United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson this week announced a record $1.4 billion in federal homeless assistance awards to over 4,400 programs across the nation. Speaking in Los Angeles, where he was joined by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (pictured here), Secretary Jackson stated, "President Bush is deeply committed to supporting our most vulnerable neighbors, and today I am pleased to reconfirm that commitment. This unprecedented level of funds will go directly to those on the front lines, who work tirelessly everyday to bring an end to chronic homelessness, and who provide services to the many individuals and families without a home of their own."

Governor Schwarzenegger, whose state will receive over $228 million in awards, observed, "This is a great day for California and the broader effort to end chronic homelessness. Our mission is to provide the homeless an open door to welcome the weary and then a window to a life of dignity and self- sufficiency. This federal money will help us meet this goal by providing the homeless with housing, health care and the tools necessary to build a new life."

Funds announced by Secretary Jackson include both the competitive Homeless Assistance grants and formula Emergency Shelter Grants to cities and states. Awards will go to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 1,089 of the project awards target individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, and total funding to these projects will exceed $370 million. Approximately half of all funding. totalling $628 million, was awarded to more than 1,100 projects that provide permanent housing solutions for homeless persons. Nearly $33.8 million is being awarded to 133 projects that primarily target homeless veterans among those they serve. Nearly 1,200 of the projects provide housing and support services to severely mentally ill clients, and nearly $372 million will support 1,193 local programs that primarily help homeless individuals with substance abuse problems. More than $9 million will provide job training and other employment services for homeless individuals.

"Today's announcement by Secretary Jackson represents this Administration's fourth year in a row of putting its resources where its rhetoric is," stated United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. "This new record of $1.4 billion in funding will not only support efforts on behalf of homeless families across our country, but will further the goal to end homelessness for the most vulnerable on our streets and long term in our shelters - those experiencing chronic homelessness."

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, making her State of the State address this week, announced a series of proposals aimed at homeless and working poor people in the Aloha State. She called the proposals a way to "increase take-home pay for lower income workers that should also be viewed as a way to prevent further homelessness and to help some that are currently homeless regain their dignity." Governor Lingle has committed the state to oversee development of 17,000 additional affordable housing units over six years and just two weeks ago unveiled her state's 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness during a visit by United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. Director Mangano also visited with the four Hawaiian mayors, who each pledged to work in partnership with the state in addressing homelessness.

Commenting that "Affordable housing will be remembered as the issue that brought us together and that served as the catalyst for a renewed sense of community responsibility," Governor Lingle moved forward with some of the proposals that were part of the housing affordability strategies report released in early January, proposing Affordable Homes Act of 2005 which includes tax credits of up to $4,000 for each of the first 2,500 affordable units completed by December 31, 2007, to reward builders who complete affordable units that are ready for families to occupy. Stated Governor Lingle, "Our robust real estate market and lack of adequate support services for the chronically homeless mean this basic need is not being met for too many of our fellow citizens. This is a very big problem that I really believe we can solve if we're willing to be focused, collaborative and smart about the solutions. This is a problem that requires collaboration between the state and counties and between the government and the private sector."

A new food and medical tax credit will benefit 515,000 people or 40% of the state's population and can be claimed by individuals and families earning less than $40,000 a year, as well as increasing cash payments to low income families who are currently receiving public assistance. She also proposed eliminating the current practice of reducing welfare benefits for parents who go to work to help support their families, thus transferring as much as $58 million during the next two years from the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families reserves directly to an estimated 10,000 working parents, increasing their cash income by an additional $200 to $240 per month.

The Governor also released $1 million in general obligation bond funds to Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. (MEO) for development of an inmate transitional housing facility in Wailuku, where a new residence will offer support and training services for persons being released from the Maui Community Correctional Center (MCCC).The facility will help fill a gap in housing services between MCCC's residential furlough program and parole, with the goal of reducing recidivism by providing clean and sober housing during reintegration into the community. To help ease their transition back into society, residents will participate in a reintegration program, Being Empowered and Safe Together (BEST), which cultivates skills that can be applied in the workplace and community.

Philadelphia Mayor John Street, making his 2005 Budget Address, this week committed his city to move forward with a 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. Philadelphia, which has documented its success in reducing its street homeless population, will now join over 170 other cities and counties in forwarding a mayorally endorsed plan. Mayor Street is pictured here.

Mayor Street, speaking to the Philadelphia City Council, stated, "Our homeless programs have become nationally known as 'Best Practices.' The San Francisco Chronicle, in an article entitled 'The City That Knows How - Philly,' concluded that Philadelphia could teach other cities how to run programs and how to treat homeless men, women and children with respect. This work will continue under the current budget proposal. In fact, we are committed to creating for public release, before the '06 fiscal year, a plan to end homelessness in Philadelphia." Philadephia's efforts, directed by Deputy Managing Director Rob Hess, made good use of cost data, with Philadelphia use data to show the cost of emergency services that could be avoided through placement in permanent supportive housing, as part of its concerted plan to address street homelessness.

Seeking to adopt proven innovations from around the country, San Diego's Leadership Council to End Chronic Homelessness welcomed 10-Year Plan implementers from Philadelphia and Atlanta for a recent 2-day in-depth convening to focus on how new documented results and investments have been achieved in the two cities and contribute to ending chronic homelessness. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano was invited to address public and non-profit stakeholder groups. On hand to brief the Leadership Council, Co-chaired by local business leader Dene Oliver and San Diego County United Way CEO Fred Baranowski, were Philadelphia Deputy Managing Director Rob Hess and Atlanta Commission on Homelessness Chair and civic leader Horace Sibley. Mayors and City Council Members from La Mesa, Santee, Vista, Encinitas, Oceanside, and Escondido participated. Also participating were United States Department of Housing and Urban Development San Diego Field Office Director Frank Riley and HUD Operations Specialist Myrna Pasquale. Pictured here are (left to right): Rob Hess, Director Mangano, Dene Oliver, and Fred Baranowski.

Director Mangano, addressing the convening, indicated recognized San Diego's unique contribution to the national effort, citing its cost study of a small group of street inebriates, "The early recognition and admission that some citizens of San Diego had fallen into homelessness set the stage for the political will now evidenced in this community to move beyond simply acknowledging homelessness to taking action to reduce and end it."

Philadelphia has achieved a dramatic decrease in its street homeless population and has used repetitive streets counts to document its effective strategies which make use of cost data and major investments by mainstream agencies (see related e-news article). Atlanta's Blueprint has drawn almost $10 million in new private and philanthropic investment to its strategies, with the most recent addition being a $3 million anonymous gift. Of the new resources being attracted by the Blueprint, many will support the Gateway, one of the plan's key strategies: a new 24/7 center projected to reduce overflow shelter demand and assist homeless persons with disabilities to obtain appropriate service referrals.

Dallas Mayor Laura Miller this week became the nation's 40th Mayor to sign the Mayoral Covenant of Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness executed at the January 18 meeting of the Mayors Hunger and Homelessness Task Force of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Mayor Miller joins Mayors representing cities from Anchorage to Key West who signed a Covenant of Partnership with each other and with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness agreeing to collaborate in the exchange of data, share best practices, and welcome other cities to join the collaboration. Mayor Miller last year appointed local business and civic leader Tom Dunning to lead the Dallas plan implementation. Mayor Miller, Plan Leader Dunning, and Council Director Mangano are pictured here at Maytor's Miller's announcement of Dallas's plan.

The signing of the Covenant took place at a meeting of the Hunger and Homelessness Task Force under the leadership of its Co-chairs Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell and Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate, responding to the growing level of interest among Mayors in the 10-year planning effort. Planning is built on the premise that ending chronic homelessness is doable by building a partnership involving all levels of government, the private, philanthropic, faith based and business sectors, all working together to share and implement new evidence-based strategies which emphasize adopting effective prevention policies while making available permanent housing resources and treatment services for those already on the streets and in shelters.

A New Year, a new approach to moving homeless people from the streets to housing in Huntsville, Alabama. The city is now moving vulnerable long- term homeless people from its streets and from under bridges where they are living and facing dangerous conditions. The Huntsville Police Department's Community Relations Officer is helping individuals pack up and move from the streets and into new public housing units. Huntsville's Housing Authority is expediting housing applications so that the path is shorter and smoother for those who seek to come inside.

Emphasizing that trust and alternatives were key ingredients in making the invitation to housing successful the Police Department has been supported the approach along with local provider organizations. The community's new Homeless Management Information System is helping individuals reduce the duplication of conveying the details of their circumstances and history to multiple agencies in the quest for services, along with providing a record of important information for housing applications.

The Huntsville Housing Authority is helping individuals make the move to permanent housing more quickly through the development of flexible policies regarding payment of utility and security deposits. Under the initiative, these payments do not have to be submitted in total or in advance, but can now be paid in monthly increments. This policy eases the burden of move in costs and reduces the demand for often scarce upfront funds, helping stabilize tenancies over time.

Noting that virtually every person incarcerated will eventually be released, posing significant impact for public safety and public spending, the public-private Re-entry Policy Council (RPC), supported by three federal agencies and several philanthropies, has issued an extensive report on how policy can influence this critical prevention strategy. Preventing homelessness upon release has long been recognized as a key strategy for communities. Federal support for the comes from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs and National Institute of Corrections; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; and U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.

"We congratulate the community for their work in developing a homelessness plan, and we want you to know that the Yakima County Commission will do our part to lead this effort to end homelessness in our county," said Yakima County Commissioner Jesse Palacios, who joined Commissioner Mike Leita in declaring the county's full support for the plan at a January 19 hearing. The Commission, which gave the Plan its full support, will serve as a key point of oversight for the implementation of the plan. Pictured here are (left to right) Yakima United Way's Tim Sullivan, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region X Coordinator Paul Carlson, and Yakima County Housing Authority CEO Dick Allen.

Yakima County is the agricultural heart of the state and home to a growing number of homeless persons living along the riverbanks, parks, and streets of the county. "We are new at this," says Tim Sullivan of United Way, who has led the organizing efforts of the 10 Year Plan. "We really appreciate help and advice to get this plan started. We know we need more accurate numbers, but we are determined to get this plan done and get going on reducing the numbers of the homeless right away."

Affirming the importance of the County Commission's leadership in plan implementation, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region X Coordinator Paul Carlson was among those who spoke to a County Commission hearing room packed with a range of community leaders and homeless people.