DALLAS, TEXAS. Proving once again that Texas knows how to do things in a big way, 13 cities in the three counties of Dallas, Tarrant, and Collins are cooperating to develop 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness in one of the nation's largest intergovernmental efforts. Leading by example, City of Dallas leaders have unveiled "The Next Big Step" in implementation of their two year old 10-Year Plan whose results already include a 26% reduction in chronic homelessness.

This week, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano traveled to Dallas where he was hosted by Dallas' mayorally appointed "homeless czar" Mike Rawlings for a series of events that included a reception hosted by Mayor Laura Miller and the United Way, and addressing both a breakfast meeting of the Downtown Dallas business group and a meeting of the Dallas City Council. In his remarks to the City Council, Director Mangano applauded Mayor Miller, the City Council, and Mr. Rawlings for the City's 10-Year Plan which is producing results in reducing homelessness and commended the regional effort underway. Dallas Homeless Coordinator Karen Boudreaux and Council Regional Coordinator Michael German assisted with the events.

Pictured here, from top, Director Mangano with Mayor Miller and Mr. Rawlings; Downtown Dallas meeting; at the reception: Dallas HUD Field Director Mike Backman, HHS Regional Director Mike Garcia; Wylie Mayor Pro Tem Carter Porter, Director Mangano, Judge Margaret Keliher, Mr. Rawlings, and Mr. German; and visiting the homeless.

When the Dallas 10-Year Plan, developed by Mayor Miller and city officials in partnership with the United Way, the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, and Deloitte Consulting was unveiled in June 2004, the number of persons experiencing chronic homelessness in the Dallas metro area had been increasing at an average rate of 9% for four years. This year, two years into the Plan's implementation, the City's annual Point in Time count revealed an overall decrease of 3.3% in the number of homeless persons and a 26% decrease in the number of persons considered to be chronically homeless. 10-Year Plan accomplishments include creation of 140 units of permanent and transitional housing and a 20-unit Safe Haven project; $23.8 million bond approval for a new Homeless Assistance Center and SROs; and establishing Project Reconnect, an ex-offender re-entry program. Implementation of "The Next Big Step" will merge the Mayor's Task Force and the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance into a stronger authority on homelessness which will include responsibility for the Homeless Assistance Center scheduled to open in 2008; a greater focus on mental health and substance treatment service delivery; and creation of a network of SROs.

In his remarks at the reception, Director Mangano commended Mayor Miller for the work, commitment and political will she's extended on this issue, noting that "her commitment to a Plan and to results have inspired other Mayors around the country to become part of the National Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness." Director Mangano also credited Mike Rawlings, the city's mayorally appointed "homeless czar" and his predecessor, Tom Dunning-both businessmen-who joined with the mayor in moving forward with a 10- year plan, and "dared to disturb the status quo to achieve outcomes instead of inputs, to move beyond funding to investing, to create housing instead of shelters." Addressing the assembled city and community leaders, Director Mangano told them, "You have moved beyond simply funding a status quo which no matter how well intentioned has not secured the results your city desires or deserves."

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano traveled to Birmingham, Alabama this week to address the plenary session of the National TASC (Treatment Accountability and Safe Communities) Conference on Drugs and Crime and to meet with the TASC Board of Directors. While in Birmingham, he also met with Mayor's Bernard Kincaid's Task Force developing a 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, and spoke at a breakfast meeting of Birmingham's Kiwanis Club. Director Mangano was joined by Council Regional Coordinator Michael German. Pictured here, top, is Director Mangano with Plan Co-chair and Executive Vice President of First American Bank Norm Davis and Alabama Interagency Council on Homelessness member Patricia Reid. Pictured bottom is Director Mangano with outgoing National TASC Chair and Lucas County, Ohio TASC Executive Director Scott Sylak.

National TASC is a membership organization for TASC programs and other re-entry oriented groups that seek to break the addiction/crime cycle of non- violent, drug-involved offenders. The comprehensive services of the TASC program model and National TASC education and advocacy efforts provide a "needed bridge between the criminal justice system, the treatment service system, and the offender." This week's 13th TASC National Conference on Drugs and Crime brought together more than 400 leaders in the fields of re-entry, addiction sciences, criminal justice, and mental health treatment to discuss "Recovery, Rights, and Responsibilities." Representatives of a number of federal agencies including the Department of Justice, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) participated in workshops and displays.

