WASHINGTON, D.C. Describing the Bush Administration’s landmark FY 2008 budget request of nearly $87 billion to meet the health care, benefits assistance, and other needs of America’s veterans presented to Congress earlier this month, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said, “With the right resources in the hands of the right people, anything and everything is possible when it comes to caring for America’s veterans."

In communities large and small across the nation, faith based organizations and local service providers have been partnering with the VA for 20 years to care for our nation’s homeless veterans. Last week, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the first such effort at Veterans Village in San Diego, Secretary Nicholson announced a $24 million effort to expand community-based services to homeless veterans including $10 million to support 1000 new transitional housing beds; $12 million targeted for seriously mentally ill veterans, terminally ill veterans, and similar vulnerable groups; and $2 million for organizations that provide technical assistance to homeless service providers under the Grant and Per Diem Program. Four Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA) have been published in the February 22, 2007 Federal Register detailing the purposes and amounts of funding available and eligible applicants. All applications are due April 4. Pictured here is Secretary Nicholson (right) with U.S. House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Bob Filner at the Veterans Village in San Diego.

The Department of Veterans Affairs currently supports more than 15,000 beds in transitional housing facilities or in VA residential treatment programs. This fiscal year, FY 2007, the VA proposes to spend more than $265 million on specialized homeless assistance for veterans. The Administration’s FY 2008 budget requests $36.6 billion for the VA’s health care program, an 83% increase over the FY 2001 budget in place at the beginning of this Administration. Nearly $3 billion will be spent for mental health services for veterans. Continuing to implement key program improvements, the VA expects to increase to 75% the share of disabled veterans successfully completing the vocational rehabilitation and employment program.

For a VA Fact Sheet on programs for homeless veterans, click here. The 2007 edition of the Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents booklet is now available online. Printed copies are expected to be available in April. The Council encourages communities engaged in 10-Year Plan efforts to give special attention and consideration to the needs of homeless veterans in their community. Best practice in the convening of planning partnerships and the development of jurisdictional plans incorporates early inclusion of partners who address the needs of homeless veterans, the development of jurisdictional data on their needs, and the design of partnerships and investments that prevent and end their homelessness. Council Region 1 Coordinator and Vietnam Veteran John O’Brien represents the Council on the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans which is meeting in Washington this week.

PORTLAND, OREGON. Portland and Multnomah County officials who are collaborating to implement Home Again, a 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness unveiled in December 2004 that emphasizes a Housing First approach, have announced results that exceed the plan’s goals in reductions in homelessness, numbers of permanent supportive housing units created, and families housed. The community’s latest Street Count shows a 39% decrease in the number of unsheltered homeless and a “70% reduction in the number of chronically homeless people who were living outdoors two years ago.”

The report notes that 717 families have been housed, exceeding the 2 year goal of 500; 480 permanent supportive housing units have been opened compared to the 2 year goal of 260 units; and 1,039 chronically homeless individuals have been housed, exceeding the two year goal of 565 by 184%.

2006 Accomplishments include:

• 379 chronically homeless persons moved into permanent housing, of whom 40% were directly from the streets.
• 310 homeless families moved into permanent housing, including 134 “high resource using” families.
• 164 units of permanent supportive housing opened and 267 units added to the development pipeline.

The report also notes that the Portland Police recently reported a 70% decline in crime caused by the top 200 criminal homeless offenders.

Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten, a strong supporter of the plan who has also championed the community’s adoption of the Project Homeless Connect innovation, said, "It is heartening to see real progress on an issue that many have given up on long ago. . . these results should give everyone hope and energy.” Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler added, “This proves that the partnership between Multnomah County and the City of Portland is achieving significant measurable outcomes.” In the first two years of the plan, the City, County and Portland Housing Authority have partnered to provide resources so that 480 new units of permanent supportive housing could be opened, with an additional 380 units under development.

St. Louis, Missouri officials have also just reported a 34% decrease over two years in street homelessness, which will be described in more detail in a future e- news. Commenting on these results, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano said, " Once again jurisdictional leadership extending political will, and resources through results-oriented 10-Year Plans is reducing street and chronic homelessness. We are proud to be partnered with Multinomah County, Portland, and St. Louis, and applaud County Chair Wheeler, Portland Mayor Potter, Commissioner Sten, St, Louis Mayor Slay and 10-Year Plan coordinators Heather Lyons and Bill Seidhoff for their success on behalf of their poorest neighbors."

