NAEH Updates

empty_feed

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 19:06:50 +0000

empty_feed

FY2015 HUD CoC Program Scoring Criteria Summary and Score Estimating Worksheet

Thu, 24 Sep 2015 17:08:14 +0000

This excel spreadsheet is a tool to spark community discussions about 2015 NOFA and CoC performance. It outlines each area CoCs will be scored on as a part of the consolidated application and allows them to estimate how many points they will receive in each category. The tool is also meant to encourage awareness for CoC leadership, CoC Boards, and all CoC-funded projects regarding the importance of having a performance-based review and ranking process for all projects that includes reallocation, making progress on the goals in Opening Doors and HUD’s policy priorities, and strengthening system-wide CoC coordination and engagement. These points are summarized in charts and graphs. The spreadsheet is designed to be easily printed and shared if communities are simply looking for a summary of points to share.

Data Snapshot: Recent Rapid Re-Housing Research

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 18:55:58 +0000

Rapid re-housing is growing exponentially in communities nationwide as a proven way to end homelessness for families and individuals.

In July 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), the two largest funders of rapid re-housing, released data on the impacts of rapid re-housing in two reports: HUD’s Short-term Impacts from the Family Options Study and VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) FY 2014 Annual Report.

Both reports provide information on the ability of rapid re-housing to meet the primary measures of success in ending homelessness, as established by Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act:

Help households quickly exit homelessness; Increase the number of households exiting to permanent housing;

Prevent households from returning to homelessness;

Increase a household’s self-sufficiency; and

Decrease homelessness overall.

Help Households Quickly Exit Homelessness

Families that enrolled in a rapid re-housing program exited shelter in an average of 2 months. That was 3.2 months faster than those that were referred to rapid re-housing, but did not enroll. -Family Options Study

Increase the Number of Households Exiting Homelessness to Permanent Housing

73 percent of people rapidly re-housed exited to permanent housing. In fact, 67 percent of those who had zero income and did not receive a permanent housing voucher exited to permanent housing. -SSVF 2014 Annual Report

Prevent Households From Returning to Homelessness

93 percent of families and 88 percent of single adult veterans housed with rapid re-housing did not return to homelessness for at least a year. -SSVF 2014 Annual Report

77 percent of families that enrolled in rapid re-housing did not return to shelter. -Family Options Study

Increase a Household's Self-Sufficiency

Monthly incomes for rapidly re-housed veterans increased 12 percent from program entry to exit. -SSVF 2014 Annual Report

Families referred to rapid re-housing had incomes 10 percent higher than those referred to usual care. -Family Options Study

Decrease Homelessness Overall

5 families can be rapidly re-housed ($6,578 per family) for what it costs to house one family via transitional housing ($32,557 per family). -*Family Options Study

Webinar: Coordinated Entry and Systems Change

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 20:31:06 +0000

Coordinated entry, done right, involves a re-examination of a community’s entire homelessness system. In this recording of a webinar that originally streamed Sept. 9, 2015, speakers provide an overview of coordinated entry, as well as the critical components: access, diversion, assessment and prioritization, and referral. This webinar recording is meant for communities just getting started with coordinated entry, as well as those working to improve existing strategies.

Discussion Guide for ‘Time Out of Mind’

Wed, 09 Sep 2015 18:59:35 +0000

The Alliance has crafted this brief guide to facilitate meaningful discussions about the frank depiction of life on the streets in the 2015 Richard Gere film "Time Out of Mind." The purpose of such a discussion is to raise awareness among members of your community about the issue of chronical homelessness and encourage actions that will lead to positive change.

SAMHSA PATH Organizational Sign-On Letter

Fri, 21 Aug 2015 15:43:12 +0000

The Alliance, along with its national partners, circulated an organizational sign-on letter to Chairpersons of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees and Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittees to spare critical SAMHSA homeless programs from harmful funding cuts, particularly the PATH program. These programs are an important part of the network of services for homeless persons with severe mental illness. This is the final letter.

2015 Midyear Update

Wed, 19 Aug 2015 15:17:57 +0000

2015 Midyear Update

Dear Friend,

This time each year I look forward to sharing with you the significant progress that’s being made around ending homelessness. As a supporter of the Alliance, you know that this is an issue that has the ability to touch many. Whether it’s that moment we pass someone on the street or hear from a neighbor about a family in need, the simple act of opening our eyes and ears to the community around us puts into sharp perspective that homelessness is a reality in the lives of people across America each and every day.

