They had a hearing last week. And have another one on Wednesday at 1:30. They are clearly just looking for shovel ready projects, but here is the testimony of the Homeless Services Consortium and regardless of what project, what kind of priorities should be set in funding projects.
Here is the audio from the hearing if you want to hear what the others said.
I am attending on Wednesday to give my own input – not the consortium. I agree with what they had to say, but have other things to add.
To: Dane County Affordable Housing Fund Staff Team
From: Homeless Services Consortium
Re: Affordable Housing Development Fund Listening Session Input
Date: February 12, 2015
My name is Brenda Konkel, today I’m here on behalf of the Homeless Services Consortium of Dane County. We are a group of 68 partner agencies and programs, funders (including the United Way, Dane County and City of Madison), advocates and formerly homeless persons, all committed to preventing and ending homelessness. We are a large and diverse group working on the common goal of ensuring that all households in Dane County have the opportunity to secure and maintain safe, stable affordable housing. If you want to find out more about the organization you can find us on the web at danecountyhomeless.org
On February 3rd the consortium met and agreed that our priorities for the fund are as follows:
1. Ending veteran homelessness by 2015, and ending chronic homelessness by 2016 should be a priority.
The consortium is one of 67 communities that have been chosen to be part of the national Zero 2016 campaign to end veteran homelessness by 2015 and chronic homelessness by 2016. By joining the campaign, the community has committed to doing whatever it can to end chronic and veteran homelessness by the end of 2016. This requires a new commitment by our community including:
- Coordinated Assessment which is a common process where programs work together to make sure services for accessing homelessness assistance are accessible and well targeted to the immediate needs of the clients. These services include prevention, diversion, emergency shelter, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, supportive services and permanent supportive housing,
- A housing placement service that uses a tool to identify, assess, prioritize and match people experiencing homelessness with appropriate housing and services. This is a triage tool that prioritizes who to serve next and determines why, while identifying what support is most likely necessary to avoid housing instability.
Recent calculations indicate that there will be 166 veterans who experience homelessness in the next year. Chronic homeless numbers have not yet been estimated, but a count indicates that there in 2013 there were 424 men, 16 women and 79 families that meet the HUD definition of chronically homeless which is, as follows:
“either (1) an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has been continuously homeless for a year or more, OR (2) an unaccompanied individual with a disabling condition who has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.” Please note that disabling conditions include mental illness and alcohol and drug addictions.
As such, we would like to see priorities given to housing that serves the goals of ending the specific HUD definition of chronic homelessness by 2016 and veteran homelessness by 2015.
2. Housing First programs should be a priority.
The consortium is the Continuum of Care of Dane County. This HUD program promotes a communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provides funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promotes access to and effects utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimizes self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
As a part of the continuum,HUD has placed a high funding priority on Housing First programs. Housing First is a philosophy that moves homeless individuals as quickly as possible from the streets to their own apartments. The idea is that a homeless individual or a family’s primary need is to obtain stable housing and that other issues can be addressed as needed once housing is obtained, instead of addressing issues first before people can be placed in housing. Core elements for Housing First programs are:
- Admission/tenant screening and selection practices promote the acceptance of applicants regardless of their sobriety or use of substances, completion of treatment, and participation in services.
- Applicants are seldom rejected on the basis of poor credit or financial history, poor or lack of rental history, minor criminal convictions, or behaviors that indicate a lack of “housing readiness.”
- Housing accepts referrals directly from shelters, street outreach, drop-in centers, and other parts of crisis response system frequented by vulnerable people experiencing homelessness.
- Supportive services emphasize engagement and problem-solving over therapeutic goals. Services plans are highly tenant-driven without predetermined goals. Participation in services or program compliance is not a condition of permanent supportive housing tenancy. Rapid re-housing programs may require case management as condition of receiving rental assistance.
- Use of alcohol or drugs in and of itself (without other lease violations) is not considered a reason for eviction
For information about Housing First in practice, see the Housing First checklist from the United States Interagency Council on homelessness: http://usich.gov/resources/uploads/asset_library/Housing_First_Checklist_FINAL.pdf
The past assumption is that people who have experienced chronic homelessness have the expectation that intensive (and often specialized) services will be needed indefinitely. For most people experiencing homelessness, however, such intensive services are not necessary. The vast majority of homeless individuals and families fall into homelessness after a housing or personal crisis that led them to seek help from the homeless assistance system. For these families and individuals, the Housing First approach is ideal, as it provides them with assistance to find permanent housing quickly and without conditions. In turn, such clients of the homeless assistance networks need surprisingly little support or assistance to achieve independence, saving the system considerable costs.
Thank you for your time and service.
