WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development today published the General Section of the FY 2006 SuperNOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) for its annual multi-program competition expected in early 2006. Today's Notice provides prospective applicants for HUD competitive funding with the opportunity to become familiar with the General Section to HUD's FY 2006 SuperNOFA, in advance of publication of the FY 2006 SuperNOFA program sections. Early publication of the General Section is intended to give prospective applicants additional time to become familiar with provisions in the General Section which constitute part of almost every HUD application.

Today's notice underscores the Administration's commitment to end chronic homelessness, noting, "President Bush has set a national goal to end chronic homelessness. HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson has embraced this goal and has pledged that HUD's grant programs will be used to support the President's goal and better meet the needs of chronically homeless individuals." According to the Notice, applicants are encouraged to target assistance to chronically homeless persons by undertaking activities that will result in creation of permanent and permanent supportive housing, as well as services, including the use of one-stop assistance centers or service coordinators to ensure that persons experiencing chronic homelessness have access to a variety of social services.

Electronic applications and resources from mainstream programs are also a focus of the Notice. While HUD's homeless programs will be the only HUD competitive programs that retain paper applications for FY 2006, HUD expects electronic submission for FY 2007 homeless applications. Federal grant-making agencies are pledging to make 75 percent of funding opportunities available on the electronic Grants.gov in FY 2006 (see Federal Register Notice of December 9, 2005). Applicants for HUD's homeless programs will benefit from becoming familiar with the electronic requirements so they do not limit their ability to secure funding from sources other than HUD in FY 2006.

PORTLAND, OREGON. On Tuesday, Portland joined the National Project Homeless Day initiative coordinated by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), and became the 29th community in the nation to host Project Homeless Connect. The event, which marked the one year anniversary of the Portland-Multnomah County 10-Year Plan, brought together a larger than expected gathering - close to 900 people experiencing homelessness and over 400 volunteers. The event included housing assistance, benefit counseling, and legal services, as well as on-site health care, including medical, dental, vision care, acupuncture, chiropractic care, and podiatry. Animal care, provided by the Humane Society, was also featured. Mayor Potter is pictured here (far right) with Director Mangano (second from right), Commissioner Sten (second from left), and Commissioner Cruz- Walsh (far left).

Co-sponsored by the City and County, Portland's Project Homeless Connect drew more than 50 non-profit agencies and local businesses including Cingular, Marriott, Nike, LensCrafters, and Kaiser Permanente. The event took place at the Memorial Coliseum.

"There are a lot of government agencies and non-profits that work with the homeless everyday with little fanfare," said County Commissioner Serena Cruz-Walsh. "They should be applauded. However, what is different about this event is that people and companies who typically don't work with our homeless citizens are stepping forward - from a woman who owns a small soap-making business to corporate giants like Nike."

Council partners from four federal agencies were on hand with USICH Executive Director Philip Mangano and Council Region 10 Coordinator Paul Carlson to participate in the event: the United States Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, the Social Security Administration, and Veterans Affairs. Director Mangano, who was invited to help launch the initiative, told volunteers, "Project Homeless Connect is one of those ideas that's producing results. In cities across the country that have held Project Homeless Connect Days, literally thousands of homeless people from the streets or long term in shelters have been engaged and changed to end their homelessness. From medical services to Medicaid assistance, haircuts to housing, and here in Portland, from animal care to acupuncture, Connect offers resources to engage and end homelessness, one stop, one day, one goal."

After Portland launched its 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness a year ago, City Commissioner Erik Sten, whose office coordinated Tuesday's event, said he realized residents were eager to find a direct way to help. "I was literally getting stopped on the street by very sincere people who wanted to do something," Sten said.

Project Homeless Connect is one part of Portland's plan to end homelessness. "Government cannot end homelessness alone," organizers said. "Project Homeless Connect unites the energy and commitment of ordinary individuals with creative solutions to end homelessness."

Project Homeless Connect was first launched in San Francisco in October 2004 as part of that city's goal to do more to engage the street population with housing and services. USICH subsequently identified Project Homeless Connect as one of the innovations to be replicated in support of 10-Year Plans. As a result, dozens of cities across the country have joined the national initiative, and interest in the event has grown among 10-Year Plan cities, especially following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as communities spontaneously created similar "one-stops" to respond quickly to the housing and service needs of evacuees.

In December, 26 cities and over 16,000 people were involved in the first National Project Homeless Connect Day coordinated by the Council. More than 8,861 people experiencing homelessness across the country were assisted, and 709 left the streets.

Portland's next Project Homeless Connect is planned for the spring and will include homeless families. A number of cities are planning Project Connect events over the next few months. Cities that have announced dates include Waco, Texas (January 27), San Francisco, California (February 16), and Miami, Florida (April 20).

DENVER, COLORADO. Mayor John Hickenlooper (pictured here) announced on Tuesday that Denver's Commission to End Homelessness has in six months raised $5.5 million, 70% of the funding needed to reach their one-year goal of $7.7 million. The resources are part of the $33 million, three-year effort to raise money from individual, charitable, corporate, state, and federal government sources in support of Denver's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. The 41-member commission, which is chaired by Department of Human Services manager Roxane White, has received $9.5 million in commitments thus far.

"We know that with more funding we can really give people . . . that hand up off the street so they can get back into the cycle of productive lives," Hickenlooper said in his announcement at City Hall.

Instead of wasting money on failed "Band-Aid" approaches, the Mayor said, the funding will help drive a comprehensive plan to give homeless individual and families critical social services.

Denver became part of the national partnership of communities engaged in 10-year planning initiatives when the City and County released a joint 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in May 2005. Denver joins other cities such as Atlanta, New York, and San Francisco, who have mounted successful funding-raising efforts in the private sector to further the goals and objectives of their 10-year plans.

"Denver, like other 10-Year Plan cities, recognizes that the private sector has a significant role to play both in resources and ideas," said United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. "As a businessman himself, Mayor Hickenlooper understands how to involve every source of funding to accomplish a goal.

The money raised to date has been used to support a variety of 10-year plan initiatives, including:

• 349 housing units and rental subsidies
• Eviction assistance and financial counseling for 156 families
• A mentoring program to match homeless families and seniors with religious groups
• Increased access to employment, child care, health care, food assistance and abuse and mental health treatment
• 140 beds for respite care and 100 beds for cold weather emergencies.

WASHINGTON, DC. President Bush recently signed into law the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005, passed by Congress in late December, VAWA aims to curtail domestic violence through funding for women's shelters and law enforcement training and reauthorizes VAWA, originally authorized in 1994, including new housing protections and programs for domestic violence survivors and their families.

Many survivors of domestic and sexual violence experience barriers in obtaining housing independent from their abusers, putting them at increased risk of homelessness. According to the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women, 92% of homeless women have experienced severe physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lives. In addition, 38% of all victims of domestic violence become homeless.

The legislation includes housing provisions to address preventing and ending the homelessness of domestic violence victims, modeled after community development and "housing first" programs in place across the nation. VAWA 2005 creates a $10 million program to fund collaborative efforts to create permanent housing options for victims. Providing permanent housing options for victims of domestic violence reduces the likelihood that they will return to their abusers.

The law also expands the existing transitional residential program for victims from $30 million to $40 million. That program provides a bridge between temporary emergency accommodations and independent living at a time when many battered need support and assistance.

The United States Department of Justice works with state and local jurisdictions to implement VAWA. Under the Violence against Women grant programs the Department of Justice has awarded more than $1 billion in grant funds, making over 1,250 discretionary grants and over 350 STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) formula grants to the states and territories. These grant programs help state, tribal, and local governments and community-based agencies to train personnel, establish specialized domestic violence and sexual assault units, assist victims of violence, and hold perpetrators accountable. More than 6,500 STOP sub-grants have supported community partnerships among police, prosecutors, victim advocates, and others to address violence against women.

WASHINGTON, DC. $9 million in grant funds for re-entry programs is currently available from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The grants, part of the multi-agency Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative, will go to state justice agencies working in partnership with faith- or community-based organizations that have received similar grants from the Department of Labor (DOL). Only jurisdictions which have received grants from DOL are eligible to apply. Applications are due January 26, 2006.

The Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative announced by President Bush in 2004 seeks to strengthen urban communities characterized by large numbers of re-entering, nonviolent prisoners. The initiative is designed to reduce recidivism by helping people released from prison find work and access other critical services in their communities.

In November 2005, DOL awarded 30 grants totaling nearly $20 million to faith- and community-based organizations to develop employment-centered programs for re-entering individuals. These new grants from DOJ will be made to state agencies to provide pre-release assessment, programming and services, transition planning, and post-release supervision and coordination of services for prisoners returning to communities served by DOL grants. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will also assist in the design and implementation of the initiative as it involves substance abuse and mental health treatment. Read more at www.ojp.gov/BJA/grant/reentry.html

WASHINGTON, DC. On Tuesday, February 7, 2006, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives will host a workshop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for representatives from faith-based and community organizations that have a track record of applying for government grants, especially those from groups that have not yet won grants.

The workshop is part of a series of regional and targeted workshops offered by the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to continue its support for the work of effective social service organizations. The regional conferences offer a general overview of the Faith-Based and Community Initiative, information about the Federal funding process, available funding opportunities, and the requirements that come with the receipt of Federal funds. These conferences are geared towards those who are new to the Initiative, have no history of applying for government grants, or have attempted to secure government funding, but have not yet been successful.

The targeted workshops offer grant writing tutorials for certain Federal grant programs that present the greatest opportunity for faith-based and community organizations. Each event provides an opportunity to inform state and local officials about equal treatment regulations and other central elements of the Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The conferences and workshops are being supported by the United States Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, the Small Business Administration, Veterans Affairs, and the Agency for International Development.

The Harrisburg conference is from 8 am to 5 pm at the Hilton Harrisburg and Towers Hotel. Registration for the free conference is available for up to three representatives from any organization on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration deadline is 5 pm EST on Thursday, February 2. For more information, visit: http://www.dtiassociates.com/FBCI/ tartgetWorkshopDesc.cfm

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), which is charged in statute to review Federal activities and programs to assist homeless individuals and consider improvements in programs and activities to assist homeless individuals, conducts Senior Policy Group discussions on key issues with representatives from the Council's twenty member agencies. Recent on-going discussions, including the United States Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security/FEMA, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Education, and Veterans Affairs have focused on definitions of homelessness as they exist in statute, regulation, and agency program guidance. The goal of these discussions has been to consider areas of commonality between different definitions of homelessness, and ways that definitions advance agency and program objectives.

At the Federal level, programs to assist persons who are homeless provide a wide range of services, including transitional programs, mental health and substance abuse services, health care, food assistance, and emergency shelter. Many of these programs are targeted to serve the needs of different segments of the homeless population (e.g., homeless veterans, runaway youth), while others are intended to reach a broader number of persons, including those who may be at-risk of homelessness.

The Senior Policy Group discussions have included a review of the five different Federal statutory definitions of homelessness covering the terms "homeless individual," "homeless person," "homeless children and youths," and "homeless youth." Several Federal agencies were found to share one statutory definition of homelessness, while others administer multiple programs authorized under different definitions. For the most part, these definitions share common language that defines homelessness as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

Differences identified by agencies primarily relate to inclusion of individuals who are sharing the housing of other persons (i.e., "doubled-up") due to loss of housing or economic hardship, and persons living in trailer parks and substandard housing. The latter definition refers to a much broader population of individuals that may not be living on the streets or in shelters, but nevertheless could be construed as experiencing homelessness due to housing instability. Many Federal agencies have provided regulatory and non-regulatory guidance regarding the definition of homelessness to address ambiguities and clarify eligible populations for these purposes.

The Senior Policy Group discussion convened by the Council revealed that existing variations between agency definitions reflect the diversity of program purposes, and are closely tied to the overall mission of the agency and program office. Definitions also reflect the need to frame an identifiable population of individuals intended to benefit from services provided with a fixed amount of federal resources. While some nuances exist among definitions used by Federal agencies, there is also a significant degree of commonality given the range of Federal programs that provide assistance to homeless people.

PORTLAND, OREGON. Portland and Multnomah County have moved 600 people experiencing chronic homelessness into permanent housing in 2005, more than three times the number planned, exceeding a key first-year goal for the community's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. The first-year results were announced at a press conference last Thursday attended by Mayor Tom Potter (pictured here), Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz-Walsh, and City Commissioner Erik Sten. Mayor Potter emphasized that housing and support services are the keys to ending homelessness in the most cost-effective and humane way, and that the greater community must come together in support of this effort to make sure no one has to live on the streets of Portland.

"Getting people into housing first works - plain and simple. Our local service organizations that are working with the homeless every day deserve the credit for this achievement," said Commissioner Sten. "With very limited resources we have managed to provide people who have been on the street a long time permanent homes. It took hard work and increased coordination."

First year efforts included changes to the rental assistance program. "We are proud that we reformed the $2 million rent assistance program so that we will have better outcomes for families and people who need housing," said Commissioner Cruz-Walsh.

Portland and Multnomah County announced the 10- Year Plan to End Homelessness a year ago in December 2004, joining the national partnership of communities initiated by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, which now numbers 205 cities across the country. The plan directs agencies and non-profits that work with homeless people to move them more directly into permanent housing. The plan focuses on offering housing first to people experiencing chronic homelessness as an initial strategy to address all homelessness. Specifically, the plan calls for the creation of 1,600 new housing units for single adults and 600 hundred units for homeless families by 2015.

Additional encouraging results from first year initiatives include:

• The opening of 244 units of permanent supportive housing (housing that offers service to address disabilities, substance abuse, mental illness and other needs);
• The housing of 33 "hard to reach" homeless youth;
• Providing permanent housing for 344 homeless families with children;
• The most extensive and accurate street count of Portland's homeless population in the city's history, held in January of 2005, which provides baseline data by which to measure the long-term success of this effort.

"While I am very happy about this year's results," said Mayor Potter, "government cannot end homelessness alone. We still have a lot of work to do and need new partners to come to the table to support affordable housing, emergency rent assistance, and other real solutions."

With this issue of the e-news, we continue our coverage of excerpts from remarks by public sector partners ending chronic homelessness. These Words of the Week come from Mayor John Hickenlooper at this week's announcement of successful fundraising efforts by Denver's Commission to End Homelessness to increase investments (see above story).

"We've received gifts of various sizes, from $6.25 from a homeless person to the $1 million commitment from the HealthONE Alliance. We recognize that sometimes it's every bit as great a sacrifice to give $6.25 as it is to give $100,000 or $1 million. I think that willingness to give and to push yourself to the point where it becomes uncomfortable and almost painful is really when the world changes."