WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary and current United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Chair Alphonso Jackson announced this week the award of nearly $1.4 billion in Homeless Assistance Grants funding. The awards to more than 5300 local projects to provide emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and services to more than 150,000 individuals and families were described by HUD Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS) Mark Johnston in a national media call on Tuesday. The $1.4 billion funding includes nearly $1.206 billion in Continuum of Care competitive grants (CoC) and $160 million for Emergency Shelter Grants.

Nationally,

• More than 2800 local projects will receive $686 million to serve mothers and children.
• 1,096 of the awards totaling more than $287 million are to projects that specifically target persons experiencing chronic homelessness. This commitment of funding is another step toward achieving the Administration's goal of ending chronic homelessness.
• More than $618 million will support permanent housing solutions for homeless persons.
• Nearly $91 million is being awarded to 560 programs that primarily work to help victims of domestic violence.
• $30 million is being awarded to 145 projects that will primarily serve homeless veterans.
• $388 million will help fund 1,526 projects providing housing and support services to severely mentally ill persons and nearly $329 will support 1,366 local programs that primarily help homeless persons with substance abuse problems.

The HUD Homeless Assistance Grants funding is an important resource for jurisdictional 10-Year Plan efforts to prevent and end homelessness. U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano was invited by HUD officials to partner with them in making the announcement of awards this week in a number of 10-Year Plan jurisdictions.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA. HUD Region IV Director Bob Young, accompanied by United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Coordinator Michael German, joined Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, 10-Year Plan champion Horace Sibley, County officials, Congressman Hank Johnson, and representatives of Congressman John Lewis and Senator Saxby Chambliss at a press conference on Tuesday to announce $9.43 million in Homeless Assistance Grant awards for 41 projects in Atlanta and DeKalb and Fulton Counties. The funding, about a 31% increase over last year, recognizes the planning and results that have occurred in this region through the partnership of Continuums of Care and the City and Counties to implement regionwide solutions to homelessness. Pictured here from left is HUD RD Young with Mayor Franklin, Congressman Johnson, DeKalb County Community Development Director Chris Morris, Council Coordinator German.

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY. HUD Louisville Field Office Director Christa Mills presented the award of $15.2 million to Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher and Kentucky Housing Corporation Chief Executive Officer Ben Cook at a press conference at the State Capitol. Ms. Mills was joined by United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano and Council Regional Coordinator Michael German. All three of Kentucky's Continuums of Care received increased funding this year.

The event highlighted the collaboration that exists between the state, the Interagency Council, and HUD that has brought new results oriented initiatives and increased resources to make a difference in the lives of people who are homeless in Kentucky. The state and cities including Louisville and Lexington are collaborating in the implementation of jurisdictional 10-Year Plans resulting in creation of new permanent supportive housing opportunities, and the state investment in Recovery Centers aims to reduce and prevent the occurrence of chronic homelessness among persons with substance abuse addictions.

DENVER, COLORADO. HUD Region 8 Director John Carson was joined by Council Director Mangano at a press conference with Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Colorado Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien, Mile High United Way President Michael Durkin, and representatives of Senator Ken Salazar and Congresswoman Diana DeGette's office announcing $14.8 million for Colorado's Continuums to support 48 projects serving homeless men, women, and children. Of this, the Metropolitan Denver Homeless Initiative will receive $10.3 million. Noting the increase in funding over last year, Director Mangano congratulated Denver and Colorado, saying " You have once again demonstrated that your efforts are worthy to be sustained and expanded." Mayor Hickenlooper expressed "gratitude for HUD and the Interagency Council's support of DenversRoadHome 10-Year Plan and the work of homelessness providers throughout the region to end chronic homelessness as we know it." Lieutenant Governor O'Brien expressed particular concern for homeless families and noted that while many people think homelessness is an urban issue, it is a statewide issue and pledged to bring a statewide perspective to the issue. Pictured here, l-r, Mile High United Way President Durkin, HUD RD Carson, Colorado Coaliton for Homeless ED John Parvensky, Boulder Shelter for Homeless Director Greg Harms, Metropolitan Denver Homeless Initiative VP Randall Loeb, Council Director Mangano, Mayor Hickenlooper, and Lt. Governor O'Brien.

