USICH Highlights Success in the Southeast - Chattanooga, TN

Click here to read about Chattanooga's success in ending homelessness!

Mary Simons, Executive Director of the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition, is featured in USICH's newsletter and discusses how Chattanooga has been able to produce dramatic results in ending homelessness.

She also participated as a panelist at the Innovations Forum (Feb 2012) in Atlanta, GA.

High Success Rates with Adopt-A-Family - Palm Beach, FL

by Rachel Hans

Adopt- A- Family of the Palm Beaches provides services to low-income and at risk families in Palm Beach. The organization helps families to self-sufficiency through services like housing, rental assistance, support services and a homeless resource center. Deputy Director Mathew Constantine oversees 117 units of housing designated to homeless and low-income populations. Constantine explained how they pay attention to the behaviors of the families and how this helps them to maintain their permanent housing for over 6 months or a year. “I have no doubt that this has had a huge impact on family homelessness in Palm Beach.”  The results so far are promising; 75 percent have maintained permanent housing for a year and 80 percent for 6 months.  Read more here!

Atlanta's Own Named White House "Champion for Change" in the Fight Against Youth Homelessness

As Director of Project Community Connections Inc., Margaret Schuelke oversees an organization that connects people with homes. PCCI assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness with permanent housing placements and connections to mainstream resources.

The White House has recognized her as a "Champion of Change" for her innovative efforts in building the DeKalb KidsHome Collaborative to help end youth homelessness in Atlanta, GA!

Find out more here!

Self-Sufficiency is a Success in South Carolina - Dr. Michael Chesser

by Pharren Adams

Dr. Michael Chesser is Executive Director of the Upstate Homeless Coalition of South Carolina with over 100 service providers offering assistance to those experiencing homelessness. Dr. Chesser has more than 20 years of experience in direct practice helping people get out of homelessness. He has been involved with local and state advocacy groups, and participations in national forums.

The Home At Last (H.A.L.) program offers immediate assistance to homeless people to help them off the street and get into their own apartments, allowing them to be self sufficient and in charge of themselves.  They are then connected to numerous resources that enable them to get jobs, go to school, or overcome feats which were not possible while they were homeless.

Dr. Chesser says through the work of the Upstate Homeless Coalition of South Carolina, “we have demonstrated that people can come in, can stay housed, and govern themselves.”

Check out their website to read more about their programs! There are even audio success stories you can listen to!

 http://www.upstatehomeless.com/pages/contact_admin.html

Southern Collaborative On the Move! - Durham, NC

Lloyd Schmeidler, Project Manager for the Department of Community Development for the City of Durham in North Carolina, recently engaged the Southern Collaborative in discussion around a potential regional effort. He noticed a strong interest in Durham for adopting the Vulnerability Assessment Tool (VAT), so he organized a conference call to gauge interest in organizing a training for the Southeast region.

Some people feel the VAT is a more objective and complete assessment than the 100K Homes Campaigns Vulnerability Index Assessment (VI), which focuses mostly on medical vulnerability.

There were more than 10 participants on the call from the following cities:

• Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Greenville, and Durham, NC
• Savannah, GA

Two representatives from Seattle’s DESC, the organization that created the VAT, presented a brief overview of the development of the tool and their training methods. The rest of the call was spent with questions about the use of the tool itself and about how we would potentially run a training in the Southeast.

“There are a lot of best practices to reduce and end homelessness being implemented throughout the Southeast and the nation. The Southern Collaborative enables us to easily share information with one another, to take advantage of learning opportunities in the region, and to encourage one another in the difficult work that we are doing.”

Currently Schmeidler is waiting for approval on his proposal to sponsor a VAT training.

Are you interested in learning more about VAT and participating in a training? Let us know your thoughts! Comment and share here!

100,000 New Leases on Life, Greater Triangle, NC

Stan Holt is Vice President of Regional Initiatives at United Way of the Greater Triangle. His work across the four county region of the Triangle area of North Carolina has improved the financial stability of low-income, working households by using a framework that focuses on increasing household income, accessing affordable housing, and improving household financial management skills.

