"We are creating a National Partnership that literally extends from the White House to the streets - through federal agencies, state houses, city halls, counties, the private and non-profit sectors, to homeless people themselves. The intent is to move beyond managing homelessness to ending this shame. The expectation is to create visible, measurable, and quantifiable change on our streets, in homeless programs, and especially in the lives of homeless people. No one federal agency, no one level of government, and no one sector of the community can reach the goal alone." USICH Executive Director Philip Mangano

Evidence of the contribution of every level of government to the National Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness can be found in this week's e-news.

At the federal level,

• The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation convened a hearing this week on efforts by the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs to meet the housing needs of veterans (see related story).
• On Monday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report reviewing the interagency collaborative efforts of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to provide a seamless system of health care for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) service members and veterans. The report notes that from October 1, 2000, through May 31, 2006, the VA provided nearly 36,000 briefings to almost 1.4 million active duty, reserve, and National Guard service members about VA health care services that may be available to them. The VA has established a seamless transitions website containing health information focused on OEF and OIF service members and veterans, distributes brochures and pamphlets to provide information about topics of interest to OEF and OIF service members and veterans and their families, and sends letters and newsletters to veterans about VA health care services and health issues specific to veterans. The VA and DOD have also established joint programs to ease the transfer of injured service members to VA medical facilities, including a program that assigns VA social workers to selected Military Treatment Facilities to coordinate patient transfers to VA medical facilities. The report notes that the VA has developed a number of educational activities and online clinical tools to help ensure that VA medical providers and other staff are aware of and recognize the health care needs, including mental health, of OEF and OIF service members and veterans.
• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has released a summary report on Homeless Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment, based on an analysis of 2004 data from SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (see related story).

At the state level, the Council of State Governments Re-Entry Policy Council has released two documents, Homelessness and Prisoner Re-Entry and Public Housing Authorities and Prisoner Re-Entry that can be useful resources for jurisdictional state and city/county 10-year planning efforts (see related story).

At the county level, more than 3300 elected and appointed county officials and others will gather in Cook County, Illinois, August 4-8 for the 2006 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness is working with county officials across the country developing 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness. In 2003, NACo members adopted a resolution at their annual meeting supporting the Administration's goal of ending chronic homelessness and encouraging every county to develop a 10-year plan. Council Regional Coordinators Michael German and Eduardo Cabrera will be participating in this year's Annual Conference, including sessions on Eliminating the Criminalization of Individuals with Mental Illness and Addictions: Community Collaborations that Work; Vacant Sites Need Not Be an Eyesore: Tools and Techniques for Redevelopment; Enabling Counties to Cut Costs by Working Smarter; and Creative Approaches to Balancing Budgets. Cost studies being conducted as part of 10-year planning efforts are revealing the true costs of chronic homelessness to community emergency response and correction systems and the extent to which permanent supportive housing is a cost effective solution.

At the city level,

• Six cities have Project Homeless Connect events scheduled between now and early November, and other cities are signing up for the Council facilitated National Project Homeless Connect Week December 4- 8 (see related story). More than 35 communities have scheduled Veteran Stand Downs between now and mid-November.
• New York Governor George Pataki, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and New York State Comptroller William Thompson this week announced final approval of a $130 million New York City Housing Trust Fund that will be used to create and preserve 4300 affordable housing units in the city over the next three years. The 4300 units are part of Mayor Bloomberg's $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing over the next ten years. The $130 million in Housing Trust Fund monies will be used in part to develop 2000 apartments for hard to reach populations including those earning below 30% of area median income. Mayor Bloomberg recently reported his city's results in ending homelessness at the Annual Conference of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
• The National League of Cities, representing over 18,000 cities and towns in partnership with 49 state municipal leagues, held a national conference call last week on Engaging City Governments in Supporting Foster Care Transition Issues. The call was part of the larger effort by the NLC's Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF) to provide guidance to municipal officials on strengthening families and improving outcomes for children and youth in the community.

Pictured here is USICH Executive Director Mangano with some of the many local, state, and federal officials who attended the Council's National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders: Moving from Good to Better to Great in Sustaining 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness in Denver in May.

