Watch the introductory clip for "Putting Homelessness in Focus", a recent documentary by Wellington, New Zealand filmmaker Charlie Bleakley and University of Otago at Wellington public health researcher Dr. Kate Amore. “The issue can be confronted from a purely economic perspective or out of sense of social responsibility. In either case it needs acknowledgement and to be addressed with consistent policy”-- Charlie Bleakley.
Partnership, innovation, and “targeted, focused resources” achieve measurable results from 2005-2007
Washington, DC. July 29. For the first time in the history of contemporary homelessness in the United States, the federal government has released national data reported by local communities showing a second consecutive year of decline in the number of persons experiencing chronic homelessness with an average 15% yearly decline from 2005 to 2007.
Speaking in Washington on Tuesday and in conjunction with national media attention, including a USA Today article, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston reported at the National Alliance to End Homelessness Annual Conference that the chronically homeless population fell from 155,623 in 2006 to 123,833 in 2007. This continues a decrease first reported last year when data revealed a decline from 175,914 in 2005 to 155,623 in 2006. A chronically homeless person is defined as a disabled individual who has been continuously homeless for more than one year or has experienced at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years. "We can all be encouraged that we're making progress in reducing chronic street homelessness in America and with more resources and better reporting, we can continue this trend . . . " stated Secretary Preston.
A statement released by the White House Press Office said, "At the beginning of his Administration, President Bush set a goal to end chronic homelessness in America. Today, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Preston reported that the Administration has continued to make progress on this goal.” The statement went on to note that, “ President Bush also appreciates the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness' leadership in convening 20 federal agencies to work together, using increased federal resources to reach the most vulnerable and disabled of our neighbors and end their homelessness. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Peake continues to do an excellent job in leading the Council and specifically strengthening the VA's support for projects that serve and target homeless veterans.” Read the full statement. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/07/20080729-5.html
"The numbers announced today by Secretary Preston that show we are on track to meet the Administration's goal of ending chronic homelessness are the numbers we've been waiting to see for 30 years - a decrease in homelessness for our most vulnerable and disabled neighbors, living on our streets, languishing in our shelters, those experiencing chronic homelessness," said United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. "The collaboration of many federal agencies - including HUD, VA, HHS, DOL, SSA - along with Governors, Mayors, County Executives, as well as non-profit and faith-based groups, has created a partnership characterized by increased resources, political will, innovation, and results that has supported the President's priority to reduce and end chronic homelessness. Today's numbers document that the partnership is working."
VA Secretary and Council Chair James Peake was a keynote speaker at the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Third National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders in April which brought together more than 250 state and local jurisdictional leaders, their representatives, “community champions”, and other business and community leaders to focus on sustaining the “visible, measurable, and quantifiable” progress that has been made through 10 Year Plans and the America’s Road Home effort in reducing and preventing chronic homelessness, and broaden awareness of innovative research informed, evidence-based, and field-tested initiatives responsible for achieving results.
The National Partnership constellated by the Council includes 20 Federal agencies, 53 states and territories whose Governors have taken steps to create State Interagency Councils on Homelessness, and over 340 communities whose Mayors and County Executives have committed to creating and implementing 10 Year Plans. At their recent annual meetings, both the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties unanimously adopted resolutions reaffirming their partnership and commitment to the goal of ending chronic homelessness. Last November, twenty-two Mayors and County officials representing jurisdictional leadership on homelessness across the nation signed an unprecedented 12-point America’s Road HomeStatement of Principles and Actions to end chronic homelessness at a National Summit convened by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. The America’s Road Home Statement of Principles and Actions has now been signed by more than 380 Mayors and County Executives.
The chronically homeless data is from HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) based on reports from single Point in Time counts from 3,800 cities and counties. This year the AHAR for the first time also reports on the scope of homelessness in America over a full-year period, finding that nearly 1.6 million persons experienced homelessness and found shelter between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007. This estimate is based on year-long data collected from more than 284,000 persons located in 98 communities nationwide.