In his remarks at the Conference and earlier at a meeting with the TASC Board of Directors, Mr. Mangano noted that "many of those cycling in homelessness have the same profile as those served by TASC. They are cycling through addiction, homelessness, law enforcement, courts, incarceration, treatment, enforced and chosen detox, release, homelessness again, and back to addiction. They're not just the same profile. They're the same person." This common profile offers a basis for a partnership between the work that is going on through TASC programs across the country and the work the Interagency Council is spearheading in states and local governments through the 10-year planning process to end chronic homelessness which TASC and the Council will explore further. Director Mangano also shared some of the insights and ideas he'd gathered over ten years as Executive Director of the Interagency Council and as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance which did extensive research on the populations coming in the front door of homelessness that is now being affirmed by studies across the country.

MOVING THE 10 YEAR PLANNING PROCESS FORWARD IN BIRMINGHAM

In July, Birmingham became the third Alabama jurisdiction to commit to the 10-year planning process with the appointment by Mayor Bernard Kincaid of a 27 member committee, co-chaired by First American Bank Executive Vice President Norm Davis and Dr. Mona Fouad of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, that includes representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, churches and other faith based organizations, Cooper Green Hospital, the Alabama Power Company, the VA Hospital, and service providers. Birmingham, with a population of just over 242,000, is the largest city in Alabama and the county seat for Jefferson County.

Research by the University of Alabama last year based on intensive interviews with 161 randomly sampled homeless people and review of the community's Point in Time Count found a 29.1% chronically homeless population, of which 76% were male, 73% were over age 40, and 20% were veterans. 54% of those identified in the Point in Time count self reported a substance abuse addiction, 33% a mental health illness, and 18% reported a physical disability.

Council Director Mangano met with the members of the Task Force to talk about their planning efforts and to share with them innovations and best practices gleaned from the more than 220 other 10-year planning efforts underway around the country. The Council's document, Good. . . to . . .Better. . . to . . . Great: Innovations in 10-Year Planning, provides a useful roadmap for effective 10 year planning efforts. Key to the effort is ensuring that business principles inform the plan: establishing baselines to quantify the magnitude of the problem; benchmarks to remedy incrementally what the baselines reveal; budget implications including needed investments and return cost savings; and identification of best practices. Director Mangano noted that when community 10-year plans are "driven, shaped, and implemented by a business mindset that requires results and outcomes, we have seen dramatic changes occur. Visible, measurable, quantifiable change on the streets, in neighborhoods, and most importantly in the lives of homeless people."

WASHINGTON, DC. New findings from a range of homelessness research initiatives on individuals and families were the focus of a United States Interagency Council on Homelessness briefing convened last week in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness in Washington.

Council Executive Director Philip Mangano reminded the public policymakers and partners present, including the National League of Cities, that the President's Management Agenda requires that federal policy and investment be research based and data driven. The federal commitment to end chronic homelessness is based on research of Dr. Dennis Culhane (pictured top) of the University of Pennsylvania showing that both long duration of homelessness and presence of disability characterize the 10 percent of the population consuming 50 percent of homeless resources and defined as "chronic."

Dr. Judith Hahn of the University of California at San Francisco (pictured bottom) has conducted a 14-year study of homeless persons in that city, and she briefed last week's attendees on what she described as a rapidly aging population. The homeless population is aging by about two thirds of a year every calendar year, consistent with trends in several other cities. It is likely that the population is a static, aging population cohort. The aging trends suggest that chronic conditions will become increasingly prominent for homeless health services. This will present challenges to traditional approaches to screening, prevention, and treatment of chronic diseases in an aging homeless population. According to Dr. Hahn, control of chronic disease will be very difficult to deliver to persons not in housing.

Dr. Dennis Culhane's earlier research resulted in the "cluster analysis" that defined the chronic, episodic, and transitional populations of individuals experiencing homelessness. Dr. Culhane, whose work has also included homeless families, briefed attendees on major components of his current multi-jurisdictional research to identify distinct clusters of families experiencing homelessness based on HMIS data concerning new admissions. As described in last week's e-news, federal agency policymakers were also recently briefed on forthcoming research funded by the Department of Health and Human Services and conducted by Dr. Debra Rog of Vanderbilt University.