NOTE: Last week's edition of the e-news inadvertently included the word "chronic" in a reference to the National Alliance to End Homelessness Annual Conference in the profile of A Home for Every American Award recipient Rob Hess. The reference should have read . . . "the National Alliance to End Homelessness Annual Conference in Washington, DC last week . . . "

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness has announced December 4-8 as 2006 National Project Homeless Connect Week. Volunteers in communities across the country will mobilize in 1-day, 1-stop events sponsored by Mayors and other community leaders to provide housing, a wide variety of services, and hospitality for persons experiencing homelessness. Project Homeless Connect draws on models ranging from Stand Downs to post-Katrina 1-stop centers and San Francisco's creation of the Project Homeless Connect event to advance its 10-year plan.

Project Homeless Connect has been identified by the Council as an innovation that mobilizes civic will to end homelessness. Communities can replicate this model to move people quickly toward housing and stability and help further the goals of their jurisdictional 10-year plans. From Portland, Oregon to Miami, more than 35 cities have replicated the model to date, representing some of the more than 220 cities and counties committed to 10-year plans to end homelessness.

Project Homeless Connect events vary in size, content and frequency in each community. Next week, San Francisco will hold its 12th PHC event. An example of the tremendous support San Francisco's Project Homeless Connect is receiving from businesses and citizens, the San Francisco Giants sponsored a fundraiser for PHC on Monday, donating a portion of all ticket sales for the game to PHC. In July, Portland, Oregon held its second Project Homeless Connect event, becoming the first city to hold one specifically focused on homeless families. Five more cities - Bridgeport, CT, Duluth, MN, Las Vegas, NV, Long Beach, CA, and Norfolk, VA have PHC events scheduled between now and mid-November.

Project Homeless Connect events serve as a catalyst for community involvement, generating new energy and commitment to end homelessness and solutions that produce results. PHC gives people and organizations who have never been involved in homelessness a way to make a difference.

Communities interested in participating in National Project Homeless Connect Week can contact the Council at usichevents@usich.gov. Information about Project Homeless Connect is also posted on the Council website.

WASHINGTON, DC. Officials from the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) testified this week at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation, Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on the housing needs of veterans. The Subcommittee is chaired by Colorado Senator Wayne Allard; Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed is the Ranking Member.

In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Allard noted that although federal government programs to meet the housing needs of homeless veterans "were not created specifically as a benefit for military service, they have evolved as a more effective and efficient way to prevent and end homelessness among veterans. Homelessness is tragic, but particularly so among those who nobly served their country."

HUD Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Assistance Programs Mark Johnston, VA Director of Loan Guarantee Service Keith Pedigo, and VA Director of Homeless Veterans Programs Pete Dougherty discussed HUD and VA programs to meet the housing needs of veterans, including the effective HUD-VASH program. Also testifying were National Coalition for Homeless Veterans Chief Executive Officer Cheryl Beversdorf, and Volunteers of America Director of Program Development Barbara Banaszynski.

HUD's targeted homeless assistance programs in 2005 awarded nearly $1.3 billion in grants. Homeless veterans are eligible for all of these resources. Applications for veterans-only projects had a 90% approval rate in the 2005 competition. For the 2006 application, HUD asked communities to identify the number of homeless persons who are veterans and encouraged applicants to use VA's CHALENG data in assessing the needs of homeless veterans within their community.

HUD has created a Veteran Resource Center, HUDVET, in consultation with national veteran service organizations to provide veterans and their family members with information on HUD's community-based programs and services. HUDVET can be accessed on HUD's website as well as two guidebooks developed by HUD in 2002: Coordinating Resources and Developing Strategies to Address the Needs of Homeless Veterans describes programs serving veterans that are effectively coordinating HUD homeless funding with other resources; and A Place at the Table: Homeless Veterans and Local Homeless Assistance Planning Networks.

Mr. Dougherty described the VA as the largest provider of direct services to homeless people in the nation, assisting over 100,000 homeless veterans each year. VA outreach efforts actively seek out homeless veterans to connect them to VA health care services and benefits. The VA works closely with the U.S. Department of Labor to ensure homeless veterans have access to training and other employment-related services. The VA expects to spend $225 million in 2006 on homeless veterans treatment and programs, and the President's FY 2007 budget calls for a nearly $20 million increase. Additionally, homeless veterans and those at risk of homelessness who need mental health and substance use treatment benefited from the overall $339 million increase in funding for VA mental health services in FY 2006.