Last week the 15th and final Family Justice Center, funded under President Bush’s $20 million Family Justice Center Initiative, opened in South Bend, Indiana. Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and administered through the DOJ Office of Violence Against Women (OVW), the Family Justice Centers Initiative is intended to create replicable models for how communities can more effectively coordinate domestic violence services by bringing together victim advocates, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, probation officers, forensic medical professionals, civil legal attorneys, chaplains, and representatives from faith and community based organizations to offer centralized assistance with medical care, social services, housing, legal, and employment assistance.

Domestic violence has been repeatedly identified as one of the leading causes of family homelessness. Of the $1.4 billion in Homeless Assistance Grants funding announced by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson last week, nearly half of the funds will support projects for homeless and at risk of homelessness women and children including 560 programs that primarily work to help victims of domestic violence.

In remarks last year at the opening of the St. Louis Family Justice Center, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (pictured here) said of the replicable lessons being learned from the centers initiative, “The formula is simple. Open a full service center and stop the run around (for victims of domestic violence). But . . . executing that formula is not always easy. It takes time. It takes commitment. And it takes a singular focus on a common goal. The creation of this Family Justice Center required new partners to overcome old turf battles. It required professionals with narrowly focused skills to blend their expertise into a broad coalition of compassion . . . creating communal turf . . . so everyone can battle together for what matters most—the health, safety, and support of domestic violence victims.”

In addition to the Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County which opened in South Bend last week, other Family Justice Center Initiative sites are located in Alameda County, CA; Tampa, FL; Nampa, ID; Monroe County, LA; Boston, MA; St. Louis, MO; Las Vegas, NM; Brooklyn and Buffalo, NY; Defiance, OH; Tulsa, OK; Knoxville, TN; San Antonio, TX; and Sitka, AK.

In addition to administering the Family Justice Centers Initiative, DOJ’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) has a number of grant programs, technical assistance, and funding opportunities that may be helpful to state and local 10-Year Plan efforts. For more information on OVW activities, click here.

DALLAS, TEXAS. An estimated 100 elected officials, business and civic leaders gathered in downtown Dallas this week for the groundbreaking for the city’s new Homeless Assistance Center. The $21 million project will provide a one stop array of services and 100 indoor beds with a pavilion for an additional 300 persons targeted to the city’s most disabled, long term homeless population. Among those joining Mayor Laura Miller at the event were Dallas City Councilwoman Pauline Medrano, in whose district the center is located, businessman and mayorally appointed homeless czar Mike Rawlings, his predecessor Tom Dunning, City Manager Mary Suhm, and Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance Director Mike Faenza, whose agency is leading an effort to raise $3 million to match city funds for the operation of the center. United States Housing and Urban Development Region VI Director Cynthia Leon was also present and was recognized for her support of the city’s efforts to end homelessness.

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, who had met with the Mayor, other city officials and community leaders a number of times regarding the city’s 10–Year Plan effort and was invited to speak at the groundbreaking, said that “ Dallas has been blessed with a team that only knows how to get things done.” He acknowledged that Mayor Miller, who is leaving office this year, had at first wondered if change was possible, but “ took a leap of faith and extended her political will and joined the national partnership of mayors committed to 10-Year Plans.” He noted that her “faith has been rewarded in the substance of this hoped for groundbreaking and what the Center will mean to its customers and your city, and in the evidence of the data that we now see that tells us that there are fewer people on your streets than several years ago.”

The announcement last 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 nearly $12.8 million in record funding for emergency shelter, homeless prevention, transitional and permanent housing, and services resources to the Dallas City and County and Irving area.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. San Francisco, which increased its number of permanent supportive housing units by more than 130% in less than three years and pioneered the Project Homeless Connect model, will receive nearly $19.8 million in Homeless Assistance Grants funding from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this year. The announcement of the funding was made last week by HUD Region 9 Director Dick Rainey at a press conference with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, 10-Year Plan Chair Angela Alioto, and Continuum of Care co-chair Bobbie Rosenthal. Mr. Rainey was accompanied by United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano who was invited to partner with HUD in making announcements in a number of 10-Year Plan cities. Pictured here at the symbolic check presentation is, l-r, Mayor Newsom, CoC co- chair Rosenthal, Mr. Mangano, HUD Regional Director Rainey, and Plan Chair Alioto.