In January, the Triangle completed Registry week for the 100,000 Homes Campaign, a national initiative aimed at eradicating chronic homelessness. The model was developed based on best practices used by communities that have experienced success in reducing the size of their chronically homeless population and includes:

·         Bringing together local supporters from across the community to form an action-oriented team

·         Holding a “registry” event to identify those most vulnerable to dying on the streets

·         Lining up the supply of housing units

·         Moving vulnerable individuals into housing and providing them with the supports they need to stay housed

United Way of the Greater Triangle, in North Carolina, is one of many agencies involved in the Campaign. According to Holt, the agency mobilized 120 volunteers to participate in a community registry event earlier this year. Using a tool called the Vulnerability Index, volunteers surveyed homeless individuals to determine the 40 most vulnerable individuals in their community. The data gathered will be used to tailor services specifically to fit their needs.

“Housing is a difficult resource to obtain and it is our greatest challenge,” said Holt. “It’s going to take innovation, creative thinking, and collaboration to find a solution.”

To learn more about the 100,000 Homes Campaign, visit http://100khomes.org/the-model

Helping People Go Home, Nashville, TN

by Rebecca Stoll

Welcome Home Ministries is a Nashville faith-based organization which operates transitional and permanent supportive housing programs for men overcoming substance addiction. They will celebrate 20 years of serving chronically homeless men with a history of substance addiction in December of this year.  With the opening of two new recovery homes, the agency increased its capacity to serve by 62% in 2012. One of these homes is dedicated to serving veterans and is the first of its kind in the state.

The agency recognized that treatment programs were a crucial first step on the road to recovery from a lifetime of addiction. Welcome Home provides specific long-term recovery support services for clients’ needs in an effort to support progress made on their recovery journey towards sustainable sobriety, self-sustainability and spiritual wholeness. Welcome Home’s recovery residences ingredients for success include:

• A faith-based approach that incorporates the 12 –Step model of support
• Close relationships with healthcare professionals and mental health treatment facilities in Middle Tennessee to assist clients with physical and mental healthcare needs
• Eligibility for independent living in a sober-living community of permanent supportive housing for clients who graduate from an alcohol and drug recovery support program
• New permanent supportive housing residents must be “voted in” by current residents, maintain a healthy sobriety and demonstrate self-sustainability

“It is powerful to see the progress of men who become whole again after 15, 20, 25 years of living with addiction,” says Kyle Duvall, Director of Operational Advancement. “We are able to help guide and support them through the process of recovery during their journey towards wholeness.”

The agency’s primary challenge is raising awareness around the issue and the programs designed to help individuals in need of recovery from alcohol, drugs and a destructive way of life.

Inspiring Hope through Wrap-Around Services, Shreveport, LA

by Rebecca Stoll

When HOPE for the Homeless in Shreveport, LA signed on to the 100,000 Homes Campaign in 2010, it changed the way the organization approached ending homelessness.

“Instead of looking for clients that fit our program, we began adapting our program to fit the clients,” said Ryan Parker of HOPE for the Homeless. “Now we wrap our services around each client.”

This new attitude is evident in the agency’s approach to outreach. HOPE’s Street Outreach Team provides services in the field to those homeless persons who are living on the streets, abandoned buildings, or emergency shelters. 

The Outreach Team:

• Consists of a substance abuse professional, a mental health professional, formerly homeless individuals, and volunteers from local agencies who serve the homeless
• Builds relationships with homeless persons by offering them food, blankets, or other essentials
• Engages those with mental illness and provides case management services to link the client to healthcare, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, and/or transportation with the ultimate goal of the client obtaining and remaining in housing 

 

The Team blogs about outreach experiences and current needs - http://inthetrencheswithkristiandryan.blogspot.com/

The 100,000 Homes Campaign also influenced the agency’s decision to create a Vulnerability Book, which identified the 100 individuals most vulnerable to dying on the streets. These individuals are given priority in receiving services.  