Generally, research on homeless families has found that families have much lower rates of mental health and substance abuse issues than individuals, and are not different from poor housed families. Dr. Culhane's new research, drawing on data from site-based programs, seeks to examine the characteristics of families as demonstrated by the documented history of their service use in areas including child welfare, mental health treatment, and Medicaid. The new research looks at the relationship of these service use patterns to length of stay to reveal possible mismatch between level of need, length of stay for transitional, episodic, and long-stay population clusters, and use of services.

Director Mangano emphasized to policymakers the important role of steadily emerging research on costs of chronic homelessness in systems including law enforcement, criminal justice, emergency room use, and primary and behavioral health care. Many of the current research initiatives - either completed or underway - are being conducted in conjunction with jurisdictional 10-year plans. The Council is currently tracking more than 35 such research initiatives, with some of the more high-profile initiatives including "Million Dollar Murray," from Reno who was profiled in The New Yorker by writer Malcolm Gladwell and San Diego Serial Inebriate Program tracking of 15 individuals for 18 months with the resulting finding that they consumed $3 million in law enforcement and health care costs.

The Departments of Health and Human Service and Housing and Urban Development also are underway with commissioned research papers being prepared for the 2007 National Symposium on Homelessness Research, to be held March 1-2, 2007 in Washington, DC. This symposium will follow on the federal agencies' prior homelessness research conference held in 1998. Research will be presented on history and context of homelessness, accountability, cost effectiveness, program performance, chronic homelessness, homeless families, homeless youth, housing strategies, employment, and reentry.

WASHINGTON, DC. Last week United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano was honored to receive the National Human Services Assembly 2006 Award for Excellence in National Public Leadership. The National Human Services Assembly is an association of the nation's leading national non-profit organizations in the fields of health, human and community development, and human services.

Director Mangano was selected for the award in recognition of "his ability to energize a national reaction and response to homelessness as well as his unique ability to implement solutions to a critical societal problem." The award was presented to Director Mangano by Assembly Board Chair and Points of Light Foundation President Robert Goodwin (shown here top, left) and Assembly President and CEO Irv Katz (right) during the Assembly's 3rd annual Human Services Leaders Summit and Essence of Leadership Awards Reception in Washington.

CHICAGO SEES RESULTS FROM 10-YEAR PLAN IMPLEMENTATION AND TWO FEDERAL INITIATIVES FOCUSED ON REDUCING STREET HOMELESSNESS.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, accompanied by Council Regional Coordinator Michael German, met with non-profit, and government agency representatives to discuss implementation results from Chicago's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness and two special federal initiatives targeted to reducing street homelessness.

In October 2003, Chicago received one of 11 awards under the $55 million federal multi-agency Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness for its ARCH project. In August 2005, the Community Mental Health Council Inc. in Chicago was selected to receive one of 11 awards made under the $10 million Housing for People Who are Homeless and Addicted to Alcohol demonstration program funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in consultation with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness for its Project Wraparound. This initiative is supported by research that suggests as many as 150,000 persons experiencing chronic homelessness also often suffer from addiction to alcohol and have among the highest utilization rates of public facilities and services.

As one of the 11 programs selected for the Housing for People Who are Homeless and Addicted to Alcohol Demonstration, Project Wraparound is targeted to individuals living on the streets for at least 365 days over the last five years and who also have a long-term addiction to alcohol. The Community Mental Health Council Inc, is a non profit established in 1975 providing comprehensive behavioral healthcare services, research, education and advocacy. Shown here is Council Director Mangano with members of the Community Mental Health Council during his site visit to the program last week.

Project ARCH (ACT Resources for the Chronically Homeless) is a collaboration of the Illinois Department of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, the Chicago Department of Human Services, and Hearthside Health Outreach. The project is targeted to the south side of Chicago, providing integrated housing and supportive services to chronically homeless individuals whose disabilities may include mental health disorder, substance abuse and developmental disabilities. The project has received federal funding and support over the last three years from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and from both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). In the meeting with Ilinois Director Department of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Theodora Binion Taylor and other project partners, Council Director Mangano discussed progress and plans for future sustainment. A National Grantee Meeting for all 11 of the Collaborative Initiative projects is being sponsored by the federal partners next month. The 11 site Collaborative Initiative has already ended the long term homelessness of more than 600 men and women.

