Alliance Online News: Rapid Re-Housing Demonstration


Date: 8 Jul 2008

Author: National Alliance to End Homelessness

July 8, 2008    
    POLICY  |  DATA + RESEARCH  |  TOOL + TRAINING  |  NEWS + MEDIA Forward Editor: Samantha Batko    
   
 
Spotlight On...
Rapid Re-housing Demonstration

As part of the Continuum of Care application process, communities will be invited to apply for a Rapid Re-housing Demonstration. Communities can use the funds to provide short-term rental assistance, housing placement, and home-based case management for families experiencing homelessness. The Alliance has released a brief that provides currently available details on how the funds will be awarded and how they can be used.

"Housing First for Families: Research to Support the Development of a Housing First for Families Training Curriculum" which examines program design options may be a useful resource for communities considering designing a Rapid Re-housing program.

 

 


This week, Congress is back in session after last week's Independence Day recess and may take up a number of bills related to homelessness and low-income housing. Before the recess, the Senate began debating the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 (H.R. 3221). The act is designed to allow the Federal Housing Administration to guarantee loans for at-risk homeowners to refinance in order to prevent foreclosure, as well as to encourage first-time homeowners to buy homes by providing them with an $8,000 tax credit. This bill includes permanent funding for a national housing trust fund, to provide housing for low-income people. The Senate made some progress on the bill yesterday and Banking Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) said he hopes to wrap up work on the act by Thursday. If passed, the Senate version would still have to be reconciled with the version passed by the House.

This week, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development will mark up its fiscal year (FY) 2009 appropriations bill. The mark up is scheduled for Wednesday, July 9. After the Subcommittee marks up the bill, it will go to the full House Appropriations Committee for approval. The House subcommittee marked up its bill on June 20. The House version included $75 million for 10,000 new housing vouchers for homeless veterans, $30 million for 4,000 new housing vouchers for people with disabilities, and $1.69 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants.

Colorado Springs Gazette published a comprehensive feature story covering Colorado Springs' Housing First program. According to the article, since the program took its first client in February 2007, it has had an over 80 percent retention rate among its chronically homeless clients, mirroring the rates of success in other cities. The article also points out that more than a dozen of Colorado Springs' chronically homeless people, who struggle with mental health and substance use disorders, have been successfully living in federally subsidized Housing First apartments for more than a year. According to a local project director, about 90 percent have reduced their substance use and about 75 percent stop using substances altogether. Additionally, Colorado Springs is saving money. Each chronically homeless person in the Colorado Springs area costs area taxpayers an estimated $54,000 a year as they use the resources of police, fire, ambulances, emergency rooms, and detox. Through Housing First, agencies have housed and treated these same people for approximately $15,000 a year, a savings of $39,000 per person.

The article highlighted the story of a formerly homeless man known by Colorado Springs residents as "Doc." Doc was a TV producer and radio DJ who ended up on the streets of the city for nearly 20 years after losing his job and suffering from depression and alcohol abuse. Doc's life changed about a year ago when he was accepted into the city's Housing First program and given his own apartment in exchange for allowing a case manager frequent visits. Doc drinks about half as much and is getting medical care and physical therapy in the hopes that he will be able to play the piano again.

Upcoming Audio Conference: Housing Strategies for Sex Offenders

On Thursday, July 10, at 3:00 pm ET, the Alliance will host "Housing Strategies for Sex Offenders," an installment of the Leadership to End Homelessness Audio Conference Series. Sex offenders face a variety of obstacles in finding housing. A number of counties, cities, and states have passed laws that restrict where sex offenders can live-typically anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 feet (depending on the jurisdiction) of places where children congregate, including schools, daycares, parks and bus stops. With such limited options, many sex offenders are forced onto the streets, as even homeless shelters can be included in buffer zones. Unfortunately, these restrictions intended to inform and protect the public may actually harm them. The conversation on housing models for sex offenders is still in its early stages, but research on the effects of residence restrictions and balancing the need to protect the public is emerging.

Join Dr. Jill Levenson, a national expert on residence restrictions and professor at Lynn University, on our upcoming audio conference. Dr. Levenson will discuss the impact of these laws and what they mean for homelessness and public safety.

Thanks to Captiol Connection, those with Internet audio capability can participate in this conference call free of charge via the web. For details on how to listen to the call through the webcast and submit questions by email,

National Conference on Ending Homelessness

The National Alliance to End Homelessness is hosting the 2008 National Conference on Ending Homelessness on July 28-30 in Washington, DC. The conference will feature many exciting workshops, including "Partnering with Local/State TANF Agencies." In this workshop, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) administrators from Massachusetts; Michigan; and Norfolk, Virginia will explore the role TANF agencies can play in ending family homelessness. In Massachusetts, the TANF agency, which supports family shelter programs throughout the state, is improving targeting and increasing its focus on helping families exit homelessness rapidly. Michigan is using TANF funds to provide short-term rental assistance to help prevent family homelessness and allow families who do become homeless to find new housing. A dedicated team within the Norfolk, Virginia TANF agency helps families in shelter locate and stabilize in new housing. Speakers from each community will discuss these initiatives in the workshop.

In addition to many exciting workshops like the one above, the conference will feature several "preconference meetings" on the morning of Monday, July 28. These include:
  • SAMHSA's Strategies for Change: Online Curriculum -- HomeBase is hosting this session to allow participants to help shape online curriculum based on SAMHSA's Blueprint for Change: ending chronic homelessness for persons with serious mental illnesses and/or co-occurring substance use disorders. The session will include demonstrations of some new innovations in the curriculum and will highlight one module that focuses on using partnerships to integrate services into one comprehensive and seamless system of care. Participant feedback is a valuable component in the developmental process and will be incorporated into the curriculum before its national launch.
  • Local and State Homeless Coalitions: Meeting of the Minds -- Homeless coalitions are a powerful instrument in the movement to end homelessness. This meeting is for staff and board of local and state homeless coalitions. All are welcome and participants will be encouraged to share and receive information on best practices in homeless coalition initiatives. You can submit agenda suggestions to
  • abaker@naeh.org. An agenda will be identified and agreed upon at the beginning of the meeting. Lively discussion is guaranteed.

Online registration is now available. Register and reserve your hotel room now!

  
 
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