Through VA's largest program involving local communities - the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem program - the VA has provided grants to state and local governments, faith-based and other non profit organizations resulting in the development of close to 10,000 transitional housing beds, 23 independent service centers, and the purchase of 180 vans to provide transportation for outreach and service connections. VA involvement with Veteran Stand Downs is another way in which the VA collaborates with local organizations. In 2005, the VA participated in 100 Stand Downs in 36 states, in which more than 17,000 homeless veterans received assistance. According to VA data, at least 2,000 Stand Downs have been held over the last 20 years, with more than one-quarter million volunteers aiding that effort.

In his testimony, Mr. Dougherty reiterated the report of decreased numbers of homeless veterans made by VA Secretary Nicholson at the recent Full Council Meeting at the White House. Mr. Dougherty stated: "While there are still far too many veterans among the homeless, we are making progress, and their numbers are coming down. Ten years ago, based upon the best available estimates, there were as many as 250,000 veterans among the homeless on a given night. Last year we found there were less than 200,000. This year, we estimate the number of homeless veterans on any one day will be less than 195,000, which represents a decline of better than 20 percent over the last six years. This progress demonstrates to us that this scourge is not unmanageable and that our collective efforts are realizing success. We are confident that our continued efforts will achieve our goal of ending chronic homelessness among veterans."

VA testimony noted that the Council's effort is demonstrating positive results as increasing numbers of jurisdictions are including VA employees, state and county veteran service officers, veteran service organization members, and veteran specific providers in both the planning and implementation of jurisdictional 10-year plans to end chronic homelessness. Council Regional Coordinator John O'Brien acts as liaison to the VA Secretary's Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans and provides the Committee with regular reports on the inclusion of veterans issues and resources in 10-year plans.

WASHINGTON, DC. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a new data summary report, Homeless Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment, 2004. This report prepared by SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies presents data from the 2004 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), an annual compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of substance abuse treatment admissions. SAMHSA notes that the information comes primarily from facilities that receive some public funding, that TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, and only data on admissions for the 41 States with a response rate of 75 percent or higher on this item in 2004 were used for the report. Among the data reported:

• In 2004, more than 175,300 admissions to substance abuse treatment facilities were homeless at time of admission. These homeless admissions comprised 13 percent of all admissions in 2004 for which living arrangements were recorded in TEDS, an increase from the 10 percent of admissions reported to be homeless in 2000.
• Alcohol was the primary substance of abuse for more than half of the homeless admissions (52 percent), followed by opiates (21 percent), and cocaine (17 percent).
• Homeless admissions were older than admissions who were not homeless. The average age of homeless admissions was 39 years old compared to 34 for those admissions who were not homeless. In addition, 39 percent of homeless admissions were aged 35 to 44 and 30 percent were 45 years or older, while these proportions among admissions who were not homeless were 28 and 19 percent, respectively.
• Males constituted 78 percent of homeless admissions, compared to 68% for non homeless admissions.
• Homeless admissions were almost twice as likely to be veterans (9 vs. 5 percent) than those who were not homeless in the 28 States reporting both living arrangement and veteran status.
• Homeless admissions were more likely than admissions who were not homeless to refer themselves for treatment (48 vs. 33 percent). The criminal justice system was the principal source of referral for other admissions (38 percent).
• While homeless admissions and those who were not homeless had between one and four prior treatment episodes in nearly equal proportions (49 and 47 percent respectively), homeless admissions were more than twice as likely to have had five or more previous treatment episodes (21 vs. 9 percent). Admissions who were not homeless were more likely to have not been in treatment previously than those with homeless status (44 vs. 30 percent).

Two new documents prepared by the Council of State Governments Re-Entry Policy Council, Homelessness and Prisoner Re-Entry and Public Housing Authorities and Prisoner Re-Entry, can be useful resources for jurisdictional 10-year planning efforts.

