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On
December 5, a day that saw much of the Washington area paralyzed
by an early winter storm, senior government officials gathered at
the White House Conference Center to push forward collaborative
efforts that will reduce the number of homeless people on the streets
of America and strengthen homeless prevention efforts. The members
of the newly revitalized Interagency Council on Homelessness reported
on the intra-agency, interagency and inter- governmental collaborations
that are taking place on an unprecedented scale to help those who
are homeless and those who are at-risk of homelessness.
"These
collaborations respond to a new standard of expectation. Our efforts
are being guided by the latest research on homelessness. We expect
to see visible, measurable and quantifiable changes on the streets
of our communities and in the number and circumstances of homeless
people."
-
Philip Mangano, Executive Director of the Interagency Council on
Homelessness
Among the collaborative efforts presented at the Council meeting:
- A
$35 million joint funding effort by the Departments
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Health
and Human Services (HHS) and Veterans
Administration (VA) to provide permanent housing and services
for chronically homeless persons to be announced shortly in the
Federal Register.
- A
Foster Care-Job Corps initiative involving the Departments
of Labor and Health and Human
Services with the intent to establish a direct referral process
for young people aging out of the foster care system to receive
housing and job training assistance through the Job Corps.
- A
joint initiative between the Departments of Labor and Veterans
Administration to help incarcerated veterans transition back into
the community. VA Secretary Principi also noted the Veterans Administration
was awarding $12 million to support nearly 1400 transitional housing
units for homeless veterans over the next three years.
- Officials
from every state will have the opportunity to participate in one
of four regionally based Policy
Academies, jointly sponsored by the Departments of Health
and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and the Veterans
Administration, to learn how to better access and coordinate the
availability of mainstream resources to help those experiencing
chronic homelessness.
- Ten
regional Interagency Council coordinators to replicate the federal
model of collaboration at the state and local level.
- An
update
on the Re-Entry Initiative announced at the first Council
meeting in July. Seven federal agencies led by the Department
of Justice have pooled $100 million in funding to improve community
safety by reducing the recidivism rate among persons being released
from prison through more effective discharge planning. Research
has shown that many persons leaving prisons are homeless immediately
upon release.
more...
Council
members agreed that the continued development of collaborative initiatives
is one of seven underlying principles, including eliminating chronic
homelessness, prevention, intervention, research, innovation based
on performance outcomes and accessing available mainstream resources,
that will form the framework for a more effective federal response
to homelessness.
The
Bush Administration's call to end chronic homelessness received
support from three guests at the Council meeting: Nan Roman, President
of the National Alliance to End Homelessness
who offered her organization's support for the President's initiative;
Carla Javits, President of the Corporation
for Supportive Housing, who announced a Compact
initiative among housing developers to develop 150,000 units
of supported housing; and Dr. Sam Tsemberis, Executive Director
of Pathways to Housing,
who described the successful "housing first" model through
which those experiencing chronic homelessness are being moved directly
off the streets and placed into permanent housing.
"We
come together today to witness an unprecedented partnership being
formed between the federal government, the advocacy community and
non profit housing developers with the objective of ending chronic
homelessness. Our shared goal is to address the most chronic homeless
needs so that we can better serve homeless individuals and families
who find themselves without a home to call their own."
-
HUD Secretary Mel Martinez, Chairperson of the Interagency Council.
Also
announced at the meeting was the immediate release
of $140 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
funding for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program. The funding
is distributed through the United Way as secretariat for the EFS
National Board to local homeless shelters and food pantries
for food, shelter and utility assistance.
"The
timing of the release of the $140 million is critical to helping
communities across the country fight homelessness", indicated
Philip Mangano. "Providing these funds now will ensure that
local shelters and food pantries have the needed resources during
the winter months when demand is greatest to help those already
homeless and to prevent the loss of housing by families at risk
of homelessness."
In
administrative matters, Council members elected HHS
Secretary Thompson and VA
Secretary Principi to be chairperson and vice-chairperson of
the Council for a one-year term beginning March 2003. The USA
Freedom Corps and the White
House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives were added
as affiliate members.
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