Your support is what helps us be a resource to those in your community who are working to solve this very solvable social issue. We are grateful. Let me share with you some of our highlights so far in 2015:

Never Another Homeless Veteran: It’s Really Happening!

The Alliance has helped lead the charge to end veteran homelessness by the start of 2016 through promoting strategies that work. We have worked closely with Administration and Congressional leaders to ensure communities have access to funding and with local providers to ensure they can successfully implement proven solutions. Already four cities: Houston, TX, New Orleans, LA, Binghamton, NY and Las Cruces, NM have announced they have ended veteran homelessness and many more are close behind. The successes in these cities prove that together, with effective programs, we can not only end veteran, but all homelessness!

Creating Change at the Federal Policy Level

Our Policy Team is working diligently to ensure that when Congress reauthorizes the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, this key program will be able to do even more to end youth homelessness. The Team also organized over 300 advocates to visit their Congressional offices, making sure that Members understand how homelessness affects their Districts and how to solve the problem.

Working on the Ground in Communities Across the Country

The Alliance’s Center for Capacity Building provided technical assistance to 74 communities across six states. The Center also wrapped up a state-wide, four year project working with Virginia to improve its programs for helping homeless families. By the end of this initiative, Virginia reduced family homelessness by 25 percent!

Bringing Together Federal and Community Partners: Convening the Brightest Minds and Improving Brainpower

It’s no surprise that when government agencies and local and national organizations work together, we can institute real change. This year, the Alliance brought together federal agencies, local homelessness providers, and other advocacy and research organizations to help communities by developing the following resources and opportunities:

Hosted 2,500 advocates and experts at two bi-annual conferences. These conferences offer a unique opportunity to convene key leaders from across the country who are fighting to end homelessness.
Joined forces with HUD’s office of Policy Development and Research to publish “Assessment Tools for Allocating Homelessness Assistance: State of the Evidence.”
Wrote and coordinated an interagency Common Vision on transitional housing.
Released “The State of Homelessness in America 2015,” by The Alliance’s Homelessness Research Institute, the fifth in a series of reports that chart progress on ending homelessness in the United States

This is just part of our 2015 story. Thanks to loyal donors like you, we will build on the work we have completed thus far. We hope you will continue to be engaged with this issue by following us on Facebook and Twitter, reading our Ending Homelessness blog on our website, and by signing the Never Another Homeless Veteran statement at www.neveranotherhomelessveteran.org.

Homelessness is decreasing and we will continue to work diligently until there is never another homeless person, family, or child on the streets.

Sincerely,

Nan Roman

President and CEO

1.06 Increase the Impact of Local Homelessness Funding

Mon, 17 Aug 2015 16:47:06 +0000

Do you want to encourage funders in your community to more strategically invest in ending homelessness? Or, are you a funder of homeless services looking to get more for your investment? Participants will learn how to align local funding performance goals and measures with broader community objectives, use funds to leverage other resources, and increase collaboration and systemic planning in a community.

August 2015 Site Visit Campaign

Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:33:14 +0000

As part of the FY 2016 Homelessness Funding Campaign, the Alliance is launching an August 2015 Site Visit Campaign to encourage advocates across the country to engage with their Members of Congress while they are home for the August recess. The Campaign aims to:

Raise awareness among the public and Congress about the issue of and solutions to homelessness;
Educate Congress on the need for increased resources for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants and Housing Choice Vouchers and to ensure that it provides enough funding for these programs; and
Ask Members to lift budget caps to allow appropriators to increase resources for homeless assistance and affordable housing programs in the final FY 2016 spending bill. Specifically ask them to commit to communicate the messages that “providing $2.480 billion for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program in FY 2016, including $40 million for homeless youth initiatives, and sufficient funding to renew all existing Housing Choice Vouchers and an additional $512 million to restore vouchers lost to sequestration are high priorities” to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

The best ways advocates can achieve these goals are by taking the below actions:

1. Host A Member for a Site Visit

*Site Visit Sample Work Plan (Note: links to the below site visit materials denoted with a * are also included in this Work Plan)
*Site Visit Sample Invitation
*Site Visit Sample Letter of Support
*Site Visit Sample Agenda
*Site Visit Sample Briefing Memo
*Site Visit Sample Media Advisory
*Site Visit Sample Thank You Letter
Achieving Effective Site Visits Toolkit

2. Conduct In-District Congressional Meetings

If your Members do not have time in their schedules to attend site visits, or if you do not have the capacity to plan one, the next best thing you can do to engage your Members this August is to conduct in-district (or state) congressional meetings. The Alliance has materials to help you plan and execute these meetings, including the following (that denoted with a * is specifically meant for use during the August 2015 Site Visit Campaign):

We are happy to work with you every step of the way to help you customize these materials, strategize about which Members of Congress to engage, and with anything else for which you may need assistance. Please contact Julie Klein or Jaime Colman to get involved!