The Council of State Governments (CSG) is an association of legislative and executive branch elected state officials established in 1933 to facilitate the exchange of creative approaches to state issues and promote regional problem solving. In 2001, the CSG established the Re-Entry Policy Council (RPC) to help state government officials better understand policy, practice, and funding issues related to the "increasing numbers of people leaving prisons and jails to return to the communities they left behind." The recommendations of the RPC were published in January 2005 as the Report of the Re-Entry Policy Council.

The two new documents have been prepared as part of RPC's outreach and education effort on re-entry and housing issues. "650,000 people are released from prison in the U.S. annually and many more from jails. It has been estimated that more than 10 percent of those coming in and out of prisons and jails were homeless prior to incarceration and others lose their housing while incarcerated. Housing partners may not perceive people released from prison and jail as a key part of their clientele, or appreciate the special needs of this population; and correction partners may not appreciate the complexity of housing systems or understand how they can contribute resources and support to housing partnerships to ensure that releasees and their families find and maintain appropriate housing," notes RPC's Katherine Brown.

Homelessness and Prisoner Re-Entry, was written by the RPC in partnership with the National Alliance to End Homelessness and released during NAEH's recent annual conference in Washington. The report provides data on the extent of homelessness experienced by persons in the correctional system both before and after incarceration, notes the prevalence of homelessness as a factor in recidivism, and offers examples of successful housing initiatives for preventing homelessness among people leaving prisons and jails.

Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and Prisoner Re-Entry was developed by the RPC in partnership with the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO). This document discusses the "significant impact of prisoner re-entry on housing programs administered by PHAs, including public housing, the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), and other programs." The document notes that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development "charges PHAs with maintaining safe housing communities, but permits significant discretion in determining admission policies: only individuals who are subject to lifetime registration under a state sex offender registration program and those who have been convicted of the manufacture or production of methamphetamine in federally assisted housing are barred for life." Three examples are provided of innovative efforts by PHAs in Salt Lake City, UT, Portland, OR, and Burlington, VT that are having positive housing outcomes for people released from prison and jail in these jurisdictions.

Both of these documents are available on the Re-Entry Policy Council website which includes additional useful information such as a Housing Options for People Released from Correctional Facilities Chart.

The work of the Re-Entry Policy Council is supported in part by the U.S. Departments of Justice, Labor, and Health and Human Services, three of the federal agencies partnering in the Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative announced by President Bush in 2004 to support community efforts to reduce recidivism by helping people released from prison find work and access other critical services in their communities. The U.S. Department of Justice maintains a website for re-entry initiatives information including funding and technical assistance opportunities, and a calendar of national and regional events.

The National League of Cities represents over 18,000 cities and towns in partnership with 49 state municipal leagues. Among NLC's many initiatives is the Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF), launched in January 2000 to provide guidance and assistance to municipal officials on ways to strengthen families and improve outcomes for children and youth in their communities.

The YEF Institute focuses on 5 core areas: Early Childhood Development, Education, Youth Development, Safety of Children and Youth, and Family Economic Success. In each of these areas, the Institute seeks to identify new ideas, showcase best practices, provide technical assistance, and create peer networks to promote cross-city sharing. The Institute collaborates with a broad range of national partners.

Dedicated peer network communities are among the many tools the Institute uses to help municipal officials learn about key strategies, new ideas and innovative programs to help families succeed. One of the Institute's peer learning communities for municipal officials is the Municipal Network for Disconnected Youth that focuses on issues involving older teens and young adults (ages 16-24) who are out of work, out of school, and lacking strong connections to the community and caring adults. A recent conference call, cohosted by the Institute with New Ways to Work and the California-based Youth Transition Action Team Initiative, focused on Engaging City Governments in Supporting Foster Youth Transition Issues. Participants discussed "the leadership and support roles that cities can play in areas such as housing, health, and workforce connections for transitioning foster youth." The housing needs of young adults aging out of the foster care system has been of special concern to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. The Council has recommended and continues to encourage communities engaged in 10-year planning processes to address this issue in their plans.

The 2006 National Association of Counties Annual Conference begins this week in Cook County, Illinois. In this issue, the e-news highlights the contributions of the Wake County, NC Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council to the National Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness.

The adoption of the Raleigh/Wake County 10-Year Action Plan to End and Prevent Homelessness in February 2005 by the Wake County Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council was a watershed moment in the National Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness. This was the 100th 10-Year Plan in the country and also was an excellent example of a regional approach with support from the United Way that has since been modeled by other jurisdictions.