The number of cities and counties committed to participating in National Project Homeless Connect Week December 4-8 continues to grow, including an announcement last week that Los Angeles County will help coordinate events in at least 7 communities.

On Tuesday, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness held its 3rd Peer-to-Peer conference call to continue rapid dissemination of innovations and best practices from experienced PHC cities. This week's call focused on best practices in event planning and execution including venue selection, logistics, consumer focus, and team organization, and featured Sgt Paul Paulos of the St. Paul, Minnesota Police Department and Denver's Road Home Project Director Jamie Van Leeuwen. In June, the City of St. Paul/ Ramsey County became the first jurisdiction in the nation to have two police officers be lead organizers for a Project Homeless Connect event. Sgt Paulos is a founding member of an innovative Police-Provider Forum that has been created in the downtown area that meets quarterly. Denver has hosted two PHC events with a third one scheduled for October 7. Please visit the Council's website by clicking on the Read More link below for a summary of the key points from the call.

The next Peer-to-Peer call will be October 3rd at 1 pm Eastern and will focus on collecting data and reporting results, a key component for generating support of business, the media, and the larger community. As announced in last week's enews, the Council is facilitating a site visit to the October 5 San Francisco Project Homeless Connect. Mayor Gavin Newsom's office has graciously offered to give interested cities an "insiders look" including a pre-event briefing, an opportunity to participate in the morning rally for volunteers led by the Mayor, a guided tour of the event site, and the chance to volunteer or observe throughout the day.

Cities interested in participating in the Peer-to-Peer calls or this event must pre-register by contacting the Interagency Council at usichevents@usich.gov

Cities interested in learning more about National Project Homeless Connect should visit the Council's website which contains a variety of technical assistance material including the presentation toolkit from the September 7 National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education, and Families-U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness webinar - Project Homeless Connect: Using Civic Engagement To Serve the Homeless.

HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS. Over 800 people from "all walks of life" participated in the Cape Walk to End Homelessness on Sunday, September 17 which encompassed simultaneous 5 mile walks in three communities-Falmouth, Hyannis, and Orleans. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, Honorary Chair of the event who also led the walk in Hyannis and is a Cape Cod resident, observed that " the people who are participating in this walk are saying with their feet, we want to be a part of this larger partnership that brings an end to a moral and social disgrace of homelessness in our communities." The Interagency Council is constellating a National Partnership that extends from the White House to state offices, city halls, through business districts, neighborhoods, to individuals and families including the homeless themselves. This is the 21st Cape Walk to End Homelessness sponsored by the Housing Assistance Corporation. In each of the last 5 years, more than $150,000 has been raised to support homeless prevention programs, shelter, and services. Pictured here top from left, Barnstable Town Councilor Janice Barton, HAC CEO Rick Presbrey, Barnstable County Commissioner Mary LeClair, State Rep. Cleon Turner, Mr. Mangano, and NOAH Client and top walk fundraiser Sharon Brillant.

Earlier in the day while in Hyannis, Director Mangano accompanied by HAC Executive Director Rick Presbrey, Livia Davis, and Tom Brigham, visited Angel House, a shelter for families recovering from substance abuse where he spoke with families about their experiences and hopes for the future; and also met with residents of the Noah Shelter. Last year 504 individuals spent at least one night at the NOAH shelter; 208 families including 316 children were served at one of the family shelters; and the homelessness of 787 other families including 1352 children was prevented through mortgage or rental assistance, weatherization services and education. Director Mangano also met with members of the Leadership Council and other community leaders to discuss progress in implementing the Cape and Islands 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, adopted in February of 2005. Mr. Mangano encouraged the leaders to continue making the investments necessary to implement the plan, particularly housing first initiatives, noting that the community is already beginning to see a reduction in street homelessness from 78 individuals identified as living on the streets last year, to 40 this year.

"A child shall lead the way.. with a good deal of help"

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA. While hundreds were walking on Cape Cod to raise awareness and funds to end homelessness, a new 88-unit permanent housing project for individuals and families that was over seven years in the realization was being dedicated a continent away in Palo Alto, California.