To learn more about HOPE for the Homeless, visit http://www.nwlahope.org/.

Not Just Ending Homelessness: A Model to Watch, Sarasota, FL

By Rebecca Stoll

On December 21, 2011, the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness unveiled a plan they call Step Up: End Homelessness in Sarasota County Now. The plan is a community effort and proposes greater collaboration between local agencies, the engagement of volunteers, and a Continuum of Care that embraces a Housing First model of moving homeless people into housing quickly.  StepUp seeks not only to help those currently homelessness, but also to prevent Sarasota County households from losing their homes. 

“Our approach is to honor what is local and working, identify best practices in other communities, and engage our community,” said Richard Martin, Executive Director at Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness.

Key elements to the plan include:

·       Greater communication between stakeholders using mandatory HMIS (a client/service database), social media and community forums

·       Enhance funding opportunities to sustain and enhance staff and resource capacity through joint applications and proposals

·       Create a Universal Intake System that uses community volunteers to assist with intake and needs assessment.  According to Martin, this model would ensure that each person assessed would be referred to other agencies depending on needs, and would leave with appointments, transportation arrangements and an advocate to support the efforts necessary to obtain housing again

·       Wrap-around case management services

·       Focus on ending local veteran homelessness in five (5) years, a goal set by the federal strategic plan to end homelessness: Opening Doors

·       Focus on creating a better system of access to benefits and a job creation effort                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

~ ~ ~

The Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness is a 501(c)(3), the HUD-designated Lead Agency of the Sarasota-Manatee Continuum of Care and as the Florida-designated homeless coalition for Sarasota County.  Its mission is to prevent and end homelessness in Sarasota and Manatee Counties in Florida.

Photos credited to © Karen Arango.

Miami-Dade Reentry Taskforce, Wayne Rawlins, Miami, FL

Individuals reentering communities after incarceration present a unique challenge to organizations seeking to end homelessness, including inadequate access to resources, lack of valid identification upon release, and insufficient access to affordable housing. Miami-Dade Reentry Task Force tackles these challenges through several innovative initiatives that connect thousands of individuals with support services. This plan has been recognized by both the Urban Institute and the White House.

·         Reentry Resource Guide – The Miami-Dade Resource Guide has provided over 20,000 individuals with access to social service agencies and job search tips.

·         Reentry Fairs/Community Fairs – Reentry fairs are held for inmates who will be released within six months. Each inmate participates in a needs assessment and their needs are matched with local agencies that provide corresponding services. These local agencies are then invited to participate in the fair and each inmate is introduced to the agencies that meet his/her needs.

o   Community Fairs –similar to reentry fairs, these are held in the community for individuals on parole and other ex-offenders.

o   Assistance with obtaining identification –The Task Force encouraged the Florida Department of Corrections to establish Memorandums of Understanding with the Social Security Administration, Vital Statistics and the Department of Motor Vehicles to improve the process for securing identification. The goal is to have the identifications issued by the time inmates are released, preferable at the Reentry Fair.

·         Transitional Living Centers – Landlords with vacancies in neighborhoods where the majority of returning inmates intend to reside are encouraged to offer “affordable, enhanced housing”:

o   Landlords offer affordable, roommate-style housing for which individuals pay on a weekly basis.

o   Task Force checks to make sure housing meets local code standards. It is recommended that agencies interested in implementing this model consider providing potential landlords with standards.

o   The Task Force refers individuals to these housing options, essentially serving as a match-maker.

o   The affordable housing is enhanced by connecting clients to the support agencies identified during the needs assessment conducted prior to their release.

·         Juvenile Reentry – The Task Force is developing a strategy specifically for juveniles. They currently offer mentorship and leadership workshops to juveniles in Florida’s adult prison system.

Innovation Thrives in the Non-Profit World

Check it out on the "Funders Together" blog website!