Wake County and the City of Raleigh partnered with the Triangle United Way and the Wake County Continuum of Care to create an inclusive and expansive planning effort in which more than 400 members of the community participated through a series of community forums and focus groups. Wake County Commissioner Phil Jeffreys, who accepted the Council's A Home for Every American Award at the National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders in Denver on behalf of the City and County, helped lead the Steering Committee effort.

Adoption of the plan has been followed by a $20 million housing bond measure in the City of Raleigh, support for additional county staff and a staff person at the Triangle United Way to focus on plan implementation, and a commitment to annual public Progress Report forums to report results. A website keeps the public informed of progress in meeting plan goals, and invites continued citizen participation in meetings held each month for the plan's key objectives: Housing; Employment & Education; Services & Supports; Engagement; and Prevention. The first year Progress Report issued in April noted that a grant had been received to start a "Housing First" initiative under which 10 new permanent housing units are being constructed; 109 affordable rental units have been constructed since March 2005; a new partnership has been developed with Wake Technical Community College to train service providers on issues of mental illness and substance abuse; a "Get to Work " initiative has been started providing transportation and child care assistance; a "Mapping Project" is helping outreach workers identify homeless camps and connect homeless people to services in the city and county; and the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce is helping to lead an effort to obtain commitments from businesses to hire people who are homeless.

The Award also recognized the exceptional work done by Wake County and the City of Raleigh in reunifying, rehousing, and providing employment-related assistance to Katrina evacuees.

WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-news provides a quick reference guide to the Title V surplus property regulatory change and new Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) reports issued during the first half of 2006 which may be useful to community efforts to secure resources to end chronic homelessness.

In a change to federal policy formally announced at the July 10 meeting of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness by Deputy Assistant Secretary Jerry Regier of the Department of Health and Human Services, local governments and community organizations will be able to submit applications to use Title V surplus properties for permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals and families starting September 1. Previously, federal regulations had restricted the use of property acquired in this manner to emergency shelters, transitional housing, and services. The new regulation, published in the July 10 Federal Register, defines permanent supportive housing as housing that is " long term, affordable, community based, and linked to appropriate supportive health and social services that enable homeless individuals and families with disabilities to maintain housing." Any existing grantees or lessees interested in changing current programs to include permanent supportive housing are requested to provide a written expression of interest to HHS and will be required to submit an amended application. Properties newly identified as "suitable and available" are listed each Friday in the Federal Register. A link to the Federal Register notice can be found on the Council's website under the Funding tab.

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)

The 2005 BRAC process resulted in 25 major installations being marked for closure, 24 others identified for major realignment, and 765 smaller actions. As Patrick O'Brien, Director of the Defense Department Office of Economic Adjustment, has noted, "With more than 800 specific locations affected, this BRAC round touches more than twice as many places as all previous BRAC rounds combined."

For each community in which property will become available as a result of the BRAC decisions, a Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) must be established to create a plan to determine how the military facilities will be redeveloped for non-military use. Federal law requires consideration of the needs of homeless persons during the redevelopment process. The LRA will be required to advertise the availability of surplus buildings and properties in a newspaper of general circulation within the vicinity of the installation. This advertisement will include notice of the time period during which the LRA will receive notices of interest (NOIs) from homeless assistance providers and state and local governments interested in acquiring any of the surplus properties. A number of federal resources are available to facilitate participation in the base re-use process:

• Closure and Realignment Impacts by State
• May 2006 Base Redevelopment Planning for BRAC Sites, prepared by the Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment
• May 2006 Updated and Revised U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Guidebook on Base Reuse and Homeless Assistance
• List of Local Redevelopment Authorities with contact information
• Federal Assistance for Impacted Communities is an April 2006 report from the 22 federal agencies comprising the President's Economic Adjustment Committee intended as a resource for communities, individuals and businesses affected by Defense program changes including BRAC decisions. This comprehensive listing of federal resources, particularly the federal information portals on veterans' assistance and Department of Labor employment and training programs, is useful to many audiences.
• Turning Bases into Great Places, prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency