NORTH CAROLINA.Two more North Carolina communities have made the commitment to end chronic homelessness. Wilmington and Fayetteville/Cumberland County this week became the 13th and 14th communities in the state to make formal announcements regarding the development of 10-Year Plans. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) Executive Director Philip Mangano was invited as a guest speaker to both events. North Carolina's point person on homelessness, Martha Are, and Michael German, Region Council Coordinator, attended the kick-off events.

In announcing the intent to create a 10-Year Plan, Cape Fear Council of Governments Executive Director Chris May said, "The Wilmington City Council, staff, and citizens recognize that meeting the needs of our homeless citizens is a complex issue that will require thought provoking dialogue. We look forward to working on this plan as we seek new ways of preventing and ending chronic homelessness." Key leaders representing New Hanover County, Pender County, and Brunswick County attended Monday's initial Steering Committee meeting.

"In moving forward with a 10-Year Plan," said Director Mangano, "Mayor Broadhurst and the Council of Governments are saying to every citizen of the City and County, housed and homeless alike, your quality of life will improve. There will be fewer people on the streets, in shelters long term, in hospital emergency rooms, and fewer emergency police calls." Mayor Broadhurst is pictured above.

City of Fayetteville Mayor Anthony Chavonne and Cumberland County Chairman Billy R. King gathered City, County, and State leaders on Tuesday to announce the development of a City-County 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. "For us to be having this conversation, this dialogue, speaks volumes for this community," said Chairman King. The City and County have passed resolutions in support of developing a joint 10-Year Plan.

The Cumberland County Board of County Commissioners and the Fayetteville City Council have appointed a Steering Committee that includes representatives from 30 organizations - government agencies, faith-based entities, workforce development, universities, the United Way, law enforcement, healthcare providers, nonprofits, and the Cumberland County Business Council. The Steering Committee also includes formerly homeless persons and is open to public input through focus groups and committees. The group hopes to have the Plan ready for consideration by City Council and County Board of Commissioners by the end of the year.

The Steering Committee will work closely with the homeless planning council to research homelessness and gather local data. The plan development process will be collaborative that will involve a broad group of stakeholders and seek the endorsement by city and county officials.

Mayor Chavonne stated "Cumberland County has a significant problem with chronic homelessness. Our goal is to make sure that everyone has a place to call home."

Picture here at the event in Fayetteville are (left to right): Rev. Charles Humphries, Executive Director of the Coalition on Services to the Homeless; Mayor Chavonne; Chairman King, Director Mangano; and Robert Hines, President for the United Way of Cumberland County.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA. Seeking to share "best and practical ideas," South Hampton Roads Mayors and Chairs of County Boards of Supervisors welcomed 300 service providers, program managers, persons experiencing homelessness, and local, state, and national leaders to a regional conference on ending homelessness. Moving forward action steps from local planning, the focus of the one-day conference was to highlight best practices from around the country and support local and regional strategic planning efforts to end homelessness in the region. Keynote speakers for the event were United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip F. Mangano and Dr. A. Terry Morris, Systems Engineer with the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, a homelessness advocate who, as a youth, experienced homelessness.

The conference was organized by the South Hampton Roads Regional Taskforce on Homelessness, which was formed in February 2005 by Mayor Paul D. Fraim of Norfolk, Mayor Meyera Oberndorf of Virginia Beach, Mayor Dalton S. Edge of Chesapeake, Mayor James W. Holley of Portsmouth, Mayor Bobby Ralph of Suffolk and the Chairman of the Isle of Wight County Supervisors, Phillip Bradshaw. The Planning Council also hosted the event.

Said Director Mangano, "You are one of 208 planning partnerships now in our country under the leadership of Mayors and County Executives, constellated to identify the mission, create the Plan, and ensure the implementation to end homelessness. Ultimately, of course, that is a housing-focused response and you have moved with intent down that road."

It is reported that homeless people in South Hampton Roads incur $32 million a year in unpaid emergency room visits, hospitalization bills, jail costs and other expenses. "The social costs are more devastating," Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim said. "For each of the 2,000 homeless people out there, there are families that are torn apart and dreams of bright futures dashed."

"We want every citizen in Hampton Roads to have the same luxury," Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf said. "to never have to worry about a dry place to sleep and a warm meal to eat."

In a post conference meeting with the Mayor, Director Mangano applauded Mayor Fraim's call for a regional apporach and offered examples of success from around the country. Also attending the conference was City of Norfolk's point person on homlessness, Cathrine Kitchin, who serves as the organizer for the City's Project Homeless Connect events.

WACO, TEXAS. Waco became the 30th city to host Project Homeless Connect, the innovative "one-stop" housing and services event that started in San Francisco and is spreading to cities across the country. Over 100 people experiencing homelessness in the local area visited the Salvation Army Community Center during the January 27 gathering. 40 to 50 volunteers were on hand to assist from the local community as well as representatives from nonprofit and faith-based organizations, and city, county, state, and federal agencies. The event was co-sponsored by the City of Waco, the Heart of Texas Homeless Coalition, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

"Our goal this year was to target our efforts to the truly homeless," said City of Waco Homeless Administrator Teri Holtkamp. "We did a good job of providing hospitality."

Participants received information about housing, benefits, and provider programs and enjoyed a variety of services, from health checks to haircuts. Area restaurants donated gift cards, and community organizations provided items of clothing and hygiene products. Health department officials were pleased at the number of HIV screenings performed, 31 of the 100+ participants.

Organizers chose to host the event the last week in January in conjunction with the local homeless census. The City of Waco is already making plans to host its next Project Homeless Connect event this summer in conjunction with leaders from the business community. "We want the business community to have an opportunity to get directly involved," said Waco Housing and Community Development Director Jeff Wall.

Pictured here during the event are (front row left to right) Executive Director of Compassion Ministries, Jill McCall and Chair of the Heart of Texas Homeless Coalition; Teri Holtkamp; United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Special Advisor, Janna Jahn; Jeff Wall; (back row left to right) City of Waco Housing and Community Development Financial Supervisor, Vicki Halfmann; Coordinator Health Care for Homeless Veterans with the Central Texas Veterans Administration Health Care System, Jim Brown; and City of Waco Housing Intern from Baylor University, Ashley Polino.

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will soon issue a Notice of Funding Availability for the Loan Guarantee Program for Multifamily Transitional Housing for Homeless Veterans. The program provides low-interest loans backed by the VA.

Funds may be used for acquisition, or acquisition and development of real estate, or rehabilitation of existing real estate. Loans made under the program must commit to providing housing for homeless veterans for a minimum of fifteen years. In addition, applications must demonstrate that supportive services are need-based and help participants transition toward permanent housing. Applicants must also leverage other funding from state, local, federal, or other private sources.

WASHINGTON, DC. Nearly 200 of the nation's mayors, led by U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) President and Long Beach, California Mayor Beverly O'Neill, gathered in Washington, D.C. last week for the USCM Winter Meeting. In addition to hearing from Administration officials, Mayors focused on the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the Gulf Coast and the realities the hurricanes revealed about poverty in America. Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa announced the formation of a new Task Force on Poverty Opportunity in America, which will challenge the mayors to think differently about poverty and its changing dynamic.

USCM has been a strong partner to the Administration's intiatives on chronic homelessness and 10-Year Plans. USICH Regional Coordinators met with mayors from around the country, many of whom are already partners through 10-Year Plan initiatives. USICH Executive Director Philip Mangano was joined by Regional Coordinators Eduardo Cabrera, Paul Carlson, Michael German, and John O'Brien.

In 2003 the Council partnered with USCM in issuing a challenge for 100 Mayors to develop 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness. Today that challenge has been met and exceeded through the national partnership which now includes 208 cities and counties across the nation. The movement forward took another step last year when the Council and USCM members executed a Covenant of Partnership to collaborate in the exchange of data and share best practices (see e-news, January 21, 2005). To date, 67 mayors have demonstrated their commitment by signing the Covenant.

Another key conference highlight occurred when the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a proposed policy that for the first time will allow local governments and community groups to use federal surplus property for permanent supportive housing for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. Speaking at the Winter Meeting on Thursday, HHS Deputy Secretary Alex M. Azar II announced the proposed policy change to the McKinney-Vento Title V program. The comment period for the proposed policy change ends February 27, 2006 (see related story in the January 27, 2006 e-news).

NEW YORK CITY. New federal resources to support research that will target effective models for service delivery that prevents homelessness. Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health on Wednesday inaugurated the new Center for Homelessness Prevention Studies (CHPS), a multidisciplinary effort to research homelessness and develop ways to prevent chronic homelessness among people with severe mental illness who comprise about 25 percent of homeless adults age 18 and older.

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano joined Mailman School of Public Health Delamar Professor and Dean Allan Rosenfield, M.D. and CHPS Director and Principal Investigator Carol L.M. Caton, Ph.D. to mark the Center's inauguration.

"Prevention ends the bailing the leaking boat syndrome. Columbia is to be commended for this initiative," Said Director Mangano. "What happens in New York won't stay in New York."

CHPS is the nation's only NIMH-funded research center for the development of new and more effective approaches to homelessness prevention. Proposed pilot studies include Critical Time Intervention Following Discharge from Jail; Development of Housing First as an Evidence-Based Practice; Policymaking at the Nexus of Housing and Mental Health; and The Effects on Stability of Shared Living Arrangements.

"There is a need to advance the knowledge base on the factors underlying chornic homelessness, accelerate the development of evidence-based preventive interventions, and disseminate effective interventions, treatments, and service models to benefit the mentally ill at greatest risk of long-term housing instability," said Ezra Susser, MD, DrPH, Anna Cheskis Gelman and Murray Charles Gelman Professor of Epidemiology, professor of Psychiatry, chair of the Department of Epidemiology, and Center co-director.

The Center will bring together scientists from many disciplines and departments including psychiatry, social work, economics and urban planning. CHPS's membership of over 75 individuals includes university faculty at both junior and senior levels, providers of services to the homeless, consumers, and policy makers in City and State government. Collaborators in this effort include researchers affiliated with Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, and New York University, providers of homeless services in the greater New York City region, the New York City Department of Homeless Services, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

With this issue of the e-news, we continue our coverage of excerpts from statements made by public sector partners ending chronic homelessness. These Words of the Week come from Salt Lake City Mayor Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson in his State of the City Address delivered on January 17, 2006.

. . . Thankfully, the City continues to undertake major efforts that help improve the quality of life for our low-income and homeless citizens. This year, as part of the Ten Year County-Wide Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, the Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency has committed to contribute $700,000 toward the construction of Sunrise Apartments, a 100-unit housing development for chronically homeless people.

. . . The numerous private donations to this project, which amount to over $1.1 million, indicate a high level of commitment in our city to alleviating the plight of the homeless.

. . . Undertakings like Sunrise apartments afford us a wonderful opportunity to give back to a city that has provided so much for our benefit. As Walter Benjamin, the German philosopher and critic, once wrote, "It is only for the sake of the hopeless that hope is given to us."

WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-newsletter continues its focus on elements of the Title V federal surplus property and opportunities to secure resources for homeless programs under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

The Interagency Council's web site includes a link to the latest weekly Federal Register notice regarding federal surplus property available under Title V of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Under "Funding" look for the link to the Title V notice.

Title V provides that state and local governments, as well as nonprofit organizations, are eligible to apply for land and buildings that have been determined by the federal government to be "suitable and available" for eligible uses to benefit homeless people. More than two dozen agencies of the federal government are included as "landholding" agencies that may have property.

The Title V program is historically an interagency initiative involving the federal landholding agencies, and with specific roles for the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services, the General Services Administration, and the U.S Interagency Council on Homelessness.

On January 26, 2006, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a proposed policy change to Title V program which would permit federal surplus property to be used for permanent supportive housing. The policy change does not preclude communities from using surplus property to develop transitional programs, emergency shelter programs, or any other homeless assistance program currently approvable by HHS.