Following the release of the report, key authors conducted a national press briefing to summarize data presented by Dr. Martha Burt of the Urban Institute, Dr. Dennis Culhane of the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Jill Khadduri of Abt Associates. Key federal partners were also present, including Council Director Mangano, VA Homeless Programs Director Pete Dougherty, and HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Mark Johnston who moderated the panel briefing. Among the findings noted by the researchers using HUD's new year-long sample of Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data were characteristics of sheltered homeless:
Geographic: 77% are in central cities and 23% are in suburban and rural areas.
Household Type: 70% are individuals and 30% are persons in families with children.
Race: 64% percent are members of minorities.
Gender: 69% of all sheltered homeless individuals are men.
Age: 55% of all homeless individuals are 31-to-50 years old.
Veteran Status: 13% of all sheltered homeless adults are veterans.
NATION’S ELECTED COUNTY OFFICIALS AFFIRM PARTNERSHIP WITH COUNCIL, ENDORSE INNOVATIONS IN 10 YEAR PLANNING EFFORTS, AND SUPPORT AMERICA’S ROAD HOME AT 2008 NACo ANNUAL CONFERENCE
New resolution affirms 10 Year Plans, urges adoption of innovations achieving results, calls for special focus on veterans, encourages counties to participate in National Project Homeless Connect Week
Number of county and mayoral signatories to America’s Road Home Statement of Principles and Actions now top 350
Jackson County/Kansas City, MO. July 15. Meeting in the American heartland for the 2008 NACo Annual Conference and Exposition, the nation’s county officials endorsed and affirmed through a Resolution innovations that are reducing and ending chronic homelessness in communities throughout the nation.
Five years ago to the day that NACo first adopted a Policy Resolution supporting 10 Year Planning and encouraging counties to engage with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to create 10 Year Plans, county officials affirmed with a new resolution the progress being made and the innovations responsible for the decreased numbers. Reaffirming support for 10 Year Plans and with special focus on homeless veterans, cost benefit analysis, Project Homeless Connect, and America’s Road Home, the NACo Resolution adopted today endorses innovative initiatives in 10 Year Plans, including Rapid Rehousing and Housing First strategies, and calls on communities to adopt these and other innovations that are making a difference on the streets and in the neighborhoods of our country.
At the conference United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano was invited to address the Human Services and Education Steering Committee chaired by Sacramento Supervisor Roger Dickinson. Director Mangano reported on the progress of the national effort that now includes 345 city and county 10 Year Plans, an increasing number of cost benefit studies, and the bipartisan development by a representative group of mayors and county officials in partnership with the Council of the America’s Road Home Statement of Principles and Actions at a Denver Summit in November 2007. Director Mangano is pictured here with Supervisor Dickinson and NACo’s Associate Legislative Director Marilina Sanz. Sacramento is one of an increasing number of examples across the country of cities and counties partnering to develop regional plans. A public 1st Year Report Card on the Sacramento City and County 10 Year Plan was highlighted in the Council’s recent “20 in 20” Innovation series for its effectiveness in improving public accountability and community education.
Encouraged by Wake County, NC Commission Chair Joe Bryan and Commissioner Lindy Brown who both had participated in the shaping and creation of the America’s Road Home document at the Denver Summit, North Carolina county officials at the conference overwhelmingly supported with their signatures the Principles and Actions called for in America’s Road Home and joined others from across the nation to add more than 70 county officials to the growing national support for America’s Road Home which now includes more than 350 jurisdictional leaders.
“We are indebted to the openness of NACo President Eric Coleman and NACo Legislative Director Ed Rosado and his team for the strength of the partnership between the Council and NACo," indicated United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. "The reaffirmation of that partnership through Resolution and support for America's Road Home signals the reframing of the issue of homelessness in an economic lens that speaks the vernacular of county leadership and responsibility."
"And, of course, we are again indebted to Wake County Commissioner Bryan and Sacramento County Supervisor Dickinson for the work they have done in their counties to reduce homelessness and for their continuing support at NACo."