The is a record amount of HUD McKinney Act homeless assistance grants money for the city, $1.6 million more than last year and more than double the amount the city received just five years ago. The increase is a reflection of both the increased amount of money the Administration and Congress have provided for HUD’s homeless assistance grants and the results the city has been achieving which allow it to compete so successfully for funding. This year’s grant will help pay for 934 units of permanent supportive housing, 326 units of transitional housing, and supportive services programs including job training. In remarks at the press conference held at the Presidio’s Veterans Academy, run by the non profit Swords to Plowshares and housing 100 formerly homeless veterans, Mayor Newsom reaffirmed the city’s commitment to finding permanent housing solution for people experiencing homelessness, saying, “Permanent supportive housing is the cornerstone of our strategy to end homelessness in our city and it is working.”

Council Regional Director Ed Cabrera, who also attended last week’s award announcement, will be leading panel presentations on cost/benefit analysis and Good to Better to Great: Innovations in 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness at this year’s Housing California April 21-23 conference in Sacramento.

City’s pioneering Project Homeless Connect effort has helped over 1600 secure shelter and housing.

This week San Francisco will hold its 15th Connect event since originating the idea in October 2004. The one-day, one-stop Connect events are held every other month in San Francisco and this week’s event is being sponsored by California Pacific Medical Center. In addition to its financial support for the event, nearly 300 CPMC management and clinical staff will be volunteering. Over the last two years, 1,621 homeless men and women in San Francisco have received shelter and housing as a result of attending a Connect event. Other categories of assistance include medical treatment, dental services, vision care and eye glasses, free phone calls, DMV identification services, legal counsel, hair cuts, massages, wheelchair repairs, veterinary care for their pets, benefits application assistance, and employment information and screening for jobs and training. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness which has recognized Project Homeless Connect as a results-oriented innovation fusing political, social, and civic will on behalf of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness has encouraged communities throughout the country to “commit legitimate larceny” in adopting the Homeless Connect innovation as their own. To date over 100 communities in 26 states have done so. To read more about Project Homeless Connect in San Francisco, click here. To read more about National Project Homeless Connect, the Council’s effort to disseminate this innovation to 10-Year Plan jurisdictions across the country, click here. Upcoming PHC events include: San Francisco and Washington County, Oregon on February 28, Gastonia, NC on March 16, Pontiac, MI on March 21, and Billings, MT and Detroit/Wayne County MI on March 31.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI. At a press conference held at City Hall last week, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano and U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Kansas City Regional Office Community Planning and Development Director Theresa Porter joined Mayor Kay Barnes to announce that the Kansas City area will be receiving nearly $7.5 million this year in federal Housing Assistance Grants funding. The funding is part of the nearly $1.4 billion in Continuum of Care and Emergency Shelter Grants announced last week by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and current Council Chair Alphonso Jackson to support emergency shelter, homeless prevention, transitional and permanent housing, and services projects around the country.

The nearly $7.5 million is a record funding level for the Kansas City/Jackson County/Independence/Lee’s Summit Continuum of Care and will support 27 projects to help prevent and end homelessness. Kansas City is one of 295 jurisdictions across the nation to have committed to the 10-Year Plan process for ending homelessness. Director Mangano commended Mayor Barnes, who is a member of the US Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness Task Force, for her business approach to bringing remedy to the human tragedy and misery of homelessness. Pictured here is Director Mangano with Mayor Barnes.

NORWICH/NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT. Implementation of the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Southeastern Connecticut, Next Stop, Home, announced in December got a boost last week with the announcement of the award of $1.27 million in Homeless Assistance Grants funds for Norwich and New London from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The funding is part of nearly $1.4 billion in Homeless Assistance Grants funding to Continuums of Care around the country announced by HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson last week to support emergency shelter and homeless prevention programs, transitional and permanent housing and supportive services. The federal good news comes just days after Norwich City Manager Bob Zarnetske affirmed his city’s commitment to the Next Step, Home 10-Year Plan with a proposal to use $75,000 of the city’s Community Development Block Grant funding to make several targeted investments to prevent and end homelessness, including:

• $25,000 for staffing for benefit enrollment assistance
• $25,000 for case management to support rapid access to services
• $8,800 for rapid rehousing through long term lease of rooms at the Y
• $8,000 each for an emergency rental fund and to expand the availability of security deposits.

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, who was invited by HUD to partner with them in making the announcement of the awards in communities which are engaged in 10-Year Plan efforts, made the announcement of the $1.24 million grant at a City Hall press conference with Norwich City Manager Zarnetske and City Councilman Mark Bettencourt, New London Mayor Peg Curtin, State Senator Andrew Maynard, United Way of SE Connecticut President Ken Hinrichs, and Partnership to End Homelessness in SE Connecticut Continuum of Care co-chairs Tom Hyland and Beverly Goulet. Director Mangano congratulated the community for winning a nearly 20% increase in funding this year in the competitive Continuum of Care awards process and as then Next Step, Home Plan co-chair and now State Senator Andrew Maynard had said at the Plan unveiling in December, “hitting the ground running” to implement the Plan. “ You should be so proud of the work you are doing here," said Director Mangano.