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA. A Call to Action was heard throughout Alameda County, California last week as elected county and city officials joined by city managers, community leaders, and citizens launched implementation of The Plan to End Homelessness In Alameda: EveryOne Home at a morning Leadership Summit of city and county officials followed by a Public Celebration and Press Conference.

Elected county and city officials and city managers were welcomed to the Leadership Summit by Oakland Mayor and former Congressman Ron Dellums who spoke of the importance of cross jurisdictional cooperation to effectively leverage resources, and learning from the experience of "everyone in the room." Oakland is one of five cities in the county including Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward, and San Leandro, to have already adopted the plan. The Summit session moderated by Alameda County Board of Supervisors Vice President Alice Lai-Bitker and Oakland Councilwoman Nancy Nadel, included discussions of the plan's elements and presentations on Affordable Supportive Housing as Homeless Prevention and Housing as HealthCare. The Public Ceremony/Press Conference that followed was led by Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Scott Haggerty, and included remarks by Mayor Dellums, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, Bay Area United Way Executive Director Ann Wilson, and Project Independence Alumnus Jahmar Hammond, who described how the availability of housing with supportive services made a difference in his life when he aged out of the foster care system unprepared to be self sufficient.

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, invited to bring a national perspective to the discussions at both events, noted that in 1982 then Congressman Dellums had convened the first congressional hearing on contemporary homelessness and in so doing made clear that the Federal Government had a role in ending homelessness. The work of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, which includes 20 member Federal agencies, may be seen as part of the legacy of federal partnership with each other and with state and local governments on the issue of homelessness that can be traced back to Mr. Dellums 1982 hearing, said Mangano. He commended Berkeley Mayor Bates for realizing his vision for a more regional approach to homelessness in the plan and acknowledged the efforts of the Bay Area United Way, which like so many of the United Ways across the country, is providing a nexus between the business community and provider sectors in developing support for 10- Year Plan efforts. Director Mangano also praised the Plan's call for a consumer advisory process. "No voice is more important to your work," he said. Council Regional Coordinator Ed Cabrera also participated in the day's events.

The EveryOne Home plan calls for the creation of more than 15,000 units of housing over the next 15 years and coordination of service systems for individuals and families experiencing homelessness and extremely low income people living with serious mental illness and/or HIV/AIDS who are at high risk of becoming homelessness. The Plan incorporates a no wrong door approach, adoption of the Housing First model, and expansion of a number of housing solutions including housing search, housing retention resources, partial subsidies, master leasing, and use of a Housing Court.

To read more about the Alameda EveryOne Home plan, click here. Photographs courtesy of Alain McLaughlin Photography.

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA. Norfolk city leaders and over 600 volunteers welcomed 560 homeless guests at the city's 3rd Project Homeless Connect held at the SCOPE exhibit hall last week. Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim greeted the volunteers early in the day and was joined by United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano as they greeted and helped serve lunch to the homeless guests.

During the one-day, one stop event, 290 people received medical services, 37 secured permanent housing, 120 registered for employment and 42 received IDs. 500 winter survival kits that included long johns, hats, gloves, and scarves were made available by the Department of Human Services. The event was funded entirely with private donations from individual citizens, the business community, and the Norfolk Foundation.

The success of the event is best described by two of the reports received by the organizers. In one, a homeless guest reported on his way out of the event that " Yes, it's been a very good day!" He reported that he had received leads on housing and employment, had received an ID, and had found out that his disability application had been approved and he would be receiving all his back payments soon and "so would be fine." In the other case, a volunteer who had been a guest at the Norfolk Emergency Shelter Team (NEST) program, in which a coalition of Norfolk and Chesapeake Churches provide emergency shelter, and subsequently had been offered housing by a friend while she saved money to rent her own place, was "off the streets and very happy about it." She wanted to give back to the community so it was "very important to her to volunteer her time" at the Connect event.

Earlier this month, Mayor Fraim announced during his State of the City Address that the number of persons living on the streets had declined by 17% in the last year according to the recent Point in Time count. "That's 110 fewer homeless people in Norfolk," the Mayor said. He attributed the decline to the creation of a 10-Year Plan to end homelessness which the city is implementing with its neighboring communities that has resulted in a 65% increase in the number of permanent supportive housing units for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. The recently opened Gosnold Apartments, the result of collaboration among Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Portsmouth and a partnership among City of Norfolk, Virginia Supportive Housing, The Planning Council, the Norfolk Homeless Consortium and the Norfolk Foundation, will "end homelessness for 60 people." Another 60 unit project is being planned in Virginia Beach. "These investments in proven strategies to end homelessness are beginning to pay dividends," said the Mayor. Pictured here is Director Mangano visiting one of the city's initiatives, a re-entry housing program, with Alphonso Adams after the PHC event.

