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The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness e-newsletter |
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Partners In a Vision
DENVER, COLORADO. In its second year of implementation, Denver's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, Denver's Road Home, continues to build on the exceptional momentum of its first year during which 423 units of housing were added, 701 homeless people secured work, 677 individuals received treatment services, 156 families received eviction assistance, and 121 families were partnered with faith based mentoring programs. City of Denver Human Services Manager Roxane White recently noted that Metro Denver can now report a new 23% decrease in its homeless census, exceeding its 2006 11% reduction. This week, The Denver Commission to End Homelessness, which is overseeing the plan implementation, met to review second year progress and in the true spirit of 10-Year plans as "living documents" to discuss and approve modifications to the plan to allow for more strategic investments. The members also invited United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano to provide a national progress update. Director Mangano reported that Denver is one of "300 and counting" jurisdictional 10-Year Plan efforts underway in the country. These 10-Year Plans are generating unprecedented results with increasing numbers of communities able to report measurable decreases in homelessness, and unprecedented research data from more than 65 cost studies that are revealing that providing housing with support services is less costly than homeless people randomly ricocheting through expensive public health and law enforcement systems. Denver's Road Home is a expansive community effort. Private and foundation fundraising efforts led by the Mile High United Way have raised $33 million to fully fund Year 2 and are more than ¾ of the way to fully funding Years 3 and 4. More than 20 foundations are helping to support the plan. Denver's Road Home has been successful in raising public awareness and support through a variety of means including media relations, online communication, and grassroots activities. Denver has enthusiastically adopted the Project Homeless Connect innovation hosting 4 events since 2006. Project Connect 3 was led by more than 700 employee volunteers from Comcast and the most recent event was hosted by the University of Denver bringing together over 800 faculty, students, and other volunteers to assist more than 500 homeless persons. A two year cost study completed by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in December 2006 is contributing to community understanding of the true costs of chronic homelessness. For that study, CCH tracked costs associated with 36 long term homeless individuals who entered the city's housing first program through which they were placed into housing and were able to receive mental health and substance abuse treatment services. The study found that after entering the program, they experienced dramatic decreases in visits to taxpayer funded expensive systems of community care including hospitals, detox facilities, and jail. Comparing the investment costs of providing housing with supportive services to the ad hoc costs to community care systems, the study suggests net cost savings from the supportive housing of $4,745 annually per person. Support from the business community has been innovative and substantial. Comcast donated $50,000 in addition to organizing more than 700 employee volunteers for Denver's third Project Homeless Connect. The Denver Downtown Partnership and the Leadership Denver Alumni Association collaborated with the city's Department of Public Works to create Contribute:Change, a program that refurbished old parking meters into donation meters. Placed strategically around the city, the meters have discouraged panhandling while raising community awareness of homelessness and raising funds. Recently the King Soopers Grocery Stores raised $23,000 from a point-in-sale fundraising effort that was matched dollar for dollar by King Soopers. Shown here is King Soopers President Russ Dispense (far right) presenting the "check" to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Denver Road Home Project Manager Jamie Van Leeuwen is at far left with Ben Lewis of the Mile High United Way on his right. The second annual PJ party hosted by the Residence Inn of Denver City Center raised over $100,000 in one night. Local businesses work collaboratively with Denver's Road Home to employ homeless persons. Director Mangano also met with Colorado State Housing Agency Executive Director Roy Alexander and COO Chris White to discuss their participation on the Colorado state interagency council on homelessness and their work with the city to support Denver's Road Home. At a meeting with Director Mangano last month, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter indicated his intention to revitalize and strengthen the state council. 
