in the UN-sponsored World Urban Forum, he visited the YWCA Crabtree Corner during a tour of innovative programs and facilities with Canadian Assistant Minister of Homelessness Bayla Kolk and UK Homelessness Director Terrie Alafat. The tour continued the tradition of US, UK, and Canadian discussion and best practice exchange initiated by Director Mangano three years ago with a Tripartite meeting in Washington which has continued with meetings in the UK and Canada.

The YWCA Crabtree Corner is located in one of Canada's most impoverished neighborhoods and focuses on providing services for children, families, and especially single mothers. Among the services offered are 12 units of transitional housing for women with a history of substance abuse who are pregnant, new mothers, or hoping to reconnect with their young children.

The YWCA Crabtree Corner is the site of two important community health programs - the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (FAS/NAS) Prevention Project and the SHEWAY program to identify would-be parents who are at risk for drug and alcohol problems. SHEWAY is a collaboration of the YWCA, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, the Ministry of Children and Families, Vancouver Native Health, and B.C. Alcohol and Drug Programs.

An article written by Dr. Shimi Kang, an Addiction Psychiatrist with the Reproductive Mental Health Program, British Columbia Women's Hospital and Health Centre, in an online supplement to Visions Journal, examined the notion that women with substance use disorders are motivated to stop drinking and other substance use in pregnancy due to the potential harmful effects on the developing fetus and found that unfortunately this is not necessarily the case. The author cited data from the Canadian Community Health Survey of 2000/2001, in which 13.7% of Canadian women of child bearing years revealed that they had used alcohol during their last pregnancy. Almost 10% of women who were pregnant at the time of the survey indicated they drank 5 or more drinks on one occasion in the past month, and about 2% in the past week. The author noted that it can be difficult to know the level of illicit drug use during pregnancy due to the high stigma and consequences for mothering/custody. The British Columbia Perinatal Database, which captures information on all births in the province, indicated that in the one year period from April 1, 2000- March 31st, 2001, 1.9% of births were flagged for drug use (8% of those 19 and under) and 13.2% were flagged as current smokers (38.5% of those 19 and under).

In 2004, the YWCA of Greater Vancouver received funding from the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Vancouver Coastal Children, Family, and Community Development Trust to undertake a three year study to "assess the impact of supportive housing for mothers with substance use problems and their children in the perinatal period on key life domains related to longer term health and wellbeing." A primary objective of the study is to determine whether and how supportive housing " in the first year postnatally influences capacity to access the full range of services needed by women and families." The study is also being used to examine recruitment and retention strategies to encourage participation by "high risk" mothers in research over time, information that is expected to be helpful in developing future study approaches with this population.

The YWCA contracted with the BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health to develop and implement the study. Participants have been recruited and divided into two groups. The first group includes mothers who are SHEWAY clients, have been residents of the YWCA Crabtree Corner Housing for at least six months, and had contact with their baby at the beginning of the study period. The second group includes women who are SHEWAY clients but who have never resided at the YWCA Crabtree Corner Housing. Efforts were made to case-match the two groups. Interviews are being conducted every six months for a total of seven interviews developing information on their physical and emotional health, emotional support, substance use issues, custody, childcare, children's health, relationship with partner, family and friends, income support, schooling/ work and housing/food security.

Two strategies are being employed for participant retention. An initial honorarium of $20 is being increased by $10 for each completed additional interview. The women also receive transportation costs and childcare subsidies to enable their participation. Secondly, optional "meal sharing" events are being held every six months between interviews to encourage sustained contact between researchers and participants. Interim results are expected to be available by the end of this year.

In this continuing series of e-news profiles on the recipients of the Council's A Home for Every American Award, we highlight the contribution of Sioux Falls, South Dakota Mayor David Munson to the National Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness.

In 2005, Sioux Falls, South Dakota under the leadership of Mayor David Munson, became the first jurisdiction in South Dakota to develop and adopt a 10-Year Plan to end homelessness. The Plan, developed by a Blue Ribbon Task Force appointed by Mayor Munson 10 months earlier, offered a measured and realistic data and research based approach to homelessness in this predominantly rural state. The Sioux City Blueprint to Eliminate Homelessness called for the creation of 150 new housing units and emphasized strengthening partnerships among all the community stakeholders including 55 city, county, state, and federal entities, non profit service providers, faith based and civic organizations, and the Sioux Falls United Way.