Protip Biswas, VP of United Way Regional Commission on Homelessness, highlights innovative practices in ending homelessness in the Southeast region and encourages non-profits to keep the innovative momentum.

http://funderstogether.org/blog/view/innovation-thrives-in-the-non-profit-world

The Power of Student Engagement - Atlanta, GA

Engaging our future leaders on the issues of homelessness is critical to building a caring community and over the last year, RCOH has continued to work with students from the elementary to the university levels in Atlanta.

Tamara Weinstein, 3^rd grade teacher at The Children’s School, continues to promote homelessness awareness and education with her students. After listening to the stories of three previously homeless individuals who have been successful in maintaining permanent housing, the third graders wrote letters to city officials about their ideas on how to address homelessness in Atlanta. Click here to read their letters.

Elizabeth Hearn, a middle school teacher from The Paideia School organized a homeless immersion where students lived on the streets for one week without shelter, money or basic necessities. They also produced a 30 minute documentary, “Reducing the Distance,” on how the intensive and educational experience changed their perceptions about homelessness and helped them to see that “[homeless people] are people, too, just like us.”

High school students from The Lovett School, participated in RCOH’s Street to Home outreach and Celebrating Success events. After learning about the challenges and hearing success stories of previously homeless individuals, seniors have taken on special projects around homelessness and the Student Services Board selected RCOH and Trinity Community Ministries to receive a generous donation.

Universities in Atlanta have also stepped up their involvement around homelessness. Georgia State University partnered with RCOH to offer their expertise in public relations, Emory University students also partnered with RCOH and other organizations for a spring break “Homeless Immersion” week. Inspired by Elizabeth Hearn from the Paideia School, sophomore Shyama Appareddy organized the five-day simulated homeless experience to raise awareness about the issue. “I wanted Emory students to have the opportunity to break out of the ‘Emory Bubble’ and reduce the distance between us and our neighbors in the greater community,” says Shyama. Kennesaw State University put on a Homelessness Awareness Week giving students and faculty an opportunity to learn more about the “invisible and stigmatized sector of society.” Computer science students from Georgia Institute of Technology have taken it a step further by creating a very useful database for RCOH’s Street to Home program.

This kind of meaningful engagement is what cultivates involvement that ultimately contributes to ending chronic homelessness in Atlanta. Discovering what homelessness means, and exploring ways that we can all become socially responsible, has made a lasting impact on these young people—the future leaders—in metro Atlanta.

Expediting the SSD/SSI Application Process through SOAR

By Rebecca Stoll

SOAR (SSI/SSD Outreach, Access & Recovery) is a SSI/SSD benefits application program targeted specifically to individuals experiencing homelessness. Donna Morgan of the Bridgeway Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida says the SOAR process is specifically designed to address the transient nature of homeless individuals. Two features make this program both unique and effective: the use of case managers as client representatives and the creation of “health narratives” which allow Social Security employees better understand the physical and mental health challenges of applicants.

Bridgeway clients have had significant success with the SOAR process, with the average turn around time being 60 – 90 days.

Through SOAR, homeless individuals work closely with case managers to complete their benefits application. The case manager becomes the client’s representative, acting as an alternative point of contact. The representative receives all notifications sent to the client, including letters and appointment confirmations.

The health narrative is created by the case manager, using worksheets provided by SOAR, and provides snapshot of the client’s disability and how it affects his or her functioning including everyday struggles. This narrative can be signed by a doctor and used as medical evidence.

Any social worker or counselor can participate in a SOAR training. To learn more about the program and find out when the next local training will take place, visit http://www.prainc.com/soar/ .

For those already using SOAR, Donna shares some tips:

• Get to know the employees at your local Social Security office – building relationships makes the communication process easierWhen faxing applications, always make sure the barcode is on top of the application stack

• Case managers should get their representative forms signed right away

• Case managers need to “stay on top” of application paperwork

• SSI/SSD applications are time consuming and can take up to 40 hours per case, so Donna recommends case managers only take on three to four cases at a time

To learn more about the Bridgeway Center, visit http://www.bridgewaycenter.org/ .