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON. Attendees at the Washington State Coalition for the Homeless 17th Annual Conference held in Yakima last week, Making Connections, Navigating the Journey Home,were relishing legislative victories in the 2007 State Legislative Session and reports of measurable decreases in homelessness from Ten Year Plan implementation efforts in a number of counties. "The public now believe we can end homelessness and want to see it done," said Seattle/King County Executive Ron Sims. Seattle/King County has reported an overall 20% reduction in homelessness in its second year of plan implementation. Plan implementation efforts will benefit from a six year Veterans and Human Services Levy approved by King County voters estimated to generate over $13 million annually for services and supports primarily to veterans and the homeless. Among the new resources approved during the legislative session:
Several Counties Report Measurable Decreases in Homelessness During the conference, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region X Coordinator Paul Carlson convened a meeting of Ten Year Plan leaders from 15 Washington counties for a peer to peer discussion of successes and difficulties in implementing plans focused on outcomes.
Coordinator Carlson also moderated a panel discussion of elected leaders that included State Representative and architect of the Housing and Homelessness Assistance Act Mark Miloscia, Representative Jim Dunn, Benton County Commissioner Claude Oliver, and Clallam County Commissioner Mike Doherty who all emphasized the importance of plans achieving measurable results.
WASHINGTON, DC. In communities around the country from Augusta, GA to Quincy, MA to Dayton, OH, Ann Arbor, MI, Minneapolis, MN, San Jose, CA, and Seattle WA among others, Chamber of Commerce leaders and members are partnered with elected officials, the United Way, the non-profit, and faith based sectors to develop and implement 10-Year Plans that are achieving results in ending homelessness. At last week's Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) 2007 National Partnership Conference: Corporate Community Investment held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness was invited to discuss the importance and impact of having the business solution mindset and resources at work in creating results oriented 10-Year Plans that include baselines, benchmarks, best practices, and strategic investment budgeting. The Business Civic Leadership Center is an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that promotes corporate civic engagement and social responsibility. The name was chosen to reflect the business community's "aspirations to be an agent of civic and social change." The May 10-11 National Partnership Conference marked the official launch of a new BCLC focus area dedicated to revealing and increasing corporate community investment. Other focus areas include business disaster assistance and recovery, and global corporate citizenship. During the conference, business leaders and community partners examined ways in which corporate community investments have made a positive difference on important social issues including education, workforce training, housing, health and wellness, and how to advance even more effective corporate investment in U.S. communities.
Information gleaned from the conference dialogues will be used by the BCLC to raise awareness among the corporate community of activities and solutions working in communities and help companies identify potential partnerships. BCLC has begun an online Corporate Citizenship Profile Library to provide more information about individual corporate endeavors.
States and local governments engaged in 10-Year planning efforts to end chronic homelessness will want to take notice of two initiatives from the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a non profit that serves as a resource on criminal justice policy for local, state, and federal officials. Web-based Profiles for Mental Health Courts and Specialized Police-Based Responses A free web-based database has been created providing detailed profiles of approximately 150 mental health courts and 100 specialized police based responses to people with mental illness. The inventory of police-based responses to people with mental illness is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. The program profiles are searchable by state. The mental health court descriptions include responses to the following questions:
The profiles were prepared from information obtained through comprehensive surveys developed with the assistance of the National GAINS Center, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the Police Executive Research Forums. The profiles have been incorporated into the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Information Network (InfoNet), a free searchable database that inventories collaborative criminal justice/mental health programs and catalogs relevant news articles and research. The InfoNet is funded through a public/private partnership that includes the U.S. Department of Justice' National Institute of Corrections and Bureau of Justice Assistance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Future plans for the InfoNet include developing surveys of jail and prison re-entry programs. Exerting Judicial Leadership to Improve Outcomes for the Mentally Ill in the Criminal Justice System. Last fall United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano traveled to Columbus, Ohio at the invitation of Ohio Supreme Court Associate Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton to discuss the revolving door between homelessness and the criminal justice system for persons with mental illness at the Ohio Specialized Dockets Practitioner Network Annual Conference. Noted for her work in developing partnerships between the courts and the mental health system in Ohio, Justice Stratton was particularly enthusiastic about a new initiative that she was helping to lead through the Council of State Governments Justice Center and the GAINS/TAPA Center for Jail Diversion with funding from the Conrad Hilton and JEHT Foundations to encourage state Supreme Court Chief Justices to take a lead role in expanding mental health and criminal justice collaborations. Last month, the Chief Justices Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative was formally kicked off at a two day policy forum in Atlanta. Of the 23 states that had submitted applications, 7 were selected: Georgia, Texas, Florida, California, Missouri, Vermont, and Nevada. The Chief Justices were accompanied at the policy forum by several high ranking officials from their states criminal justice and mental health systems. The Chief Justice-led state task forces will receive technical assistance from the CSG Justice Center and the National GAINS/TAPA Center over the next year. " Improving outcomes for people with mental illness involved in the criminal justice system requires extensive collaboration among leaders in the Judiciary, the legislature, and the administrators of multiple state agencies, said Massachusetts Representative Mike Festa, Chair of the CSJ Justice Center Board of Directors. " We established this initiative because in many states, the Supreme Court's Chief Justice is uniquely positioned to convene and lead a multi-branch discussion on this issue that results in meaningful action."