Other elements of the Sioux City Plan were a Common Access Protocol, whereby a common intake procedure would be created among service providers to reduce redundancies, and the development of Individual Care Plans for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. The United Way Loaned Executive Program was the model for another of the Plan's elements to create a mobile team of specialists in case management, housing, employment, mental health, and money management.

A Mayor's Homeless Advisory Board, with county involvement authorized by a Joint Cooperative Agreement, is overseeing the Plan's implementation. The Board currently includes representatives from the Sioux Falls City Council, Minnehaha County Commission, and Sioux Empire United Way; the County Health Department Director; the City Community Development Director; the County Human Services Director; a minister; and citizens.

In March of this year, Mayor Munson convened a Homelessness Forum to continue building community support for the Plan and to ensure that the Plan's implementation continued to be informed by the latest innovations and best practices achieving results around the country. Invited by the Mayor to speak at the forum, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano credited Mayor Munson for " his commitment to community partnership, innovation, and results" that is continuing the momentum toward achieving the Plan's goal of eliminating homelessness in the community.

Mayor Munson is a lifetime resident of Sioux Falls. Prior to his election as Mayor in 2002, he served 24 years in the South Dakota State Legislature. Mayor Munson has been a teacher and coach in the Sioux Falls school system, and at the time of his retirement from Citibank South Dakota after an 18 year career, he was the executive director of CitiHousing, Inc. For three years in a row, the Forbes Magazine Annual Survey of Best Places for Business and Careers has named Sioux Falls the overall best small city in America. The City is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

IN THIS ISSUE, the e-news highlights remarks of United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano at this week's Full Council meeting at the White House.

. . . I am pleased to be here this morning to report to you on the Council's work since our last meeting in April. The work of federal agencies, as we shall hear, has been relentless in bringing remedy, and the work of this Council and its member agencies has been for our nation's most vulnerable, exemplified in our commitment to those experiencing chronic homelessness. Our commitment to these groups is results: tangible outcomes in their lives.

. . . When we last met, we reported on the good news that is accruing on the issue of homelessness, and we will hear more about those results in investment, partnership, innovations, and reduced numbers today. There are five consecutive years of record Federal investment and the President's proposal for a sixth record year of federal spending on targeted homeless programs for FY 2007. And we are heartened by Secretary Nicholson's reaffirmation today that our efforts on behalf of homeless veterans are seeing results. A 20% reduction in homelessness among veterans in the past five years is an extraordinary accomplishment that speaks to the commitment of the Secretary and the Department to the President's initiative to end chronic homelessness in the next ten years. There are three legislative proposals pending in Congress to reauthorize federal homeless programs, all with the common themes of planning, housing, prevention, and performance. The passage of the McKinney Act in 1987 affirmed the role of the federal government in response to homelessness, a role the federal agencies maintain today with increased and record investment in a national problem that requires local solutions. There is the political will to talk openly about ending homelessness being generated by the new leadership from the federal government and in states and communities. Mayors and Governors are on board to move beyond managing the crisis to ending the disgrace. The U.S. Conference of Mayor partnered with the Council and 222 cities and counties with 10 year planning processes.

. . . One of the innovations that has produced success is the mobilization of civic will and the evolution of the one-stop to engage people experiencing chronic homelessness and move them to housing and services they need. Started in San Francisco, Project Homeless Connect is an innovation that the Council brought to the nation with more than 25 cities participating in National Project Homeless Connect Day in December. The National Day, eventually replicated in more than 30 cities, mobilized 6,700 volunteers, and moved 800 people off the streets. A one-stop model influenced by successful community-based responses to Katrina. Plans are now underway for the 2006 national event, which will commence the week of December 4.

. . . We are now achieving in this country what we have sought for a quarter century- results on homelessness. Change. Progress. On our streets. In our shelters. For our neighborhoods and communities. For homeless people. Visible, measurable, quantifiable change.