NACo Conference Included Sessions on Foster Care Youth, Re-entry
Improving outcomes for young people aging out of the foster care system was the special Presidential Initiative of outgoing NACo 2007-2008 President, Oakland, MI Commissioner Eric Coleman. Throughout the year, NACo in partnership with the Pew Charitable Trusts worked to “raise awareness among county officials about the plight of young adults aging out of foster care, identify promising county practices that support them as they transition to independent adulthood, and enlist county officials in a call to action to take a leadership role in their communities to improve outcomes for foster youth.” Improving outcomes for foster care youth is among the topics addressed in Promising Strategies to End Youth Homelessness, a congressionally-mandated report prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families in consultation with the Council. Recent legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and awaiting Senate action, Fostering Connections to Success Act (H.R. 6307), would among other provisions allow states to extend federal foster care payments for youth up to age 21.
The 2008 meeting continued NACo’s special focus on jail diversion and re-entry issues with a presentation on “Reentry for Safer Counties: The Door to a Jail Need Not be a Revolving One.” Conference participants were also offered an opportunity to visit a nearby health center site operated by Swope Health Center, a federally-qualified health center (FQHC) and community mental health center (CMHC), Through its various outpatient sites, the Swope Health Center serves over 45,000 homeless and low to moderate income residents of five counties in Missouri and Kansas, 90% of patients seen have incomes below the poverty level. As reported in the Council’s July 11 e-newsletter, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has released a new report on the results of the Administration's 5-year national expansion initiative for community health centers. Health Centers: America's Primary Care Safety Net Reflections on Success, 2002-2007
"PARTNERSHIP OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESULTS" TO PREVENT AND END HOMELESSNESS AFFIRMED BY U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS AT 76th ANNUAL MEETING IN MIAMI
Mayors affirm and expand their partnership to end homelessness in the nation
Adopt Policy Resolutions affirming the goal of ending chronic homelessness and supporting strategies including America’s Road Home, 10-Year Plans, Community Champions, Project Homeless Connect, Housing First, HUD-VASH, and reentry resources
MIAMI, FLORIDA. Hosted by incoming United States Conference of Mayors President and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz who on Monday accepted the gavel from Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer, the nation’s Mayors convened in Miami on Friday for their 76th Annual Meeting. Throughout the Conference events, Mayors affirmed the goal of ending homelessness and expanded their bipartisan partnership with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (“Council”) to end homelessness in the nation through partnership, innovation, jurisdictional accountability, and results. Mayor Diaz (shown here) was recognized with the Council’s 2008 Mayoral Leadership “Home for Every American” Award earlier this year at the Council’s Third Annual National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders.
WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND AND STATE OF OREGON BECOME LATEST CITY AND STATE TO UNVEIL 10-YEAR PLANS
SALEM, OREGON. 120 state officials, local elected officials, provider agencies, and homeless advocates, representing the twelve jurisdictionally-led, community-based 10 Year Plans in Oregon gathered at the state capitol of Salem as the Oregon Ending Homelessness Advisory Council unveiled the state's own plan - "A Home for Hope" - that has been developed in support of twelve local 10 Year Plans in Oregon. Director Mangano is pictured here addressing the Summit.
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano was invited to keynote the Summit at the Willamette University College of Law. The Summit was sponsored by Governor Theodore Kulongoski's Ending Homelessness Advisory Board and the Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services, with assistance from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND. City Council Chambers was the site of last week's rollout of the new Warwick, Rhode Island 10 Year Plan. Mayor Scott Avedisian welcomed United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano to the press event where federal, state, and local government partners, as well as the private sector, were represented. Director Mangano is pictured here at the event in the historic City Council Chambers, speaking to community stakeholders.
Warwick is the first Rhode Island city to develop its own Plan, which is linked to the state's plan. Stated Warwick's planners: "Adopting a state-wide approach does not absolve municipalities from responsibility. Each city and town must take positive actions within the state-wide context to assure the state plan is fully implemented in their own jurisdictions." Warwick is one of a very few U.S. cities that has modeled the example of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness to create an Interagency Council for its own jurisdictionally-led, community-based 10 Year Plan. On April 26, 2004, Mayor Avedisian issued Executive Order 2004-06 establishing an Interagency Council on Homelessness in the City of Warwick.