A new report from the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) looks at the use of mobile units by 33 HCH grantees to extend health care to homeless people who cannot or will not go to fixed site clinics. The report, Mobile Health Care for Homeless People: Using Vehicles to Extend Care, was prepared by Patricia Post, MPA with funding through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration. The 33 grantees were selected for survey for their geographic and service delivery diversity and represent about 40% of those reported to operate mobile health units in 2005-06. Of the 33 surveyed mobile unit programs, 70 percent serve both adults and children, 27 percent mainly serve adults, and 3 percent serve only children. All but three programs surveyed are based in cities, yet half of these urban programs also serve people living in suburban, semi-rural or rural areas. Most of the surveyed programs provide services where homeless people congregate - at shelters and social service agencies, soup kitchens, campgrounds, or parks. Fifty-two percent reported that they schedule visits to particular sites, and 18 percent do roving outreach. The programs employ a variety of service delivery models. 82 percent provide health services on their mobile units; some of these also provide services in shelters and community service agencies. Twelve percent of surveyed programs transport clients to services; and 9 percent transport clinicians to and from remote sites but do not provide services on the mobile unit ("suitcase clinics"). Some of the mobile programs target homeless populations known to be at especially high risk for serious health problems, including communicable diseases. The use of mobile units is seen as complementary to other HCH outreach methods. The report is not evaluative but descriptive of a "service modality" that has emerged over the years in the words of those who are actively engaged in providing mobile health services. NHCHC suggests that those who wish "to extend care to impoverished people through mobile outreach, with the ultimate goal of facilitating access to more comprehensive care, can learn from these examples." Topics discussed include the rationale for mobile health outreach to homeless populations, services provided and staffing models, types and designs of mobile units, financing and administration of mobile health programs, obstacles encountered and strategies used to address them, and factors to which HCH providers attribute the success of these mobile outreach efforts. Two factors identified as fundamental to the success of mobile health outreach by 82 percent of persons interviewed were: selection of service sites where homeless people congregate and collaboration with community partners (for referrals, space to park the mobile unit or provide services inside, help reaching targeted populations, and/or funding). A bibliography lists publications on mobile health outreach to homeless populations. Appendices include the survey instrument used to structure interviews and other resources including,
The report is available for download from the NHCHC website.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. Preventing previously homeless families with dependent children from cycling back into homelessness is the goal of a new "Stable Families" initiative by the non profit Solid Ground in King County, Washington. For more than 30 years, Solid Ground, formerly known as the Fremont Public Association, has helped to meet compelling social needs in the Seattle community. In addition to food, shelter, and counseling programs, Solid Ground pioneered the nation's first Community Voice Mail Program, which is now being replicated in more than 40 cities. Solid Ground shelters and assists over 5000 homeless families each year including transitional housing and locating permanent housing. Its Journey Home program, which offers case management and supportive services to homeless families to move them into permanent housing from family shelters, transitional housing, and domestic violence programs, has a 12 month 85% housing retention rate. The Stable Families initiative focuses on the 15% who were previously homeless, moved into permanent housing, and now are about to be homeless again. These are the families that have "used up" their eligibility for other resources such as the 6 month follow on case management services allowed after moving from McKinney funded transitional housing into permanent housing or community one-time eviction/utility assistance. With a 5-year grant, funded with resources made available to the counties under the 2005 Washington State Housing and Homelessness Assistance Act to support Ten Year Plan implementation (see related story this issue), the Stable Families initiative has a dedicated case manager and flexible funding to provide immediate intervention to prevent the family from cycling back into homelessness and work longer term with the client including access to a mental health provider when indicated. The Stable Families initiative also has access to the full range of Solid Ground programs. Journey Home and Stable Families program manager Tamara Brown reports that in the first month of program operation, evictions of 3 previously homeless families from their permanent housing, including one family with four children, has been prevented. The families are receiving financial skills training and other assistance to improve their stability.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA. When the Human Services Campus was created in downtown Phoenix in November 2005, its mission statement called for more than just "delivering high quality human services" for homeless people. The faith based, government, non profit, private and community organizations who joined together to create the campus, whose " hub" is the Lodestar Day Resource Center, also recognized that it would be important for them to "provide leadership and innovative solutions to help break the cycle of homelessness and poverty." Lessons learned from the first 18 months of operation point to the need for centralized homeless campuses or centers to very intentionally plan for housing outcomes simultanenous to structuring their services and programs. As the campus gateway, more than 200 homeless individuals visit the Lodestar Day Resource Center (LDRC) each day and through the efforts of 10 onsite agencies are able to access a comprehensive array of services including benefits enrollment, mental health and substance abuse counseling, health care, skills development and employment services, family reconnection, 12 step groups, restroom, postal services, phones and housing assistance. While the LDRC has helped 446 persons secure permanent housing since the Campus opened, including 72 severely mentally ill clients in just the last 10 months through the partnership with Arizona Behavioral Health Corporation and Value Options, the LDRC has also come to recognize that lack of additional housing resources is creating a bottleneck in accomplishing the campus ultimate goal of assisting people to move from crisis to self sufficiency. Through the creation of an Advisory Board that includes greater involvement by members of the business community and a strategic planning process, the LDRC is working to remedy this. Two specific goals set forth in their new strategic plan call for increasing the number of clients placed in housing by 30% by July 2008, with an 80% retention rate at 12 months. The strategic planning effort recognizes that breaking the cycle of homelessness can't be done without housing and this message will be brought to the larger community. This week United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Coordinator Charlene Flaherty has been invited to meet with the strategic planning committee to discuss housing first initiatives. The hiring of a supportive housing manager had already begun the process of better client tracking to support housing retention and this effort will be intensified. Client "move in" kits are being developed along with further staff cross training and monthly "alumni" support events. " We need to be one-stop housing as well as one-stop services to break the cycle of homelessness, " notes LDRC Executive Director Jessica Berg.