2.10 Research on Youth Homelessness

Tue, 04 Aug 2015 20:43:44 +0000

Ending youth homelessness requires an understanding of its causes. It is also important to understand the effectiveness of interventions that help youth reconnect with family, or establish skills to live independently when family reconnection is not safe or appropriate. Speakers will provide a broad overview of the current and emerging research on youth homelessness.

3.14 Supporting the Most Vulnerable Families

Mon, 03 Aug 2015 14:16:50 +0000

Families that have experienced multiple or protracted homeless episodes may require intensive or long-term support to escape homelessness. Speakers will explore how they are identifying and supporting these families in housing. Critical Time Intervention and permanent supportive housing models will be among the topics discussed.

Chronic Homelessness in the FY 2015 CoC NOFA: What’s Different?

Jayme Day — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:41:00 +0000

This post is the third in a series examining the Department of Housing and Urban Development's recently released Notice of Funding Availability for the Fiscal Year 2015 Continuum of Care Competition. You can find the full series here: FY 2015 CoC NOFA.

Last month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Fiscal Year 2015 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program competition. The competition will determine funding for homeless programs around the country.

Over the last 10 years, HUD has invested heavily in programs that provide permanent supportive housing (PSH) for chronically homeless persons. The scaling up of PSH has resulted in a dramatic reduction in chronic homelessness in the U.S.

HUD uses a competitive application process to determine funding for programs, which has driven the country closer to the goal of ending chronic homelessness. For CoC applicants this boils down to points. HUD has for many past NOFAs given more points, or a competitive edge, to CoCs who propose to fund more PSH for chronically homeless persons.

So what’s different this year?

Chronic homelessness isn’t the only game in town. While the federal government originally targeted chronic homelessness first, it has in recent years identified other subpopulations (families, veterans, and youth). This year, HUD is giving all these populations equal weight, i.e. equal points in the competition. The trick here is to balance your efforts across populations according to the need in your community while also leveraging other housing resources
Your PSH programs must be high-performing. In the past, CoCs that prioritized PSH gained a competitive edge. That’s no longer good enough this year. CoCs must prioritize PSH programs that are effective at keeping people housed, connecting people with mainstream benefits and supports, improving incomes when possible, and contributing to the overall CoC goals. This year’s NOFA is much more competitive because of this kind of emphasis on performance.
PSH programs need to be targeting chronically homeless persons. Programs that provide PSH beds for chronically homeless persons should have procedures in place that ensure they are indeed placing the most vulnerable and chronically homeless persons in those beds. To make sure this happens, CoCs may need to pool additional funds to incentivize landlords to take in chronically homeless clients who may be harder to house. In this competition, HUD will be looking for changes in designated or prioritized beds for chronically homeless persons.
There are new opportunities to leverage service dollars. CoC programs have an opportunity to use Medicaid to fund supportive services in PSH, particularly in states that have expanded Medicaid to all low-income persons. It will be important in your application to demonstrate that you are taking steps to align Medicaid or other health funding to pay for these services. When Medicaid pays for these services it frees up more HUD money to pay for much needed housing for PSH.
Reallocation is your best bet to increase PSH. The NOFA is stressing reallocation this year. While high performing CoCs may be able to increase their funding, the most reliable way for CoCs to increase their PSH capacity will be to reallocate funds from existing programs into PSH. In addition, reallocation to PSH, even if it’s from poor performing PSH to high performing PSH will get you more points, making your CoC application more competitive as a whole.
Use the Housing First approach. This is hardly new, but it’s always worth repeating. CoC programs need to enroll people into housing programs without pre-requisites. Once a person is housed then providers can offer services and support. This approach works. If your CoC has PSH providers that still aren’t on board or who have a different understanding of Housing First, it’s time to consider reallocating funds to providers who will use a Housing First Approach. HUD is promoting Housing First in the NOFA with additional points.

Developing an application for HUD funding is an opportunity for CoCs to reflect on their progress towards ending chronic homelessness. It's also an opportunity for your CoC to take concrete steps to ensure further progress. The goal of ending chronic homelessness is getting closer every day.

The good news is we know what works, PSH. Filing a competitive CoC application can help you secure more funding for PSH and get you on your way. Best of luck completing your applications this year and in your efforts to end chronic homelessness!