Pictured here, l-r, are Lisa Shippee of the Thames Valley Council for Community Action, Amanda George of Bethsaida Community Inc., Sheila Knaust of Bethsaida Community Inc., Patricia Bazinet of Thames Valley Council for Community Action, Margaret Beglinger of Reliance House, Sandy Brindamour of Alliance For Living, Senator Maynard, Tom Hyland, Director Mangano, Beverly Goulet, Jennifer Gross of Sound Community Services, Ken Hinrichs, Mayor Curtin, Catherine Zeiner of the Women's Center of Southeastern Connecticut, City Manager Zarnetske, and Councilman Bettencourt.

QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS. The level of political will, depth of partnerships, commitment of resources, and results demonstrated in this city of 90,000 on the south side of Boston in the implementation of its 10-Year Plan continues to set the bar for communities its size in the national effort to end homelessness. Last week Mayor William Phelan joined United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano at a press conference at City Hall. Both had big announcements. On behalf of U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary and current USICH Chair, Alphonso Jackson, Director Mangano announced the community was being awarded $1.98 million in Homeless Assistance Grants funding, a nearly 19% increase over last year, to support emergency shelter, homeless prevention, transitional and permanent housing and services. The Mayor announced that the 2007 Point in Time Count held in January showed a 55% decrease in the number of persons living long term on the streets and shelters over the last three years, from 142 men and women to 63.

Pictured here in a meeting prior to the press conference, left, foreground to background, are Father Bill McCarthy, Mayor Phelan, and Director Mangano. At right, foreground to background, Father Bill’s Place Executive Director John Yazwinski, and South Shore Chamber of Commerce President Peter Forman. Also attending the press conference were Kim Arouca, Deputy District Director for Congressman William Delahunt, and Thomas Walsh of Senator Edward Kennedy’s office.

IN THIS ISSUE, the e-news highlights remarks of both Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson in making the announcement last week of the availability of new resources for homeless veterans, and Dallas’ mayorally appointed “homeless czar” Mike Rawlings, who spoke this week at the groundbreaking for a Homeless Assistance Center in downtown Dallas. (see related stories this issue).

From Secretary Nicholson,

. . . Over the past two decades, we have worked hard to construct bridges leading from the darkened alleys of homelessness to the bright avenues of mainstream society. This would not have been possible without the efforts from faith based and community service providers who have partnered with VA throughout the years. Our goal is to return to communities sober citizens, gainfully employed, living independently with restored dignity. But the tremendous work done across the nation, as great as it is, is not enough as long as one veteran is homeless.

From Dallas "homeless czar" Mike Rawlings,

. . . Today is a key milestone for the City and its citizens. First I would like to speak to the homeless. We are working hard for you. We are breaking ground on a building that will provide the basics that are so clearly needed. First and foremost the Homeless Assistance Center will be a safe haven from the dangers of the streets. Finally there will be somewhere else than the library to sit and read, we will now have our own library.

. . . It is right to celebrate milestones but this celebration will be brief because there is much yet to be done. First, we have to get the Center built on time and on budget. We are confident we will. Operating budgets will be a tough issue to deal with. . . At the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance we will do our part raising funds. We will match the City dollar for dollar for the operating budget for the Center. We are kicking off a campaign to raise $3 million by next year. . . We need the City money, but this is an opportunity for everyone to double the effectiveness of the City money and participate in this unique private/public venture. We expect every business downtown to participate in a meaningful manner.

. . . We need permanent housing for our homeless. There is a need for 1,000 to 1,500 permanent supportive housing units. We won’t end chronic homelessness until we deal with this issue. The homeless assistance center will not be successful if it cannot be a springboard to a different life.

. . . But today is about this milestone. The vision, the effort and sweat of our diverse team and the grace of God to make something a reality that many said would never happen in Dallas. There are many that say the homeless don’t want to change, many who say Dallas doesn’t care. Both are wrong, soon there will be a place to help the homeless take that difficult step up and out and a place that proves Dallas is not only a Can Do City but also a Can Do City That Cares.

email: ichnews@setechnology.com

web: http://www.usich.gov