WASHINGTON, DC. Improvements in personal well-being and increased family stabilization are outcomes promoted by information recently made available by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). As federal agencies continue to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Returning Global War on Terror Heroes appointed by President Bush and chaired by Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, a new webpage for veterans and their families, www.samhsa.gov/vets, has been created to provide a central repository of information on prevention, treatment and recovery support for mental and substance use disorders. Publications, fact sheets, and links to other relevant agencies are provided along with information on SAMHSA-funded programs, activities, and training and technical assistance opportunities. Site visitors can access the SAMHSA treatment facility locator to identify local substance use and mental health services. A meeting convened this week by SAMHSA with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and veterans service organizations will inform the development of additional guidance materials for state, local communities and providers. Screening and Assessment for Family Engagement, Retention, and Recovery (SAFERR), is a new tool and guidebook designed to help staff of public and private agencies respond to families in the child welfare system who are affected by substance use disorders. Research and practical experience repeatedly indicate that parental substance use disorders and child maltreatment are highly correlated and that many, if not most, children under the jurisdiction of child welfare agencies and the courts come from families with substance use disorders, SAMHSA notes. SAFERR is based on the premise that sound decisions draw on the resources of three key systems-child welfare, alcohol and drugs, and the courts. The SAFERR model is intended to help staff:
Copies may be downloaded from SAMHSA or ordered free of charge from the SAMHSA Health Information Network (SHIN) at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727). Request inventory number SMA-07-4261. Systems of Care Promote Stability, Security, Safety for Children and Youth With Serious Mental Health Needs. At a Congressional hearing on May 8, designated as National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, PhD, unveiled national evaluation data showing the effectiveness of comprehensive school and community based strategies for children and youth with serious mental health needs. The data show that children and youth involved in systems of care are less likely to engage in self-harmful behaviors, demonstrate fewer emotional and behavioral problems and do better in school than before enrollment. The SAMHSA data also suggest that children and youth involved in systems of care experience fewer arrests, with the reduction in arrests saving juvenile justice systems nationwide an average of $366.58 per child per year in costs associated with incarceration. These and other data related to key outcomes, such as improved economic status of caregivers, decreased suspensions and expulsions, and improved school attendance, can be found online at www.systemsofcare.samhsa.gov.
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email: ichnews@setechnology.com
web: http://www.usich.gov
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Nearly all counties noted positive results from their first
year plan implementation with measurable results including: a 37%
reduction in chronic homelessness in Tacoma/Pierce County; a 15% overall
reduction in homelessness in Clallam County; and a 27% overall reduction
in homelessness in Benton/Franklin counties. Benton/Franklin County
leaders attributed their success to using the document fee funds to design
and institute a systemwide coordinated entry strategy for homeless and at
risk of homeless persons that unified the efforts of all the social
service agencies in the county. Benton County Commissioner Claude Oliver
personally took charge of leading the effort to coordinate discharges from
the county jail with the 10-Year Plan, HOME BASE, effort. As noted above,
Seattle/King County, whose County Executive Ron Sims is shown here
speaking at the conference, reported an overall 20% reduction in
homelessness in its second year of plan implementation. 
Vice President of Civic Initiatives, LLC and former Special
Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Ryan Streeter moderated
Learning From Success Stories in Community Investment - Meeting Basic
Needs: Health, Food, and Shelter, a panel that included Council Deputy
Director Mary Ellen Hombs (shown here) who discussed how business
thinking, planning, and problem-solving skills have advanced
jurisdictional initiatives to end chronic homelessness; AstraZeneca VP of
Corporate Communications Lisa Davis; Morgan Stanley Community Affairs
Executive Director Joan Steinberg; and Safeway Director of Public Affairs
and Government Relations Greg TenEyck. Mr. Streeter also moderated the
conference's closing session on Long Term Solutions for Community
Development featuring remarks by Jay Hein, Deputy Assistant to the
President and Director of the White House Office of Faith Based
Initiatives; Michael Rubinger, President and CEO of the Local Initiatives
Support Corporation; and Steve Wing, Director of Government Programs for
CVS Pharmacy. 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy
Secretary Roy Bernardi, addressing the second day plenary session,
discussed HUD's commitment to creating corporate community partnerships
through Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and the HOME Investment
Partnership Program. The Deputy Secretary noted in his remarks: "The value
of this conference is in its work to bring both cities and private
corporations together. We can construct a shared vision that is good for
both the city and the corporation's bottom line. We can develop
partnerships that revitalize inner cities and energize the people who live
there. We can become passionate advocates for our cities. We can create
strong, close communities."  |
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