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Coordinator Ed Cabrera joined elected and civic leaders including Palo Alto Mayor Judy Kleinberg, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, City Councilmember LaDoris Cordell, California State Senator Joe Simitian, and Community Working Group President Donald Barr at a ceremony marking the opening of the Opportunity Center of the MidPeninsula. The five story, $24 million project includes studio, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments and a variety of services on the first floor that will be available community-wide to persons who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The services include a computer lab, classroom, primary care, mental health and legal services, showers, a clothes closet, and meal and snack services. Among the first residents were a couple who'd been homeless for more than 5 years and a 48- year old man who'd been homeless off and on since 1992.

The project was developed by the Community Working Group in partnership with Innvision the Way Home, a non profit that will manage the ground floor services, and with the Santa Clara Housing Authority which will manage the apartments. Innvision will collaborate with the Stanford Department of Psychiatry, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and Stanford Community Law Clinic. This project, which will serve the communities of Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and Menlo Park, will operate under a Housing First model and supports the Santa Clara County 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness adopted last year. The ribbon cutter for Sunday's event was seven year old Isaac Barr (pictured here bottom with Mayor Kleinberg to his left), whose father described in a Guest Opinion for the Palo Alto Weekly how his son came to be selected for this honor. It is a story worth reading.

DENVER, COLORADO. Calling non-profit and faith-based providers on the front lines "heroes in the army of compassion," United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary and United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Chair Alphonso Jackson assured attendees in Denver at HUD's first-ever forum for Continuum of Care groups that they could be confident of the Administration's partnership in homelessness prevention and intervention. Pictured here is Secretary Jackson in Denver speaking at a gathering of HUD employees.

In Denver for the Continuum of Care Forum: Planning, Policy and Performance, Secretary Jackson reminded attendees of President Bush's words during his first inaugural address in 2001: "When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side." The Secretary noted the record increases in targeted federal homeless funding over the last five years. A record sixth year request is now before Congress.

Secretary Jackson, introduced by HUD Regional Director John Carson and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Assistance Mark Johnston, spoke at the second of two back-to-back events, the first of which was the 2006 National Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) Conference.

The Continuum Forum included a HUD staff presentation on planning and management issues, as well as key policy issues, such as HUD's definition of homelessness, priorities for funding, and the importance of adequate discharge planning. Breakout sessions were also held for urban, suburban, and rural areas, as well as balance of state applicants, multi-jurisdictional applicants, and new applicants.

HMIS plenary sessions focused on the upcoming Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) and data security and privacy issues. Breakout sessions featured discussion of matching HMIS and mainstream databases, HMIS and disaster recovery, HMIS and benchmarks in local plans, HMIS and Policy Academies, system administration, and technical support.

The HMIS conference also included awards for operational utilization to Philadelphia and for advanced uses to the State of Arizona, the DC Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, and Baltimore Homeless Services. Visionary Awards went to South Carolina and Miami, and Breakthrough Year Awards went to San Francisco, North Carolina, and Collier County, Florida.

With this issue, the e-news concludes the series of A Home for Every American Award profiles with a look at the contributions of Ira Greiff, recipient of the Life Achievement Award.

Ira Greiff is a visionary. His pioneering vision of rehabilitative services for persons experiencing homelessness led to the creation of the first permanent multiservice center for homeless people at the St. Francis House in Boston. His vision that homeless shelters and programs should and could collaborate, and participate in joint public policy and budget advocacy, led him to be principal founder and first President of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance.

Mr. Greiff began working at the St. Francis House in 1984, serving as Co-Executive Director and Director of Programs, and retiring as Executive Director in 2003. Working with Dr. William Anthony, Director of the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University, Ira Greiff promoted the idea of integrated treatment and health services, and employment services, for homeless persons with disabilities. Under his leadership, the St. Francis House established the Moving Ahead Program that supports formerly homeless people in creating drug and alcohol free lives, and the Next Step Transitional Housing Program. Both programs are considered national models that have been replicated around the country. Additionally, St. Francis House established on-site services with state agencies, and the federal Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs.

Ira Greiff earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in anthropology and psychology from Columbia University. Prior to joining St. Francis House, he was Founder and Director of Rehabilitation for the Psychiatric Division of Bellevue Hospital Center, New York; Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine; and Rehabilitation Consultant to the Center for Rehabilitation and Development at Haifa University, Israel. He is enjoying retirement in Denver, Colorado with his wife Shirley.