INNOVATION IS FOCUS OF INTERAGENCY COUNCIL DAILY SPECIAL EDITION E-NEWSLETTERS
20 in 20 …. Twenty replicable innovations achieving results in preventing or ending homelessness were the focus of daily special editions of the Council's e-newsletter throughout the month of May. Each day's "20 in 20" e-newsletter profiled a single innovation, identifying the innovation, the innovator, who is benefiting, the results, and where to get more information. Please visit the Council’s Innovations web page to read about these innovations and consider how they might be replicated in your community.
AMERICA'S ROAD HOME: COUNCIL'S THIRD ANNUAL NATIONAL SUMMIT FOR JURISDICTIONAL LEADERS
WASHINGTON, DC. April 15, 2008. More than 250 state and local jurisdictional leaders, their representatives, “community champions”, and other business and community leaders partnered in over 325 10-Year Plans and in 53 State Interagency Councils gathered in Washington DC last week at the National Press Club for the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) Third Annual National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders.
This year’s event, America’s Road Home: Future Directions for Policy and Investment in Abolishing Homelessness - Partnering for Results in Ten Year Plans, focused on sustaining the “visible, measurable, and quantifiable” progress that has been made through Ten Year Plans and the America’s Road Home effort in reducing and preventing chronic homelessness, and broadening awareness of the policies and innovative research informed, evidence-based, and field-tested initiatives responsible for achieving these results.
The
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
409 Third Street SW | Suite 310 | Washington, D.C. 20024
Phone (202) 708-4663 | Fax (202) 708-1216
Speaking in Washington on Tuesday and in conjunction with national media attention, including a USA Today article, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston reported at the National Alliance to End Homelessness Annual Conference that the chronically homeless population fell from 155,623 in 2006 to 123,833 in 2007. This continues a decrease first reported last year when data revealed a decline from 175,914 in 2005 to 155,623 in 2006. A chronically homeless person is defined as a disabled individual who has been continuously homeless for more than one year or has experienced at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years. "We can all be encouraged that we're making progress in reducing chronic street homelessness in America and with more resources and better reporting, we can continue this trend . . . " stated Secretary Preston.
Jackson County/Kansas City, MO. July 15. Meeting in the American heartland for the 2008 NACo Annual Conference and Exposition, the nation’s county officials endorsed and affirmed through a Resolution innovations that are reducing and ending chronic homelessness in communities throughout the nation. 
At the conference United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano was invited to address the Human Services and Education Steering Committee chaired by Sacramento Supervisor Roger Dickinson. Director Mangano reported on the progress of the national effort that now includes 345 city and county 10 Year Plans, an increasing number of cost benefit studies, and the bipartisan development by a representative group of mayors and county officials in partnership with the Council of the America’s Road Home Statement of Principles and Actions at a Denver Summit in November 2007. Director Mangano is pictured here with Supervisor Dickinson and NACo’s Associate Legislative Director Marilina Sanz. Sacramento is one of an increasing number of examples across the country of cities and counties partnering to develop regional plans. A public 1st Year 
“We are indebted to the openness of NACo President Eric Coleman and NACo Legislative Director Ed Rosado and his team for the strength of the partnership between the Council and NACo," indicated United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. "The reaffirmation of that partnership through Resolution and support for America's Road Home signals the reframing of the issue of homelessness in an economic lens that speaks the vernacular of county leadership and responsibility." 
SALEM, OREGON. 120 state officials, local elected officials, provider agencies, and homeless advocates, representing the twelve jurisdictionally-led, community-based 10 Year Plans in Oregon gathered at the state capitol of Salem as the Oregon Ending Homelessness Advisory Council unveiled the state's own plan - "A Home for Hope" - that has been developed in support of twelve local 10 Year Plans in Oregon. Director Mangano is pictured here addressing the Summit. 
WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND. City Council Chambers was the site of last week's rollout of the new Warwick, Rhode Island 10 Year Plan. Mayor Scott Avedisian welcomed United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano to the press event where federal, state, and local government partners, as well as the private sector, were represented. Director Mangano is pictured here at the event in the historic City Council Chambers, speaking to community stakeholders.