In an interview with The Virginian-Pilot, Director Mangano credited Mayor Fraim with being "an early adopter" of several innovations including bringing together an expansive and inclusive group of stakeholders to create a 10-Year Plan and working with neighboring communities to implement a regional approach; naming a point person in his administration, Katie Kitchin, with specific responsibility for the 10-Year Plan; and being among the first communities to respond to the Council's efforts to promote the replication of the Project Homeless Connect innovation initiated by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, in cities across the country.

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch unveiled his 2008-2009 biennium budget last week. Included in his budget are proposals for a $400,000 revolving loan fund over the biennium to help homeless families move into permanent housing by assisting them with security deposits and first month's rent; $36.3 million for rate increases for providers including community mental health centers, home health services, physicians, adult day care, child care, dental care, and residential care; $1 million annually to replace lost federal funding for housing, mental heath treatment, transportation, food and drug assistance for persons with HIV/AIDS; increased funding for the Department of Corrections to improve care for mentally ill prisoners; and capital funding to replace the existing Huntress and Lodge Houses to provide safer transitional housing for people with mental illness. The budget also would expand access to affordable housing for families by funding a $400,000 pilot grant program to help communities develop workforce housing.

In December, Governor John Lynch signed an Executive Order formalizing the membership and responsibilities of the New Hampshire State Interagency Council on Homelessness to implement a statewide 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness presented to the Governor earlier in the year. Nashua, New Hampshire, which has adopted the Project Homeless Connect innovation and is implementing a 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness announced in 2004, has reported a 40% reduction in the number of people living on the streets.

The announcement this week by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson of nearly $1.4 billion in Homeless Assistance Grant awards to 5300 programs across the nation will bring $5.2 million in emergency shelter, homeless prevention, transitional and permanent housing, and services resources to New Hampshire.

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. Earlier this month, Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell's released her FY 2008-09 budget that includes funding for 250 supportive housing units through the Next Steps Initiative; $400,000 in each year to address program shortfalls in the Elderly Rental Assistance Program that provides rent subsidies to qualified residents of state elderly and disabled housing; an additional $15 million in bonding each year for housing programs beyond the $20 milion available each year through the Housing Trust Fund; $1.2 million in each year for the DMHAS to discharge persons from hospitals into community services; $2.9 million in FY 08 and $4.9 million in FY 09 to facilitate transfer of young people aging out of the foster care system into the DMHAS service system; additional staff and $1 million in operating resources for a new state of the art veterans health care facility scheduled to open in January 2008 and the existing veterans residential facility in Rocky Hill; $3.5 million each year in the Judicial Department budget to implement a Families with Service Needs Diversion program; and ongoing investment in community health centers initiated with an October 2006 Bond Commission authorization of $25.8 million to expand medical and dental facilities across the state estimated to serve 85,000 new patients, reducing the burden on hospital emergency departments.

The statewide Reaching Home Advocacy Campaign to end long term homelessness in Connecticut calls for the creation of 10,000 supportive housing units, of which 3000 are operational or in development. This week's federal $1.4 billion Homeless Assistance Grants announcement will bring $24.3 million in additional emergency shelter, homeless prevention, transitional and permanent housing, and services resources to the effort to prevent and end homelessness in Connecticut.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA. Recent funding initiatives in North Carolina provide examples of how cooperation between a state interagency council on homelessness and local jurisdictional 10- Year Plan efforts,and the mindful targeting of resources, can produce results for the homeless consumer.

Two key components of the National Partnership to End Homelessness being constellated by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness are state interagency councils on homelessness to mirror on the state level the work of the federal Interagency Council in more effectively coordinating the availability and accessibility of resources to meet the needs of homeless people, and the development of local jurisdictionally based 10-Year Plans. To date, 53 Governors of states and territories have created state interagency councils and 294 jurisdictions have committed to the 10-Year Plan process.

The Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs (ICCHP) is the official name of the North Carolina state interagency council on homelessness. In carrying out its mission, the ICCHP has coordinated with and supplemented the efforts of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness in encouraging and providing technical assistance to local jurisdictions to develop and implement 10-Year Plans. Currently, there are 14 jurisdictionally-based 10-Year Plans either in development or being implemented in North Carolina.

In December the ICCHP sponsored a Leadership Summit for 10-Year Plan leaders. This has been followed by announcements of new resource opportunities designed to strengthen local 10-Year Plan efforts. In one case, the state is making available a total of $45,000 to help communities access specialized technical assistance that may be needed to address needs unique to their community planning effort. A second RFA sought to encourage 10-Year Plan communities to adopt the Project Homeless Connect innovation by offering to reimburse start up costs, such as space rental, transportation for homeless persons and phone and internet connectivity charges, incurred by a community that would implement an event between March 1-June 30, 2007. It was estimated that perhaps 2 or 3 awards of between $2300-3500 would be made. Under a third RFA issued in a collaborative effort between ICCHP and the state Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services, the state has announced the availability of $2.1 million to fund 3 pilot sites to create Housing Support Teams to work with people who are homeless and have a history of cycling through publicly funded systems.

The 2007 North Carolina 10th anniversary Conference on Homelessness, Walking Home Together: Steps to a Practical Approach, sponsored by the ICCHP, will be held April 10-11 in Raleigh. For more information on the work of the North Carolina Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs, click here.

The announcement this week by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson of nearly $1.4 billion in Homeless Assistance Grants to 5300 programs across the nation will bring a record $18.6 million in emergency shelter, homeless prevention, transitional and permanent housing, and services resources to North Carolina.

DALLAS, TEXAS. 33 Regional Directors and officials from federal agencies in Region VI covering the states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana gathered in Dallas last week for a meeting of the Region VI Federal Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Regional Interagency Councils on Homelessness mirror at the regional level the collaboration of federal agencies in Washington through the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. At last week's meeting, chaired by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Region VI Director Cynthia Leon, regional officials of the Departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Labor, Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, HUD and Transportation, along with the Social Security Administration, FEMA, the Federal Executive Board, the Internal Revenue Services, and the Corporation for National and Community Service adopted their 2007 Strategic Plan for collaborating to make federal resources more accessible to state and local governments in their region. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Coordinator Sally Shipman presented an update on national and regional 10-Year Plan efforts to end homelessness and regional Project Homeless Connect events. Nationally, 295 jurisdictional 10-Year Plan efforts are underway. In Region VI, 58 cities and 17 counties are engaged in 10-Year Plan efforts.

As part of the 2007 strategic work plan, the Region VI Council through its Working Group will pilot an initiative with Waco, Texas to assist Waco in identifying existing federal sources of funding across a variety of agencies for which they could apply to support priority projects in the Waco 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. The pilot is modeled after a successful collaborative interagency approach undertaken and described by Department of Labor officials that has secured results for a prisoner re-entry initiative. The Region VI members will also continue to support the publication of a regional Federal Homelessness Resource Guide providing a summary of federal programs and local contacts.

IN THIS ISSUE, the e-news highlights remarks of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary and current U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Chair Alphonso Jackson in making the announcement this week of nearly $1.4 billion in Homeless Assistance Grant funding to more than 5300 local programs. Secretary Jackson is pictured here, center, chairing a meeting of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. To his right is HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development Pamela Patenaude and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Assistance Programs Mark Johnston. To his left is Council Director Mangano.

. . . The homeless must not become invisible or marginalized. Our response tells us much about our humanity as a people and a nation. When our fellow citizens literally need shelter from the storm, or a meal, or counseling, or help to regain their footing in life, we must be there to respond.

. . . These grants will support thousands of local programs that are on the front lines of helping those who might otherwise be living on our streets. Whether it's a single man living with mental illness, or a family struggling to give their children a roof over their heads, this funding is quite literally saving lives.

The PBS show, NOW on PBS, premiered a segment earlier this month entitled, "Home At Last", examining the Housing First innovation through the experience of one long term homeless man who was introduced to the Pathways to Housing program at a Project Homeless Connect event in New York City. The segment was presented as part of an ongoing NOW on PBS series on "ideas that work."

An online video and transcript of the show is available on the PBS website.

email: ichnews@setechnology.com

web: http://www.usich.gov